Weather update (and another gift update)

The tarp is coming off the field at Camden Yards. We're playing baseball tonight. The Orioles announced an approximate start time of 8:20 p.m. Wei-Yin Chen will oppose Phil Hughes. Had the game been postponed because of rain, the teams would have played Monday and filled the open dates on both schedules. The dugouts were filling with water earlier, and I came close to doing a little fly fishing. Otherwise, why put on the rubber pants? (Insert age joke here) The ceremony for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will take place around 8:11 p.m. Manager Buck Showalter will step onto the field and present Rivera with a retirement gift. "I think it's very classy of us to do it," Showalter said before joking about the blown save. Showalter challenged reporters to guess the gift. No one came up with a suitable response. An umbrella would have been most appropriate. Or rubber pants. Update: The Orioles gave Rivera a bronzed broken bat with a baseball attached near the handle. Get the symbolism? The gift also came with a plaque. Showalter embraced Rivera, who jogged onto the field with "Enter Sandman" playing over the PA system. Fans stood and applauded. Update II: The bat presented to Rivera was sculpted by Omri and his son, Itamar Amrany of The Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany in Highland, Ill. Omri Amrany is an Israeli-American sculptor and painter. Among his sculpted sports works are The Spirit: Michael Jordan, a 16-foot sculpture commissioned by the Chicago Bulls installed at the United Center in Chicago, as well as sculptures of Vince Lombardi at Lambeau Field in Green Bay; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West and Magic Johnson at The Staples Center in Los Angeles; Josh Gibson, Frank Howard and Walter Johnson at Nationals Park in Washington DC; and the Memorial to Pat Tillman at the Arizona Cardinals stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The bronze was cast at the Alchemist Foundry in Kalamazoo, Mich. The following plaque accompanies the sculpture: MARIANO RIVERA Baseball's all-time saves leader who pitched 19 seasons for the New York Yankees. His numerous baseball records are surpassed only by his humility, respect and philanthropy. Presented by the Baltimore Orioles, in recognition of his tremendous career and the hundreds of bats he broke along the way.



It's been a rocky ride for Chen in first three inn...
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