Do You Consider Cole Hamels An Ace?

Although Wednesday night ended in defeat due to the bullpen, I actually put most of the blame on Cole Hamels.

I know the bullpen let go of a one-run lead and Hamels only gave up two runs, but this was the fifth day where your ace was pitching. It was also a game where Cole Hamels should have went eight innings, not six.

So my question is: do you consider Cole Hamels an ace?

Well, does he have ace stuff? There is no question he does. He throws a plus-fastball to go along with the best changeup not coming out of Johan Santana’s hand. He’s 25-years-old, which means he has not reached his maximum potential. But looking at him, he has not looked like the Cole Hamels we got accustomed to from the last few years.

In 68 innings, Cole Hamels has given up 81 hits. Last year in 227 games, he gave up 193—a few less. His WHIP is 1.39 compared to 1.082 last year, which means that this year he is giving up more hits and walks.

Hamels pitched a career high 227 innings plus the games he pitched in the postseason. So, it is only normal to expect a drop-off since he was a horse last year. Hamels’s ERA is 4.62.

I know it is early in the season, but last year Hamels finished with an ERA of 3.09. As the ace of this pitching staff, you expect Hamels to take the ball every fifth day and pitch well enough to win the game.

However, is Cole Hamels an ace? Well, let’s compare Hamels to another 25-year-old left-hander, Jon Lester. Lester is another phenom who looks like he has a bright future. Many people consider Lester an ace since he threw a no-hitter and pitched better than any AL pitcher at the end of last season.

Last season, Hamels pitched 227 innings compared to Lester’s 210. Hamels had an ERA of 3.09 compared to Lester’s 3.21, while Hamels’s WHIP last season was 1.082 compared to Lester’s 1.274. Lester had a better record despite having a higher WHIP and ERA.

Now, let’s compare this season. Hamels has an ERA of 4.48 compared to Lester’s 4.76. Hamels’s WHIP is 1.39 compared to Lester’s 1.34. Both have struggled, especially Hamels who had a very forgettable first start against Colorado. Hamels was pitching hurt and his velocity was in the mid 80s.

Now let’s go to what I think is the decisive category: post-season numbers. I know the ratings were low for last year’s World Series, but Hamels pitched as good as Sandy Koufax, and in no way was he going to lose a game last postseason.

He went 4-0 and could have been the first pitcher to go 5-0 had the weather permitted. Hamels’s overall record in the postseason is 4-1 with a 2.16 compared to Lester, who pitched the clinching game of the 2007 World Series in one of the greatest comebacks. Lester is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA.

Now the answer to my question. Do I consider Cole Hamels an ace?

Absolutely.

This year he has been nothing close to an ace, but he needs to settle down and start looking like last year’s Cole Hamels. Can Hamels improve? He can and needs to be more of a horse, pitching deeper into games.

What really upset me is that I don’t see Cole Hamels telling the coaches to keep him in the game. I still think he needs to be more of a horse. Remember, this is not a solid rotation.

Joe Blanton is a No. 2, at best. Moyer is a back-of-the-rotation pitcher. Happ is nothing special and Antonio Bastardo is a work in progress who has figured out that you can’t get major league hitters like Jason Bay out on one pitch. He is too hesitant to throw his changeup and eventually hitters will catch up to him, if they already haven’t.

If the team hopes to make another magical postseason run, they will need to acquire a pitcher at the deadline. Talking to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark at a book signing, he told me that guys like Oswalt and Halladay will not be traded. Guys like Erik Bedard, who comes with a lot of issues, and Brad Penney, who has pitched great but is very injury-prone, will be on the market.

Penney impresses me and can be a great No. 2 to go along with Cole Hamels. The bottom line is that Cole Hamels is an ace. But you simply can’t win a World Series with Joe Blanton as your No. 2.

Phillies-Blue Jays: It Sure Ain’t the Luck of the Irish

There’s Murphy’s Law, and then there’s Murphy’s game.

 

Phillies ace Cole Hamels suffered another sub-par start, preempted by two changeups that kicked up dirt in front of the plate on the first batter of the game. The divots his pitches made were deeper than the ones I made during miniature golf—and that’s bad.

 

Although Cole would manage to hold the Jays to only three runs when he passed 100 pitches by the bottom of the sixth, it was another indication that foul balls eat up pitches, and pitch counts get high when balls are left hanging.

 

Then the Phillies bullpen fumbled through the game.

 

Disturbin’ Durbin surprisingly failed to live up to his name as he quickly retired four in the seventh, but then J.C. Romero had a problem getting in the zone.

 

Little did we know, he would walk half of the six batters he’d face and would be spared an earned run only because of a base running error by Alex Rios.

 

Rios failed to tag on a fly ball to left and was stranded on third like an ugly prom date when Romero finally ended the inning. He suffered an outing that jump-started a string of walks that wouldn’t end until the bullpen had served up eight and forced in two runs.

 

In the ninth, Ryan Madson took the mound with a one-run lead and fired a 97 mph fastball for a first-pitch strike.

 

But don’t let appearances fool you. Vernon Wells hit the second pitch for an infield single to break his 0-for-21 hitless streak.

 

And that was just the continuing of the end.

 

Then ex-Phillie, Scott Rolen, decided to start swinging. Until the ninth, he was 0-for-4, which included two walks and a strikeout looking. He was just “watching the world go by” until he took a liking to what Ryan was serving. Rolen fouled off three before connecting for a double, moving two runners into scoring position.

 

But when a pitcher intentionally walks a hitter to load the bases with no outs, it’s usually courteous for the other team to hit into a double play, right?

 

Well, those Canadians don’t know anything about etiquette. I thought Madson would be fine when he struck out his fourth batter, but then a misplaced changeup walked in a run.

 

Whoops, must have been Murphy’s pitch.

 

Although the interim closer managed to force ex-Philly, Rod Barajas, into an infield pop-up and then struck out the last batter by making that previously ailing changeup work, it was the end of his 15-inning scoreless streak, the end of the inning, and the end of the line for Madson.

 

I saw Ryan at the Winner’s Circle in Exton, Penn. on Monday and had him sign my backpack.

So when he ran into some really bad luck in this game my husband said, “You didn’t shake his hand did you?”

 

“No!” I said. “I swear!”

 

I don’t blame him for blaming me. I’m Irish.

 

Besides, passing the blame is what marriage is all about.

 

But this was the game where “anything that could go wrong, would go wrong.” And like the Energizer bunny, it kept going, and going, and going.

 

Mr. Usually Consistent, Clay Condrey, took the stage in the tenth. Our hopes were focused on maintaining the tie and going into the bottom of the inning with a respectable chance of winning.

 

Unfortunately, the Jays were focused on getting on base. And their focus was sharper. Like a housewife on a sixty-second shopping spree, they stuffed ample play in their bag.

 

Condrey was consistent with Phils’ pitching in one area: he loaded the bases. That was the fifth time a pitcher with a “P” on his cap managed that. And sticking with further tradition, he walked one in.

 

Instantly rumors of his sore back started circulating. I even saw a doctor in the stands hold up a prescription for muscle relaxers. But it was too late. He chalked up two earned runs before brand spanking new reliever, Tyler Walker took the mound.

 

It was the third time Walker was told to warm up since he got here, so it was time to stop teasing him. But I’ll admit, it’s not nice to throw a guy in front of 44,958 irate Phils fans with the bases loaded and one out. It borders on cruel.

 

The poor guy was hit for a sacrifice fly and an off-the-wall double before begging someone to keep the ball on the ground so overworked shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, could finally stop a hit and get it to first in time.

 

Poor Jimmy. He ended the game looking like a he belonged in a Tide commercial. He made plays reminiscent of his Golden Glove status, and even ate dirt to try to spare Ryan Howard his third error of the week on a wild throw.

 

In the sixth, J-Ro’s dive after an elusive grounder left him empty-handed, but he managed to pounce on the next two only to be denied a play at first on both. He couldn’t have gotten the ball there faster if he’d sent it by Fios.

 

Then in the seventh he put down a perfectly executed covert bunt to get to first and then slid into second on an overthrow that tied the game in errors. But Jimmy was simply a statistic when the inning ended with a Chase Utley K.

 

Without J-Ro in position six, things could have been worse. But he couldn’t stop the bleeding. The Blue Jays pulled ahead by five in the tenth. When Toronto headed to the bottom of the inning with reliever, Jesse Carlson, a pitcher with a 5.22 ERA, one thing was certain—he was hittable.

 

I was a giddy as a goat in a junk yard.

 

It looked like everything that could go wrong had already gone wrong when Chase Utley started out with a single. But then Marco Scutero robbed Jayson Werth—the two-run home run hero of the sixth—of a line drive hit.

 

Even though Chase stole second in a gallant attempt to get into scoring position, Ryan Howard flied out to center, and Raul Ibanez popped out to give Scutero his second putout of the inning.

 

And I was told I could put-out.

 

The R’s in our lineup racked up some K’s. Ryan and Raul combined for six fans. It seemed like Chase was the only one seeing the breaking ball off the Jays “work in progress,” “effectively wild,” starter Ricky Romero.

 

Well, the wild youngster effectively progressed through the game against the Phillies allowing only three runs to score while striking out nine.

 

It was a strange game. It looked more like the Phillies needed a day off rather than just had one. The Jays stranded 15 runners and won, and the Phils only abandoned eight and lost. The infield fly rule was called three times on the same batter, a pitcher who made his first plate appearance in the majors was asked to attempt a squeeze bunt at home, and a great Jayson Werth throw to the plate was so late we thought the rabbit died. 

 

The Blue Jays—a team that was 0-27 when trailing after eight—beat a team that had the best record in the MLB since mid-May.

 

If you go back five or six of my past lives, I have the best record too—in the Jurassic league.

 

Someone, somewhere, was screwing with fate.

 

Probably a leprechaun.

 

Like my husband said, the Irish were responsible somehow.

 

See you at the ballpark.

Bullpen Collapses, Offense Lacks Punch, Phillies Lose

Ever watch a game and just have an awful feeling? Almost as though you knew that despite leading late in the game, your team just was going to find a way to lose? Call me pessimistic, but I just had that sinking feeling last night for the first time in a long time with the Phillies.

A mediocre outing by Cole Hamels, coupled with some lackluster offense by the lineup, and an improbable five run tenth inning doomed the Phillies as Toronto came away with a 8-3 win in ten innings.

Hamels flirted with disaster throughout most of the night, appearing to not have his best stuff on the mound for a second straight game. Hamels lasted six innings, walked two batters, and allowed seven hits and two runs. He struck out six and gave up one home run. In the sixth inning, Hamels escaped a bases loaded and zero out situation. With the Phillies trailing 2-1 at that point, Hamels was helped by some infield pop flies and a strike out to give the Phillies a fighting chance.

After Hamels departed from the game, Jayson Werth hit a two run home run to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. The lead lasted until the ninth inning when Ryan Madson gave up two singles to the lead off batters and intentionally walked Adam Lind to set up a double play situation. After striking out Alex Rios Madson, he proceeded to walk in the game tying run. With the bases still loaded, Madson retired the next two batters to send the game to extra innings.

In the tenth inning Clay Condrey could not give the Phillies a chance to win. Condrey was charged with all five runs in the tenth inning from the Blue Jays, in just a third of an inning. Tyler Walker came in to relieve Condrey, but he couldn’t quite stop the bleeding, giving up a sacrifice fly and a double by Rod Barajas.

Chase Utley was 3-for-4 with a run scored, one run batted in, and a stolen base. Raul Ibanez was 0-for-5 with three strike outs. Ryan Howard was 1-for-5 with three strike outs. Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz were both 0-for-4. Jimmy Rollins was 2-for-5 with a run scored in the first inning.

Scott Rolen was 2-for-4 for Toronto with a pair of walks and a run scored. Barajas was 2-for-5 with a couple runs batted in.

The Phillies look at even up the series tonight with Jamie Moyer taking the mound. Toronto will send Scott Richmond to face the Phillies offense, in place of the injured Roy Halladay.

The Glitter is Gone as Philadelphia Phillies Try to Figure Out Home Woes

During the chatter before Tuesday’s home game pitting the Philadelphia Phillies and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, television personnel were trying to figure out why the Phillies had a worse home record than on the road.

Most said that they were tight and there was a letdown after all the World Series hype died down. The defending World Series champions currently lead the National League East with a 36-26 mark, but are 13-17 at home and a league-best 23-9 on the road.

As another Bleacher Report writer said, they will not win the National League East if they can’t win at home.

I concur.

I have my own theories, some about why, but mostly the difference of the team playing at home or on the road.

1) The Glitter is Gone. Not only are all the championship rings, White House visits, television talk show appearance are over, the Phillies lost their number one fan. And it hurts. On April 12, longtime Phillies Hall of Fame television announcer Harry Kalas died.

The services were held the following weekend at Citizens Bank Park. It has happened to many teams: Jack Buck and Harry Caray were beloved announcers for St. Louis and Chicago Cubs, respectively.

But Kalas flew with the team, traveled on the team bus. He was an eternal optimist. Kalas is not all of the reason, just a large reason why this year is different.

2) The defense is worse. Ryan Howard made a throwing error to second base on a potential double play ball and Jimmy Rollins failed to pick up two balls he normally would gobble up in Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays. Whether they are tight, wanting to play better, I am not sure. I just believe they play worse defense at home.

Remember Rollins gobbling up the ball up the middle to start a double play in the division-clinching win over the Washington Nationals last year? The double play is not as crisp as last year, mostly at home. The double play combination has been sweet on the road.

3) Even though the Phillies are near the top in home runs in the National League, the home run advantage does not exist at home. According to an Internet web site: There were just 38 homers in the first 26 games at the Met’s Citi Field—a fraction of the 105 in 29 games at the new Yankee Stadium—but seven were hit, two more than the previous high set when the Mets beat the Phillies 7-5 on May 7.

I think the Phillies hit four home runs in that game and the Mets three. In last night’s loss, Toronto hit one home run and the Phillies one. The June 17 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News, bore out my observation. The Phillies have a 51-42 home run advantage on the road, while a 39-49 dinger deficit at home.

4) The Phillies have to get the mojo back at home. The fans are still into it on every pitch, screaming wildly at a two-strike, two-out count. Ryan Madson showed his is not better than Brad Lidge last night, loading the bases and blowing a save by giving up the tieing run in what would become a blowout extra-inning loss.

The Phillies were undefeated at home during the playoffs last year. They owned Citizens Bank Park. They have to take control back at home.

5) The Phillies enjoy the underdog status. Nobody, except the fans, believed they would win the World Series last year. On the road, they still enjoy the underdog status. At home, they are the World Champions. They have a big target on their backs. Teams come into Citizens Bank Park fired up to win.

Get over it. Show that this 2009 team, warts and all, is better than the 2008 World Series team.

 

** Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Daily News. Clay Condrey reacts after giving up five runs in the 10th inning of an 8-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

World Series Phlashback: 1993—Game Two

In 1993 the Phillies pulled off a miraculous worst-to-first season and stunned the baseball world by clinching the National League pennant in six games over the heavily favored Atlanta Braves.

Led my MVP candidate Lenny Dykstra, catcher Darren Daulton, first baseman John Kruk and an emerging ace pitcher in Curt Schilling the Phillies faced off with the defending World Series champions, the Toronto Blue Jays.

This World Series had a little bit of everything, from great hitting, clutch pitching (and not so clutch pitching) and of course, rain delays.

We continue our phlashback with a look at game two, played in Toronto.

Blue Jays-Phillies: Toronto Wins Their First Interleague Game in Extras

It took them seven games, but the Jays finally won their first interleague game of the season in an ugly 8-3, extra-innings victory at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Why was it ugly? Well, for starters, the Jays managed to load the bases in the sixth inning with nobody out, and twice in both the second and eighth innings with one out, scoring zero runs in all three situations.

Another reason for the ugly term is that Phillies relievers walked an amazing seven batters in the last three innings, two of them coming with the bases loaded.

With the Jays down 3-2 in the ninth and Phillies closer Ryan Madson coming on to save the game, it appeared to be over for the Jays after blowing so many bases-loaded chances.

Fortunately, Madson exhibited about as much control as JC Romero, the Phillies set-up man who walked three in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded, Madson walked Lyle Overbay to force in the tying run and send the game into extra innings.

It was an ugly tenth inning for the Phillies, as the Jays would score five runs, capped off by an RBI double from the bat of Rod Barajas. However, it was not all good for the Jays, as reliever Scott Downs was sent to the plate because they wanted him to pitch the tenth inning as well.

With the Jays up by five and two out, all Downs had to do was watch and not even lift the bat off of his shoulders. Unfortunately, Downs took his cuts anyways, dribbling a grounder to shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

With the hit, Downs turned his body to run to first and twisted his ankle in the process, crossing first base while limping. Rollins got the out and we lost a pitcher. X-Rays after the game came back negative, but a trip to the disabled list is likely and we have lost our closer in a situation that could have easily been avoided.

With Downs out for the count, Jesse Carlson came out to end the sloppiest victory in recent history. Overall, both teams used six pitchers each, the Jays finished 0-for-9 with the bases loaded (two walks and a sacrifice fly), 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position and left 16 runners on the base paths!

I think Cito Gaston put it best after the game when he said: “We did everything we could to give that game away,” Gaston said. “We ended up winning it, which we probably shouldn’t have.

But we did win it, so we’ll take the win and hopefully we’ll improve on some of the things we did wrong tonight, because we did a lot of things wrong tonight that I wasn’t very happy with.

Amen!

 

Up Next: Scott Richmond (4-3) takes the place of injured starter Roy Halladay and faces off against veteran lefty Jamie Moyer (4-5) of the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of a three game set.

Abstain From Baseball? Watch Your Mouth

Just because the Phillies were off yesterday doesn’t mean I have to stop writing about them. I’m a babe and I’m Irish. That means I can’t stop my obsession with boys and I can’t stop talking—but not necessarily in that order. 

 

But when my husband asked if I could abstain from baseball for just one day, I was speechless.

 

Abstain?

 

What kind of question is that?

 

“When’s the last time you abstained?” I asked.

 

No answer.

 

That’s what I thought.

 

Besides, I don’t think abstinence works. I’ve read that right-wingers are big on it, and I also recently read an article about how “big on that” they are.  It said Texas leads the union in funding for abstinence-only education, yet surprisingly it also leads the nation in teenage pregnancies.

 

I wonder what the point is.

 

You want to know what I think? 

 

I’ll tell you anyway. 

 

The problem is the campaign is directed at girls.  Allow me to explain.  

 

Girls are estrogen mongers. We’re designed to love.  Without it, baseball players, coaches, commentators, owners, vendors, and most importantly—fans—wouldn’t exist.

 

Neither would jewelry.

 

All babes sell their souls for chocolate, but real babes sell their souls for baseball.  So to tell a real babe to abstain from baseball is like telling Jayson Werth to stop posing for the hotties along the right field seats as he saunters out to his position.

 

And it’s not that I think he should stop that either. I don’t mind him posing—I’m stalking him through my binoculars, but only because it’s illegal to touch him.

 

I’m sorry. Was I thinking out loud?

 

Baseball babes come in heat at the start of spring training, and stay at the ready until the last out in the Series. That’s the real biological clock and it’ll tick no matter what.  If you want Jayson to stop being a man, feed him saltpeter, but don’t be surprised when he loses his desire for everything.

 

So, you can try to take the babe out of baseball, but you’ll never take the baseball out of the babe. 

 

What do you do? 

 

Show her how to be smart about it. 

 

Teach her what hustle is by watching Shane Victorino, or show her how to avoid getting caught with your pants down on a fake throw by Chase Utley. Or let her see how older guys like Raul Ibanez can still get it on in left field and at the plate through sheer effort, or how Ryan Howard improved his game and why it’s so important to believe you can. 

 

Like John Mayer said—fathers, be good to your daughters.

 

Take her to the ballpark and teach her how to believe in her team. Give her an outlet for her enthusiasm. Show her how to think for herself and not follow the fans who boo the other team instead of cheering for their own. And teach her why it’s so important to listen to coaches to get safely around the bases.

 

Most of all, show her how sometimes things aren’t going as planned, but that doesn’t mean the season won’t turn around.

 

The last thing I’ll say is, if Texas secedes from the union, I hope Ruben Amaro gets a free trade agreement with them. It’d be nice to pick up right-handed home run slugger, Nelson Cruz. 

 

Like I tell my husband, you can appreciate my opinion or tell me to shut up about it, but don’t ask me to stop dreaming about the game.

 

Remember, there’s no abstinence in baseball.

 

Peace.

 

Preview Game 62: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Since the beginning of inter league play in baseball the Phillies and Blue Jays have played the role of rivals. While the bitterness of the 1993 World Series is now old enough to apply for a learner’s permit, this series looks to be a pretty heated battle.

The Phillies are still looking for a spark at home, where they have a losing record. Toronto is coming off of being swept by the Marlins at home. The Phillies didn’t have the pitching advantage in the weekend Boston series, but they look to have the edge on the mound this week against Toronto. Cole Hamels gets the start tonight for the Phillies.

Hamels is coming off one of his poorest outings lately and figures to give a good rebound performance. This will be Hamels’ first career outing against the Blue Jays. Toronto will counter with rookie left hander Ricky Romero. Romero has allowed seven home runs in 16 1/3 innings so far this season. Look for the heavy hitters to pounce on the kid if he makes a mistake.

Don’t forget about two key Blue Jays players; Scott Rolen and Rod Barajas. Both are former Phillies players with somewhat of a tainted history.

Rolen was on his way a great third baseman who could have made a legitimate argument as the best third baseman in franchise history, but things soiled on his image as he never seemed to fit in with the fan base or his manager Larry Bowa.

Barajas on the other hand was a free agent acquisition that never met the slightest expectations behind the plate or offensively. Add in the fact that Phillies fans already had somewhat of a love fest with the feel good story that was Chris Coste and Barajas was in a tough situation.

Toronto is 13-18 on the road this season. The Phillies are 13-16 at home.

Phillies record: 36-25
Blue Jays record: 34-31

NL East Standings (Team, record, games behind)

1. PHILLIES 36-25, –
2. Mets 32-29, 4.0
3. Marlins 32-33, 6.0
4. Braves 30-32, 6.5
5. Nationals 16-45, 20.0

Pitching probables: Romero (3-3, 3.71 ERA) vs. Hamels (4-2, 4.62 ERA)

TV: Comcast Sportsnet

First pitch: 7:05pm EST

Season series: First meeting

Game open thread will be posted at 6:30pm. Game recap will be up tomorrow morning.

World Series Flashback: 1993—Game One

In 1993 the Phillies pulled off a miraculous worst-to-first season. They stunned the baseball world by clinching the National League pennant in six games over the heavily favored Atlanta Braves.

Led by MVP candidate Lenny Dykstra, catcher Darren Daulton, first baseman John Kruk, and an emerging ace pitcher in Curt Schilling, the Phillies faced off with the defending World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays.

This World Series had a little bit of everything, from great hitting to clutch pitching (and not so clutch pitching), and of course, rain delays.

We start our phlashback with a look at Game One, played in Toronto.

 

MLB Umpires Must Use and Trust Instant Replay

There has been much chatter in Philadelphia over the last few days regarding first base umpire Jim Joyce’s decision not to turn to instant replay for a near-home run by pinch hitter Greg Dobbs during Friday night’s Phillies-Red Sox game.

 

The towering fly ball was ruled foul, even though it was difficult to tell after several replays if it went directly over the right field foul pole when it left the playing field. Regardless of whether or not the correct call was made, Joyce was utterly wrong in his refusal to use instant replay.

 

If there was ever a textbook situation of when to use instant replay, it was on Friday night. This was not the fourth inning of a September game between two last place teams, it was the bottom of the eleventh between the best team in the American League and the World Series champions.

 

The entire outcome of the game hinged on the call. For Joyce and the rest of the umpiring crew to not use the technology at their disposal is nothing short of an embarrassment.

 

Joyce was quoted afterwards as saying, “I was very confident the ball was foul. I’ll be very honest with you. I thought about it after the call. But I was very confident that ball was foul”.

 

Joyce should dust off his thesaurus if he thinks he can still call himself confident, even when he admits he had second thoughts. This whole event is simply indicative of someone putting their personal pride above the game itself.

 

I can see the staunch traditionalists and umpire apologists out there applauding Joyce and the crew’s decision to stick with the call on the field. However, whether we like it or not, instant replay is now part of the rules of the game.

 

MLB umpires generally do a fine job. They are not commended enough for the large majority of calls they make correctly, yet are often under great scrutiny for the calls they do miss.

 

However, there was no excuse for the stubbornness that was shown on Friday night or might be shown at any point in the future when the old guard refuses to accept the new rules and technology that are now part of the game.

 

If instant replay were used on Friday night and found to be inconclusive, then the call on the field should stand. It happens in the NFL all the time. It would have only taken a minute and would have avoided the large backlash against Joyce’s crew.

 

I don’t believe we should advocate any kind of challenge system, but if the umpires don’t start wising up and cut down on the arrogance, we might have to. Instant replay is in the rulebook, Jim Joyce and company need to use it.

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