WASHINGTON -- The weather was beautiful, so why was the Washington Nationals-Chicago White Sox game delayed Wednesday night?

The umps were late. The men in blue -- Chris Guccione, Tom Hallion, Ron Kulpa and Phil Cuzzi -- got to the park a little late after battling their way through the famed Washington traffic.

Their late arrival delayed their pregame preparation, which pushed back the start time to 7:21 p.m., a 16-minute delay.