Series resumes tonight —- maybe

Philadelphia —- In the middle of all this World Series chaos, Joe Maddon sounded rather calm.

Bumped to a hotel in Delaware until Game 5 resumes tonight —- if the weather cooperates —- the Tampa Bay manager and his young team rode out the storm together.

“I referred to it as kind of like getting snowed in, if I could go back to my roots,” said Maddon, raised in nearby Hazleton, Pa.

Rain put the Series on hold Monday night, with the Phillies and Rays suspended in the sixth inning with the score 2-all.

More rain and possible snow showers were expected Tuesday, so commissioner Bud Selig said Game 5 is tentatively set to resume at 8:37 tonight —- after Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 30-minute ad on Fox and other networks. Major League Baseball and Fox agreed two weeks ago to push back today’s first pitch —- originally for Game 6 —- by about 10 minutes.

“No one will delay a World Series game with an infomercial when I’m president,” Republican candidate John McCain said to loud applause at a Tuesday rally in Pennsylvania.

Selig said there was no way to resume play Tuesday.

“While obviously we want to finish Game 5 as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening,” he said. “We are closely monitoring tomorrow’s forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow’s schedule.”

The forecast for today calls for clearing skies by the early afternoon, with temperatures in the upper 30s by (partial) game time.

“We get to bat four times, they get to bat three. We get 12 outs, they get nine,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “We are definitely coming with the mind-set that we are going to win that game.”

The Phillies lead three games to one, needing one more win for their first championship since 1980. There has never been a rain-shortened game in Series history, and this was the first suspension.

“We’ll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here,” Selig said Monday night when the suspension was announced.

By the time Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-out single in the sixth for the Rays, every pitch and every hit had become an adventure.

“It was terrible. The field wasn’t bad, but it was the worst conditions I’ve ever played in,” Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria said.

A puddle formed on home plate, and umpire Jeff Kellogg resorted to using a towel rather than the usual whisk broom to wipe it clean. Batters kept blinking back the raindrops, and pitchers struggled with their footing. Strong gusts dropped the wind-chill factor into the 30s, and fielders covered their bare hands between pitches.

All-Star shortstop Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies chased a popup all over and dropped it for a tough error in the fifth. There were pools of water at every base, and the Phillie Phanatic wore a rain slicker for his routine.

Whenever this one resumes, it will pick up where it left off, with the Phillies about to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

Ace pitcher Cole Hamels is set to lead off for the Phils. For sure, the Phillies will send up a pinch-hitter against Grant Balfour, who’d previously relieved starter Scott Kazmir.

Then what? Do the Rays counter with another pitcher, and immediately pull Balfour?

If Pena had not tied the score, Selig said he would not have let the Phillies win with a game that was called after six innings.

“It’s not a way to end a World Series,” he said.

Tuesday was supposed to be a travel day, if necessary. Instead, the teams stayed in the area and will head back to Tropicana Field if the Rays win.

The delay, however, forced the Rays to find a comfortable hotel in Wilmington, Del., about 25 miles away.