Red whine

You have to be amused by the whining of the Boston Red Sox players. Last evening, the Sox were scheduled to play the Florida Marlins despite forecasters predicting nearly a 100% chance of rain in the Boston area.

With the Marlins leading 2-1 after five innings, the umpires called for a delay of the game due to the torrential rainfall. After two hours, the game was called and Florida was given credit for the victory. The fact the game even got started rankled some Red Sox players.

“There was nothing we were told or saw on the radar that suggested that we were going to be playing in any type of good conditions,’’ Mike Lowell said. “I think a lot of guys are [expletive] pissed right now, just from my experience with the Marlins and hurricanes, there’s open communication between both teams and the players’ union and all that, you can make exceptions for anything, but I’m just saying that what we saw on the radar was 100 percent chance of rain basically from 7:30 on.

“I’m frustrated and I think a lot of guys are frustrated.’’

Of course, since his club was behind, Sox manager Terry Francona wanted to keep playing.

“I think we were hoping there was a lot of hope,’’ manager Terry Francona said. “Obviously, from where we’re sitting, we want to stay and play until whenever. We’re the home team, we’re not traveling. There’s a lot of reasons we want to play.’’

When the Minnesota Twins ventured to Fenway Park in April for a two-game series, there were also weather issues. The two teams were to play Tuesday and Wednesday, with both having an off day Thursday. Tuesday's game was rained out. So the logical solution would have been to play Wednesday-Thursday, right? Well, the Red Sox pitched a fit at the notion of giving up their precious off-day on Thursday, with the arch rival New York Yankees coming to Fenway that weekend. Instead, the Sox insisted on a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday, despite the night game being delayed by rain. Ah, but since it was all to their benefit, the Sox were more than willing to squeeze in a game despite ominous skies.

Bottom line: QUIT YOUR FREAKIN' WHINING, Lowell. I guess you now know that if you occasionally live by the rain, you die by the rain....so to speak.

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