Rained Out Again / Harmon Killebrew

Today, more interesting things were said at Comerica than on days when there's a game. 


Jim Leyland stated that interleague play has had it, and that Joaquin Benoit will remain in the cornfield until further notice. 


"It (interleague play) was a brilliant idea to start with, but has run its course," he told the beat writers. 


As outrageous as playing two series in National League parks with no DH -- that the skipper cited -- is the situation created by today's rainout. 


The Tigers and Blue Jays, who used to play each other 18 times a year, don't again this season. The Jays will have to travel to Detroit on a mutual off day to play one game. But the Mets and D-Backs play three games each here. 


Three other games were rained out today. Three more that will have to be put somewhere, and possibly become one-day road trips dropped in the middle of the September stretch run. 


Already, more games have been lost to weather than in all of last season. That could scramble September for a lot of folks. 


When the call goes out for an eighth inning pitcher, it won't be for Joaquin BEN-wah. He and his 7.98 ERA have been removed from the setup role, a task for which he was signed for three years, at age 34 and one year off Tommy John surgery. (Sigh ......) 


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Harmon Killebrew died today at age 74, after a long fight with cancer and a brief hospice stay. 


The Tiger fan may first remember that he wore out Tiger pitching -- as he did everyone else's pitching -- and that, for a long time, was the only player to hit a ball over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium. 


I thought it was appropriate that he wore Babe Ruth's number 3. 


At day's end, I think of two other things. 


Another player from the 1961 come-of-age year baseball card set has died; the third Hall Of Famer from that set, after Robin Roberts and Duke Snider, in the last few months. 


And that, during his time in baseball -- an association he began in 1954 as an 18 year old bonus rookie on the old Senators, and ended in spring training 2010 -- you never heard or read anything bad about him.