The Red Sox currently sit in the blast furnace known as Arlington, Tex., where they haven't won in their last five tries. One might think a return home would be most welcome, at least from a weather perspective.
Hurricane Irene may have something to do with that.
Boston opens a nine-game homestand with three games against Oakland from Friday to Sunday. The first two games of the set appear to be safe, but Irene is now on a path that could see it hit the Northeast either late Saturday or early Sunday, bringing with it heavy rain and wind, as a hurricane is wont to do. Monday is a day off for the Red Sox but not the A's, who do not return to the East Coast for the remainder of the season.
That forecast may change many times between now and then, but the storm figures to impact Sunday's game in one way or another, even if it is just gusty conditions. The chance for something much more severe remains in play. National Hurricane Center director Bill Read told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that if Irene reaches New England as a major storm, it could bring catastrophic results.
"We're very concerned about what's going to happen in New England," Read told the paper, even making a comparison to the 1938 hurricane that killed hundreds in New England.
Obviously, in the face of such grim prospects, baseball becomes meaningless.
