Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Ok, I canât help but see this little gimmick at the first Phillies home game as a subtle message about the inherent possibilities of technology at baseball games ala instant replay
Robot to throw first pitch at Phillies game
But Iâm a cynic at heart.
Sports columnist Terence Moore has it right when it comes to umpires, instant replay and when it comes down to it, fan respect. And he quite succinctly makes his point in his first two sentences of his article posted today (my emphasis):
This umpire mess has to stop. Not the questionable calls or even the horrible ones, but the whining over it all.
As a person who works in a technology field, I should probably embrace instant replay over the inconsistencies of human judgment, But I donât. Call me a traditionalist but thatâs just not how baseball is played.
My special concern is WHY the idea of instant replay is gaining so much ground now.
1. The mob mentality.. Now that the issue has come to light, many fans have seized on it and thrown it back into the umpsâ face. Instead of âwhere are your glasses, Blue?â fans are yelling âReplay! Replay Replay!â It gives them something else to be angry about.
2. Major League Baseball, in their effort to appear to please everyone all the time (without really doing so) is slowly jerking their knee and responding. âSee weâre doing something about it?â
(In complete fairness, I know of plenty of knowledgeable, even-thinking people who support the idea of Instant Replay and have logical, thought-out reasons why they support it. I certainly would not clump them in with the first group.)
Whether or not one supports Instant Replay should not give a fan license to treat an ump with disrespect as Terence Mooreâs piece describes in detail. Now, I go to 20 or so college baseball games a year and sure, Iâve been known to call out an ump on a questionable call. But though I do not like his particular decision at the time, he has my respect for the tough job that he does.
Even Frank Robinson from the MLB commissionerâs office weighed in on the umpiresâ treatment.
"From fans, players, managers, coaches and front office people, I’ve never seen so much hostility toward umpires that I’ve seen this year. "All of this (umpire bashing) is very, very unfair. Do they miss calls? Of course they do. One thing people forget: Umpires are human beings.â
So letâs proceed with the Instant Replay discussion carefully and thoughtfully. And if youâre lucky enough to be out at park this year, donât take it out on the ump.
Looks like baseballâs general managers werenât interested about expanding the role of instant replay in baseball. The topic wasnât even brought up during their annual meeting on Tuesday.
"There are those who clamor for more and more instant replay," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations, "I think we need to digest what we’ve got. I know some (general managers) have talked off-line about the expansion of instant replay, but the commissioner (Bud Selig) doesn’t see any reason to consider it."
Good on them, I say. Even if you favor the system, itâs too soon to rush into it because a few umps made some bad calls.
I honestly couldn’t tell if Childs Walker was being sarcastic in his comments about instant replay via The Baltimore Sun. (emphasis mine)
Instead, commissioner Bud Selig implemented limited replay as soon as he reached agreements with his players and umpires. If the technology saves even one blown call down the stretch this season, it was worth it.
Really? Just one blown call saved would be worth it? All the money spent to put this in place. All the dissension from those who disagree with the policy?
A little perspective, please.
It seems to me that I’m seeing a lot of articles online in favor of instant replay but I personally know very few baseball fans who like the idea.
Maybe I’m hanging out with wrong crowd.
I share the same sentiments with Scot from Coffeyville Whirlwind who has a thoughtful article on the subject.
I am willing to be proven wrong, but it all just doesn’t seem worth it at this point. For a handful of correct home run calls a season, baseball fans and players will be subject to delays, technology problems, and arguments over replay usage.
Indeed, with MLB’s rush to fast track this out (in response to a couple bad calls in a relatively wide span of games), the cynical side of me just makes me wonder, "what is their real agenda?".
Looks like Cubs manager still isn’t toeing the company line yet. Though to be accurate, he isn’t fully up on how it works. He’s the first to admit it though.
Piniella laughed and said it "could turn into a little bit of a fiasco initially" because it hasn’t been fully explained. "Do you throw out a red handkerchief or something?" Piniella said, laughing. "What’s the format? What do you do? I’d love to be able to throw a red hanky or a green hanky on the field. Can you imagine being able to throw something on the field and you can’t be ejected? Nobody has told us anything. I think we should be schooled on it somehow."
One more reason, if we really have to use it, to wait till next season so team personnel can be educated on its use.
Bud Selig is expected to make a decision soon regarding instant replay.
It doesn’t take much to read between the lines to know that his mind is already made up. He just needs the numbers and PR to back him up.
Selig was once a staunch opponent of replay, but a spate of missed home run calls this season has changed his stance.
This is faulty reasoning and bad logic. If instant replay is a bad idea, then don’t let a few bad calls in one season change your opinion.
And as I’ve said before, you certainly shouldn’t implement this mid-season. MLB claims that teams don’t need to vote on this because this isn’t a "rule change" but it’s pretty dang close.
Paula Duffy from the Examiner has an interesting idea. Start the experiment just before the 2008 playoffs. I guess I would prefer that to doing it mid-season.
Major League Baseball is moving to put instant replay in effect for baseball as soon as August. At this point, the instant replay would be used for potential home run balls only.
The question is: Do we need instant replay and more importantly, do we need it right now?
Many are divided on the issue, there’s no doubt about it. Lou Piniella has always been against the idea. Skipper Lou says:
“I don’t think it’s needed at all, to be honest,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Friday. “How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It’s all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You’re going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands.”
My biggest issue right now is the way they’re handling the way the whole issue. When was the last time Major League Baseball has made a major change in the rules of baseball in the middle of the season? That just isn’t done for a variety of reasons.
Continuity of the rules.
Granted, this isn’t going to happen a lot but saying that is a self-defeating argument in my opinion. That said, rules are set for a season and baseball sticks with those rules for the duration of the season.
Chance for Unbiased Discussion
The offseason is the time to hear the pros and cons from this issue from the experts rather than it getting fast tracked by MLB during the season when they can use the media to their advantage. “See, see! Look at the bad call last week against Team X!”. Opinions get muddled and logic gets thrown out the window.
Personally, I’m against the idea of instant replay. But if we (and by we, I mean MLB) are going to entertain the idea of it, let’s do it carefully and let’s not be hasty about it. By all means, don’t be changing the rules in the middle of the season.