Fans won't see baseball in rain-soaked Philadelphia until at least Wednesday. Weather permitting. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)

Whoever said it's always sunny in Philadelphia? There's suddenly a dark cloud hanging over the World Series, where inclement weather is causing all sorts of problems.

In case you missed what happened on Monday night (a good bet if you live in the East, where the first pitch wasn't thrown until half past eight), Game 5 of the Fall Classic was suspended after the top of the sixth inning, with the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays tied 2-2.

By that time, a steady downpour had rendered much of the field at Citizens Bank Park an unplayable swamp. Throw in single-digit temperatures and a howling wind, and the umpires pretty much had no choice but to stop action and put the Phillies' championship hopes — they lead the series three games to one — on hold.

"That was bad. That was probably the worst conditions I've ever played under in my life," said Rays first baseman Carlos Pena. "It was really, really cold. Windy. And it was raining nonstop. I mean, when do you ever see a puddle at home plate?"

With the rain still falling on Tuesday afternoon, and potential snow showers in the forecast, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that Game 5 wouldn't resume until Wednesday at the earliest.

CBC Sports baseball analyst Rance Mulliniks, who played 16 seasons in the big leagues, said he doesn't recall a post-season game with conditions so poor, though he remembers a few must-play games late in the regular-season that were contested under hairy weather.

But, given the importance of the World Series, he said players will adapt.

"During the regular season you'd be upset because you'd have to come back and finish it the next day, it might cost you a day off, or you might have to finish it right before the next night's game. Nobody wants to do that," Mulliniks said. "But this is a completely different situation. That wasn't the attitude when they left the park on Monday, and it won't be the attitude when they come back on Wednesday."

Thanksgiving in Philly?

No doubt, the players will do what they have to do. But the only thing sloppier right now than the diamond in Philly is the logistical quagmire baseball finds itself in.

The problem is unique. This is the first suspended game in post-season history, and no playoff game has ever been decided before nine innings, even though baseball rules say a winner can be declared once the trailing team has made 15 outs.

That criterion was met on Monday night when the top of the fifth inning ended with Tampa Bay trailing 2-1. But baseball commissioner Bud Selig later said that he'd met an hour before game time with officials from both teams and the umps and told them that Game 5 would be seen to its completion, no matter what.

"It's not a way to end a World Series," Selig said after the delay was announced. "I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way."

And for good measure: "We'll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here."

The players seemed to be on board as well.

"I truly think that would have been the worst World Series win in the face of baseball," said Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels. "And I would not pride myself on being a world champion on a called game."

While it was certainly the right decision — who wants to see the World Series decided by a truncated game? — it raises another issue: if the umps knew a winner wouldn't be declared before nine innings, why did it seem like they were waiting for Tampa Bay to tie the game before pulling the plug? By that time, puddles were visible all over the infield, and the dirt around the pitcher's mound and batter's box had turned to mud.

Indeed, the Rays' B.J. Upton appeared to be tip-toeing through the slop as he raced home from second base with the tying run in the top of the sixth.

"A lot of guys couldn't believe we were still playing," Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett said.

No room at the inn

Even trickier than the footing on the base paths is figuring out how to deal with the fallout from the washout. The Rays had been set to board a plane back to Florida for a potential Game 6 on Wednesday, but had to cancel the flight. Worse, their Philly hotel was booked solid for the night, forcing the team, like well-heeled Josephs and Marys, to hop on a bus for alternate accommodations in Wilmington, Del., about 25 miles away.

At least the Rays probably slept better than their opponents. Steaming after being sent home with a world championship as little as nine outs away, Philly manager Charlie Manuel and most of his players avoided the media on Monday night.

"Hey, it sucks. Let's be honest," said closer Brad Lidge, one of the few Phillies to address reporters. "But what choice do you have? We just have to come back here tomorrow and try to finish the job."

The pressure is now on the Phillies, who are carrying the hopes of a tortured sports city that hasn't won a major championship in a quarter century. If the Rays rally to win the World Series, the City of Brotherly Love will surely blame it on the rain, and the defeat will go down in baseball infamy alongside legendary heartbreakers like Bill Buckner's booted grounder in the 1986 World Series and Steve Bartman's misplaced hands in the 2003 NL Championship Series.

Plus, the Phillies have lost Hamels. The unflappable lefty ace was working on his fifth win in five starts this post-season when Game 5 was suspended, but there's no way he'll be back on the mound when the action resumes.

"There hasn't been a better pitcher in the playoffs than Cole Hamels," said Mulliniks. "The Phillies probably felt like they were going to win Game 5 with him on the mound.

"So that's a bit of a negative for them, although their bullpen has been tremendous in the playoffs. On the positive side, they're still in absolute control of the series, and they're playing at home.

And the Rays?

"Tampa Bay has to feel good about the fact they hung in last night in a tough ball game," Mulliniks said. "They have to feel like maybe they caught a break last night.

"Clearly, momentum was on the side of the Phillies, but maybe this will change that."