Category: MLB (Page 108 of 448)

      Is time really the only thing keeping MLB from expanding instant replay?

      June 4, 2010 /

      If time is the only reason why baseball won’t use instant replay for close calls like the one Jim Joyce regrettably got wrong on Wednesday night, then Bud Selig should be embarrassed. (He should be embarrassed for a lot of things actually, but let’s just stick with this instant replay topic.)

      Think about it: the biggest argument against expanding instant replay to calls around the base paths is that the game would be slower than it already is. But that can’t be a genuine argument, can it? If Joyce and the rest of the umpire crew had another 30 seconds to check a video monitor underneath Comerica Park, then Armando Galarraga would have a perfect game on his resume.

      Thirty seconds. One minute – whatever. It doesn’t take long for umpires to use instant replay to figure out if a home run was actually a home run and it wouldn’t take long for them to determine whether or not a runner was safe on one of the base paths. The league (and some fans for that matter) is so concerned that a game would take too much time to complete that it’s willing to live with a wrong call like the one Joyce made.

      That’s almost laughable when you think about it. If it takes three hours and forty-five minutes to finish a game with instant replay and three hours and thirty minutes without it, does the extra 15 minutes matter? Would an extra 30 minutes matter? If it does, then whom would it matter to? The fans? It’s not like they’re being strapped to an electric chair and held at gunpoint to stay for an entire game. If they want to leave, they can leave. If they want to turn to another channel, they can turn to another channel. It shouldn’t really affect them in the end.

      Getting the calls right should be the only thing that Selig and baseball should care about. And if time is the one thing that is holding MLB back from expanding instant replay, then the league is in luck because time just happens to be endless.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Orioles fire manager Dave Trembley

      June 4, 2010 /

      Following the club’s 6-3 loss to the Yankees on Thursday night, the Orioles fired manager Dave Trembley. The O’s currently sit in last place in the AL East with a 15-39 record. They’re off to the worst start in club history since the 1988 team began the year 0-21.

      From the Baltimore Sun:

      “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to Peter Angelos and Andy MacPhail for the opportunity to serve as manager for the Baltimore Orioles for the past three years. The results on the field were not what any of us would have hoped for, and I understand that the organization felt the time was right to move in a different direction. While I am disappointed at the outcome, I feel it was a privilege to wear the Orioles uniform each day and I thank all the fans for their tremendous support. I hope the team will soon return to the winning tradition they enjoyed for so many years.”

      Trembley, who took over as Orioles manager on an interim basis on June 19, 2007, after Sam Perlozzo was fired, compiled a 187-283 record guiding the club. The .398 winning percentage is second-worst of any manager in Orioles history, better only than Jimmy Dykes (.351 in 1954).

      The fans and media often criticized Trembley for the way he didn’t hold his players accountable for their poor play. His handling of the bullpen has also come under criticism.

      It’s easy to see that Tremebly couldn’t motivate his players. For as young as the Orioles are, they’re not improving and that’s a problem. Angelos and MacPhail would be best served finding a young, energetic coach that the players will play for.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Joyce, Galarraga and Leyland display class during hostile situation

      June 3, 2010 /

      Tiger fans have a right to be angry with umpire Jim Joyce, the man who ruined Armando Galarraga’s perfect game with a blown call during the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday night. But when the dust settles on this historic moment, hopefully even they can admit that Joyce has displayed class following the biggest mistake of his professional career.

      On Thursday, Joyce was set to call balls and strikes behind the dish at Comerica Park for the third and final game of the Tigers-Indians series. When the Tigers were ready to turn in their lineup card, Detroit skipper Jim Leyland sent out none other than Galarraga to meet Joyce at home plate.

      As Dave Hogg of the New York Daily News writes, Leyland planned the gesture in hopes of possibly defusing an angry Detroit crowd.

      “Major League Baseball gave Jim a chance to take himself off this game, but he said he wanted to do the game and take whatever he got,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “That shows you what kind of man he is.”

      “This is a chance for the city of Detroit to shine,” Leyland added. “I hope everyone remembers that this was a man who made a mistake, and who feels worse about it than anyone.”

      Even though he has the right to be the most upset, Galarraga has perhaps shown the most class through all of this.

      “I’m sad, because everyone knows I pitched a perfect game, but he is just a human being,” Galarraga said before the game. “He came over and apologized. I forgave him, and I gave him a hug. He made a mistake. That is all.”

      There’s no doubt that Joyce made the wrong call and there are several replays that prove it. Personally, I don’t know how in that moment, when it’s a play that could have been called either way and would determine whether or not a pitcher could complete a perfect game, how Joyce could call the runner safe. But let’s keep things in perspective here.

      Everyone needs to realize that it’s only a game. I love baseball and respect the sacredness of a perfect game. I’m also well aware that this could have been the only time that Galarraga will ever taste a moment like this. But again – this isn’t life or death. The fact that Joyce’s family is being attacked because of this shows how far we have to come as a society. It’s unfortunate that even through people’s anger, they can’t see that a man made a mistake.

      I have nothing but respect for Galarraga, Leyland and yes, even Joyce. They’ve handled themselves with grace and poise.

      External Sports, MLB

      Angels talking trade with Cubs for Lee?

      June 3, 2010 /

      The Angels may have targeted their replacement for first baseman Kendry Morales, who broke his leg last weekend while celebrating a walk off home run.

      According to the Chicago Tribune, the Halos may be in trade talks with the Cubs involving Derrek Lee.

      Excellent baseball sources are telling us the Angels and the Cubs may be involved in trade talks that could send Derrek Lee to L.A. The Angels lost their starting first baseman, Kendry Morales, last weekend when he broke his leg in a celebration after he hit a walk-off grand slam. Lee was a late scratch from Wednesday’s lineup because of tightness in his right hamstring.

      If the report is true, it’ll be interesting to see if the Angels pick up most of Lee’s current contract. He’s owed roughly $9 million over the remainder of the season and then becomes a free agent this winter. Considering he’s hitting just .232 this season and has never faced American League pitching on a consistent basis, L.A. may not be willing to fork over that much money, along with whatever compensation Chicago asks for.

      That said, they have to do something. The defending AL West champs are currently one game under .500 and resting in third place in the division. They’re only 2.5 games behind the first-place Rangers, but they can’t continue to lose ground. Lee isn’t hitting now, but the last time he finished with an average less than .270 was his third year in the league when he hit .206 with the Marlins. He’s a career .280-hitter, so history shows that his numbers should rise at some point.

      For the Cubs, moving Lee would force them to address the dark cloud currently hovering over the 3-4 spots in the lineup. Of course, the bigger picture is that a trade could help them cut salary and move into rebuilding mode. They’re nothing but a .500 club overpaying for way too many players and it may be time for them to start purging their roster.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Don’t count on Selig reversing Joyce’s call

      June 3, 2010 /

      Much of the talk today is how baseball commissioner Bud Selig should reverse Jim Joyce’s blown call that cost Tigers’ starter Armando Galarraga a perfect game. Jon Heyman of SI.com writes that Selig will make a statement on Thursday regarding the incident and many hope that he’ll do the right thing and “fix” what transpired in the top of ninth inning at Comerica Park.

      But they shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for Selig to actually do it.

      While he has the power to reverse the decision, it doesn’t mean he will. Don Denkinger’s blown call in 1985 cost the Cardinals a World Series against the Royals and it was never reversed. For as special and as sacred as a perfect game is, Denkinger’s foul-up was in the pivotal moment of a World Series. And in the record books, it still says 1985 World Series Champions: Kansas City Royals.

      For as much as most of us would love to see Selig step in, we all know as sports fans that it’s up to umpires to make judgment calls. And unless it’s a home run that can be reviewed by instant replay, those calls stand. For as big a moment as this was, Selig knows that if he reverses this call, then he may have to reverse future calls and then what’s from stopping people from demanding that all the records during the steroid era be fitted with an asterisk next to them? We would all love to see that happen, but that’s a can of worms that everyone knows Selig doesn’t want to open.

      Would it be the right thing for Selig to do to overturn Joyce’s call? Yes. But I’d be shocked if he actually went through with it. It’s not in his nature to make sound decisions when pressed into a corner, so chances are the call will stand. If anything, maybe this incident will always be remembered as the moment that changed how instant replay is used in baseball forever.

      Update: Selig released this statement via MLB.com:

      “As Jim Joyce said in his postgame comments, there is no dispute that last night’s game should have ended differently. While the human element has always been an integral part of baseball, it is vital that mistakes on the field be addressed. Given last night’s call and other recent events, I will examine our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features. Before I announce any decisions, I will consult with all appropriate parties, including our two unions and the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, which consists of field managers, general managers, club owners and presidents.”

      He says a lot in his statement, but it’s clear that Galarraga’s near-perfect game will remain just that: near perfect.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

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