First Replay Fails

jtur88 · September 3rd, 2008, 07:11 PM

A-Rod's 9th inning homer in Tampa is called fair, and replayed. ESPN's camera shots did not reveal anything. The ball apparently went over the top of the foul pole. Behind there is a catwalk, which also has a vertical yellow pole on it, but ESPN commentator made no reference to this pole, which may or may not be in line with foul polie, but it appears to be. The ball hit the catwalk maybe 3 or 4 feet on the foul side of the back pole on the catwalk.

Umpires cannot reverse unless the see "clear" evidence that the original call was wrong, and obviously, ESPN's shots did not meet that standard. Umps may, though, have seen cam shots from the Yes Network ot Tampa local TV.

Now, later, an announcer is talking about the back pole, saying it is meant to be a "guide", but not a determiner of fair or foul. A-Rod did not leave the batters box until the ball was called fair.

The whole process delayed the game by about two minutes.

Grandstander · September 3rd, 2008, 07:43 PM

The thread replay button appears to be functioning properly.

jtur88 · September 21st, 2008, 12:24 PM

Does anybody know how many times the replay has been used so far this year? After being suddenly discovered to be so earthshakingly indispensible that it had to be imposed in the middle of the night in the midst of the pennant races?

The fact is, 99% of all blown calls are on tag plays, which are not subject to the replay, nor are an average of probably 20 or 30 ball/strike calls per game.

Triad · September 22nd, 2008, 02:43 PM

The whole thing seemed kind of silly. The announcers said it took two minutes, but they didn't start the time until after the initial arguing took place challenging it. There was also a pitching change mixed in there, which was rather curious. I don't think I've ever seen a pitcher pulled after a foul ball. So the Rays didn't know whether Percival was effective or not until the umpires ruled on whether A-Rod's blast which went into another hemisphere actually crossed an imaginary point at the top of a very tall yellow pole that's farther away from the umpires than the guy holding popcorn in row 24 of the upper deck. The line on the back wall that's apparently there as a guide does no good, because all it does is distract. That would be like putting a "guide" base 20 feet behind 3rd base in order to help gauge fair/foul calls down the 3rd base line.

In reality, the review extended the delay an extra 3 minutes (including extra arguing), so instead of a 3-minute intermission, the fans got a 6-minute intermission. Maybe if the inning breaks weren't more than 2 minutes, it wouldn't be all that bad, but maybe that and the endless parade of relievers is why games are taking so long? Hello, Bud... is this mike on?

Cue 2028: The umpires are checking to see if Jose Cruz IV swung around or not. That's the third challenge in this at-bat, which will cost the Urban Shockers one of their bonus do-overs. The electronic umpire indicated Matthews' bat crossed through the outer plexus, but those things have been know to malfunction.

September 3rd, 2008, 07:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
jtur88 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 7,857	First Replay Fails A-Rod's 9th inning homer in Tampa is called fair, and replayed. ESPN's camera shots did not reveal anything. The ball apparently went over the top of the foul pole. Behind there is a catwalk, which also has a vertical yellow pole on it, but ESPN commentator made no reference to this pole, which may or may not be in line with foul polie, but it appears to be. The ball hit the catwalk maybe 3 or 4 feet on the foul side of the back pole on the catwalk. Umpires cannot reverse unless the see "clear" evidence that the original call was wrong, and obviously, ESPN's shots did not meet that standard. Umps may, though, have seen cam shots from the Yes Network ot Tampa local TV. Now, later, an announcer is talking about the back pole, saying it is meant to be a "guide", but not a determiner of fair or foul. A-Rod did not leave the batters box until the ball was called fair. The whole process delayed the game by about two minutes. __________________ ------------------ When people ask what I hope to see before I die, I answer that I've already seen too much.

September 21st, 2008, 12:24 PM	#3 (permalink)
jtur88 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 7,857	Does anybody know how many times the replay has been used so far this year? After being suddenly discovered to be so earthshakingly indispensible that it had to be imposed in the middle of the night in the midst of the pennant races? The fact is, 99% of all blown calls are on tag plays, which are not subject to the replay, nor are an average of probably 20 or 30 ball/strike calls per game. __________________ ------------------ When people ask what I hope to see before I die, I answer that I've already seen too much.

September 3rd, 2008, 07:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
Grandstander Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Parts Unknown Northern California Posts: 6,611	The thread replay button appears to be functioning properly.

September 22nd, 2008, 02:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
Triad Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Oregon Posts: 252	The whole thing seemed kind of silly. The announcers said it took two minutes, but they didn't start the time until after the initial arguing took place challenging it. There was also a pitching change mixed in there, which was rather curious. I don't think I've ever seen a pitcher pulled after a foul ball. So the Rays didn't know whether Percival was effective or not until the umpires ruled on whether A-Rod's blast which went into another hemisphere actually crossed an imaginary point at the top of a very tall yellow pole that's farther away from the umpires than the guy holding popcorn in row 24 of the upper deck. The line on the back wall that's apparently there as a guide does no good, because all it does is distract. That would be like putting a "guide" base 20 feet behind 3rd base in order to help gauge fair/foul calls down the 3rd base line. In reality, the review extended the delay an extra 3 minutes (including extra arguing), so instead of a 3-minute intermission, the fans got a 6-minute intermission. Maybe if the inning breaks weren't more than 2 minutes, it wouldn't be all that bad, but maybe that and the endless parade of relievers is why games are taking so long? Hello, Bud... is this mike on? Cue 2028: The umpires are checking to see if Jose Cruz IV swung around or not. That's the third challenge in this at-bat, which will cost the Urban Shockers one of their bonus do-overs. The electronic umpire indicated Matthews' bat crossed through the outer plexus, but those things have been know to malfunction.