NOT having Instant Replay Slows Down The Game

Ortiz hit a line drive fair off of the way for an RBI double... except that the umpires called it foul.

In less than one minute a replay showed it was fair.
While Terry Francona was arguing on the field, they showed over and over that it was fair.

So if you are against Instant Replay because "It would slow the game down" you are wrong.

Try again.

Instant Replay meets the Human Element in Kansas City

Last night in Kansas City we may have had the great compromise between people like me who are FOR Instant Replay (because we like to have calls be correct!) and the opponents of instant replay, who evidently think screwing up calls makes the game better and players shouldn't be rewarded for what they actually DO!



Billy Butler of the Royals hit a ball off the top of the wall against Yankees starter Bartolo Colon.



That's what he did.

We all saw it.



Now it may have looked like it went over the fence when it happened, but all the camera angles clearly showed it stayed in the park.



Even the Kansas City announcers were talking about how Butler should be on second base.



Joe Girardi asked the umpires to review it. They did. All the TV crews showed over and over again that it didn't clear the fence while they reviewed it.



The umpires returned... and ruled it a home run.



Even the Royals were laughing knowing that they got away with one.



So there you have it! The great compromise! Instant Replay in use, and the human element screws it up!



By finding the mid ground, the umpires for a perfect compromise that EVERYONE can hate.



Instant Replay opponents can complain about the game being slowed down and the over reliance on technology.



Instant Replay supporters can complain that the call was wrong.



EVERYONE LOSES! Which means everyone wins when you think about it.



My previous position still stands!

Games like this give me NO pleasure

OK, two things pissed me off about the game last night.

(And when I say "The Game" I am referring to the Red Sox game.)



First of all the Red Sox fell behind 5-0 in the first. And I thought "OK, tonight's a blow out" and I watched "Tangled" with my wife and kids.



Then I find out the final score was 5-4!

In other words if the first inning was merely bad and not grotesque, then the Sox could have won the game.



So that's what got my teeth grinding.



But what REALLY got me mad was the play at home plate. The ump called Ellsbury safe for reasons unknown even though he was out. Then the call was reversed as well it should have been.



But guess what?

How much time was wasted on Wedge arguing, Hernandez arguing and Francona arguing and getting ejected?



If there was replay, not only would the call be correct but everyone could be shown the evidence.



But we can't have that. Calls being correct and people having information is bad for baseball... or something.



Ugh.

Tally time.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 40

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)

April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)

April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)

April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)

April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)

May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)

May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)

May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)

May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)

May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)

May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)

May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)

May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)

May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)

June 3 - 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford's 2 run single.)

June 4 - 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)

June 7 - 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)

June 9 - 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 - 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett's 1 hit masterpiece.)

June 16 - 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk's diving catch.)

June 26 - 4-2 win in Pittsburgh. (The Pirates make 4 errors and the Red Sox score 2 in the 7th to avoid a sweep by the Bucs.

June 30 - 5-2 win in Philadelphia.(An injury to Cole Hamels leads to the Red Sox bats waking up.)

July 1 - 7-5 win in Houston. (The Sox score 6 in the 7th inning to come back and win.)

July 3 - 2-1 win in Houston. (The Red Sox score a run in the top of the 9th on a walk to break a tie.)

July 5 - 3-2 win against Toronto. (Lester gets hurt but Darnel McDonald throws out the tying run at the plate to end the game.)

July 6 - 6-4 win against Toronto. (The Sox score 4 in the 4th to take the lead and Wakefield and company hang on for dear life.)

July 10 - 8-6 win against Baltimore. (The Orioles score 6 runs off of rookie Kyle Weiland in the second, but the Red Sox hit three homers in the bottom of the second to tie the game and hold for dear life.)

July 16 - 9-5 win in Tampa. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 3-0 first inning hole, but 3 Sox homers bring them back for the win.)

July 17 - 1-0 win in Tampa. (Beckett throws a masterpiece and the bullpen throws 8 amazing innings. But the Sox bats go dead, leaving 17 men on base before Pedroia drove in a run with 2 outs in the 16th inning.)

July 18 - 15-10 win in Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 6-2 lead but score 8 runs in the 8th to take the game.)

July 22 - 7-4 win against Seattle. (John Lackey beat Felix Hernandez and Mike Carp's error helped the Red Sox score 5 in the 7th to give them some breathing room.)

July 23 - 3-1 win against Seattle. (Ellsbury gets Beckett off the hook in a tight pitchers duel when he got a 2 out, 2 strike 2 run go ahead single in the 8th.)

July 26 - 13-9 win against the Royals. (The Sox trailed in the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th before the bats exploded in the 5th.

August 2 - 3-2 win against Cleveland. (Youk tied the game with a 6th inning homer and Salty dove home for the winning run in the 9th.)

August 3 - 4-3 win against Cleveland. (Ellsbury hits a walk off shot in the 9th.)

August 7 - 3-2 win against the Yankees (The Sox rally off of Rivera in the 9th and win on Josh Reddick's 10th inning single)

August 8 - 8-6 win in Minnesota. (Down 5-1, the Red Sox rally back, then score twice in the 9th to give the Sox the win.)

August 9 - 4-3 win in Minnesota. (Darnell McDonald's homer ties the game and Ortiz singles home the game winner as Bard worked out of trouble in the 7th.)

August 12 - 6-4 win in Seattle. (Reddick and Ortiz homered to bail out Lackey.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 32

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)

April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)

April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)

April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.

April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)

April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)

April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)

April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)

May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)

May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)

May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)

May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)

May 29 - 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)

June 1 - 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 - 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield's solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)

June 18 - 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)

June 21 - 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

June 24 - 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox strand 7 runners in scoring position.)

June 25 - 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox fall out of first as Pedroia's error leads to a Pirates run.)

June 29 - 2-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Vance Worley duels John Lackey and slumping Raul Ibanez drives in both runs.)

July 4 - 9-7 loss to Toronto. (John Lackey's miserable start puts the Sox in too big a hole to climb out of.)

July 19 - 6-2 loss in Baltimore. (Scutaro gets thrown out stealing and the Orioles tack on 3 big runs late.)

July 25 - 3-1 loss to the Royals. (Scutaro botches a potential game winning squeeze play in the 12th as the Red Sox lose in 14.)

July 28 - 4-3 loss to the Royals. (Crawford's bid for a walk off homer falls just short.)

July 29 - 3-1 loss to the White Sox. (Sox blow a late 1-0 lead and spoil a solid Wakefield start.)

August 1 - 9-6 loss to Cleveland. (Asdrubal Cabrera's second home run was an 8th inning tie breaking shot off of Daniel Bard.)

August 4 - 7-3 loss to Cleveland. (Carlos Santana's homer broke a 3-3 tie.)

August 5 - 3-2 loss to the Yankees. (The Sox leave the bases loaded in the 5th and the Yankees score 3 in the 6th to take the lead.)

August 10 - 5-2 in Minnesota. (The Twins score 3 in the 8th, spoiling Ortiz's game tying homer.)

August 13 - 5-4 loss in Seattle. (Mariners score 5 in the first and the Red Sox come back falls short.)



Down to +8.

Win today and win the series...



But I STILL say this "No Instant Replay" is bad for the game.

Only blithering idiots are against instant replay

If you are offended by the title of this post, keep 2 things in mind:

1) You are only a blithering idiot on the subject of instant replay
2) But on the subject of instant replay I am 100% right and my opponents are 100% wrong.

A wonderful game was planight between Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
19 innings.
Both teams left their guts on the field.
Both teams played like champions.
And the Pirates, playing the most critical stretch of games that they have played since 1992, were wiggling out of jams left and right.

Is THAT what we are going to talk about?
No.

The topic will be home plate umpire Jerry Meals blew a call at home plate to end the game.
It happens.
It's 19 innings into the game. Mistakes happen.

But less than 1 minute after the call was blown, the replay clearly showed the tag was made and the runner was out.

The game went on for more than 6 hours. Are you telling me you can't spend 1 minute to make sure it isn't ended on a mistake?

Are you people who stupidly are against Instant Replay going to say this ending was good for baseball?

Where is the HUMAN element of Daniel McCutchen pitching his brains out but being charged with a loss because an umpire made a mistake?

Where is the HUMAN element of giving the Pirates the loss when they just made a terrific play to possibly end ANOTHER game ending rally?

You've got nothing, opponents of instant replay. NOTHING.
You sound insane.

I'm sure on many other topics you know your stuff.
Give up this argument.

The Blue Jays actually tied the game last night

I listened to the last inning of the Red Sox/Blue Jays game last night and I heard a real thriller.
A tight game became razor thin at the end.

With 2 outs, JohnMcDonald singled home Edwin Encarnacion for the tying run and Jonathan Papelbon blew the save.

That's what really happened.

That's not what was recorded. That's not what history will tell us.
History will tell us a mistake.

History will tell us that Darnell McDonald threw out Encarnacion at the plate. A little research will tell us that Jason Varitek blocked the plate and Encarnacion couldn't touch the plate.

But that's not what happened.

The replay showed that in fact Encarnacion missed home plate at first but his left leg touched home plate before Varitek actually put a tag on him.

Despite Darnell McDonald's wonderful throw and Varitek's gritty defense, Encarnacion scored.

Umpire Brian Knight got the call wrong.
It was a tough call. It was a bang bang play involving lots of movement at home and I am not blaming him.

But why should we pretend that he got the call right?
He didn't. I saw the replay.

And do you know what? It sours the game a little for me. It makes a win, that was already bittersweet with the Lester injury, less satisfying. The Red Sox didn't earn it.

One of the most common illogical complaints I hear from people who are against instant replay is "it will take away the HUMAN ELEMENT."

Let me ask you something. Isn't John McDonald getting a clutch hit off of an All Star closer with 2 outs in the 9th inning part of the human element?

Isn't Edwin Encarnacion making a great slide when he realizes that he doesn't have a clean lane to the plate part of the human element?

They both did something clutch and terrific on the road against a division rival and they are denied being credited as such because... why? Because technology is scary? Because you'd rather have something done now than have it be right? Because first impressions are better than reality?

It's clearly not "The Human Element."

And this is coming from a Red Sox fan who benefited from the blown call.

I'd rather my team earn their victories.

For more on this subject, watch the video.

New Sully Baseball Video - "Instant Replay"

I've talked about Instant Replay on the blog many times, but now I cover it in the latest Sully Baseball Video.

I am expecting some people to disagree with me on this one. They tend to on this topic.

Well, I'll let the video do the talking. As always the video was made with my amazing wife Lisa Zambetti. This one was shot in San Diego a.

To see the previous Sully Baseball Videos, click here.

More instant replay insanity

Less than 2 minutes ago, Cord Phelps of the Indians hit an RBI single to make the Rockies/Indians game a 1 run affair in the 8th.

He stretched it to a double but was called out to end the inning, killing the rally.

Before Indians manager Manny Acta was done running from the dugout to the umpire to argue the play, a replay was shown that the call was blown.

So an argument ensued, slowing down the game. But you can't use the Instant Replay to correct the call... because if you did that, then the game would move faster and calls would be right.

Insanity.

The game is starting up again.
I wrote a whole blog post in the space of the argument.

No instant replay is ruining a wonderful game in Phoenix

The Nationals and Diamondbacks are playing a wonderful and riveting game in Phoenix. (No really! They are!)

Roger Bernadina hit a ground out and the throw beat him to first in the 11th.
He was called safe.

In less than 20 seconds two angles were shown that the throw beat the runner at first.
The inning was extended and now Washington has the lead.

And as I type this the Nats hit a grand slam to give the team a huge lead.
The inning should have been over.
The pitcher made 3 outs. No fielder made an error. And yet he had to make FOUR outs.

Isn't it worth 20 seconds to let the correct team win?

A wonderful game has been ruined.

Hope you idiots who are against instant replay love that blown call.

An idea to speed replay up

I am a big fan of instant replay in baseball. It is worth it to take the extra steps to make sure that calls are correct.

One of the criticisms of instant replay is that it will slow the game down.

There's one part of instant replay that is undeniably and needlessly slow: The umps all leaving the field of play to go look at the play in the clubhouse.

Unless my calendar is completely wrong, isn't this year 2011?

Between the iPhone, Droid and Slingbox, aren't there enough hand held video devices for umps to take a look at them right then and there?

No need to have the entire crew amble into the dugout and waddle out.

Have a bat boy of some member of the umpire's union (more jobs! More union dues!) run out and hand each umpire a little screen.

There can even be a sponsorship. The iPhone Replay. (More sponsorships! More money!)

They are all looking at the screens. If they need to talk to an umpire in the video booth or someone at the MLB offices, guess what? They can be put on speaker. It's a freaking PHONE!

The idea behind replay is to use the technology we have to get the calls correct and make sure players are rewarded for what they actually do.

There is no need to go into the dugout and watch it on an 18 inch Zenith and dial up on a landline.

See? We can get the call right, save time, create jobs and make money all at the same time.

Opponents of Instant Replay must have HATED the end of the Royals and Angels game

Yesterday in the 9th inning of the Royals - Angels game, Billy Butler hit a fly ball and it wasn't clear where it landed.

So the umps used the technology that was at their disposal and got the call RIGHT. It was a walk off homer.

And I assume instant replay opponents HATE that.
Where is "The Human Element"?
It's better to get calls wrong than to use technology to get calls right, am I right?

Billy Butler's home run being called right is the slippery slope to ROBOTS PLAYING BASEBALL, right?

I hope you can get over your grave disappointment in a call being made correctly and the right team winning a game.

Things like that could RUIN baseball.

Instant replay for balls and strikes... my latest for The Hardball Times

Get ready for the hate mail from baseball purists. Not only am I in favor of Instant Replay in my latest for The Hardball Times but I say technology should be used to call balls and strikes more accurately.

I just posted it and already the comments are piling up.

Enjoy the article HERE.

How mad were opponents of instant replay tonight?

They should be enraged!

Lance Berkman hit a home run! The umpires called it that way on the field... and another one confirmed it.

Umpires make calls and whether they are right or wrong and whether or not we have the technology to make calls correct and reward players for what they actually do and not for what they DON'T do... we should NEVER use that technology.

That's the HUMAN ELEMENT, right?

So I assume all of you who hate instant replay HATED the fact that the call was reversed, am I right?

You must have been saying "NO! Leave the call WRONG! Baseball is better when calls are wrong!"

(Seriously... someone please send me a logical reason to NOT have instant replay. I've been begging for an answer.)

Why should umps have different strike zones?

I'm watching the Giants/Phillies game and already one of my big pet peeves in baseball has reared its ugly head.

Dan Iassogna, the home plate umpire, called ball four on Jimmy Rollins to drive in the lone run of the game so far. It looked knee high down the center of the plate.

An inning late, he called a pitch lower than the one thrown to Rollins a called third strike on Fontenot to end the second.

The boys on KNBR were talking about how Iassogna does not have a good reputation for calling balls and strikes.

Couple this with the Hunter Wendelstedt fiasco against the Twins and the general acceptance that certain umpires call high strikes but not low strikes... some call a ball off the plate... some squeeze pitchers... some don't...

Um, isn't that crazy?

Let's go to the Official Rules...
The Strike Zone is, and I quote:

...that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the knee cap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter's stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball.

Pretty cut and dry, isn't it?

And yet people just accept that the umpire will call it how they please.

You don't see this in other aspects of the game.
You don't hear "He calls the ball foul if it just falls one foot fair... that's just how he calls it."
Or "If you slide somewhere near home plate, that's good enough... that's how he calls it."

No. The rest of the game it is in black and white.

Now I am sure there will be many of the opponents of instant replay who will write in and say that one of the joys of baseball is seeing umpires take control of the game and decide what a strike zone is.

I ask "Why should a pitcher get squeezed and be forced to throw pitches down the heart of the plate?"

How about an answer to the question "Why should a pitch be a strike in one inning and a ball to another?"

And "Why should a 3 time batting champ get a favorable call? Isn't it hard enough to get a 3 time batting champ out without the ump bending the rules in his favor?"

I am going to make a video on this topic, but I would LOVE to hear a logical reason why the umpire shouldn't call a strike a strike and a ball a ball.

Posey was out

Hey, I'm THRILLED the Giants won... but there is a sour taste in that they won 1-0... and the only run was scored by Buster Posey who was in scoring position because he stole second base...

And he was out.

The replay showed it.

Very easily fixable. The game pauses after a stolen base. The replay ump could have said "Hey! He was out. I just saw it."

Not that it was important... in a playoff game that ended 1-0.

Even the announcers said that second base umpire Paul Emmel wasn't in the right position to make the call.

It's not his fault that he wasn't in the prime place to call a stolen base with a catcher on first... but he missed the call.

Not an opinion. A fact.
And it lead to the only run in a playoff game.

I am still waiting for a logical reason to NOT have instant replay.

Michael Young swung

Yup...
He struck out.

The video showed it.

Instead they had to strike him out AGAIN and he hit a three run homer to break a playoff game wide open and possibly sink the Rays.

Now were the Rays winning this game if Young struck out?
We don't know.

But we DO know is they unraveled after they were denied the strike out they earned.

Remind me why Qualls needed to get FOUR strikes again?

Oh yeah... the HUMAN element.

(We are setting up for a disastrous Denkinger-esque call this post season... some critical game will be turned on a bad call... if only we had the technology to FIX that.)

Once again, if you are against instant replay... you are wrong

It is to the point where people who are against instant replay sound a lot like people who would insist the world is flat.

They have nothing to back up their claims except tradition and an inability to accept new ideas.

There isn't a logical reason to be against instant replay.
Even one of the people who comment on my blog against instant replay admitted that.

But we saw in the final game between the Padres and Giants how it can be used and again tonight between the Yankees and Twins.

In the Giants game last Sunday... a game that could have been a playoff berth... a game that could decide if there is going to be a three game playoff... Andres Torres hit a double down the line.

Not an opinion. Not a judgement call. He did it. It was fair. Chalk flew in the air when it hit the line.

The umpire called it foul.
The umpire was incorrect. Again, not an opinion. Not "The Human Element." He was wrong. And we saw he was wrong INSTANTLY.

Everyone on the planet Earth who was watching the game saw it was wrong. Bruce Bochy and third base coach Tim Flannery argued the call and the umpire stood his ground... which he was wrong about.

Today with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th of a playoff game, Delmon Young hit a line drive to right field that Greg Golson caught.

Again... not "In my opinion he caught it." He did. It was a catch. It was ruled a trap. The Yankees argued.

Then came the great compromise that all people who are (wrongly) against instant replay offer up. "The umpires can get together and confer what they all saw."

Great! Guess what? They STILL got it wrong. They all huddled up and decided it was a trap... all the while the actual video of the game showed over and over again that he caught the ball.

Which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Jim Thome.

Now people who are (wrongly) against instant replay will probably throw up the biggest straw man argument right here:

But Sully! In the end it didn't matter! The Giants won the Game! Mariano got the last out! No harm done!

That's great... if you know how the future unfolds.

But why should Andres Torres have to try to get another hit when he just got a double?
Why should Mariano Rivera have to get a 4th out against Jim Thome no less when he already got the third out?

You didn't know the Giants were going to win that game when the umpire blew that call (not an opinion... a fact that was seen by everyone in under a minute.)

You didn't know Jim Thome was going to make an out when Chris Guccione blew that call. (Any relation to Bob? Not sure.)

The people who keep blathering about "The Human Element" need to answer me this:
Why shouldn't players be credited for things that they actually do?

I am not talking about robots. I am talking about players who do something positive... and if you are against instant replay, you are actually saying "Players should be credited for their plays at the pleasure of the umpire."

A rookie named Greg Golson makes a nice catch to end a playoff game. Not an opinion. A fact.

But if you are against instant replay you are saying to him "I don't think you should be credited with that. Sorry."

Andres Torres gets a double off of an All Star pitcher, Mat Latos. But instant replay opponents are saying "Tough luck. We simply choose to have you NOT credited with it. No reason."

Oh and spare me any nonsense of "Jeter doesn't like it... therefore it is bad."

Arguments from authority are logical fallacies.
Tim Flannery is for it. He played the game.

Don Denkinger is for it. He could have used it.

So please... opponents of instant replay... here's my challenge to you:

Make an argument AGAINST instant replay in baseball without stumbling into logical fallacies:

1) An appeal to emotion
2) An appeal to tradition
3) An appeal to authority
4) A personal attack

Tell me why getting calls right is wrong.
And tell me why you are against players being credited for what they do.

The next logical reason to NOT have instant replay will be the first one I have ever heard.

Is it worth 52 seconds to get a call right?

In the 11th inning of yesterday's Dodgers/Rockies game, Rafael Furcal grounded into what looked like a double play but was called safe.

Jim Tracy came out to argue and less than a minute after the play was made, the instant replay showed that Furcal was indeed out.

It was 52 seconds.
All the people screaming "it will slow down the game" need to answer to this.

Less than a minute later we saw the call was blown.
Furcal came around to scoring the game winning run.

The Rockies are now 1 game back in the loss column for the NL West lead and every game counts.

Now granted, if the Rockies REALLY want to blame someone, blame themselves for not holding onto a 6-0 lead against a dormant Dodgers team.

That being said... we're going to have the playoffs starting soon and more and more we are seeing that we have the technology to GET CALLS RIGHT for all time.

Once again, the need to instant replay shows itself.

I think 52 seconds is a fair amount of time to spend to make sure the right team wins the game.

But where was the HUMAN ELEMENT to Brian McCann's homer?

I am sure people who HATE instant replay in baseball were disgusted by what happened in Atlanta today.

Brian McCann hit a ball that was originally not ruled a homer.
It wasn't a walk off homer.

And then the umpires got together... and saw something.

The ball cleared the fence.

It turns out Brian McCann did indeed hit a walk off homer.

And guess what? The cameras caught it. And the umpires, who have a hard job trying to watch things in real time, used technology to make sure the call was RIGHT.

So McCann was able to be credited with what he did.

And the game ended the way it SHOULD have... with a walk off homer.

A team in a tight pennant race gets to win the game BECAUSE THEY DID!

And I'm sorry that it didn't have the "human element" that so many people cling to.

I know it hurts to know that the call was correct and there wasn't the arguing and debating that you think everyone loves to watch.

(Arguing that would have lasted as long as it took the umpires to check the tape and get the call right.)

I know a day like this is rough for people who hate the idea of instant replay.

I'll be sensitive.

Look, I am happy the Yankees lost but...

The Royals beat the Yankees today and frankly, with KC on pace to lose 92 games, they need all the help they can get.

But when Mark Teixeira hit a difficult grounder with 2 outs and 2 on and the Yankees down by three, he beat out the throw to first base.

I thought it was the case with my naked eyes and less than one minute later no fewer than two replays showed he was clearly safe.

He was called out.

The Yankees would have had the bases loaded, 2 outs, Yankees down by 3 and A-Rod up, knowing an out would win the game for the Royals but a grand slam would win it for the Yankees.

It would have been pure baseball drama... and all instant replay screens showed it should have been.

But alas we can't have it because we can't waste that minute.

Ahhh the insanity of no instant replay.

The Giants won today's game

The Giants scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th today against the Mets for a dramatic 4-3 victory and completed a 4 game sweep.

That's what actually happened. Anyone who saw the game today saw Mets third baseman throw high in a play at the plate, scoring Ishikawa for the winning run.

It was that way with the naked eye.
It was that way with the replay.

But like Jim Joyce and Armando Galaragga's complete game, reality doesn't matter... only the opinion of the umpire.

Phil Cuzzi, who already unnecessarily delayed the game by jawing with K-Rod, called him out at home.

Even the Mets announcers were saying as it happened "The Mets caught a HUGE break."

And that was BEFORE they looked at the instant replay.

And the replay was shown on the New York station while Bruce Bochy was still arguing... which spits in the face of the insane "Well, it will slow down the game" argument against instant replay.

He was safe. The Giants won the game... except they didn't.

If the Giants miss the playoffs by a single game this year, remember that play.
And know that the entire television audience saw the call was wrong in less than 1 minute.

I guess you can't waste a minute in determining who won or lost a game.

It's bonkers.
Just bring in instant replay!!!