12/21/24
October 10, 2009
SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
MLB.Com has posted Vin Scully's call of the Dodgers' game 2 comeback over the Cardinals with the video. Has Scully missed a step in the 61 years he's been calling games? He's incredible.
posted by rcade at 09:39 AM on October 10, 2009
"You talk about a painful error for Matt Holliday!"
I've never been able to decide if I preferred Scully or Jack Buck. You just can't go wrong with either.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:06 AM on October 10, 2009
I realize this isn't an isolated incident with regards to MLB, but an umpire this inconsistent can really impact the outcome of innings (and games).
So can a fair ball called foul.
The umpiring has been terrible all around this year (in the playoffs).
posted by justgary at 11:20 AM on October 10, 2009
Umps' foul play spoiling playoffs
posted by justgary at 11:38 AM on October 10, 2009
Drogba comes on as a sub and immediately scores to take Ivory Coast to the World Cup.
If only Liverpool could come up with the cash, a Drogba - Torres pairing would terrorize the league and Europe.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:57 AM on October 10, 2009
As a Twins fan, that blown call on Mauer's double was hard to take. It hit the fielder's glove for God's sake! not like we're talking about a ball an inch outside the strike zone.
As to the strike zone, either the networks strike zone was way off, or the umpire was. He was consistent in that he called them horribly for both teams.
Gomez messes up at second, the Twins can't score with the bases loaded and no one out...Yankees take full advantage of those short corners, and the Twins are done. Been fun watching their comeback from 8 games out to make the playoffs!
At three times the payroll, shouldn't the Yankees have some sort of handicap placed on them? Instead they seemed to have earned extra benefits.
posted by dviking at 01:10 PM on October 10, 2009
As a Twins fan, that blown call on Mauer's double was hard to take. It hit the fielder's glove for God's sake! not like we're talking about a ball an inch outside the strike zone.
It's bad for the twins, and bad for baseball. If the correct call is made there's a good chance the series is headed to minn tied 1 game apiece. What a great baseball story that would be? Instead, it cheapens the yankee win and puts the twins on life support.
posted by justgary at 04:17 PM on October 10, 2009
That was hands down the worst call can remember seeing. It wasn't even close.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 04:44 PM on October 10, 2009
I have to agree that the post-season umpiring this year, at least in the AL, has been abominable. I did not see the bad call on Mauer's non-hit, but I did watch C B Bucknor's rotten performance at 1st base on Thursday and his wandering strike zone on Friday. One wag in the Boston papers said that Bucknor's initials, CB, stood for "Clinically Blind". Joe West on Thursday night also had a wandering strike zone, punishing both starters. If the series goes far enough, I can't wait until Greg Gibson puts his attitude behind the plate into the game.
As far as Phil Cuzzi feeling bad about blowing the fair/foul call, if he feels that bad, let him take himself out of the crew and sit out the rest of they year.
One disclaimer; I'm not blaming umpiring for the outcome of the series so far. Boston really needs to analyze its approach at the plate when not in Fenway and facing good pitching.
posted by Howard_T at 05:24 PM on October 10, 2009
As a Twins fan, that blown call on Mauer's double was hard to take. It hit the fielder's glove for God's sake
I sometimes snicker at the over-elaborate hushed tones of reverence in golf but I have to say, those players will call fouls on themselves and do so, all the time.
It is hopelessly naive - in itself sad - to think that the fielder would have corrected the umpire and called it a hit. That would be sportsmanship and the fact it is so clearly ludicrously not going to happen is too bad.
posted by rumple at 09:54 PM on October 10, 2009
For a vast majority of the regulation part of the Yankees/Twins extra-inning game last night, I thought the home plate umpire was terrible. Even without the "strike zone" feature the network uses to show pitch locations, he was inconsistent. His strike zone was all over the place, and he had no concept of pitches actually having to cross the outside corner of the plate. I realize this isn't an isolated incident with regards to MLB, but an umpire this inconsistent can really impact the outcome of innings (and games).
That being said, the game itself was extremely entertaining and exciting. The Twins played a great game, except for a baserunning blunder at second. They are a really fine fielding team, and having not watched them much this past season, I do feel bad they don't have Morneau in this series. It's impacting how pitchers are going after Mauer.