It would have been ruled a ground rule double since it bounced into the stands. It had also made contact with the OF’s mitt in fair territory, the ump managed to miss that as well.

Mauer reached on a single a pitch or two after this – so his is one of the three singles you cite. Obviously, he did not make it in. But, had he been given the double, maybe he would have. I saw on another thread the next hit (single to right) would not have made it through as Tex was on the bag holding Mauer on. He would have been in position if Mauer was on second. I don’t know – you can’t say definitively one way or another. No way to know where he would have been playing, if he would have gotten to it, would he have made the same pitches, would Mauer be stealing the signs, etc.

How about just getting the what should have been an easy call right in the first place and let the game play out? There has been a rash of bad umpiring in baseball, and college and pro fb has also had a less than exemplary fall. This is very frustrating as a fan – I really want the players to decide the game.

I don’t begrudge human error on a close call. This guy was in postion looking right down the line and the ball was in by 6-8". It was just obvious, and in the 11th inning of a playoff game. Inexcusable.

….you have to wonder if this was an old school cover Cuzzi’s ass call by the ump down the line. I mean how could both guys miss it?

Officiating is always going to be the source of controversy though. What burns me up inside is how the Twins had the bases loaded and nobody out and they still failed to score. Cubesque, circa August 2009.

It was a bad call.

in the Cubs/Cards series in September of ’03 that enraged Alou and sent Six-Finger Tony into a chest-bumping tirade against the umpire. Except that one kicked up white dust, which should be easier to see. This one was still really awful, though.

It’s the Yankees’ year, I’m thinking.

and at one point, they played the comments made by the crew chief (Tim Tschida). The agony in his voice was unmistakable. The only defense he put up – and it really wasn’t much of a defense – is that the outfield line assignments are new/different for the umps. They don’t do that during the regular season, so they always spend time going over coverage responsibilities.

But to his credit, Tschida didn’t hide behind that – he just stated it matter-of-factly and moved on. He also said the crew got together after the game and reviewed the tape and they all realized they had screwed up. He said Phil Cuzzi (the ump who blew it) was back in the locker room and just felt terrible. Tschida (the crew chief) feels terrible – he’s been in that position before and it’s this ugly feeling that just doesn’t go away.

Anyway, listening to him made me put away the torch and pitchfork. It still doesn’t excuse or explain the incompetence – I don’t think anything can. But it was good to hear the person in charge step up and face the music.

By the way, adding to Tschida’s agony no doubt, at least on a sub-conscious level, is the fact that he’s a St. Paul native. Man, talk about inner conflict…

But it’s time to have replay in baseball.

On a fair/foul call, if that ball doesn’t go into the stands, is called foul, and everyone stops, then they review it and see it was fair, it would be a controversy on where they would put the runners. There will always be something.

The announcers said the play couldn’t be seen from the dugout, but it’s hard to believe the third base coach couldn’t see it. I was very surprised he wasn’t out there raising hell afterward.

And does anyone know what the umpired protocol is in that situation? On the replay, it looked like the third base umpire was right on the line watching the play. If he’d seen that the ball was fair would he have been able to overrule the left field ump, or does he have to keep quiet unless asked?

That was no call for some sorta reason. I would guess a paid off umpire because I cannot be convinced his fixed eyes on that play didn’t see it! Does Bud Selig wanna see the Yankees or Red Sox in the World Series that bad? I’m getting sick of my favorite sport more every day.

MLB allows umpires to get away with their actions and bad umpiring on a daily basis. It is rare when I see an umpire who actually has a consistent strike zone and who umpires fairly. It seems like every game the umpire has a different strike zone for guys like Zambrano and other players they don’t like, including for rookies (like they have to earn it, as I have heard some sportscasters say). Then they give wide outside strike calls for some pitchers.

Umpires need to realize that we don’t come to the park to watch them. They are mostly bad, and they should remember that when they throw guys out for no reason, or rip off their masks when someone dares to question their horrible calls.

Doesn’t MLB watch these games? If this was any other profession, they’d be canned.