Those pesky close calls...
Last night saw another epic game go the potentially wrong way. In the longest game of the year to date, a 19-inning marathon, it was a questionable call at home that turned the game.
The Pirates and Braves had battled 19-innings. Scott Proctor hit a fielder's choice. Julio Lugo dashed home from third. The throw went to home, where Braves catcher Mike McKenry made what looked to be the tag. The umpire called it safe.
I watched the video a couple times. Depending on the ump's angle, I can see where it could have looked ambiguous. But it reminds me of the logic I took into the Armando Galarraga - if it's an ambiguous call, in a moment like that, you make the safe call, you call the out. If a guy has a perfect game on the line and I'm 50/50 on the call, I call it out. I just do. You don't upset a moment like that if you're not certain. And I feel the same about this game. If you were 50/50 on the call, you call him out, because you're calling the game right there.
It looked to me like the tag was applied. Lugo made a heck of a slide - no doubt. But McKenry was pretty much on top of him before he got to the plate. It's hard for me to see for sure that Lugo was safe - whereas there's an overwhelming sense that he's out. I'd call the out.
But you figure, hey, the umpires are people too. And after 19 innings, how much accuracy can you expect? The guy probably wanted to go home. No one wants to play baseball for six hours straight. Not many people even can. This is why replay really needs to play a larger role in baseball. Not a huge role, but moments like these should, maybe, be taken off the umpires' shoulders - oh sure, they still make the calls, but let them have replay to back them up so we can avoid these firestorms.
Everyone says replay would slow the game down too much. I disagree, not if it's executed properly. We're not going to replay every play. That's idiotic. Do it look football. Give managers two replay challenges per game - one on a fielding play (a fair/foul call, a safe/out call, a home run review, etc) and one on a pitching play (strike/ball, etc). They get only one of each and that's it. Use it and lose it. I don't even think most of them would get used. Maybe one or two per day. But let's face it - if a rule like this was in place, we might have had a 20+ inning game last night, and MLB might have had one more perfect game rightfully recorded in its annals. It's worth a thought.
Initial wave of NFL moves.
The Seahawks let Matt Hasselbeck walk in favor of signing Tavaris Jackson and Matt Leinart to compete with Charlie Whitehurst for the starting job. Seahawks fans I know are in an uproar about this, but I think it's a good idea. Hasselbeck is the past - and say what you want about Carroll, he's pushing a youth movement in Seattle. You can't do that in full if you hang onto your old quarterback. He's giving three young quarterbacks a fair chance to prove themselves and I think one of them will stand out. Neither Leinart nor Jackson got fair trials with their past teams - when Jackson led the Vikings to a playoff berth, he was immediately replaced with Brett Favre; when Warner retired, Leinart apparently got on the bad side of the coaching staff and wasn't given another shot. I think both are going to be gnashing the bit to prove themselves. It might be a rough year or two in Seattle while Carroll's people and system falls into place fully, but I like the process so far.
The Titans are going to pick up Matt Hasselbeck. It's going to be very interesting watching him mentor former University of Washington standout Jake Locker - especially since Locker's mobility is one of his prime attributes and Hasselbeck is... not so mobile. I'll be interested to see what the Titans offense looks like this year with Hasselbeck under center; he's more capable than Kerry Collins was. Will they have the passing game they've always lacked? Still, it's a good move - Locker will need mentoring to be successful.
The Vikings are rumored to have a trade scenario in place to obtain Donovan McNabb. This is two years too late. He would have been a perfect fit as a mentor to Tavaris Jackson (similar styles), but I'm not sure he and Christian Ponder will find so much in common. Why pursue Donovan McNabb if Kyle Orton is available, unless the Broncos are asking for a king's ransom for him?
The Patriots cut Tully Banta-Cain and I'm interested to see what happens to him in a weak OLB market. He's coming off of surgery and isn't a spring chicken anymore, but he could help a team who needs a quick fix there, like the Lions. The Cowboys let Roy Williams go, adding one last exclamation point on how badly the Lions fleeced them in that trade. Still, if Roy will take a small contract, perhaps incentive-laden, I could see him re-emerging as a #2/#3 guy somewhere. But that's if he has the hunger, and you've really got to wonder there.
These Brett Favre-to-Philadelphia rumors are ridiculous. Seriously. He and his agent have both said no, he's retired, and there's no reason to believe otherwise, for once. Who thinks this stuff up? Do people sit in the ESPN boardroom or some other major sports news company and come up with random stories when its slow? It was never credible to begin with and never made any sense, either. While I think Brett Favre did a lot to put the spotlight on himself, I think the media did a lot of that too - time to stop, please. Leave him alone.
Around the MLB -
LA Angels 2, Cleveland 1 - Jered Weaver remains unstoppable, improving to 14-4, edging out Josh Tomlin in a pitchers' duel.
Florida 11, Washington 2 - Greg Dobbs' 5 RBIs carried the Marlins to a rout, backing a six-inning effort by Ricky Nolasco.
NY Yankees 4, Seattle 1 - CC Sabathia took his MLB-leading 15th win in a dominant victory, sending the Mariners to a 17th-straight loss.
Philadelphia 7, San Francisco 2 - Vance Worley pitched his first complete game, allowing two runs and three hits over nine, striking out five, en route to his 7th win.
Baltimore 12, Toronto 4 - J.J. Hardy's 2 HRs and 4 RBIs helped power the Orioles to a surprise rout of Brandon Morrow and the Jays, putting up 10 runs over the second through fifth innings.
Boston 13, Kansas City 9 - David Ortiz had 5 RBIs in another game showcasing offense as the Sox and Royals clobbered each other. Neither starter lasted four innings.
NY Mets 8, Cincinnati 6 - Errors by the Reds saved their starter, Johnny Cueto, from some earned runs, but not from the loss, as they allowed six unearned runs.
Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 3 - The longest game of the year so far, 19 innings, was won on a controversial call at home, as per above.
Minnesota 9, Texas 8 - A big character win for the Twins after getting destroyed the night before; they rallied for two runs in the ninth to clinch the victory.
Milwaukee 3, Chi. Cubs 2 - The fireworks came early in this one - all runs were scored in the first inning, with Casey McGehee's 2 RBIs ultimately providing the game winner.
Detroit 5, Chi. White Sox 4 - Verlander allowed two 2-run HRs by the Sox, but clamped down on them otherwise, earning his 14th win to stay on pace in the Cy race with CC and Weaver.
St. Louis 3, Houston 1 - Pujols and Freese provided the runs for the Cards and Jake Westbrook's solid six-inning start. Brett Myers threw the complete game loss for the Astros.
Arizona 6, San Diego 1 - Joe Saunders took the complete game for the D-Backs, allowing only one run and six hits in stifling the Padres.
Oakland 6, Tampa Bay 1 - Brandon McCarthy earned only his third win on a remarkable start against the Rays, allowing only one run and six hits in out-dueling David Price.
LA Dodgers 3, Colorado 2 - Clayton Kershaw saw his 12th win come as he held the Rockies to two runs and eight hits over seven innings.
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