Because baseball wasn't slow enough already, we went ahead and added replay this season.
Yesterday at the Cards-Reds game a play that was inches from being probably play-of-the-year was challenged. Billy Hamilton tracked a deep drive from Matt Holliday all the way to the right center gap and lept, nearly making an impressive catch... but then the ball ricocheted back where Jay Bruce dove to catch the ball before it reached the ground. Three results could have occured. 1. the ball may have actually gone over the wall for a 3 run home run. 2. the ball may have actually hit off of Billy Hamilton's glove, meaning it was a "live" ball and would have been an out, or 3. the ball may have hit off the wall and been a base hit.
The ump called out, then safe. The end result was Matt Holliday hit what may have been the deepest single in the history of baseball.
So what do you guys think of replay so far?
All I could think during that review is how pissed I'd be if I was a Reds fan watching my pitcher stand on the mound during a cool, damp afternoon for a long time while the play was reviewed. They ended up changing pitchers anyway, but these long pauses in the game are annoying.
Then you have out in San Francisco where a failed challenge left Bochy empty handed when in the 6th inning the Dbacks scored a run and he believed it was a blown call, but he could not challenge and he was 1 inning shy of the umps being allowed to review.
All I can say, is I'm glad Tony LaRussa didn't have replay when he managed. I can only think of how annoying he'd be strategically using the reviews. He'd review obvious plays just as a stall tactic, either to freeze the other pitcher or to allow him to get a pitcher warmed up in the pen.
Should there be a different penalty for failing a challenge? In the NFL, they lose a time out if they're wrong, and that keeps coaches pretty honest with their challenges. How about in baseball, if you fail, the rest of the game, if you take a trip to the mound, the pitcher must be removed. Also, how about allowing umps to review scoring plays regardless of inning? A run in the 6th is worth just as much as a run in the 7th.
Early thoughts on replay?
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Guardians
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- Name: Pat Gillespie
I agree that it has slowed down a game that already has problems keeping people's attention spans. I also don't like the fact that it can negatively affect pitchers. The purist in me hated talk of the non-umpire automated strike zone concept from (geez, probably 10 years ago) and I've always liked that baseball was judged by humans without technological interference. I understand why it's being used. It makes things more accurate (sorry for the timing of all this, Armando Galarraga).
But I think it needs to be more reserved than it is right now. I think managers are using it now more as a learning experience than anything. You're seeing a lot of challenges because it's a new tool for strategy. I hope it's used less and if it isn't, I agree there needs to be some kind of other penalty to make sure it's reserved for only the most unique/important situations.
But I think it needs to be more reserved than it is right now. I think managers are using it now more as a learning experience than anything. You're seeing a lot of challenges because it's a new tool for strategy. I hope it's used less and if it isn't, I agree there needs to be some kind of other penalty to make sure it's reserved for only the most unique/important situations.
Good news! A catch is a catch again! I just heard on MLB Radio that the transfer rule will go back to the way it used to be effective immediately, meaning if you catch the ball... then it's a catch, and if you drop the ball when transfering, it's still a catch.
"Hating the Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax."
Did anyone see the Replay gaffe in the rays game earlier this week? 3-2 count, Ball 4. Ump said, "no its 3-2 now" replayed it and ruled the ump was correct there were actually 5 pitches and not 6, even though the sequence of pitches they showed on TV was clearly 6. Ended up striking out instead of walking, and then MLB admitted right after the game that replay was wrong.
It's really sad that baseball has a lot of black or white rules and that they can't even get those correct.
It's really sad that baseball has a lot of black or white rules and that they can't even get those correct.
