Minor league game postponed due to circus tent (PHOTO)

A game between the High Class-A Tampa Yankees and Clearwater Threshers (Phillies) was postponed Friday night, but not because of rain or wet grounds — it was because the circus was in town.

After some consideration by officials at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the game was postponed because of a circus tent. The circus parked across the street had a colorful tent with bright lights, and unfortunately it was right in the sight-line of the batters. 

Second shot pic.twitter.com/JojgbiK80N

— Josh Handler (@JoshHandler) August 7, 2015

Hitters need to be able to see the pitch coming at them, not only so they can hit it, but so they can get out of the way if it's going to hit them — and some of those young hurlers do have a tendency to get a little wild.

Here's the view without the tent.

The irony? It was always a circus when The Boss was in the house. 

A-Rod moving up to Double-A Trenton Thunder; Won't rush rehab

Alex Rodriguez is on the move again and it’s no wonder the stressed out New York Yankee is probably looking forward to getting out of Florida, even if it only means heading north to Reading, Pa. The past few days haven't exactly been a vacation in South Beach.

A-Rod capped off a difficult weekend in Tampa on Sunday by going 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI, a strikeout and a walk as the designated hitter in his last start before joining Double-A Trenton on the road Monday in Pennsylvania, reports The New YorkDaily News.

Sunday’s respectable performance came after reports that he refused assignment to the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton Friday and two days after a meeting with Major League Baseball officials about his ties to Biogenesis, which was reported could result in a plea deal and a 150-game suspension for the controversial third baseman.

"I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “Due to respecting the process, we’re going to let the process play out."

A-Rod dismissed the reports that a quadriceps injury had forced him to stay in Tampa and refused to go to Scranton on Saturday.

Rodriguez was reprimanded by the Yankees Saturday after he failed to show up for Friday’s game — which was eventually rained out — without notifying the team. Rodriguez’s meeting with MLB, in which officials outlined their case against him, lasted well over four hours and was followed by a 90-minute session with MLB Players Association officials.

"Again, what we do in here, we keep with our trainers, but thank God I feel very good. So my quad feels good," he said. "I don’t think I was 100% since I was a senior in high school, but I feel very good."

Rodriguez drew a five-pitch walk in the first inning, his first walk in eight rehab games. He quickly fell behind 0-2 in his second at-bat and struck out on six pitches to end the third. A bizarre drop of an A-Rod blooper by Bradenton in the seventh gave him an RBI in the seventh.

"I think getting the ball in the air, for me, is the most important thing, even (on) my little RBI thing to right," Rodriguez said. "That’s one thing about A-ball, you see things you’ve never seen before. I’ve never seen the play. That was pretty funny. But just to get that ball up in the air into center field and (then) the other way, to me those are good signs. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a big hit, but just getting the ball in the air, whether he caught that or if it was a double, it’s a good thing."

Rodriguez was upbeat after the game, but maintained he will need the full 20 days to complete his rehab assignment.

"I think it’s better to be conservative and smart," he said. "There (are) a few things I want to see myself do, especially this week. I think one of them will be going first to third, maybe going to second base and break up a double play aggressively, maybe even score on a double from first base... maybe come in on a barehanded play. There (are) a few boxes I want to check off… That’s the target, (July) 22."

A-Rod is 3-for-21 with three RBI, six strikeouts, two hit-by-pitches and one walk so far during his rehab stint.

"I’m very excited to be going up (to Double-A), absolutely," he said. "I think we’re on schedule…I’m very excited to head up to Reading (Pa.) and play some good baseball.

"Again, what we do in here, we keep with our trainers, but thank God I feel very good. So my quad feels good. I don’t think I was 100% since I was a senior in high school, but I feel very good."

Plunker's granny said she's glad her grandson drilled A-Rod during game

The minor league pitcher who plunked Alex Rodriguez on his surgically-repaired hip says he didn’t mean it — but his dad and grandma made no apologies for their bloodline's wayward pitch and hurled their own spitballs at the slugger’s character as well.

Cody Scarpetta, a right-handed pitcher for the Brevard County, Fla., Manatees, said he lost control when he popped the Yankees star on his rehabbing right labrum.

His 80-year-old grandmother, Marilyn Meyers, of Rockford, Ill., didn’t seem apologetic. “I think he thinks he’s kind of a hotshot. I don’t care for his personality,” Meyers said of A-Rod. “He just thinks he’s better than the other boys.”

While Scarpetta’s father, Dan, said his 24-year-old son wouldn’t purposely throw at A-Rod, he didn’t back down about the Yankee third baseman's about the player’s history with performance-enhancing drugs.

“I think where there’s smoke there’s fire,” said Dan Scarpetta, a former minor-league pitcher. “He’s admitted that he’s used in the past. So obviously we know he has in the past.”

In a backhanded compliment, the senior Scarpetta said Rodriguez didn’t need steroids to be a great player.

“He would have been a Hall of Fame player had he not been using, and I don’t think he needed to use any drugs to enhance his abilities,” the father said. “He was a great, great player before that.”

The younger Scarpetta nailed the star’s right hip in the fifth inning Saturday night in the Florida State League game. Rodriguez, playing for the Class-A Tampa Yankees, winced but stayed in the game.

The Yankees' $275 million third baseman showed off the bruise that Scarpetta’s curveball left on his hip Sunday, but he refused to let reporters take pictures of it. 

“I was really trying to throw it for a strike and it just went the other way,” Scarpetta said Sunday. “It was the last thing I was trying to do because that loaded the bases, but it definitely slipped.”

A-Rod's First Swing is a Home Run; Prepares For Yankees Return on Aug. 18

It looks like Alex Rodriguez's surgically-repaired knee has healed very well, thank you.  The New York Yankees slugger smashed a home-run with the first swing of his bat in an organized game since undergoing knee surgery last month.

Tonight, according to the YES Network, A-Rod began his rehabilitation assignment as a DH with the Class-A Tampa Yankees against the Dunedin Blue Jays and got two hits in his first three at-bats tonight.  The team plays another Florida State League game against Dunedin-- an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays-- tomorrow.

The 36 year-old Rodriguez is expected to rejoin the New York Yankees next Thursday at Target Field in Minneapolis to open a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins.

Tomorrow, A-Rod is expected to play third-base for Tampa and, after a possible intra-squad game on Sunday, will head north to join the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees on Tuesday.  The Yankees are optimistic about their third baseman's return to the majors next week.

"That's possible," said GM Brian Cashman.  "We'll take it day by day but that's the rough sketch of the potential that next week looks like."

A-Rod is returning from July 11 surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.  He was in the midst of an 85 at-bat homer-less streak when he was injured June 19 at Wrigley Field.  An attempt to rest the knee without going under the knife proved unsuccessful.

The Yankees have won 20-of-30 games since the slugger went on the DL.  He is batting .295 with 13 homeruns and 52 RBI's in 80 games so far this season.