Like the NFL, baseball needs to do everything possible to get calls right -- especially at the most critical time of the year, Bud Shaw writes in his Sunday Spin.
View full sizeThe outrage of Tampa Bay's James Shields over a disputed checked swing ruling was fueled by Michael Young's home run one pitch later in Game 2 of their AL playoff series. But another rash of apparent umpire errors isn't going to drag baseball into the 21st century anytime soon, laments Bud Shaw.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After further review, there's still no further review.
You can't tell by the ratings that playoff baseball is here in all its drama. Postseason games are attracting the kind of audience once reserved for "After M*A*S*H*" and "Homeboys in Outer Space."
America shows more interest in Brett Favre's completion ratio in Wrangler commercials than it showed in Roy Halladay throwing the second postseason no-hitter in history against the Reds.
I am checking on a rumor that Don Larsen, who threw a perfect game for the Yankees in the 1956 World Series, didn't know of Halladay's gem because he was otherwise occupied in a fantasy football league GMs meeting on trading protocol.
The NFL stages a football night in America every Sunday. To match that audience, Baseball Night in America would have to be outsourced to Cuba or Japan.
You either love baseball's rhythm and pace or you don't. Casual fans are difficult to entice unless they're tuning in to watch Barry Bonds' hat size grow by the inning. If baseball can't make itself more relevant as an entertainment option, it should at least embrace technological relevance.
Crazy as it sounds, why not make the sport better for the people who care enough to watch? Instead, baseball ignores expanded use of instant replay in the postseason even as umpire blunders mar the product at the most critical time of the year.
For instance, umps ruled Yankees' right fielder Greg Golson trapped a sinking liner by Delmon Young with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 1 Wednesday. An ump in the booth would clearly see Golson made the catch. An ump in the booth would've reversed the decision.
Nope, we sure wouldn't want these baseball games to be slowed down, not when Joe Maddon and umpire Jim Wolf can have a pleasant little chat that stretches into several minutes.Fortunately, Jim Thome popped up to end the game. What if Thome had tied the game with a two-run homer? The possibility was enough to bring Yankees' manager Joe Girardi into the pro-replay fold.
"As long as it doesn't slow the games down," Girardi said before Game 2.
Slow it down?
Controversial calls in baseball bring out the offended manager, who often conducts a filibuster. Like Congress, it's a circus. No way a replay review can appreciably slow down a process that takes longer than a clown car emptying.
Girardi's comment is especially funny since the Yankees play the longest games in baseball. I once watched a double feature of "Ben-Hur" and "Gone With the Wind" while Alex Rodriguez adjusted his batting gloves in between pitches. And he was being intentionally walked.
With all the measurable reasons -- some of them correctable -- why baseball takes so long, it's ridiculous to draw the line at expanded replay.
Baseball in 2010 doesn't attract enough casual fans to worry about them. It should at least reward its loyal fans with its best efforts to get it right.
It can't be the $206 million payroll or having Lance Berkman at $14.5 million batting eighth in the Yankees' lineup.
From Saturday's New York Daily News:
"The Yankees bring another baseball October to Yankee Stadium Saturday night. They started the postseason on the road this time and it didn't matter at all, not against the Twins, who make their division, the Central, look like some kind of junior varsity ... like their name should be the Minnesota Speed Bumps."
Yes. How ever do the scrappy Yankees do it?
It's got to be that "New York essence" Braylon Edwards talked about.
What's a six-letter word ending in 'z' for "delusional?"
New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz, a 1974 graduate of Indiana University, offered a guest prediction in Saturday's PD. He picked IU, 30-27, with the comment, "I think IU's defense will be good enough to contain Pryor."
They did a fine job after three quarters, when Pryor went to the bench with a 38-0 lead in the eventual 38-10 victory for the Buckeyes.
SPINOFFS
Peyton Hillis may seem indestructible when he's pounding linebackers and defensive backs on his runs up the middle, but Bud Shaw doesn't want to see the Browns wear out their battering ram.I'm not sure switching to Jake Delhomme interrupts the Browns' momentum, unless your definition of "momentum" is no complete passes in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati...
The momentum is Peyton Hillis, who was on the field for almost every play before the Browns killed the clock last Sunday. If they don't reintroduce Jerome Harrison to the offense or find another change-of-pace back, they risk Hillis being in a body cast by the end of the month, and it won't be a Halloween costume...
The Cavs redesigned their team shop. The change? A year ago, they had merchandise people wanted to buy...
A 69-year-old Michigan State fan put off surgery to install a pacemaker until after the weekend so he could watch his beloved Spartans play Michigan, showing once again how people keep sports in perspective...
Best take on Hillis punishing tacklers: "Mama says if you play in the streets, you will get hit by a car or a truck," said Browns' fullback Lawrence Vickers...
HE SAID IT
"From the dugout, you can't see anything." -- Braves manager Bobby Cox on why he didn't argue a missed call at second base in Game 1 against the Giants.
Fun fact: Cox was ejected from Game 2 Friday. He has now been ejected a major-league record 158 times for arguing things he apparently didn't see.
YOU SAID IT
(The Streamlined Sunday Edition)
"Bud:
"Would you accept a Browns PSL in a poker game?" -- Dan Smith
Right after I accept an IOU from Carlos Boozer.
"Bud:
"Is there any truth to the rumor Mark Shapiro removed the numbers for Jason Johnson's, Dave Dellucci's, and Jason Michaels' agents from his Blackberry after Manny Acta said he was only interested in adding veterans if they are capable of producing on the field?" -- Adam Wheeler
Yes. Those numbers are no longer in Shapiro's Blackberry. They're now in Chris Antonetti's.
"Bud:
"Legend has it that once the last remaining undefeated team loses its first game, the surviving members of the 1972 Dolphins drink champagne in celebration. Now that the Browns won a game, will they send a case to the surviving members of the 2008 Detroit Lions?" -- David Orloff
Sadly, there were no survivors.
"Dear Bud:
"What's all the concern about you taking your talents to South Beach? Don't people realize your talents abandoned you long ago?" -- Vince G.
Guys like me and Tony Danza count on people not being so observant.
"Bud:
"Exactly which NFL teams aren't blue collar and don't like to stop the run or run the ball?" -- Heather P
Other than the Browns from 1999-2009, none come to mind.
"Bud:
"After seeing several articles this week about the 50th anniversary of the Flintstones, clearly Eric Mangini has an older brother named Barney." -- Jim Nice.
First-time "You Said It" winners receive a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection.
"I never liked LeBron James, but his quitting in Game 5, his televised defection, and his skin color had nothing to do with it. I just assumed he played college basketball at Michigan." -- Chas K
Repeat winners receive a police mug shot of Braylon Edwards.