A few minor notes and a bit of a rant here. I don't know why, but I'm in the mood for it.
- So we're two days into the Major League Baseball post season and wouldn't you know it, we already have some minor league officiating. Now, it's pretty much common knowledge that in the sport of baseball, there's is more of a human element to error when it comes to calls. Football gets it wrong, but officials can take back a flag before they announce it, and there are coach's challenges as well as automatic reviews under two minutes. Hockey penalties are pretty obvious and when a goal is contested, they have the option to review, and since scoring is so infrequent, it doesn't make the games much longer. Basketball officiating is more about judgement (i.e. flagrant & technical fouls) but they are consistent when not calling them (i.e. traveling).
Baseball has none of these things. Strike zones are different from one home plate umpire to the next, and the umpire in question may call one throw different from another, despite the fact that they appeared to come across the plate in the same position. The option to review anything has only recently been available, and even now it is only for home runs. And as we have learned, there is no set definition for a check-swing.
While umpires can confer to reverse calls, it rarely happens even in the instance of the obvious. And while I agree that there should absolutely be no review in terms of an at-bat (the game is slow enough as it is), game-ending plays, and in some cases base tags, should enter the conversation.
If you want to exclude replay for the playoffs, I would be fine with that too. Every part of every post season game matters. In one-half of an inning, you can come back from what seems like insurmountable odds to make a run at tying or even taking the lead. Perhaps a replay system could hurt momentum during such an occasion, but we'll never know until it happens. The point is these are big time games and some franchises need as much exposure as they can get. If one teams post season is ruined by a few lousy calls, who knows what damage could be done? Baseball is one of the last sports whose playoff system isn't ruined by including half of the league, so it's not the easiest thing getting to the big dance. And once you fail, it can be even harder to make it back.
Finally not for nothing, the playoffs have 3 extra officials. You'd figure someone would get it right. I talked about it last year, but wouldn't it be easier to just have the same number of umps and one up in a box somewhere with just a TV? He can let some asshole down on the field know the call right away. It's pretty easy to tell when the right call is made or not. It takes two seconds of slow motion to see if someone is tagged out and less than that to see if a ball is trapped or hit the ground. For fuck's sake use some goddamn common sense.
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Cigarmageddon / Blog
sports rant
A few minor notes and a bit of a rant here. I don't know why, but I'm in the mood for it. - So we're two days into the Major League Baseball post season and wouldn't you know it, we already have some minor league officiating. Now, it's pretty much common knowledge that in the sport of baseball, there's is more of a human element to error when it comes to calls. Football gets it wrong, but officials can take back a flag before they announce it, and there are coach's challenges as well as automatic reviews under two minutes. Hockey penalties are pretty obvious and when a goal is contested, they have the option to review, and since scoring is so infrequent, it doesn't make the games much longer. Basketball officiating is more about judgement (i.e. flagrant & technical fouls) but they are consistent when not calling them (i.e. traveling). Baseball has none of these things. Strike zones are different from one home plate umpire to the next, and the umpire in question may call one throw different from another, despite the fact that they appeared to come across the plate in the same position. The option to review anything has only recently been available, and even now it is only for home runs. And as we have learned, there is no set definition for a check-swing. While umpires can confer to reverse calls, it rarely happens even in the instance of the obvious. And while I agree that there should absolutely be no review in terms of an at-bat (the game is slow enough as it is), game-ending plays, and in some cases base tags, should enter the conversation. If you want to exclude replay for the playoffs, I would be fine with that too. Every part of every post season game matters. In one-half of an inning, you can come back from what seems like insurmountable odds to make a run at tying or even taking the lead. Perhaps a replay system could hurt momentum during such an occasion, but we'll never know until it happens. The point is these are big time games and some franchises need as much exposure as they can get. If one teams post season is ruined by a few lousy calls, who knows what damage could be done? Baseball is one of the last sports whose playoff system isn't ruined by including half of the league, so it's not the easiest thing getting to the big dance. And once you fail, it can be even harder to make it back. Finally not for nothing, the playoffs have 3 extra officials. You'd figure someone would get it right. I talked about it last year, but wouldn't it be easier to just have the same number of umps and one up in a box somewhere with just a TV? He can let some asshole down on the field know the call right away. It's pretty easy to tell when the right call is made or not. It takes two seconds of slow motion to see if someone is tagged out and less than that to see if a ball is trapped or hit the ground. For fuck's sake use some goddamn common sense.
Reply