Archive for October, 2009
hill is in the headlines again:
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You either saw the fair ball hit by the Twins‘ Joe Mauer that was called foul by LF umpire Phil Cuzzi last night, or you’ve heard about it. The reason MLB has outfield umpires in the postseason — something they don’t do all year — is to get calls like this right. Cuzzi blew it, and it might have cost the Twins the game, since Mauer would have been on second base (the ball bounced into the stands and would have been an automatic double) and the next two hitters singled. True, the Twins also blew a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation by not scoring, but they shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes about this today and makes what I think is exactly the right suggestion:
Take the cue from football. Use a red replay flag. Each team gets two per game. If the manager throws them too early, or misuses them, and canât overturn a poor call later, itâs his mess. MLB likes to render decisions on home-run calls now in two or three minutes. One gameâs replays, if all played, would consume 10 to 12 minutes â and might save time, too, presuming umpire-manager confrontations over blown calls would dip dramatically.
Back in July, a major league manager said this: “Iâve said all along that I want a red flag.”
It was Ron Gardenhire. He manages the Twins. They had lost a brutal game, and he was tired of the lack of accountability. He wouldnât bite on the replay question Friday. So instead, Gardenhire and the rest of the Twins unloaded on Cuzzi. His lone job as the left-field umpire â a position, along with right-field umpire, used only in the postseason â was to judge fair-foul calls down the line. Nothing more.
I couldn’t agree more. For one thing, this would introduce more strategic decisions into the game, something that would enhance, not take away. Let’s say a play like this happens in the second inning of a scoreless game. Does the manager throw one of his red flags then? Or save it for later? Good managers would learn how to manage their two challenges. It would virtually end the screaming matches we see when controversial calls are made, and eliminate the ejections and possible suspensions of players. Don’t extend this to ball-and-strike calls, but anything else is fair game. Try it in spring training next year to see what happens. The existing replay system — letting umpires look at disputed home runs — has worked well. It could be decided later whether this would come under the “red flag” system or be separate.
But replay works well in the NFL and NHL and doesn’t drag games out too long. Especially when the stakes are as high as they are in a postseason series, it’s way past time to do it. (And especially when there were several blown calls in the Red Sox/Angels series, too.)
Complete info on today’s games after the jump.
Dodgers at Cardinals, 5 pm CDT. TV: TBS. Announcers: Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos and Dodgers site True Blue LA.
Phillies at Rockies, game postponed until 9 pm CDT Sunday. TV: TBS. Announcers: Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row and Phillies site The Good Phight.
The Denver-area forecast and snow already falling caused the postponement:
Tonight: A slight chance of snow and freezing drizzle before midnight. Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. East northeast wind between 6 and 9 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Brrr. Not baseball weather.
If an overflow is needed, please post it in the FanShot section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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Any thoughts on The Case For Replay In Baseball: MLB Division Series Day 4 Preview, Saturday 10/10?
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My vote for MVP this year goes to bell,
USC running back Stafon Johnson seems to be doing pretty well, considering he was nearly decapitated by a barbell just days ago. Well enough to pose for pictures with his matching tracheostomy tube and weightlifting t-shirt, anyway.
Actually, doctors updated his condition yesterday and while it doesn’t sound pretty, he is doing better. He’s still eating through a feeding tube and will need more surgeries in the future, but should be released from the hospital soon. Pretty good news for someone when “the majority of the lining of his larynx (voice box) was degloved (stripped off).”
*Shudder.* That is one thing you don’t want degloved.
Stafon Johnson on the mend, embracing depictions of dangerously overloaded barbells Dr. Saturday
USC football: Surgeons update Stafon Johnson’s condition LA Times
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That’s really all I’ve got for today and this post so let’s call this thing. I hope we learned something today, although I can’t imagine what that would be. Tonight, you’ve got Florida-LSU, of course, plus Michigan-Iowa for my peoples in the Midwest. And it looks the Cardinals are going to go quietly into the night. No messy screams or embarrassing displays of bravado from this team. They know when they’re not wanted.
Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin Weekend. Barry P. is on NFL duty, tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your night.