Comments on: After blown call costs Pirates, can we please have expanded replay?

By: ispysomething7

ispysomething7 — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:53:14 +0000

Is that Sid Bream? Did Bonds throw that ball in from left field??

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:35:44 +0000

I think NBA Refs have a much harder job that MLB Umpires. They have to keep up with the action on the court.

And though I’m hard on the refs and umps, each sport has some very good officials, some very mediocre officials and a whole bunch in between.

Every so often, looking to the other sports for some guidance is a wise move. MLB is the only one without significant instant replay policy in place.

Perhaps getting game deciding calls correct is too controversial an issue for CEO Selig to wade into.

By: pjmarn6

pjmarn6 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:08:34 +0000

Perhaps Bud Selig is not enthusiastic about instant replay as he doesn’t know how it works. Anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to use a computer certainly can’t understand how instant replay works. It’s like sending an innocent man to the gas chamber because you can’t understand the evidence that proves him innocent. LET HIM DIE!

By: pjmarn6

pjmarn6 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:00:55 +0000

The catcher doesn’t have to show the umpire the ball. Nor does the ball have to touch the player who is tagged out. The ball is in the glove and the glove with the ball in it has to touch the UNIFORM of the player and not the bare skin of the player. THE UMPIRE HAS TO USE HIS EYES TO SEE WHERE THE BALL IS AND USE HIS EYES TO SEE THAT THE GLOVE BRUSHES THE UNIFORM. I SAW A SWEEP OF THE GLOVE UP THE BODY OF LUGO AND THE UMPIRE SAW THAT LUGO WAS WELL AWAY FROM HOME PLATE.
I BELIEVE, LIKE IN LARSEN’S PERFECT GAME WHEN THE UMPIRE CLEARLY CALLED THE LAST PITCH A STRIKE WHEN ON REPLAY IT CLEARLY WAS LOW AND AWAY, HE WANTED TO BE PART OF HISTORY AND CALL A WORLD SERIES GAME A PERFECT GAME, SO MEALS WAS TIRED AFTER 6+ HOURS AND WANTED TO GO HOME. SO CALL THE PLAYER SAFE, TAKE A SHOWER AND GO TO BED. YOU CAN’T TELL ME THAT WASN’T IN HIS MIND. AFTER ALL, HIS $235,000 SALARY DOESN’T INCLUDE OVERTIME!

By: pjmarn6

pjmarn6 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:53:59 +0000

head should be heard.

By: pjmarn6

pjmarn6 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:53:11 +0000

If you look at Lugo’s behavior after he was tagged, he walked slowly away and didn’t tag home until he head that he was called safe and then he returned and stepped on home plate to make sure that he wasn’t chased by the catcher and then called out. Therefore Lugo knew he was tagged out.
But the BIGGEST STORY is that I looked up BUD SELG on the net looking for his email address and found that it is reported that BUD SELG DOESN’T USE A COMPUTER NOR DOES HE HAVE SOMEONE IN HIS OFFICE THAT USES ONE FOR HIM! I did find that the commissioner of baseball has the sole responsibility to hire and fire umpires. A 19 inning game shouldn’t end this way. Instant replay can’t get her soon enough. And in cases like this before instant replay does arrive, there should be a conference among the umpires and the call overturned. He was tagged a good four feet before he reached the plate and Lugo knew it.

By: johngaltx

johngaltx — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:19:16 +0000

A side note: Why was Lugo running home on a hard smash to the third baseman? He was practically standing right beside Alverez when the ball arrived! If the tag was called as an out, it would have been an easy double play as the pitcher took a nose dive right out of the box.

By: nlfan865

nlfan865 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:15:04 +0000

the pirates were down to their seventh catcher of the season

By: nlfan865

nlfan865 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:08:38 +0000

i concur whole heartedly…well said

By: nlfan865

nlfan865 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:51:38 +0000

look im a braves fan and ive seen all kinds of bad calls…there were plenty in this game…but the game is bigger than your needs to try to control it…it has survived human error for over a hundred years and should be allowed to continue.the umpiring crews are just a part of the game as the players and coaches are, and are gonna make mistakes…shut up and get ready for tommorows game…when fans are looking for bud selig to be the voice of reason you should conclude their issues dont hold much merit.means will have to live this down just as other umps go about their business of improving and correcting their mistakes….that is why we have a so many games in a season….this aint football girls….one play in one game in one season doesnt spell doom for the whole sport…..

By: bobulated

bobulated — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:33:04 +0000

MLB Umpires’ new motto; “At least we’re better than the NBA refs.”

I agree replay is needed, that being said you would need more cameras for home plate calls, especially directly over head. I’m not saying the tag was missed but I don’t think we realize how reluctant an ump in the booth might be to actually overturn calls. We could have even got the old “inconclusive evidence” on that one without an overhead shot.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:08:09 +0000

The degree of error has nothing to do with the impact on a game. Like in life one cannot be barely pregnant.

By: plaintiffstructures

plaintiffstructures — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:00:56 +0000

Sorry, typo.

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:58:27 +0000

Typo, I meant 162.

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:50:50 +0000

It is 162, not 165.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:37:57 +0000

How many games are there?

By: plaintiffstructures

plaintiffstructures — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:35:05 +0000

If Galarraga’s perfect game being stolen by a blown call wasn’t enough to get Selig to notice that getting it right is important, isn’t it a little naive to think that he would care about a blown call at home.

I don’t get the lets make sure the home run is good, but who cares about a perfect game or play at the plate. I think they take the attitude that there are 165 games so one just isn’t that important, when they are all important.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:19:22 +0000

With Pitch F/X MLB has the technology to chart – in real time – Pitch Speed’s, Velocity, Break, Balls/Strikes, etc . . . beyond the number crunching that statheads do – these data are used in evaluating umpire performance, among other things.

The fact that Bud Selig isn’t really interested or excited or in favor of – or whatever – of instant replay enhancing and reinforcing the integrity of game outcomes . . . is right in line with his other anti-integrity of the game decisions throughout his tenure as CEO – errr uhh, Commissioner.

The CEO has yet to really elaborate on WHY he isn’t favor of instant replay. His reasons must be mystifying.

By: johninpa

johninpa — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:17:28 +0000

The theme of many comments here is that bad calls are okay because they even out by the end of the season. I’d love to see the evidence for that. I would contend that there is simply no room for bad calls in baseball with the availability of multiple camera angles, super slow motion and so on. Give each team an appeal or two. The NFL and NHL have figured it out, let’s bring technology to baseball. And don’t complain about the time for a review. What’s two minutes in a 3 hour (or in this case 6 hour) game?

By: pghburgher

pghburgher — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:34:42 +0000

Look a little further and you will find that it was a make-up call for the trap they called the day before. it doesnt make it right but last nights call ruined a hard fought game by both sides. no true winner here.

By: skids003

skids003 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:34:07 +0000

Sportswriters also have 20/20 hindsight, and lack of memory when it comes to their predictions. Also, I’ve never seen very many ex players make very good umpires either, they are usually the worst.

By: purnellmeagrejr

purnellmeagrejr — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:09:28 +0000

One of the worst calls EVER! I hope the Pirates don’t miss out on the post season by one game.

By: stevem7

stevem7 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:07:49 +0000

Jerry Meals is, and has been for a long time, a SUB-STANDARD umpire that MLB does nothing about. He’s one of the reasons this game has NO INTEGRITY. And anyone thinking BUTT Selig will do anything is out shopping for Swampland in Florida if they believe that.

By: PanchoHerreraFanClub

PanchoHerreraFanClub — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:06:12 +0000

What baseball really needs is to a fire squad to handle umps that make bad calls. After all this is a matter of life and death isn’t?

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:43:30 +0000

I forget to mention, I think he was out also, but as we used to say in the old days, that’s the breaks! Get over it and wait until the next day.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:41:40 +0000

Doesn’t matter. The point is that missed calls at any point in the game can and do have effects that determine who wins or loses. They happen all the time.

Indeed, this call may not have determined the winner, per se, as the next hitter could have singled in the winning run or the Braves could have won later in the game.

By: summerof67

summerof67 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:37:32 +0000

Baseball doesn’t need instant replay.

It needs better umpires. With better training and better attitudes.

Baseball is also a human game. The only one left of the major sports, IMO. No clock telling you when to end it. Ground rules that vary from park to park. (If you lose the ball in the ivy at Wrigley field, for example, it’s a ground rule double.) And so on.

I would like not to lose the humanity of the game because of a number of blown calls, no matter how egregious.

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:31:27 +0000

I saw a W-S game on T-V where the Cardinals did lose the series because of a call just about the same, but at first base. The ump admitted after the game, he blew it. This event is not that critical, but just annoying if you are a Pirate fan. I am absolutely positive the Pirates have won a game or two this season because of blown calls just like this one. I know the Reds have won at least one game because of a bad call. Get over it, things even out before 182 games are played. You whiners all sound like babies needing your bottle.

By: mojosmagic

mojosmagic — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:28:22 +0000

The umpiring seems to get worse year by year. Angel Hernandez and Joe West lead the pack and both should be fired. Those two change the strike zone inning by inning. The guy last night obviously wanted to get dinner and go to sleep.

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:25:36 +0000

I agree with replay 100%. I don’t want to come across as I am anti-replay. However, to point to one call and say it cost the Pirates the game or if they end up one game out of the playoffs it will be because of this call is absolutely 100% ludicrous hyperbole. Calls even out. Plays even out. Shoot, even pitches with an AT BAT even themselves out. To pin a Pirates playoff miss on one call that didn’t even cost the Pirates a win is stupid.

Again…I want replay. But only because it will be easy to implement. I want 3 challenges for the managers and NO ON-FIELD ARGUING AT ALL. Manager goes on field, he is tossed and suspended for a game. Second offense, 5 games. Third offense, 20 games. It won’t lengthen games. Period.