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* The setup…

A gray, rectangular box on the wall of the umpires dressing room at Wrigley Field containing a phone and a high definition TV monitor signaled a new era Thursday as instant replay arrived in major league baseball.

An umpiring crew chief can pick up the phone and ask a replay center in New York to send him all available feeds so he can review boundary calls — was a ball fair or foul, was it over the fence or not, did a fan interfere with a potential home run?

“Purists are not going to like this and not everyone is going to like it,” umpiring supervisor Larry Young said Thursday, before the Cubs played the Phillies.

* More…

However, Piniella has found several flaws in this system.

“Put it this way: This could turn into a little bit of a fiasco,” Piniella said. “All we get all spring is, ‘Speed up the games.’ I don’t know how many directives I’ve had on ’speed up the game.’ This is certainly not going to speed up the game, is it?”

Piniella went on to say that reviewing instant replays could result in the harming of a pitcher.

“I’ll tell you what, it’ll probably be used as a ploy by some managers just to freeze the pitcher for five or six minutes or to cool him off if he’s going really well,” he said. “Baseball’s got to look at this thing carefully whatever they do. They really do.”

* And one more…

“I’m fine with it,” Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa said. “The way the ballparks are designed now, it’s difficult for anybody - whether it be an umpire or a player - to really know whether the ball’s gone or whether it’s a double.

“It can only help.”

Said center fielder Jim Edmonds: “I guess it’s good to get the call right. Anything that helps is good. We’re just going to have to wait and see.”

* The Question: Are you for or against instant replay in baseball? Explain fully.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 9:58 am

Comments

Against right now as it is limited to home run calls. If they expand it to safe/out for stolen bases, or fair/foul for hits down the line, or even balls/strikes calls, I would still probably still be against it.

Wrong calls are part of the game. The endless delays of football games while officials look at replays should be the warning not to impose this system on baseball.

Baseball has no time limits. There is no running out the clock. There must be a winner and a loser. But then again I’m still opposed to the designated hitter rule in the AL and still prefer day games at Wrigley over night games.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:06 am
I like the notion of replay in theory, although I’m not at all convinced the MLB wonks will implement it in a fair and equitable manner. I agree with Piniella’s comments that the capacity for it to be leveraged as a ploy to “cool off” an opposing hurler is very much real. Furthermore, I can foresee the next arm injury that immediately follows a long replay delay causing quite an uproar. Implemeting replay in the thick of a pennant race also appears to be questionable; why not start it in spring training next season, when the kinks could be worked out, umps could familiarize themselves with the rules, and there’s less on the line?

Comment by The Doc Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:13 am
Instant replays in any sport, except maybe video games, de-humanizes the sport and the spirit of the game. We don’t like players using medicinal enhancements to improve their performances, and rightly so. Why should we allow electronic enhancements to improve the performances of umpires and referees? Games are played by humans and should be judged by humans. Players make mistakes, refs and umpires make mistakes, that is part of what makes the games enjoyable and entertaining, part of what defines, in my opinion, “games.” People have to learn live with the mistakes or stop playing games.

Instant replays are television devices for television audiences. True fans of any game should cringe at the use of instant replays, television revenues notwithstanding.

Comment by Captain Flume Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:21 am
Against. Baseball is the last game unencumbered by time or technology. Little Leaguers play it the same way as the pros.

This is an unwelcome intrusion of gadgetry that will lead to delays and an interruption of the timeless rhythm of the game.

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:21 am
I am against it. The potential for human error is part of the game, and this includes the occasional possible bad call. Its part of what makes the game exciting.

besides what happens when the ball is hit, what about the umprie trying to cal the ball inside or outside when its moving close to 100MPH as it speeds its way to the cathcer? shall we have strike zone replays asweel? perhaps we could run laser beams down the side lines and use an automated ball/strike caller to get machine accuracy.

For that matter we could all sit home and play x-box baseball for the ultimate in precision baseball games.

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:23 am
Make the right call! It is interesting to see a Cub’s manager that is concerned about pitchers’ health.

Rich, are you in today? has Kevin (the intern) taken over? It is weird seeing the north side baseball team acknowledged.

Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:29 am
I’m against, unless they put a limit to the number of times a manager can ask for a replay - like the NFL where a coach only gets a specific number of challenges. I would say two per game, tops, and only on home run calls.

Comment by Anon from BB Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:34 am
Imagine the day when there are no more team curses. No Billy Goat curse, not Babe Ruth curse, no ridiculous magical charm inended to counter a curse. No lucky hats, no lucky uniforms, no lucky fields, no lucky bats, or mitts, or balls.

This is what will happen when legalists intervene in baseball. This is what happens to life, in general, when legalists intervene. In their intention to be “fair”, they deduce life into measured and defined moments of patterns.

Instant replays suck the life out of a sport. It reduces human moments into measured statistics lacking emotion and excitement.

Losers are supposed to lose gracefully. That means something. Whining losers also bring meaning into sports. Whining means something. Anger means something. Fist fights mean something. Emptying the bull pen when a crazed pitcher beans your guy deliberately, may be “poor sportsmanship” - but it means something.

But worse, when we extract emotion from life, we all end up losers just waiting for a lawyer to tell us when to get up.

Life isn’t supposed to be fair. That is why life is good when it goes your way for a moment, a day, or an entire baseball season.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:38 am
Who cares?

Baseball is a joke anyway so why not have replay?

Here’s another example of how to jack with the “Great American Pasttime”.

This will just be another useless addition to the game. Just like these additions:

The AL has one less team than the NL, leaving the West with a 4 team division.

By nature, the AL West winner has a much easier hill to climb than the NL Central winner.

Say what you want about the quality of the NL Central teams, it’s still easier to beat out 3 teams than it is to beat out 5 for the division crown.

How about that silly D.H. rule? The sport isn’t even played in the same manner between its two rival leagues.

Imagine if the NFL allowed all AFC teams the advantage of using a 12th player on both sides of the ball & NFC teams didn’t have that luxury unless playing at an AFC stadium.

The All-Star Game? How many other sports can you think of where an exhibition game determines home-field advantage for the championship series? That’s just plain stupid.

Why not just get rid of the AL & NL, put a D.H. in every line-up, get rid of the All-Star game & just take the 8 teams with the best records & let them slug it out for the “World Series” (which does’t include any teams outside of North America)?

Comment by jagsfan217 Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:48 am
I got into this with Eric Zorn a while back. Instant replay is wrong. Play the games, and let the umps/refs make mistakes. There is no improvement by adding it, only more nonsense.

Comment by Lefty Lefty Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:54 am
I don’t necessarily have a big issue with this. I think Lou Pinella is right to be concerned how this could effectively lengthen a game instead of speeding it up. I can see that point, but I don’t have a big axe to grind as far as instant replay in baseball.

Comment by Levois Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 10:56 am
Against it. Life is, by design, filled with imperfection. And it is a sport, not a matter of life and death. Slippery slope here. Once you start allowing technology into making calls once made by humans, you open the door for replacement of those humans making the calls.

I’m just sayin…

Comment by BandCamp Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 11:05 am
I support it. I think the players, teams and fans have to right to have the calls be made as accurately as possible. I don’t buy the “mistakes are part of the game” bit. We’ll never fully eliminate mistakes, but we can minimize them.

In the World Series they add extra umps to try to make it better - why should they do that unless there is a recognition that getting it right in the WS is even more important than a regular game.

On another note, can we use instant replay to overturn the 2006 gubernatorial election?

Comment by Don't Worry, Be Happy Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 11:09 am
The AL has one less team than the NL, leaving the West with a 4 team division.

By nature, the AL West winner has a much easier hill to climb than the NL Central winner.

Say what you want about the quality of the NL Central teams, it’s still easier to beat out 3 teams than it is to beat out 5 for the division crown.

I had the same question. Revenue is the answer. This way, you can have more game/a full slate of games each day. If they would balance out the teams, there’d be an idle team in each league.

On Weekends, there can be 8 NL games as there are 5 W, 6 Cen and 5 E teams
7 AL games 4 W, 5 Central and 5 East teams

8v8 NL
7v7 AL

Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 11:10 am
Just one tidbit. Lou has a good point about pitchers. However, to quote the infamous Yogi Berra:

“All pitchers are liars or crybabies.”
Yogi Berra

Comment by trafficmatt Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 11:13 am
Completely Against Instant Replay.

How many years has MLB gotten along without instant replay? All of the sudden a couple big names (A. Rod, Delgado) get a bad call and the whole game has to change?

Lets make is retro active so my beloved cardinals can win the 1985 world series on the blown call as 1st base.

The reality is that the umps get it right 99.9% of the time, and baseball is a game that should be left alone. Fire Bud Selig, and get rid of the DH while we are at it! I cant wait till they go to the instant replay and it is still inconclusive! That will be great.

Comment by Speaking At Will Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 11:23 am
I’m for instant reply for home run calls, since it’s hard for umps to get down the line to get a good look sometimes. But I think it should be automatic review–like in football with less than 2 minutes left it should be a booth review. Technology allows a central office to watch all games at the same time–they should easily be able to get the correct call in less than one minute.
Judgement calls should be left to humans: phantom tags (if the ball beats you you’re out), the strike zone and base calls. Reviewing all of these calls would drag out baseball games to four hours (not that games don’t do that now).
Also, instead of one seventh-inning stretch why doesn’t baseball divide games into thirds like hockey does? Have contests or whatever after the end of the third and sixth. More beer sales!

Comment by Vote Quimby! Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 11:41 am
With all the MLB revenue, they could hire 2 umps as OF spotters. Gets 4 eyeballs closer to the fence for HR and fair/foul calls, doesn’t slow down the game, and provides gainful employment at 30 MLB parks.

BTW, I’ll bet this post generates more traffic than the “Hug” today. At least our priorities are right.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 12:17 pm
All these people against it will have a far different opinion the first time a wrong call against their team is allowed to stand.

Technology advances. All this sanctimonious “leave baseball alone” crap is nauseating.

Comment by Yer Out Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 12:42 pm
Aren’t games long enough without instant replay?

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 1:11 pm
Against.

All sport, like all life, is imperfect. We must prepare to overcome adversity, so that the margin for error tips in our favor. Players are not perfect, but they don’t get “do overs.” Umpires shouldn’t either–the call stands and we play on!

Besides, as a high school umpire, I am amazed at how good MLB umpires are. They call consistently and accurately I like to think I’m a good umpire, but these professionals are top-notch. They’ll make a mistake now and then, but overall, the players boot more plays that umpires boot calls.

Comment by Fan of the Game Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 1:15 pm
Yer Out, what’s technology got to do with baseball? What’s sanctimonious about leaving it as it is?

Technology has advanced to the point where you don’t need umps to call balls and strikes, or determine whether a runner beats a throw to first. Are you in favor of technology doing those tasks as well?

This is a dumb idea, unnecessary. Calls have gone against teams forever. So what? That’s baseball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 1:28 pm
I am for it but like so many things that MLB does (primarily because of its goofball commissioner with the Moe Howard haircut) it is implemented in an incorrect manner. Why would you start something as important as this in the middle of the season?

Why would you not test this at the AAA or AA level to work the kinks out?

Do we need to now put another asterisk in the record book? Record before IR and record after IR?

Too many questions not enough answers. But that seems to be the MLB way.

Comment by BIG R.PH. Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 2:33 pm
If the problem is “not in a good enough position to make the correct call” I still think my 12:17 pm solution solves the problem w/o removing the human element and keeping the game moving.

In football, the officials have to cover the whole field from sideline to sideline. In baseball, the offensive players are limited to running around a 90′ square, 90% of the action is in the “battery” and there are many less close calls (other than balls and strikes). So replay makes more sense in one sport than another, unless you want the “perfection” of nanometer judgment like a photo-finish at an Olympic swim meet.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 3:20 pm
lol. Anonymous 1:11 took the words right out of my mouth!

On the other hand, the replays would probably give me an opportunity to impose on someone who CAN follow what’s going on to TRY to explain what happened to me AGAIN–this time at a SLOWER pace.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Sep 2, 08 @ 9:50 pm