After the hosing we got Saturday, it’s poetic justice that the pendulum wing back the Rox’ way on Sunday.

I will say this — if that ball really hit the ground and Barmes managed to scoop it up while he was tumbling, his hand-eye coordination is off the charts.

That picture doesn’t even make any sort of sense – if that ball’s on the ground as he rolls over – and then in the guy’s next photo you see Barmes’ hand flat on the ground… and then as he rolls back over the ball is rolling across his chest… I mean, I’m not even sure how that’s possible.

What really killed me was the DP commenter saying “The Rockies are cheaters and dishonest!” Yeah, whatever – this ain’t golf, you aren’t obligated to ‘call your own’.

for not owning up to the fallacy of the out. Assuming he did not catch the ball, this isn’t the Cal Ripken League. You play the game hard and do everything you can to get outs on defense and be safe on offense. The umps decide the calls.

When’s the last time a player from ANY team admitted to misleading umpires, essentially forfeiting a win? Has it ever happened? Quit calling the Rockies liars. You might as well start a picketline outside the courthouse because defense lawyers don’t tell the truth. Like it or not, it is a norm of the job.

That Spilborghs quote lessened my belief Barmes actually did catch it

some road game, Spilborghs was trapped the ball on the ground sort of with his chest, turned around and sold it for the out. But it was obvious he didn’t catch it and he got booed for the rest of the game…

I wonder if Barmes knew he didn’t catch it but Spilly was right there yelling and pointing to go to first, probably saw it also,

part of the game though right! That’s not “cheating”

This sort of thing seems quite foreign. I’ve never seen this sort of play in cricket. Cricket does have replay to check if catches are fair or not, and it’s pretty much useless. Always inconclusive and takes for ever for a decision to be made.

Cricket has a number of differences though. For one baseball has 54 outs in 3-4 hours, cricket has 40 outs in 5 days, so getting a call right is even more important. Second, the absence of gloves makes it incredibly difficult to judge whether a low catch was really a catch or was it a one hopper. Only the player really ever knows.

Just be glad baseball doesn’t have replays for out calls on the basepaths. Since cricket introduced the third umpire for run outs, umpires never make a decision on their own, and it always slows the game down. If this ever happened in baseball, the game would become a farce.

I don’t think this is cheating, I do think it’s dishonest and ungentlemanly. But it’s not cricket so who cares. Seriously, pitches in the bullpens run 300 feet onto the field to have a chance to punch someone when a batter snorts angrily at a pitcher, I don’t think giving up the lead by telling the umpire you didn’t catch the ball is that much worse.

Well, they’re forgetting 2 critical things.

1. If Holliday never touched home plate (he did), best case scenario for SD, it’s a tie game with Helton on 2B and Hawpe at the plate. Not a Rockies loss.

2. If Barmes didn’t catch the ball, best case scenario for StL, it’s a tie game with Street still pitching and the Rockies bottom half coming up. Not a Rockies loss.

Still photos can be easily manipulated. I mean, sheesh, look what the Row and MCC can do with PhotoShop.

I would think someone in television, can take that video and examine it from several angles. They have the technology. They can rotate it, flip it it inside out, etc. If someone can produce the video, not a still photo, that shows the ball hitting the ground and Barmes, magically, scooping it up, then I’ll believe it.

And has been mentioned ad nauseum, it isn’t cheating or bad sportmanship. It’s unfortunate that Spilly made his coy comment, which I think is Spilly is having a little fun with this.

That said, game is over. We won.