UPDATE: In other baseball news:
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— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 15, 2012#MLB:#SFGiants' Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games without pay after testing positive for testosterone.
Okay, apropos of nothing this morning, except the fact that we've dissected the A's lineup in about every way it can go, and only time will tell what we are still working with, I thought I would show this clip for your viewing pleasure.
If you haven't yet seen the clip, it is of the Dodgers' announcer, Vin Scully, translating and editing for television, a long rant last week by Colorado manager, Jim Tracy, as he was tossed from a game for arguing a call. Long story short, a ball was hit to the outfield, it was caught--no! It was trapped--no! It was caught!; the initial call was a catch, which was later overruled as a trap, and the manager flipped out on the umpires. The clip is honestly hilarious; Vin Scully is so, so funny creating a "clean" version of Tracy's rant, but there is an underlying...almost stupidity...that seeps through this moment.
I think this clip alone has changed the way I feel about instant replay. In the nearly six minute delay of the game, where the four umpires get together and argue over who had the best view, what exactly they saw, and what they are going to do, I couldn't help but think the entire time, "Well, if they just went to replay, it would take 10 seconds to see the ball was trapped, and they could give the manager an official answer, instead of a guess, and he really couldn't flip out and throw things, now could he?"
Seriously. A questionable call is made. Someone challenges it. Replays are reviewed. The right call is made. I never considered myself on the replay bandwagon, but look at the video. It seems almost pedestrian not to make the correct call from actual footage; not a best guess. But I can see the other side too; the loss of nostalgia. Would managers really continue the highly-entertaining, kicked-out-of-the-game rants against instant replay instead of a live umpire, who may or may not have been right and it's up for debate? So I guess the question is; is it more important to get the call right for the game, or is it more important to preserve some of the "fun" of the game by leaving in a human element?
As for the battered A's, they try to snap a 2-game losing streak with Brandon McCarthy's second start back tonight. He can act, he can sing, he can dance, but can he pitch? Will Smith starts for the Royals tonight.
