Wind blows standing water on the pedestrian concourse Tuesday in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Game 5 of the baseball World Series, which was suspended on Monday evening because of heavy rain, was postponed until today.

Philadelphia ? As of Tuesday evening, the longest potentially clinching game in World Series history remained on hiatus, postponed for a second straight day with the scored tied at 2-2 in the sixth and the Phillies due up to bat. Pat Gillick spent the day like many others across the Delaware Valley, gazing outside at the gray skies and persistent drizzle.

“I don’t know what else you can do,” the Phillies general manager said. “I’m looking out the window right now and it doesn’t look good.”

Gillick, like many other major league officials who will be at tonight’s (hopeful) resumption of Game 5, was in attendance at Candlestick Park in 1989 when an earthquake prior to Game 3 caused a 10-day disruption in the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.

While the tragedy that struck the Bay Area was a much graver situation than the rainstorm that has frozen the Phillies’ bid for their first title since 1980, Gillick pointed out it is as close of a parallel that can be drawn as far as its impact on the outcome of the series.

Still, the 1989 earthquake occurred prior to the start of Game 3. The Athletics had won the first two games and were cruising toward a four-game sweep of the Giants.

The Phillies, on the other hand, had their ace lefthander on the mound with just 75 pitches under his belt. The opposing starter was already out of the game. They were leading 2-1 before the Rays tied the game in horrendous conditions in the top of the sixth.

Never before has a World Series game been suspended in progress. Which means there are plenty of questions that will linger as everyone involved waits for tonight’s scheduled 7:37 start:

1) Do the Phillies feel cheated by the events of the past few days?

They say no. Manuel was obviously frustrated with the situation Monday night, declining to speak with the media after the suspension. He said Tuesday he was more upset with the situation itself than with the way it was handled. Lefthander Cole Hamels had his outing ended after six innings, spending the last two innings pitching in sloppy conditions, including the sixth when the Rays tied the game.

“It (was) hard for my pitcher to grip the ball in the sixth inning,” Manuel said. “If he tried to throw a fastball and he definitely didn’t have good command, so, therefore, he couldn’t put a lot into it or put enough on it to throw 88 to 92 miles an hour … But with his changeup, the ball was slick, it was wet, damp, and he was having a hard time getting a feel for it. I think it definitely comes into play.”

But, Manuel said, he agreed with the decision to suspend the game.

“I was upset with some of the things that went on,” he said. “But I definitely agreed with everything that happened, and I also agreed that the game definitely had to be stopped. The conditions were definitely unplayable.”

2) Is this now a battle of the bullpens?

Yes. Both managers have said they will rely on their bullpens rather than calling a starter into action.

The Phillies bullpen has been great thus far in the playoffs. In 37 1â3 innings, they have allowed just seven earned runs. All six relievers who have pitched at least three innings have an ERA of 3.00 or less, including closer Brad Lidge (six saves) and setup man Ryan Madson (two earned runs in 12 innings).

The Rays reliever have allowed 19 earned runs in 46.0 innings and have been charged with two of their seven losses.

3) Who will pitch for the Rays?

Righthander Grant Balfour, who pitched the fifth in relief of Scott Kazmir, will be on the mound to start the inning, which means Manuel would likely send a lefthanded bat to the plate to hit for Hamels. Manuel has his pick of Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Geoff Jenkins. But Maddon could then counter with a lefthanded reliever, forcing Manuel to either waste a pinch-hitter or hit a lefty against a lefty.

Rays top prospect David Price, a lefthander who has allowed one earned run in 4 2â3 innings this postseason, is a natural starter who can pitch two or more innings. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Maddon call on him at some point.

4) What about the Phillies?

They have plenty of options. Rays catcher Dioner Navarro, who is scheduled to lead off the seventh, is a switch-hitter who has much better numbers batting lefthanded. So it would make sense to use Scott Eyre against him. With the potentially dangerous lefties Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena coming to bat with men on base later in the inning or during the eighth, Manuel might choose to save J.C. Romero for that type of situation. After Navarro, Manuel could leave Eyre in to face the bottom of the order or call on Madson against righties Jason Bartlett and Rocco Baldelli. A lot depends, of course, on how many – if any – runs the Phillies score. Manuel has said he will not hesitate to use Lidge for more than four outs.