Baseball

[shadows]

LOL! I beat you to the punch, oldawg.

I'm glad to see that I was not alone in my feelings that the pitcher got screwed over big time.

[smc]

I was listening to the Red Sox game on the radio and they kept mentioning this perfect game in progress, so in the 9th inning of the Tigers game I ran upstairs to the TV, turned on the MLB network, and watched the bad call.

My thoughts, in no particular order:

1. Gallaraga's behavior was truly admirable.

2. Jim Joyce did the right thing by apologizing, and he will never forget that he did this. That is probably punishment enough.

3. The idea that Bud Selig should step in and declare this a perfect game is an invitation to chaos.

4. There will be more calls now for instant replay in baseball. I think the home run review is enough. I want baseball to stay the most human of games for as long as possible. Think about how much this wonderful game is still exactly like the game of our youth. We stop playing when the weather gets bad, waiting until the last possible moment to suspend play. There are arguments about who saw what, and everyone's friendly at the end no matter the outcome ("I don't think you touched the lawn chair at second base, man! But let's see if my mom bought some popsicles.")

[oldawg]

Check it out...GM gave Galarraga a Corvette for the almost-perfect game:

Jun 03, 2010
Perfect: GM gives Chevrolet Corvette to Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga

Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night, but GM found his performance impressive enough in the Tigers' 3-0 shutout to hand him the keys to a 2010 Chevy Corvette convertible.
That's some consolation prize. But it couldn't be more deserved:
Galarraga retired 26 straight Indians' batters before the 27th and final batter, Jason Donald, stepped to the plate. Donald hit a ground ball between first and second base, which was fielded by Tiger's first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera threw to Galarraga, who stepped on first base, but umpire Jim Joyce blew the call and said Donald was safe. Galarraga had to settle for a 3-0 shutout.
Shortly after the game ended, Joyce admitted to missing the call at the base, saying, "I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career." The umpire apologized to Galarraga last night.
GM North American President Mark Reuss found the performance impressive enough anyway. No matter what the record books say, Reuss decided Galarraga deserved recognition for his achievement.
One has to wonder what kind of car Galarraga would have gotten for a perfect game.
--Stephen Markley/Cars.com's Kicking Tires

pretty cool!

SMC, as for your 4 thoughts, I strongly agree with the first 3 (especially #3- this is an important point).

As for #4, i agree there will be more calls for replay now, & I am a case in point. In fact, I'm usually old-school, someone who would rather keep new influences out of the game, as I've argued in this thread before.
But things are changing. For the past 3 or so years I feel the umpiring in MLB has gotten progressively worse.
I don't keep track, but in the past year I would need at least two hands to count the games in which a bad call has changed the outcome of the game I was watching. (For what its worth, I see a lot of baseball. I watch Mets games daily, & I live with a Braves fan & Yankees fan so I'm always seeing their games, & I have the EXTRA INNINGS Baseball package for out-of-market games. For me, I love the Mets, but baseball is always on in the background. As a musician, I'm always working...I write & practice music all days & nights, & usually the TV is on mute the whole time).

Anyway, honestly I am fed up with all the bad calls. I'm sick of watching Jose Reyes get called out stealing 2nd base just because the throw beat him there. I'm tired of watching umps give the "ghost calls" during a double play or at first base. If the fielder never touches the bag, theres no way the runner should be out. & how about the check swing strikes? & the ridiculous strike zone many umps have? I mean c'mon, its not a form of self-expression, its letters to knees!

I'd prefer to keep more replay out of the game, but weve got to get these calls correct, so ive now changed sides & Im hoping we get as much computerized umpires as possible!!!

[smc]

Originally Posted by smc

3. The idea that Bud Selig should step in and declare this a perfect game is an invitation to chaos.

I've rethought this and I disagree with myself. I believe it should be so declared and will be, in time. There are precedents.

[oldawg]

Originally Posted by smc

I've rethought this and I disagree with myself. I believe it should be so declared and will be, in time. There are precedents.

I totally disagree. I think its a HUGE can of worms...Baseball has its own rules for not changing results (official scoring obviously is changed the next day sometimes, but not removing official at bats). If they begin to change results like this after the fact I foresee a mess of requests & demands for Selig to deal with.

You say there are precedents?

[shadows]

Originally Posted by oldawg

I totally disagree. I think its a HUGE can of worms...Baseball has its own rules for not changing results (official scoring obviously is changed the next day sometimes, but not removing official at bats). If they begin to change results like this after the fact I foresee a mess of requests & demands for Selig to deal with.

You say there are precedents?

I read (on espn.com., I believe) that a former Commissioner had taken away fifty(fifty!!) no-hitters for various reasons. If a Commissioner can take something away(waaaay after the fact) then it stands to reason that he can put something back.

I personally feel that this is a unique case and would not make it so everything has the potential to be changed. Galarraga had 26 outs and only needed to get one more. The 27th(and final) out was the mistake by the umpire. If he had not made that mistake, the game was over. Plus, Galarraga got the next batter out, so he made 28 out of 28 outs.

If this had happened during the first out of the ninth, or even the second out of the ninth, I would say the call would have to remain as there would be too many variables(with a runner on the base, the pitcher's pitch selection would be different, he would be pitching from the stretch, etc.). However, with this being the LAST out, and the score not being changed either way, it should become a Perfect Game. It should have been a Perfect Game, and it would have had Jim Joyce not decided to make such a bad call.

I hope that outside sources puts pressure on Selig(who is one of the worst Commissioners I have seen. I liken him to Buttman of the NHL), but I am not going to hold my breath. I take solace in the fact that Selig is gone in 2012.

One thing I will say that I do NOT agree with in all this is that there are some "fans"(allegedly) threatening Jim Joyce's wife and kids because of this. While I think it was an idiotic mistake, he certainly does not deserve to be threatened, and especially not his family.

[smc]

Originally Posted by oldawg

I totally disagree. I think its a HUGE can of worms...Baseball has its own rules for not changing results (official scoring obviously is changed the next day sometimes, but not removing official at bats). If they begin to change results like this after the fact I foresee a mess of requests & demands for Selig to deal with.

You say there are precedents?

Yes, lots of precedents for dealing with perfect games and no-hitters. Keith Olbermann, one of the great historians of baseball, discussed this at length last night on his broadcast, and was joined by Ken Burns, the documentarian of baseball. Burns believes the game will be declared "perfect," but it will not happen immediately. Write to me if you want more info on the precedents; right now, I'm checking the Forum quickly before leaving for commencement!

[smc]

With hockey and now basketball done, and not withstanding World Cup fever, it's time to bump up the baseball thread and get the discussion going again.

In the AL East, where my team (GO RED SOX!!) resides, things have gotten very interesting. The expected decline of the Blue Jays (sorry, shadows), who held third place for a while, has happened, but not to the extent expected. They have suffered more from the good play of their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Red Sox -- who looked "done" early -- have surged, thanks in large part to David Ortiz coming alive after a dismal April, and also to some very good pitching despite losing Beckett and Matzusaka. The Yankees continue to go strong, but not as strong, and the Rays can't seem to keep up the amazing start from April. So, waking up this morning, we find the Rays and Yankees tied for first place but with the Sox only one game behind.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

With hockey and now basketball done, and not withstanding World Cup fever, it's time to bump up the baseball thread and get the discussion going again.

In the AL East, where my team (GO RED SOX!!) resides, things have gotten very interesting. The expected decline of the Blue Jays (sorry, shadows), who held third place for a while, has happened, but not to the extent expected. They have suffered more from the good play of their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Red Sox -- who looked "done" early -- have surged, thanks in large part to David Ortiz coming alive after a dismal April, and also to some very good pitching despite losing Beckett and Matzusaka. The Yankees continue to go strong, but not as strong, and the Rays can't seem to keep up the amazing start from April. So, waking up this morning, we find the Rays and Yankees tied for first place but with the Sox only one game behind.

No need to apologize, because the decline has stopped. Toronto actually has a 3-game winning streak going on and they are only 4.5 games out of first place in the East, and only 4.5 games out of the Wildcard spot(3.5 games behind Boston). So it is fair to say that Toronto is by no means out of the picture. And considering how this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jays, I can honestly say that I am impressed with how they are playing.

As long as they are still playing meaningful baseball in the latter days of the summer, I will be happy.