The Yankees are investigating a way for Major League Baseball to recoup the money they lost Monday when only one game of a slated doubleheader was played because the Devil Rays didn’t get out of Florida due to Hurricane Frances.
Monday it was originally believe the Yankees dropped $15 million, but the actual total is closer to $3 million due to lost concessions, television advertising and the fact that several members of the Yankee Stadium labor force were on overtime due to it being Labor Day.
“That’s not my area,” GM Brian Cashman said before last night’s game against the Devil Rays. “What the Yankees are asking for is the truth. Our fans deserve that.”
The game lost Monday will be made up as part of a doubleheader today with the opener starting at 4:05 p.m. The nightcap will start approximately 20 minutes after the completion of the first game but no earlier than 7:05 p.m.
The rescheduling means the Yankees will start the struggling Esteban Loaiza and neophyte lefty Brad Halsey against righty Rob Bell and righty Dewon Brazelton.
When Monday’s slate was reduced to one game, the Yankees requested they be awarded a forfeit because they believed the Devil Rays would have arrived in time for the first game that was initially slated for 1 p.m. and then pushed back to 3 p.m. According to a release from MLB, the Yankees withdrew their forfeit request yesterday.
However, Cashman said the Yankees were not looking for a forfeit.
“What we asked for Monday wasn’t for a forfeit, what we asked for was for the game to be delayed to the end of the season so it could be evaluated,” Cashman said. “[MLB] told us it was an order that was disregarded. If that was the case they could evaluate if a forfeit could be determined. They are investigating.”
Ideally, the Yankees wanted it rescheduled for Oct. 4, the day after the final regular season game and only if it mattered in the standings. However, commissioner Bud Selig ruled yesterday it would be played today.
As of 6:00 last night, Yankee brass was huddling with George Steinbrenner at Yankee Stadium.
“We will find the truth,” The Boss vowed on his way into the ballpark.
“It’s undisputed that the Yankees were told by the commissioner’s office that Tampa Bay would be in New York to play two games Monday,” Yankees president Randy Levine said yesterday before the Yankees played the Devil Rays. “We had been asking for days before if they were going to be here.
“If in fact Tampa Bay and the commissioner’s office knew they weren’t going to be here the whole matter could have been avoided. When you check the facts as described by the commissioner’s office, if [the Devil Rays] had permission to be here and disregarded it, the [forfeit] rule would come into effect.”
MLB continues to look into the reason why the Devil Rays didn’t arrive in New York until late Monday afternoon. The Devil Rays insist it was a case of miscommunication with the commissioner’s office.