Angels in the Outfield

[jepuskar]

As a Chicagoan it does appear that was a BS call, but THAT call didn't lose the game for the Angels..it was the next better that lost the game for the Angels. The Angels manager said pretty much the same thing. The Angels had plenty of shots to score in the game but didn't...nobody talks about that. Suck it up... Go CUBS....errr SOX.

 

[ScubaTexan]

Granted, it was the RBI double that did the Angels in and not the blown call -- which is why it is ludicrous to blame the Cubs' demise in the 2003 NLCS on Steve Bartman. He's not the one that let the Marlins blow the doors off the Cubs in that inning.

 

[jepuskar]

I concur..the guy doesnt even live in the area anymore because of that...death threats followed. I heard the umpire from last nights game was escorted off the plane by police officers upon arriving in LA..darn shame.

 

[gfisher4792]

Sure, replays did say that the catcher caught the ball, but the umpire also was unclear in his hand signals for 'out' and 'strike 3' were. His hand signal said 'out' as far as almost everyone was concerned.

Also mentioned was that when a ball is in the dirt, the ump usually calls 'no catch' which he did not. Granted, there's nothing in the rulebook that says they have to, but most do (also nothing in the rule book about hand signal differentiation).

Even with all this, I don't think replay for balls and strikes is good for the game. I would argue that most calls by umps are right, and slowing down the game would kill fan interest. Personally, I get irritated enough timeouts at the plate, but that's just me. I would like to see replay used for home run/fan interference calls, though. Damn you Jeffery Meier!