Expanded Instant Replay Coming As Umps Continue to Blow....Calls

Expanded instant replay is coming to a baseball field near you in 2014. It's just unfortunate that it won't be here any sooner than that. Like tomorrow.

Major League umpires are getting worse by the minute, by the game, by the climate... Calls continue to be grossly missed and are impacting the outcome of games.

The Yankees were the victims twice on Saturday in their 6-1 loss to Boston. I'm not saying that the outcome would have been different, and the bad calls are happening to every team. (A blown tag up call that went against. the Angels helped the Yankees rout the Halos a few days ago.)

Alfonso Soriano was called out when he attempted to steal second base when he was clearly safe. Dustin Pedroia made a nice swipe tag, but umpire Fieldin Culbreth called him out despite being right on top of the play.

A more egregious call came with the Red Sox batting in the 4th inning. Already up 1-0 on a Lyle Overbay throwing error, the Red Sox had runners on first and second and pulled off a double steal. With switch hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia batting from the left side, the Red Sox tried to take advantage of Alex Rodriguez playing off the bag at third.

Catcher Chris Stewart hit A-Rod in stride with his throw and the embattled third baseman brought the tag down on Mike Carp for a clear out. The only problem was third base umpire Bill Welke committed a double mistake. He was out of position and made the call on the run. Actually there were three mistakes; he called Carp safe.

If things played out as they did, Salty struck out, the inning would have been over and the score would have still been 1-0. Instead, Will Middlebrooks and Jacoby Ellsbury singled in runs for a 3-0 lead against Hiroki Kuroda.

As far as the expanded replay goes. Each manager will have one challenge in the first six innings and two more in the final three innings and any extra frames. The manager will not be allowed to argue a call that they plan to challenge. Like the NHL, there will be a command center with officials reviewing the play. MLB expects the process to take a one minute and 15 seconds, which is, at the very least, laughable.¹

Managers will retain any challenge that is successful. Not all calls can be challenged - hit by pitch being one of them.

Finally, perhaps the people of Twitter are right; it's time for robot umpires. They couldn't be worse than Jerry Meals.

(Might want to let catchers throw the ball back to pitchers too  - http://sports.yahoo.com/video/umpires-throw-hits-peacock-174900096.html )


1 - mlb.com

Replacement NFL Refs Ump Wild Card Game

Left field ump Sam Holbrook raises his hand in the air like he just don't care.

Wait, what? They didn't. My bad. I thought for sure that the call that was made in last night's St. Louis-Atlanta "play-in" wild card game had to be done by a NFL replacement ref.

Now I get it. It was just the usual pitiful Major League Baseball umpiring, which year in and year out makes horrendous calls in the post-season. And these guys are supposed to be the best and brightest among MLB umps.

With the Yankees playing the Orioles, we'll all get to see plenty of replays of little Jeffrey Maier interfering with Derek Jeter's 1996 ALCS home run. Richie Garcia was the ump in question on that one; wonder if O's right fielder (and later Yankee) Tony Tarrasco has gotten over that.

There was the Phil Cuzzi, who called Joe Mauer's clear double a foul ball in the 2009 ALDS between the Twins and Yankees. I won't go back to the Don Deckinger fiasco that cost the Cardinals a World Series championship in 1985. That's just a small sampling of the horrible job umpires have done in the playoffs. And as everyone knows the regular season sees more than it share of bad calls and bad strike zones.

This year Jerry Meals possibly cost the Yankees a game agains the Orioles when he called Mark Teixeira out on a game ending play at first base. The tying run would have scored on the play; fortunately for the Yankees the loss didn't cost them the division.  Meals also made a horrible call in extra innings between the Pirates and Braves last year. Jim Joyce cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game back in 2010 when he blew an out call at first base.

But back to last night's Cardinals-Braves game; the call in question may not have changed the outcome of game, but we'll never know.

The Braves were down 6-3 and had two aboard when Andrelton Simmons lifted a pop up to shallow left field. Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma and left fielder Matt Holliday converged on the ball and both gave up (mainly Kozma) on it. The ball dropped to the ground and the Braves had the bases loaded...but then they didn't.

An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.
When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare “Infield Fly” for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare “Infield Fly, if Fair.”
The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul.
If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder—not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpire’s judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpire’s judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.
When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.

Left field umpire Sam Holbrook had raised his arm for an infield fly and an automatic out. But Holbrook raised his arm too late and the location of the baseball was also "iffy" to even call the infield fly.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez argued vehemently, protested the game, and the Braves' fans littered the field with garbage (which was asinine no matter how bad the call was). The fiasco led to a 19-minute delay and the Braves were, for all intents and purposes, done.  (The protest was, of course, overturned.)

It's a shame that calls like this happen year after year, especially when it's in the post-season. Perhaps instead of finding more revenue streams, Bud Selig could find a method to ensure that today's umpires aren't total screw ups.

Crew Chief Mike Winters to Play Vegas

The NYDN's Mark Feinsand got the quote below from crew chief Mike Winters. It's one of the funniest things I've ever heard...okay, not really, but REALLY?

Aftermath of Blown Call Gets Blown Up

Where was this tonight?

There were a lot of unfortunates tonight down in Baltimore. Unfortunately, the Yankees lost. Unfortunately, CC Sabathia hit Nick Markakis with a pitch and the Orioles outfielder will be out six weeks with a broken thumb. Unfortunately, the Yankees blew offensive opportunities as they've been doing on a consistent basis.

Unfortunately, umpire Jerry Meals made a  terrible call which could heavily impact the Yankees playoff changes and lastly, and most unfortunately for the Yankees, Joe Girardi is being vilified for his actions immediately after said call.

First to the matter of the umpire, whose call will certainly get the call for expanded instant replay up and running again. Meals call was just plain awful and not the first bad call fans have seen him make. To quickly sum it up, Mark Teixeira, bounced into a game ending 4-6-3 DP with the tying and go ahead runs on base. He was clearly safe, his hands grasping first base before Mark Reynolds had ball in glove.

Meals didn't see it that way...clearly he didn't see shit. What we all did see was Teixeira half-slam his helmet on the ground as he rested on his knees in disgust and first base coach Mick Kelleher protest. And everyone saw Girardi not move out of the dugout until he finally flipped his gum and walked to the clubhouse.

That was mistake number one, Girardi should have been out on the field, backing his player and his team. Mistake number two, which was much more grave, came when Girardi got into heated "discussions" with members of the media.

Reportedly, Girardi had to be separated from the NY Post's Joel Sherman, who asked Girardi if he were lying about the health of CC Sabathia's arm.  Girardi's first year with the Yankees in 2008 did see him make mistakes in how he handled player's injuries with the press, but he learned from it and life went on. It was obnoxious for Sherman to ask the question, but Girardi needs to keep his temper in check.

This will all blow up now, because the metro area papers love a good story, especially the two NYC rags. This won't disappear in a day or even a week. Randy Levine, who for some reason thinks people want to know what he thinks, was to hold an impromptu conference call after the game, but weather issues stopped that from happening (at least for the time being).

Perhaps Girardi will pull an Earl Weaver and get tossed before tomorrow's game even starts, but by then it will be too late. Teixeira will likely miss the game due to his calf and could be fined after he ripped the umpires after the game. Russell Martin said he felt the Yankees were "cheated" out of the game. The game itself will be forgotten rather quickly, especially if the Yankees turn things around, but Girardi will have a difficult time with the media the rest of the way.

Poor Play, Worse Umpiring Cost Yankees

Less than 24 hours after we all reveled in Russell Martin's summer slumber break out, the Yankees slept walk their way to a 5-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

The Yankees wasted opportunities, starter CC Sabathia couldn't hold a 2-0 lead, Mark Reynolds hit another home run, and then to top things off, first base umpire Jerry Meals blew a call that could eventually cost the Yankees a playoff spot.

Down two in the 9th inning, the Yankees loaded the bases with no one out. Nick Swisher continued his slide (0-24) when he bounced into a  force out, but it did drive in a run to cut the lead to one. With runners on the corners and one down, Mark Teixeira, in the lineup for the first time in 12 days due to a strained a calf, hit a chopper to second base.

Robert Andino quickly threw to shortstop J.J. Hardy, who then turned two with a throw to first baseman Reynolds. Only one problem. Teixeira, who according to mlb.com's Bryan Hoch dove head first because he felt his calf injury act up, clearly beat the throw from Hardy.

Meals (who should be denied some after tonigh)t, however, punched out Teixeira for the game ending twin killing. Teixeira and first base coach Mick Kelleher raged at Meals, but Joe Girardi flipped his gum and headed to the clubhouse.  More on that later.

The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead against Joe Saunder on a sac fly by Alex Rodriguez in the 1st inning and an RBI double by Ichiro Suzuki in the 2nd. But Sabathia, who has not been his dominant self all year, gave up back-to-back home runs to Reynolds and Lew Ford to tie the game.  Hardy added an RBI double and a solo home run and Ford chipped in with a ribbie single to give the O's a 5-2 lead after six.

A-Rod, who narrowly missed a home run earlier in the game, did connect for one in the 8th inning off of Pedro Strop. The Orioles reliever had been shaky in two previous outings against the Yankees, including a loss in last week's series at Yankee Stadium.  That led to the 9th inning drama and  a call that could haunt the Yankees for the remainder of the season.