Red Sox News & Notes – 5/29

Fans sit in the stands during a rain delay in a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, May 28, 2011, in Detroit. The game was called and has been rescheduled as a day/night doubleheader on Sunday.

Right now, it seems like the only thing that can stop the Boston Red Sox is Mother Nature. I must say though she did help the Red Sox out back in early April when things were going bad and they really needed a day off.

She made another appearance during the seven-game winning streak but that only slowed them down for the night. And she reared her ugly head again on Saturday night in Detroit.

With Saturday night’s postponement and the fact that the two teams don’t play each other again this season, there will be a split doubleheader. The originally scheduled game will still begin at 1:05 p.m. with the second one starting at 7:05 p.m.

Clay Buchholz and Andrew Oliver were scheduled to start the game last night and they’ll be the starters in the first game. That game will air on NESN in the Red Sox television market and TBS across the country (non-Red Sox & Tigers TV market).

Josh Beckett and Justin Verlander will now duel in the second game and you won’t be able to watch the game. The only way to listen to the game action will be on your radio or for most these days, their MLB At-Bat app.

The reason why you won’t be able to watch the game is the fact that ESPN holds the exclusive rights for Sunday Night Baseball. In this, any game that starts after 5 p.m. cannot be televised even in the local market. There have been exceptions along the way as the Texas Rangers will occasionally play a Sunday night game in the summer due to the sweltering Texas heat.

Now for those of you who were expecting me to rant about it last night or even here this morning, honestly I can tell you it’s just not worth it. Sure I was upset and fired up about it when I found out. But other than blowing off a little steam, it’s not going to solve anything.

In the end it comes down to the all mighty dollar. Sure the MLB blackout rules suck and while the rules may seem crappy to us, they aren’t going to change any time soon.

Our only voice lies in the fact that the ESPN Sunday Night game featuring the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves wasn’t going to score big in the New England market to begin with. So if we don’t watch it all, it’s going to hurt the low ratings it was probably going to receive in the first place.

So unless you’re planning on flying to Detroit today if you’re already not attending the second game tonight, you’ll be stuck to listening to the whimsical stylings of Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien here in Red Sox Nation.

And you know what, that’s not a bad thing at all.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Real-life drama affects Bard [Boston Globe]

Sox getting good returns on smaller investments [Boston Globe]

Sox richer and pourer [Boston Herald]

Video shows hitters Oliver twist [Boston Herald]

Bard’s mind not on game [Boston Herald]

Aceves learns to Mo ’em down [Boston Herald]

Red Sox rained out; double header Sunday [CSNNE.com]

Notes: Rough start forgotten, Sox in first [CSNNE.com]

Sox-Tigers second game Sunday not on TV [CSNNE.com]

Bard’s friend is found, unharmed [ESPN Boston]

Will Josh Beckett Be American League’s Starting Pitcher for 2011 All-Star Game? [NESN.com]