email this
print this
reprint or license this
SAVE AND SHARE
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Paul Hagen: For some, replay evokes instant criticism
UPON FURTHER review, instant replay is now officially a part of baseball.
And, no, those who disagree can't throw a red flag.
For the most part, the reaction across the baseball landscape has ranged from a grudging acknowledgment that the change was inevitable to a warm embrace of technology that should, in theory, help umpires get calls right.
Naturally, of course, there are those who disagree. Orioles manager Dave Trembley is one of the most prominently outspoken critics of the new system, which is designed to be used only for boundary calls involving home runs.
Trembley appears to have three major objections. One is that he's a traditionalist.
"I guess if they can move into a new Yankee Stadium they can have instant replay. The game is evolving, much to my chagrin," he grumbled.
The second, which has been expressed by others, is that it removes some of the human element from the equation. "I don't like it. The game is the game. Let the game be pure in what it is," he said.
He believes a better solution would be to add a pair of umpires for the regular season, just like baseball does for the playoffs.
His third objection carries the most weight. When general managers recommended that replay be considered last November, it was almost unthinkable that the system could be implemented this quickly.
"They better be sure they got the kinks out," Trembley warned. "Otherwise, they are going to set themselves up for some embarrassing situations that could possibly occur. And I don't think major league baseball, at this particular time, needs that."
Trembley isn't the only skeptical observer. "This is not going to work," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said earlier this week. "Come on. I shouldn't say it's not going to work, but this could turn into a little bit of a fiasco [at first]."
Added Indians backup catcher Sal Fasano: "It's Armageddon. Baseball is a game of human error. It always has been and always will be. Why would you want to take that away? I think it's dumb."
Maybe. But the view from this small corner of the baseball universe is that it would be even dumber not to do whatever is possible to make sure calls are correct.
The hot corner
* Reds righthander Aaron Harang has some suggestions that, he thinks, would turn Great American Ball Park from a bandbox to a fairer arena. "They should remove two rows of seats in the rightfield stands and raise the wall to the same height as it is in leftfield [12 feet]. That would eliminate line-drive home runs that barely clear the [8-foot] wall," he said. And, "They should put wind screens up in the gap in the stands between home plate and third base that causes a jet stream to right and right-center."
* The New York Daily News reports that Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney are among those being considered as entertainment to help close out Yankee Stadium.
* Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts was supposed to get a day off Wednesday. But Alex Cintron, who was supposed to replace him, came down with food poisoning. So Roberts played . . . and drove in three runs to help Baltimore beat the White Sox.
Around the bases
* Indians centerfielder Grady Sizemore could become only the second leadoff hitter ever to drive in 100 runs. Darin Erstad did it for the Angels in 2000.
* The Boston Globe points out a neat oddity. When Tom Glavine was a rookie in 1987, he went 2-4 with a 5.54 earned run average. If Glavine - out for the season with a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow - retires at the end of this season, the line for his final season will be a bookend: 2-4, 5.54.