Baseball Journal 10-28-13 World Serious Errors

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox were the two best teams in baseball.  It’s little wonder they’re pretty evenly matched, but who guessed that this series would be coming down to errors and umpiring?  The Series started off badly with a blown call at second.  It was correctly reversed immediately afterward by a meeting of the umps.  The issue then became, was it proper for them to have done that?  This then brings into question, why haven’t the umps been doing this all along to reverse bad calls?  Here’s a no-brainer prediction: instant replay will not clean all this up. 

No replay will be coming on balls and strikes.  We’ve been told that repeatedly.  What frustrates the hell out of me is that this is something they could fix with technology.  They could have a real-time electronic strike zone right now that would be much more consistent and accurate.  This came to me watching the blurry, incoherent strike zone being called in Game Three.  I can’t imagine the frustration of the pitchers and batters in a World Series putting up with that.

Errors have been pivotal in run scoring so far.  None have been bigger than Saltalamacchia’s ill-advised wild throw to Middlebrooks at third, trying to get Allen Craig in the 9^th on Saturday.  Craig was thrown out at the plate, trying to score.  The umpires once again stepped in, and called Obstruction on Middlebrooks for getting tied up with Craig, as he tried to scramble to the plate.  The winning run scores as an awarded base.

The call was correct.  (Obstruction pursuant to Rule 7.06.  Don’t ask me to explain the difference between Obstruction and Interference.)  Whether the Obstruction was on purpose or not (frankly, it looked kinda on purpose), was irrelevant.  That it ended a World Series game is not optimal, except if you wanted to generate the all-important media buzz for CONTROVERSY, but there’s no other way to call the game.

Unfortunately, the confluence of the blown call in Game 1, the impending implementation of instant replay, a general disdain for baseball umpires, and a game ending on an ump’s call of a seldom needed rule, has tarnished the sport on it’s biggest stage.  I’ve seen winning teams disgusted after doing so because of a Balk call bringing in the winning run.  The Cardinals are only pleased with the outcome because it’s the World Series.  Baseball fans and curious onlookers are less thrilled.  All I can say is, at least this World Series will not go unnoticed by the general public.     

I know this is Tim McCarver’s last Series, but I can’t take him anymore.  Between him overstating the obvious, calling attention to insignificant details, and heaping snarky criticism on the players, and Joe Buck trying to be the booming VOICE OF RECORD ON EVERY IMPORTANT PLAY, even if it turns out to just be an ordinary flyout, but you never know, so YOU HAVE TO USE THAT DRAMATIC INFLECTION ON EVERY PLAY, the game call sucks.  It’s nothing but mindless regurgitation of what the cameras have already shown, the constant reruns of important previous plays, and pointless speculation on an endless loop. 

I’m told they used to use local broadcasters to call national games.  Oh God, how wonderful it would have been to heard Eric Nadel and Jon Miller calling the World Series between the Rangers and the Giants a couple of years ago.  (Those are radio guys.  I don’t think they’d be doing the TV side in this instance, but it’s a nice thought.)  At least for the playoffs, can we consider having guys who actually really know the teams involved, can tell some stories about them, and can make the broadcast pleasant, instead trying to be historic and impartial.  I don’t care how much research Tim and Joe have done or how many stats they have access to, they’re the equivalent of verbal diarrhea, crapping all over the broadcast.      

On Saturday, I noticed a Juarez station was also broadcasting the World Series.  I actually left it there.  At least I could still hear the noise of the game.  If their broadcasters were just as obnoxious, they were in Spanish and I didn’t understand them anyway.  (I did have to flip back to Fox to get an explanation of that last play at the plate.)  As a bonus, no “Goat” shots (constantly showing a guy who’s made a bad play), more interesting commercials (I don’t care what shampoo Josh Hamilton and CJ Wilson use, they’re still losers), and no previews for Almost Human (I really like Karl Urban, but not to the point obsession). 

What else?  Game Four ended on a pick-off at first, with Boston winning after committing two errors themselves.  Neither team is exactly playing “loose.”  Shockingly on Saturday, Fox preempted the end of a college football game to go to baseball coverage.  If TBS was getting complaints about playoff baseball preempting reruns of Big Bang Theory, I can only imagine the outrage Fox must have gotten.  I missed the entire reason for “Catching Fire Sunday,” when I didn’t stay tuned for the movie trailer during the commercials.  Does this make me a bad baseball fan?  

Finally, I can’t help but notice in St. Louis the fans in those seats behind home plate, mostly because they’re continually being obstructed by camera there.  I see these heads poking around the camera, straining to see the action.  Essentially, the most expensive seats in the house at Busch Stadium the Third are no better than the seats behind the girders at Fenway.     

One NFL note.  Nice job Dallas defense.  Where were you guys the last minute of the game?  In the locker room, watching it on TV?  “Hey, lookee there at that guy running down the field!  Who is that?  What game is that?”