I’m calling this a semi game report; it’s really more of a rant.  The Fighters get out of Chiba Marine with a 2-0 victory, but that’s not the story.  It’s a Golden Game, a 5 inning, monsoon-filled nonsense-that-somehow counts in the standings.  Kobayshi take the meaningless-yet-still-a-loss loss with 5 innings of work.  Seriously, who things this is a good idea?

Why do baseball leagues do this? In no other sport I can think of do they cancel a game that hasn’t reached regulation length because of poor weather. If there was a problem with a basketball arena so the game couldn’t be finished, would the powers-that-be say “OK, we’re good” if the game is in the third quarter? Why do baseball fans/teams put up with non-games counting?

Games should be 9 innings, minimum – period. If it has to be halted due to weather, then it either needs to be replayed/completed later or count as a tie. But 5 innings? Look at what in conditions they squeezed out the last few outs of this nonsense in:

I’m a reasonable cat. I’m not angry because the Marines lost. I’m upset that any baseball organization can have the chutzpah to call 55% of a game a complete game, and make it count. So stupid.