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Baseball Needs Replay
Joe Mauer’s ground-rule double in Game 2 of the Twins-Yankees series; Chase Utley’s foul ball in Game 3 of the Phillies-Rockies series; Brandon Inge’s hit by pitch in the 12th inning of the Tigers-Twins tiebreaker playoff. What do all of these plays have in common? They were all decisive plays, and they were all called incorrectly. Mauer’s double could have sparked a rally, Utley’s foul ball would have preserved the Rockies Game 3 hopes, and Inge’s HBP would have walked in a run to put his team ahead.
With every relevant baseball game that goes by, it becomes more and more clear that baseball’s resignation to its conventions is a problem. Baseball is mired in a culture that is blocking it from the progressiveness that has pervaded the rest of the sports world—especially football. And while football’s complexities make it more of a candidate for such things as mic’ed helmets in lieu of hand signals, baseball is behind the curb in implementing replay technology.
Currently the only plays subject to review are fair and foul rulings on home run calls, but that is just the tip of the iceberg for the potential applications of replay. The plays I mentioned are just a few of the questionable calls that have gone the wrong way this postseason. If replay is expanded, many of the pitfalls of human error can be avoided.
There are some, however, like Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, who think that allowing an expanded role for review would be a “slap in the face to umpires,” but some plays are just too ambiguous and happen too quickly to expect umpires to get the call right. Luckily for Major League Baseball, the NFL has already set a precedent for how review can be implemented without stepping on the toes of officials. Baseball managers can be given two challenges per game and only be allowed to challenge certain plays (just like the NFL). Some good additions: close plays at first base, run scoring plays at home and tag up plays on sacrifice flies. The time normally wasted on fruitless arguments could then be spent making sure the right calls are made.
I understand the allure of preserving tradition in such a history-rich sport, but what I can’t understand is how we can be content with an incorrect call deciding an important game.
The real best QB in the NFL?
It is Sunday and it’s halftime of the matchup between the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints. Already Drew Brees has torched this highly touted defense for over 250 yards and three touchdowns. Finally, given a running game and a serviceable defense, Brees has been the best quarterback in the NFL this year. Much of the attention is generally focused on Tom Brady and Peyton Manning (and deservedly so) because of their penchant for winning, but with his team now 5-0 for the first time since 1991, it is time to recognize Brees as one of the game’s elite.
In the past, Brees has been hindered by a suspect at best defense that forced him to get into shootouts just to keep his team in the game. Now with a retooled secondary led by recent acquisition Darren Sharper, Brees is no longer forced into outgunning opponents and inevitably making mistakes. The past two seasons, Brees had thrown 35 interceptions in 32 games working with a patchwork set of receivers headlined by such no names as Lance Moore and Devery Henderson. This year with a healthy number one receiver in Marques Colston, and a new redzone target in tight end, Jeremy Shockey has thrown only two interceptions compared to 13 touchdowns in his first five games.
Without much imagination, it is possible to envision a season for Brees would rival Brady and Manning’s greatest years and unquestioningly place him on a plane with the games all time elite. For Brady to join the pantheon, he had to add a hallmark season to his resume, and for Manning, he had to add a championship. This year Drew Brees has the chance to do both.
Bangor Daily News