Tuesday Morning Rockpile:

by Russ Oates on May 8, 2007 6:41 AM MDT in Rockpile

The Rockies-Cardinals game wasn't the only one with some questionable calls last night. In the Yankees game last night, Willie Bloomquist was clearly out at second by a large margin on a stolen base attempt. That missed call helped the Mariners win the game, so it's not all that bad. However, after the game was over Gerry Davis admitted to blowing the call.

In the Mets-Giants game Bengie Molina had two home runs in one inning, though one of them almost didn't count. The replays clearly show that the ball hit over the yellow line, but there was some question as to whether or not a fan reached over and touched the ball. It was hard to tell, but it did not appear the fan was in the field of play.

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One summary on the whole ninth inning:

Added Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on the controversy, "The run scored, right?"

That's what it all boils down to, but one look at last night's game thread and then maybe LaRussa would understand that it was about more than just a run.

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Mark Kiszla, we get the sentiment by now. Yes, we all agree it would be nice if the Monforts decided to spend more money to bring in good, reliable players, but Roger Clemens, and his excessive salary for a few months of baseball, doesn't quite work here. The Rockies also don't have Joe Torre.

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Amazing thought for the day: Hurdle will keep rotating Iannetta and Torrealba until one of them has a hot streak. Doesn't a guy get hot if he, you know, doesn't revolve in and out of the lineup?

Renck has a short segment in the article on the new Todd Helton; it's no "Todd Helton: The Renaissance".

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Yellow line tech time

Something's got to be done about these botched HR calls involving the yellow (or white) line. I watch a lot of highlights and you see these missed calls all the time in MLB. I was at Coors Field once and Larry Walker hit a line drive off the back of one of those single row of seats behind the left field wall and it bounced back onto the field. You could see it as plain as day (and I was sitting behind 3rd base), but the play was ruled a double.

In these situations you've got an umpire running out at top speed trying to focus on a fast-moving ball impacting maybe 100-150 feet away. No wonder they miss so many. I would be vehemently opposed to instant replay around the bases and for balls/strikes, but for the outfield yellow line especially in these new stadiums I think the time has come to use technology as an aid.

by DeepPurple on May 8, 2007 7:28 AM MDT reply actions

I agree

it's time to have instant replay for this sort of thing. I also agree with you that it shouldn't be for balls and strikes or close plays. But definately for this sort of thing. What about balls hit down the line, should we have replay for that? I'm not sure because the umps seem to get this right most of the time.

by Blake20th on May 8, 2007 8:10 AM MDT reply actions

Low Tech...

Maybe they should just go to a six person crew, like they do in the playoffs.

by jlikesrockies on May 8, 2007 10:23 AM MDT up reply actions

agreed

it is time for replay for home runs, but i dont know about fair/foul balls besides those going over the fence. the difference is on a play like tulo's, he still ends up on 2nd if they blow it. but on a scorcher hit towards the left field corner, if they call it foul when it was actually fair, the play stops and even replaying it wont do anything to fix the mistake. you cant just give the runner 2nd... what if the OF got a good bounce off the fence and threw him out? what if he got a bad bounce and the runner could have turned the hit into a triple? therefore, umps would start erring on the side of caution and being more inclined to call stuff fair than foul because in the back of their minds they'd always be able to go back to replay and "fix" it by calling it foul and bringing the batter back to the box. and thats what bugs me about the way football does things with their replay- on fumbles or steps out of bounds, refs now are inclined to let plays go (consider every loose ball a fumble, not call a guy out of bounds unless theyre 150% they saw it from less than 10 feet away) so they dont accidentally take away a touchdown or turnover. but that turns replay into a crutch, not an emergency tool. i dont want baseball doing that too. it should only be used for home runs (both when fair/foul or over the fence/not over the fence are at issue) because in those situations, an overruling of a bad call wont affect how the play turns out too much.

Rockies in October.

by LarryB303 on May 8, 2007 10:39 AM MDT up reply actions

The run scored....

thanks in large part to LaRussa's questionable decision to walk Atkins to load the bases. Maybe he was feeling guilty for taking advantage of the botched call. Thanks Tony!

by DenverBears on May 8, 2007 9:33 AM MDT reply actions

kiszla

i always complain about him, i know... but seriously what an idiot. comparing what the rockies do during cold stretches to what the yankees do is like asking why an impoverished and wartorn african country like uganda or somalia cant just suddenly start be more like the united states. baby steps, you moron. baby steps. lets try to be more like a mid market team before we start acting like the yankees or another huge market team. this no talent hack frustrates me to no end. (very cutting edge to throw a bonds/steroids slam in there, too, mark. youre really breaking new journalistic ground there.)

Rockies in October.

by LarryB303 on May 8, 2007 10:30 AM MDT reply actions

What Kisla is omitting

Is the fact that the Rockies are showing signs of life. The lineup that we all thought could be so good is starting to gel. Tulo is looking more and more like he may become a star player, and soon. Ianetta will win the playing time battle soon, I think, even if by default. Taveras (hopefully back soon) is doing his job. McClellan and even Arias have helped stabilize the bullpen, which shows that there is some depth down on the farm. Fuentes is making us crazy, but is getting the job done. Francis is starting to pitch well again, and Hirsh has been at least as effective as we could have expected a healhy Jennings would have been. When Kaz and Lopez get back, and if Ubaldo can show enough control to warrant a call up, this team may well make a run.

by jlikesrockies on May 8, 2007 11:02 AM MDT up reply actions

replay/davidson

A replay to determine a home run is definitely a good idea. I remember a few years ago the Rockies were robbed of a home run vs the Marlins in Florida that the replay clearly showed was fair down the left field line (the ump called it foul).

Doesn't umpire Bob Davidson show up more often than not in these controversial calls? I remember Davidson threatened to call the first game ever at Mile High Stadium (the Eric Young home run game vs the Expos) because the playing field was in bad shape. He also had a bad call involving Mark McGwire a few years ago. Every ump can make mistakes but Davidson seems to like the spotlight. He was a bad Denver area talk radio host when the umps were on strike, too.

by titan on May 8, 2007 12:33 PM MDT reply actions

by Perry on May 8, 2007 2:15 PM MDT reply actions

Kiszla

Kiszla is an idiot.

I still dislike Lincicome even more. Kiszla has a good piece about once a week, I have yet to read anything by Lincicome that was worth the paper it was printed on.

by MADness on May 8, 2007 3:55 PM MDT reply actions