Because I need to
October 8, 2010 at 12:48 pm by Capitol Avenue Club under Atlanta Braves
My fandom prevents me from expressing rational thought about last night’s blown call, instant replay, umpires, et cetera. I’ll just present you with the following.
“We’re analyzing things. Our committee said we need to study it more, maybe have a few more months of study. But from the numbers that I heard, of the controversial tough plays, (the umpires) got something like 98 percent right.”
Reminds me of a classic Furman Bisher quote from the Shoeless Joe Jackson panel at SABR 40:
“Bud Selig is a used car salesman, he’s in over his head.”
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The fact that your least rational thought is better than many people’s most rational thoughts says a lot though.
Yes, a night’s sleep hasn’t tempered my negative feelings about the blown call. Posnanski has a good piece on how the legitimacy of baseball is being eroded little by little with each and every blown call that takes place.
http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2010/10/bad-calls-in-baseball.html
@CAC
I’m sure you will enjoy this.
http://deadspin.com/5651749/bud-selig-cant-hear-you-a-gallery-of-metaphorically-rich-photos-of-the-commissioner-cupping-his-ear/gallery/
Oh man, that is amazing. Thank you, Will.
I have a little umbridge to take with Bobby Cox, and I am normally a sympathizer. I think it was either late on the Mike and Mike radio show or early on the Colin Cowherd show, they ran a clip of Bobby saying that regardless of the call being wrong the game is alright where it is.
I mean, he doesn’t really have to worry, he’s retiring after this year and won’t even have to worry about an era of instant replay. However, it was a stupid comment, when your team loses by that same run and they could have went to extra innings where they would not have had to worry about The Freak.
regarding that play, what the hell does anyone think replay would have done to change it? None of the Braves players or coaches made a peep about it. The TBS broadcasters didn’t make a peep about it. Nothing that happened during that play would have warranted going to replay to see if the call was right or wrong.
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@James — that is silly, I was watching at home and immediately started replaying (I love DVR) because from my sofa he looked out, and within 15 seconds convinced myself he was out.
I was NOT suprised that the TBS guys missed it. They are buffoons that would make Joe Morgan proud.
All it would have taken was one Braves official sitting in a suite at the staduim (ala an offensive cordinator in Football) to call down to Bobby and say ‘Bobby, Posey was out by a foot, go argue’ and BOOOM we have ourselves a chance for replay to work. I can live with baseball the way it is, but I can’t understand the logic to not improve the game when the abilty is there.
[...] Here’s one! Here’s another! Oh-ho-ho, don’t forget this gem! [...]
@James – that is really funny. You equate pre-replay performance to post-replay performance. Don’t think you can say that Bobby Cox wouldn’t have gone out to argue if he had a challenge flag to throw, verses if he was just going out to get himself thrown out of a game.
@James – that is where you 100% wrong… IF there had already been a reply system in effect, THAT would be one of those plays that would have been “challenged” — just b/c they didnt complain on the field right away about it doesnt mean that the play would not have been “challenged”
The sick irony here is that the one person who needs replay is the only one who doesn’t have it. All of the MLB ballparks have larger-than-life HD screens, so everyone in the stadium (and around the world, thanks to the ‘net) will know within about 30 seconds if the call was correct or incorrect. Meanwhile, the umpires get to stand there like self-righteous buffoons, basking in the joy of never being held accountable for their mistakes. It’s time for this nonsense to stop. Very soon now, the commissioner is going to have to wake up from his scenility and explain why it’s ok for the umpires to have more control of the outcome of a game than the players do.
If I have to read or hear “we need a 2 hitter that will bunt,” “Glaus should start at third,” or “Diory should be in there instead of Conrad,” one more time I’m going to punch everyone I see in the face for the rest of the day (including myself if I happen to look in a mirror).
i have an original(maybe) thought or two about the FIRST inning, about which i am passionate i.e. angry…
Heyward, outclassed by his boyhood chum today who looked infinitely more mature including ON THE BASES for chrissake, had an awful at bat…as though he didn’t have the intelligence to grasp what the lead off double could likely mean in a game like this…on a 1-1 count what was he doing flailing towards left field? did he stop to think he could put Infante at third with one out?
now McCann…he’d seen enough pitches when he came up to know the breaking stuff was filthy, the fastball all over the place…so he takes fastballs down the middle on THE FIRST TWO PITCHES…0 and 2 and we all knew what was to follow…what was he thinking?
one last point…i thought Lowe was terrific last night, heroic almost the way he pitched round that grotesque error – and the runner on third with no-one out…with all the justified hype about Linecum he produced a classy performance, was proud of him…
which is more than i want to say about Heyward and McCann in the 1st…
It happens that I live in San Francisco these days… On my way from home to a bar (with my Braves cap on), listening to the game on the radio with the San Francisco broadcasters, they were very clear that the ump missed the call…I think TV broadcasters are told to be less critical or something. That said, I did notice that the TBS announcers earlier in the day were very clear about the fact that the Michael Young checked swing debacle was also a missed call. (Can I also say that that was one of the worst slides I’ve seen this year? Posey looked like he’d been shot at the end of the play.)
@James/6
This is from David O’Brian’s blog, quoting Bobby Cox after the game:
“Some of the guys came down after that inning and said he was out by 6 or 8 inches. From the dugout you can’t see anything, and I didn’t see a reaction from our infielders.”
blazon/14: What on earth makes you think McCann could have recognized those pitches as fastballs before they were already in Posey’s glove? Honestly, this is by far the stupidest from of Monday morning quarterbacking. You’re going to go through and nitpick Heyward and McCann’s approach against Tim Lincecum? Yeah, ok…
Last post should read “stupidest form.”
Can Hernandez play 3rd? I am sick of the way Infante looks lead footed and Conrad should not be on the field. I’ll take a Diory 0 for 3 if he can field the ball.
Ty: I look at it this way. Against good pitching, you can basically write the bottom 5/9ths of the order off. The radio guys were describing it as a “puncher’s chance,” but it’s more like no chance, no purpose. They’re only in there because everyone has to bat. So if that’s your starting point, then yeah, why not Diory Hernandez? Brooks Conrad against good pitching is nearly an automatic out, and so is Diory. And maybe Diory gives you better defense, which is the only way you can get the (maybe) 2 runs your top 4 have a chance to give you stand up.
Bobby has proven he’s not afraid to shuffle the infield around in the last week. Can he take the plunge and admit that the bottom of the lineup is garbage, and that Hernandez won’t change that?
anon/21…
in the first innings, yes i am…
Heyward showed no interest in moving the runner – he might as well not have been there…
re McCann and 92 mph fastballs…really? you don’t see them till they’re in the catcher’s mitt..? wow, what’s a hitter going to do…
you will notice the lack of personal pejoratives…
@blazon/21: You can see that they are pitches, but you can’t recognize them for what they are. That’s why Timmy is difficult to hit. It’s not just because everyone sees his fastball and decides not to swing at it!
It is hard to believe but I think tonight’s lineup could be worse then last night. What the F— is Cox doing!!!
I would have preferred it if the braves had not made the playoffs. It would have saved me the agony of watching Matt Cain drive in a run against our #2 starter…..
…all while our punchless, clueless lineup continues to try to pull pitches that are six inches off the plate outside….
Here’s hoping the bravos survive ’til Sunday so Bobby can at least go out in the Tomato jerseys.
Did anyone else notice that they played TNT by AC/DC when Moylan came in? That’s his entrance music at the Ted.
Probably the highlight of the series so far.
Hard to believe that the braves jitters actually look worse tonight than they did last night, IMO.
Yeah they have more hits and they have a run, but I think they’ve swung at more cap-bill high fastballs tonight than any game I’ve ever seen. It’s like it’s a cruel joke that everybody in the entire world knows about except the braves players.
And ankiel and melky make me want to punch my dog every time I even see their faces… And I really love my dog. Mclouth pinch hits, ropes a single… HE’s BEEN HOT! PLAY HIM!
Blind Squirrel, meet nut.
Wow, what a bomb. I want that crack of the bat as my ringtone…
Lol… Rick ankiel in his post game interview… “just got lucky and put a good swing on it.”
At least he knows…
At leas the players know what’s going on, because the umps sure as hell don’t.
Am I the only one who think Bobby has done a horrible job managing this series?
New thread, game recap.
Tim at 33,
Bobby’s managing hasn’t been great. His lineup choices are between “awful” and “awfuller”. However, the forced ejection got the team back with him, and that was important.
Bullpen management last night seemed better. We will have a mountain to climb no with no Wagner.
Why Melky was batting fifth, I will never be able to figure out. Don’t hate the start as much as most (though I would have McClouth in over him).
Give him credit for that key at bat though. He battled one of the best closers in the game. Fouled off a ton of pitches at then was able to reach base, even if it was an error. Either way he woulda had an RBI
For the record, as someone who has watched all four LDS’s, Bobby has been the best manager of the bunch.
Try worst after leaving Conrad in there in the 9th.