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Friday, May 23, 2008 |
Pickoff Moves
Baseball To Formulate Instant Replay Proposal
Major League Baseball will formulate a proposal for the use of instant replay, and this new rule will be tested in the Arizona Fall League. Jimmie Lee Solomon, hoping to impress us with his wisdom, says there will be no timetable for the delivery of such a plan."The times are such that our fans are used to seeing all the high technology and they're used to seeing the other sports that use these systems to make determinations, and the fans are clamoring for all the sports to look at that," Solomon said Thursday.Following a blown home run call at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers installed a new outfield net to make home run boundaries perfectly clear. The missed call had no effect on the game, as the Yankees trounced the Orioles 8-0. The blown home run call was the third in a week; the other two:
- Carlos Delgado had a ball called foul that was actually a home run for the Mets in a game that team won 11-2 over the Yankees.
- Geovany Soto's ball was declared in play on Monday's game against the Astros, but he got an inside-the-park home run when the Astros outfielders made the correct call with their own eyes; the Cubs won 7-2.
Jim Edmonds, Fount Of Suck
I don't know why the Cubs decided that Jim Edmonds could help them, but it's worth noting at this point that- he leads all Cubs with 10 or more plate appearances in negative VORPr (VORP per game accumulation) with -0.582, i.e. his presence in the lineup is costing the Cubs a run every other appearance.
- By batting WPA, he's only worse than two regulars, Felix Pie and Ryan Dempster, and Pie had 63 at bats, and Dempster is a pitcher with 19!
- Edmonds hasn't contributed negative win shares... yet ...
Lou Piniella says Edmonds needs to start hitting. Knock me over with a feather.
Andruw Jones, One Of MLB's Least Exciting Players
I leave no stone unturned in finding places willing to slag on Druw, and here's a piece by Larry Dobrow at CBS Sports that does just that, looking at the top (or bottom, depending) dullest players in the Show:9. Andruw Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers: The tasks he no longer completes with much distinction include running, hitting and fielding. Sure, he still enjoys the Gold Glove reputation -- ask regular Derek Jeter watchers just how long that rep can stick, no matter what a player does on the field to betray it –- but Jones' bloated torso and knobby knees have negated whatever little athleticism he has left. But for the 'u' in Andruw, even his name would be boring.
Pounding On The Same Gong: Dave Cameron On Casey Kotchman's Lefty Torching
Robb Quinlan, are you listening?But there he is, six weeks into the season, torching southpaws to the tune of a .389/.421/.583 line. In fact, Kotchman’s posting a pretty severe reverse platoon split, as he’s been much more effective against LHPs than RHPs, who he’s hitting just .286/.343/.452 against. This is a pretty significant change for Kotchman, who had never hit a home run off a left-handed pitcher in the majors before this season. From 2004 to 2007, Kotchman had 142 plate appearances against southpaws (he had been pretty strictly platooned) and notched just six extra base hits, all doubles. In 38 plate appearances against lefties this year, he’s already recorded five extra base hits including the home run.Hat tip to Stephen Nelson, of the much lamented Mariners Wheelhouse.
Labels: cubs, dodgers, ex-angels, rules
Comments:
On instant replays...
Some purists no doubt will wind up feeling enraged by this but frankly I think it's long overdue. It's true that for most regular season games the stakes of a blown call are not that huge--simply due to the overwhelming length of an MLB regular season and the sheer number of games. A loss due to a blown call generally will not have a particular significant impact on a team's entire season.
However, in the playoffs I believe the stakes for teams are simply too high. A blown call can change the direction of an entire series in a heartbeat.
E.g., 2005 playoffs... Angels vs. White Sox! ;p
- Chris
Some purists no doubt will wind up feeling enraged by this but frankly I think it's long overdue. It's true that for most regular season games the stakes of a blown call are not that huge--simply due to the overwhelming length of an MLB regular season and the sheer number of games. A loss due to a blown call generally will not have a particular significant impact on a team's entire season.
However, in the playoffs I believe the stakes for teams are simply too high. A blown call can change the direction of an entire series in a heartbeat.
E.g., 2005 playoffs... Angels vs. White Sox! ;p
- Chris
...and let's not forget Sox v. Yankees in '04. The umps did manage to get some difficult and key calls right. But imagine if they hadn't?
- Chris
- Chris
I don't think the Chisox game was a very good example, though, because it was really unclear from even the replays that the ball was a clean catch. Clearly, Josh Paul thought it was, but that's not enough, and with a dimbulb like Doug Eddings behind the plate, it's hard to know how that would have gone.
I've argued for greater technological intrusion on the game of baseball for years, and nothing that has happened this season or in any season past has made me even consider changing my mind.
I'm all for using pitch tracking as the method to call balls and strikes, and a camera to determine things like fair/foul potential home run balls should have been implemented years ago.
Many argue that error is "part of the game," but if it doesn't have to be, then why is it?
Umpiring is hard work. Computers are better at it.
I'm all for using pitch tracking as the method to call balls and strikes, and a camera to determine things like fair/foul potential home run balls should have been implemented years ago.
Many argue that error is "part of the game," but if it doesn't have to be, then why is it?
Umpiring is hard work. Computers are better at it.
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