SF Kid
06-14-2008, 04:00 PM
It's about time. Baseball finally pulling their head out of the sand? ~SFK
MLB wants home run replay by Aug. 1
by FOXSports.com
Moving faster than expected and coming after a rash of blown calls, baseball wants to put replay into effect by August for home run disputes in hopes of fine-tuning the system by the playoffs rather than waiting to launch it during the Arizona Fall League and then the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
"The game needs it and I think it does need it soon," Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lieber said Friday before a game at Toronto. "With technology the way it is today, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a part of the game."
Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, is pushing for replay by Aug. 1; Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, suggested Aug. 15.
However, MLB still faces obstacles if it intends to introduce replay by Aug. 1. Both the players' and umpires' union must give their approvals, and John Hirschbeck, head of the World Umpires Association, expressed reservations Saturday morning in a telephone interview with FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
"I don't see how something could be implemented in that quick a time and be done right," Hirschbeck said. "It's a problem and I don't think they're really addressing the whole problem. The media is crying for instant replay. They want to take out the human factor. If you're going to do it, I think we need to make sure it's being done properly."
Hirschbeck's concerns are shared by commissioner Bud Selig, according to one Major League Baseball source, who estimated that the chances of replay happening this season are only "50-50."
MLB would not want to roll out replay in September, the source said, making Aug. 15 the likely deadline for implementation.
"I don't think it's needed at all, to be honest," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Friday. "How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It's all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You're going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands."
Selig will ultimately decide when MLB wants to put replay in place. A staunch opponent in the past, a spate of missed boundary calls — fair or foul, over the fence or not — last month left Selig leaning toward its limited use.
The NFL, NBA, NHL, some NCAA sports and major tennis tournaments all employ replay in various forms.
A person briefed on MLB's preliminary plan said baseball wants to create an NHL-style "war room" in New York where video feeds would be reviewed by a supervisor. The umpire crew chief wouldn't see replays — instead, the supervisor would describe what he saw, but leave it up to the umpire to make the final call.
It was not certain whether managers, umpires or the video supervisor would ask for a replay, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations were in progress.
"I think the umpires do a good job on it. If they would like some additional help, I would find nothing wrong with it," Baltimore hitting coach Terry Crowley said Friday night before the Orioles played Pittsburgh. "Every once in a while they get one wrong, but I would bet they get 99 out of 100 right, probably more."
Last November, general managers voted 25-5 to try replay on boundary calls. At the time, Selig took the recommendation under advisement.
Selig, like many of the game's traditionalists, always liked the human element of baseball, and that meant tolerating an occasional wrong call by an umpire. He also worried about further bogging down a sport that has been criticized for its slow pace.
In recent years, the new and cozy ballparks have made it more difficult for umpires with their quirky dimensions, odd angles and yellow lines that denote home runs.
"We're putting these umps in a very difficult position making a call that is already challenging just because of the dynamic of the play," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said before the Rockies played at the Chicago White Sox. "We live in a technological society right now that we can get it right. The guy at home sees it right. That for me is where it really gets confusing. You can sit in your chair at home and make the right call, but the man getting paid who's the expert is put in a box where you don't know."
Includes reporting by The Associated Press.
MLB wants home run replay by Aug. 1
by FOXSports.com
Moving faster than expected and coming after a rash of blown calls, baseball wants to put replay into effect by August for home run disputes in hopes of fine-tuning the system by the playoffs rather than waiting to launch it during the Arizona Fall League and then the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
"The game needs it and I think it does need it soon," Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lieber said Friday before a game at Toronto. "With technology the way it is today, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a part of the game."
Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, is pushing for replay by Aug. 1; Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, suggested Aug. 15.
However, MLB still faces obstacles if it intends to introduce replay by Aug. 1. Both the players' and umpires' union must give their approvals, and John Hirschbeck, head of the World Umpires Association, expressed reservations Saturday morning in a telephone interview with FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
"I don't see how something could be implemented in that quick a time and be done right," Hirschbeck said. "It's a problem and I don't think they're really addressing the whole problem. The media is crying for instant replay. They want to take out the human factor. If you're going to do it, I think we need to make sure it's being done properly."
Hirschbeck's concerns are shared by commissioner Bud Selig, according to one Major League Baseball source, who estimated that the chances of replay happening this season are only "50-50."
MLB would not want to roll out replay in September, the source said, making Aug. 15 the likely deadline for implementation.
"I don't think it's needed at all, to be honest," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Friday. "How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It's all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You're going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands."
Selig will ultimately decide when MLB wants to put replay in place. A staunch opponent in the past, a spate of missed boundary calls — fair or foul, over the fence or not — last month left Selig leaning toward its limited use.
The NFL, NBA, NHL, some NCAA sports and major tennis tournaments all employ replay in various forms.
A person briefed on MLB's preliminary plan said baseball wants to create an NHL-style "war room" in New York where video feeds would be reviewed by a supervisor. The umpire crew chief wouldn't see replays — instead, the supervisor would describe what he saw, but leave it up to the umpire to make the final call.
It was not certain whether managers, umpires or the video supervisor would ask for a replay, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations were in progress.
"I think the umpires do a good job on it. If they would like some additional help, I would find nothing wrong with it," Baltimore hitting coach Terry Crowley said Friday night before the Orioles played Pittsburgh. "Every once in a while they get one wrong, but I would bet they get 99 out of 100 right, probably more."
Last November, general managers voted 25-5 to try replay on boundary calls. At the time, Selig took the recommendation under advisement.
Selig, like many of the game's traditionalists, always liked the human element of baseball, and that meant tolerating an occasional wrong call by an umpire. He also worried about further bogging down a sport that has been criticized for its slow pace.
In recent years, the new and cozy ballparks have made it more difficult for umpires with their quirky dimensions, odd angles and yellow lines that denote home runs.
"We're putting these umps in a very difficult position making a call that is already challenging just because of the dynamic of the play," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said before the Rockies played at the Chicago White Sox. "We live in a technological society right now that we can get it right. The guy at home sees it right. That for me is where it really gets confusing. You can sit in your chair at home and make the right call, but the man getting paid who's the expert is put in a box where you don't know."
Includes reporting by The Associated Press.