Anyone recall that All-Star Game debacle from earlier this year? I'm not complaining about the quality of that contest. It was top-notch. But it came dangerously close to being a massive conundrum. Yes the managers were very frivolous with their respective pitching staffs, but ultimately, that incident was yet another testament to the need to put an end to this absurd World Series home field advantage experiment. Common sense tells us it is a stupid rule. An unfair, and shameless ploy to increase All-Star game buzz and television ratings.
But as we have learned over the years, common sense is often glaringly absent from the world of Major League Baseball.
Many of the game's eccentricities remain charming if not entirely necessary. I for one am against the idea of a computerized strike zone. Perhaps nostalgia, and the incessant romanticism that baseball embodies may at times trump reason and logic. You know what? I'm fine with that. Most of the time anyway (although I admit it's easier to be accepting when viewing the playoff stage from a distance... an infinitely torturous distance...). The human error debate will continue to surface perennially as the other major American sports adopt more advanced replay policies. And it should. Isn't the idea to get the call right, no matter what path is taken to arrive at the proper conclusion?
In most sports, yes.
But hey, in a sport with no time limit whatsoever--forget periods, quarters and halves 'cause we're talking no written time rules, at all--there's simply no time for a bunch of men to take a siesta in order to gather around a TV with a tarp over it and peruse through game film.
Consider the following:
-No time limit for the pitcher between pitches
-No time limit for the batter between stepping in and out of the box
-No limit to the number of mound visits
-No set limit as to how long those mound visits can be
- If an infielder feels so inclined, he can stop by for a chat too. Hell, why not the entire infield? Hey guys! Get in here!
-No limit to the number of times a pitcher can throw to any bag. Even if no one was on base I doubt anyone would raise much of a fuss if a pitcher decided to toss over to third, just to be cute.
-And last but not least, there is no designated limit to the amount of time Lou Pineilla is granted to walk out on to the diamond, in any capacity... and then return to the dugout. He just waltzes over heeeeerrrree, and he waltzes over theeeeeeeeeere. It's a delightful promenade! Personally, I don't mind 'cause he struts like a champion, but I could see how less understanding individuals might be frustrated.
You get the point. I'm not saying all of these things should be regulated. I'm simply pointing out that baseball is often a very long, very tedious game. In a season where we were alerted that umpiring crews were being instructed to speed up the pace of play and showed (cough, understatement) a lack of results... well, you can imagine what a full-scale replay system would do to the game.
This however brings me to my next point.
When umpiring is as piss poor as has been displayed in this World Series, the outcry for replay will continue to gain steam. These guys have, simply put, been a joke. The list of blown calls is long. Tonight's strikezone was atrocious. I just don't understand how this happens. In theory, these are supposed to be the highest-graded and most respected umpires in the league are they not? So is that system flawed or have they all decided to take a collective vacation from paying attention...
And at this point my original thoughts have devolved into a rant.
My initial subject was that similar to the All-Star game situation earlier this year, Bud Selig Inc. were let off the hook, in this case after Carlos Pena was able to tie the game with a two out single in the middle of a torrential downpour.
Does anyone want to hypothesize what the overall public reception--not to mention the media reaction--would have been had the World Series been called with 3 innings to play?
Are you shitting me?
From either a Rays or Phils fan perspective, the outrage would have been unparalleled. For the Rays, well, no explanation necessary. And for Phillies fans? They would have been plagued for the rest of time with a feeling of incomplete satisfaction. They would have been infinitely chided with "What If" and "You didn't really win the World Series 'cause you never finished game 5" diatribes for the remainder of history.
So Bud, some advice:
-End this All-Star Game experiment. It is foolish, unnecessary, unfair and ridiculous.
-Amend the "official game" rainout ruling for the playoffs, especially the fucking World Series. I mean, who are you kidding?
-This is a big one: If you're going to institute this "official game" policy in the World Series, YOU BETTER MAKE DAMN WELL SURE THAT YOU CAN FINISH THE FUCKING GAME BEFORE YOU START IT. DEAR LORD!!
Does anyone else feel like Mugatu in Zoolander?
"I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!"
(Please keep in mind this rant is concerning a playoff series that does NOT involve the Chicago Cubs. You can only imagine the violent and hateful filth I would spew if such an improbable situation would actually come to fruition. That's right, I'm still bitter. Deal with it.)
Sigh.
That is all.
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