PHILADELPHIA - If you thought this baseball season has lasted too long into wintry weather - Wednesday's resumption of World Series Game 5 was the second-latest by date in history - this is nothing compared to what the potential is for next year.

With the season to start a week later, on April 6, because of the second World Baseball Classic to be contested next March, the seventh game of the World Series could be played as late as Nov. 6. That would be a record.

The older fans may remember as far as back a quarter-century ago, then-Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog was stumping for the World Series to be played at a neutral domed site, which in those days was the New Orleans Superdome.

With the rain that has plagued this year's World Series, Herzog, watching at his home in St. Louis, has been having those same thoughts again. There is one exception. Understanding that the economy might not necessarily support that venture right now, Herzog suggested that baseball already should have built a grass-field, retractable-roof stadium in a neutral Central time zone city, such as Nashville, Tenn., which could have plenty of land for such a venture.

Herzog would have the whole World Series played at this venue, which ideally would seat 75,000 or 80,000 people, with an off day after Game 4.

"You could call it World Series Week," he said by telephone Wednesday night before the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays endeavored to finish in windy, frigid weather a Game 5 that was suspended two nights earlier.

Herzog is well aware of the opposition for such a proposal.

"You've got the old school people in baseball who say that you're taking the World Series away from the home fans and all that," he said. "That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. If you're really going to be honest, the hometown fans (because of high ticket prices) don't get to see the World Series anyway."

Herzog said that with the three-tiered playoff system now, fans of a particular team could see anywhere from one playoff game to seven playoff games before the World Series would even start.

Then, under his proposal, the neutral-site stadium would be so large that every season ticketholder of the two competing teams would have a chance to buy a ticket to the Series.

"Right now," said Herzog, "the World Series is only the fourth most sought-after ticket. It's behind the Super Bowl, the Masters and the Final Four. So, in that respect, you can't say that it's the national pastime.

"If you had a World Series Week, all of a sudden maybe you'd get back to where it was the national pastime."

Herzog would start the World Series on Saturday and would play every game at 7 o'clock Central time. He said that it would be nice to mix in one afternoon game.

"You remember when we were kids, you would listen to the game in school," he said. "Kids aren't going to watch the World Series anymore. They have to go to bed."

In Herzog's grand plan, the stadium, which he acknowledged might cost $1 billion or more, then could be used as a Final Four facility and also a home to the College World Series.

"Then," said Herzog, laughing, "you could make it into a big, animated bingo hall."

Neither World Series manager bit on the neutral-field proposal Wednesday night, though.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said, "I don't like that. I think each town should be rewarded. Growing up, to think that that would have been moved away, would have been a bad thought.

"This is the way it is, man. I don't like the cold weather. I grew up in it, but I don't dig it at all. It would be better if the Eagles and Bucs would take the field today."

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said, "I understand what you're saying about having it in a neutral place where it's warm weather - like Arizona or Florida or something like that … but, (if) you want to know the truth, I'd rather have it home for the Phillies' fans to get to see us play in Philadelphia. I think it should stay in your city."

For the record, the only World Series to last later was the 2001 Series, which ended Nov. 4 in Phoenix because the regular season was stopped for a week by the Sept. 11 attacks.