CLEVELAND -- Jacobs Field has become a winter wonderland.

And all the Indians and Mariners are wondering is whether they'll be able to get in any of their four scheduled games against each other.

Once again Sunday, the Indians were forced to postpone a doubleheader against Seattle because of snow, which has been falling steadily in the area for several days.

The two clubs will make one last attempt to salvage part of the series with a traditional doubleheader Monday. It is scheduled to begin at 4:05 p.m. ET, but the poor conditions of the field might get in the way.

"This is an unbelievable situation," Tribe manager Eric Wedge said. "We've had snow, we've had cold weather, but not everything at once, backing it up from day to day to day."

It will take nothing short of a heroic effort from the Jacobs Field grounds crew to get Monday's games under way. And that crew has already been working overtime.

About 10 inches of snow have accumulated on the field, and the crew members are trying to fight through the conditions to get it cleared off and melted. Wedge said they had it cleared by 5 p.m. Saturday, only to see it start snowing heavily again.

"The great uncertainty is still the lake-effect [snow] and the weather," Wedge said. "Until the temperature gets above freezing, we're not going to be able to do anything. Obviously the field underneath [the snow and the tarp] is iffy, at best, with all this snow and the way everything played out [Friday], trying to get the field ready."

Wedge, meanwhile, is focused on trying to get his players ready for that long-awaited moment when baseball is actually played.

All members of the team reported to The Jake on Sunday morning for indoor workouts. The pitchers threw side sessions or played catch, while the hitters took batting practice.

"You just come to the ballpark and prepare to play," said reliever Roberto Hernandez, who threw a 50-pitch bullpen session Sunday. "I've never been in this situation in my career. You have to stay ready mentally and physically and do your workouts. Sitting around, you can get lackadaisical and lazy."

Some players have been more willing than others to venture out onto the field.

"I've been trying to get a partner to play long toss on the field, and nobody wants to throw with me," outfielder David Dellucci said. "I think this is the first time in my career I've wanted to throw and no one wanted to. Usually, it's the other way around."

For those Indians players more accustomed to warmer climates, the past few days have been an education in the tenacity of a Cleveland winter, which all too often lingers on into the spring.

"I've never seen this much snow," said C.C. Sabathia, who grew up and spends his offseasons near Oakland. "Never. My wife and I were just outside taking pictures of the house, because nobody in California is going to believe us."

Sabathia was originally scheduled to pitch Saturday night. When Friday's game was postponed, he was moved to the first game of a doubleheader Saturday, and then again to the first game of a doubleheader Sunday. Now, he's scheduled to pitch Monday.

"It's been weird," he said. "It's been day four [of rest] for me for about three days now. I'm anxious to get out there."

If Monday's doubleheader does take place, Sabathia will pitch the first game and Fausto Carmona will make his '07 debut in the second. But if only one or none of the games are played, Carmona will probably be bumped back a few days, Wedge said.

"Everybody's going to pitch, but it's just a matter of when," Wedge said. "The challenge is to keep these guys ready and know when to have them throw a side. Obviously, they can come in and play catch. With a foot of snow on the field, no one's going outside to play catch."

The Indians and Mariners went outside Friday afternoon, and the result was one of the more bizarre days in either club's history.

Fighting through three snow delays over 4 2/3 innings, the two clubs were one strike away from the requirement for an official game, with the Tribe leading, 4-0, in the top of the fifth. But when Paul Byrd, who had yet to allow a hit, got Jose Lopez in a 1-2 count with the bases loaded on walks, Seattle manager Mike Hargrove urged the umpiring crew to put a fourth halt to the proceedings, claiming his hitter couldn't see.

That delay turned out to be the final one. All statistics from the day were nullified.

Two days later, it's clear why the Indians wanted so desperately to get that game in. The win was one thing, but now that's one more game that will need to be made up at a later time. Further complicating matters is the fact that this was Seattle's only scheduled visit to Cleveland.

"When you get in trouble is when you have a team coming in early that you don't play again, knowing weather is going to be an issue," Wedge said. "And we have no other off-days this 10-game homestand, so we're really up against it."

The Indians and Mariners have several mutual off-days this season but only a couple that would make sense, from a logistical standpoint, for a doubleheader to make up the lost time. June 11 is one possibility, though no official announcements have been made, as of yet.

"If we can get two games in [Monday], we can still make this work with off days," Wedge said. "If we don't play [Monday], obviously we've got a drastic situation, as far as making up games and how or if we're going to be able to do that."