Play It Again, Bud!

Comedian Chris Rock mocked people who want credit for doing things that they are supposed to be doing in his 1996 HBO stand-up special, “Bring the Pain”. While the central theme of this segment of his show was a controversial, ethnic cultural commentary, this offshoot of Rock’s routine was not lost on the audience. 

“’I take care of my kids!’ You’re supposed to take care of your kids! … What do you want? A cookie!?!? … ‘I’ve never been to jail!’ You’re not supposed to go to jail, you low-expectation having motherfucker!”

This classic comedy is what came to mind when Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced that a proposal was put forward to expand MLB’s use of instant replay, expected to be approved by the owners. By “expand”, I mean actually make it meaningful and correct the bulk of common umpiring errors.

Caution: Contains strong language and graphic descriptions of adult situations. Viewer discretion is advised.

 

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

If you regularly read this blog, you know that I pull no punches with my general disapproval of Bud Selig. Still, even a broken clock is right twice per day. Selig and company, in my opinion, took a significant, historic step forward with this announcement.

Similar to the NFL, which began using instant replay in 1986, managers may challenge a call once during the first six innings of a game and twice after the sixth inning. Managers will not lose a challenge if they are correct. While I have not read some of the fine details, this sounds, on the surface, like a sensible system to ensure that critical calls are made properly.

MLB calls its replay expansion historic. The NFL called it "status quo" in the 1980s. 

EMBARRASSMENT VIA PROGRESS

The problem for MLB and Selig is that the sport has endured countless egregious missed calls in key, potentially historic situations that repeatedly put a stain on the game. Selig rigorously defended the effect of the “human element” in lending to the game’s historic charm. MLB found little public support among people not eligible for Social Security and Medicare. Baseball is a sport that is heavily rooted in tradition, but MLB has been of the position that tradition need not give way to common sense.

The NFL, which has had a reputation for evolving with technology, improving its product when the opportunity presents itself, and (drumroll) solving problems quickly when they arise, began using instant replay 27 years ago. After a minority of owners suspended the use of replay in the mid-1990s because it slowed the game down (and some teams were burned more than others on overturned calls), the league refined the process in the late-90s and led the organized sports world in the implementation and use of replay.

The NBA followed suit 11 years ago.  Even college football, also very rooted in tradition, implemented instant replay in the last of all of its major programs seven years ago. Here we are in 2013, approaching a half-century after man walked on the moon, and baseball is incapable of calling a runner out at first base when a fielder with the ball stepped on the bag first.

SAFE!!!! 1

DON’T POP THE CHAMPAGNE YET

MLB still needs formal approval from 75 percent of the league’s 30 owners in November plus agreement from the umpires and the players association for the video challenge system to go into effect in the 2014 MLB season. I’ve watched MLB bungle enough alley-oops in the past to leave the door open for the possibility that someone tosses a monkey wrench into the gears of change. In addition, we have yet to see tangible evidence of how the replay system will affect actually game play.

Catastrophe aside, baseball has finally moved into the 21^st century. It was just more than a decade after the century started. It should have happened years ago. Bud Selig gets no extra credit for doing what he was supposed to do long before this season.

MLB finally does the fans a favor. Was this the day of Bud Selig's daughter's wedding? 2

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info. 

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.


1) Image from www.wikipedia.org
2) Image from www.stlcardinalbaseball.com

“I DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW” - Part 2

This is the second in a two part series about the disbelief, good and bad, produced by the 2012 Major League Baseball Playoffs.

DISBELIEF OF DISGUST

The American League Championship Series produced a different kind of disbelief in its first two games. Both occurrences elicited disgust, one for Yankees fans and the other for baseball fans (if not fans of sports) as a whole. The Yankees trailed 4-0 against the Detroit Tigers in the bottom of the ninth inning but rallied to tie the score and force extra innings. After completely taking the momentum away from Detroit, the Yankees would give it back and lose to the Tigers in 12 innings, 6-4. Adding injury to insult, Yankees team captain, shortstop Derek Jeter, broke his ankle during the extra frames and was lost for the postseason.

An opportunity for a great comeback in Major League Baseball history was missed. The Yankees ninth inning rally was a footnote in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS. The heart and soul of their team was lost to injury. This was nothing compared to the disgust that all fans of baseball should have felt the following day.

Think it can't get any worse? 1

With the score 1-0 in the top of the eighth with two outs, Omar Infante of the Tigers ran from first base to second base following an Austin Jackson single. Infante overran second and slid back to second. Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher threw the ball in to second baseman Robinson Cano, who applied the tag under Infante on his chest. The problem was that second base umpire Jeff Nelson thought Cano completely missed the tag and that Infante went completely over Cano’s glove. Nelson admitted, after the game that he missed the call. Yankees manager Joe Girardi came out to argue the call in a very flared manner and was ejected from the game.  The Tigers would go on to score two runs in an inning that should have been over.

I personally do not blame the umpire. When you look at where Old Blue was positioned and consider the full speed of the play and that Cano missed Infante’s arm when he attempted the tag, the umpire’s call was humanly understandable. What is not understandable is Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig’s insistence on refusing to expand the instant replay system to one that could have corrected the call, gotten Nelson off of the hook, kept Girardi in the game, and improve the integrity of the outcome of MLB games.

The Tigers’ 3-0 victory in Game 2 (and the fact that the Yankees did not score any runs, making the Tigers’ two runs inconsequential after the fact) became a footnote in the dubious history of bungled calls in the history of postseason baseball caused by the stubborn refusal of a Commissioner longing for a time in sports that ended within the last 20 years in every other major professional North American sport. Yankees fans and any fan of baseball, except for the fans of the Tigers, should have been disgusted and in disbelief that the landscape is such in 2012.

SAFE! 2

The Major League Baseball postseason has produced many moments of disbelief over the years. Disbelief in the form of timeless, memorable moments that can endear people to the game are priceless assets of baseball. Moments like Game 2 of the American League Championship Series should become footnotes by the way of action to correct the problems that they magnify. They should not be the latest in a series of recurring headlines illustrating what’s wrong with the game once unequivocally known as “America’s Pastime”. 

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.

1) Image from www.usatoday.com

2) Image from www.nydailynews.com

Retweet of the Day - September 25, 2012

In case you have been isolated from all sports media until now, you are aware of the officiating debacle that took place at the end of last night's Monday Night Football game. The Seattle Seahawks were awarded a game winning touchdown against the Green Bay Packers as time expired on a Hail Mary pass.

The play was ruled a simultaneous reception by Seahwaks receiver Golden Tate and Packers defensive back M.D. Jennings. Replay clearly showed that Jennings intercepted the pass and that Tate interfered with Packers defensive back Sam Shields then stuck one arm underneath the ball after Jennings caught it, placing his other arm around the ball after Jennings went to the ground.

This has called the competence of the replacement NFL officials into further question. Which leads to today's retweet, by Amol K. ‏@amolkold, implying that Pro Football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson might be a free man with no financial strains if the replacement officials oversaw his criminal trials. Simpson is serving a minimum of nine years in a Nevada prison for armed robbery and kidnapping and was acquitted of double murder in 1994 before later being found responsible for the deaths in civil court.


""OJ was innocent" - Replacement Ref"



His timing was much better during his playing days.

Image from www.gumbumper.com

Passive Negotiation

The NFL has concluded its third week of action. It has also concluded its third week of regular season action in which replacement officials have been employed to referee the games. The regular NFL officials are locked out until a new labor agreement can be reached with the league. The final play of the final game of the week may have ensured that the regular officials get what they have been wanting.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

During the player lockout of 2011, the figure of $9 billion in revenue per year was offered repeatedly by the media as an estimate of annual NFL revenue. Recent reports have placed the difference in monetary value of the officials’ demands and what the league is offering at approximately $4 million. If the NFL wants what it gets for $4 million (out of a $9 billion pie), it got it.

Last night’s Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks was officially decided on a Hail Mary pass from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to Golden Tate on the final play of the game to give the Seahawks a 14-12 win. What really happened is that Wilson’s pass was intercepted by M.D. Jennings of the Packers as Tate stuck his arm in Jennings’ chest after pushing off of another Packers defender, Sam Shields. Tate wrapped his other arm around the ball after Jennings landed on the ground.

The befuddled officials glanced at one another, then the side judge signaled “touchdown” while the back judge signaled to stop the clock, which typically follows a change of possession (such as an interception in the end zone resulting in a touchback). The play was upheld by instant replay (longtime NFL referee Gerry Austin stated on ESPN that replay could not be used to determine which player had possession, only whether or not the ball was caught). The game is over.

LAST STRAW

Going back to the beginning of exhibition play in the 2012 NFL season, there have been comedies of gaffes and errors by the replacement officials. There have been missed holding calls. Late hits and illegal downfield contact have gone un-penalized. Officials have delayed gameplay, with some games lasting over four hours in regulation, discussing plays and applicable rules. The NFL appears to have taken an approach that game officials are like interchangeable parts.

Last night’s calamity is prima facia evidence that knowledge matters, experience matters, and that the regular officials were hired into their positions over others for a reason. The regular officials did not have to do anything to earn their strongest bargaining chip to date. They just had to not be there.

TOUCHDOWN  SEAHAWKS??? 1

Image from www.redding.com

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.

The Best Catch I Never Made

2

Last night, Dewayne Wise of the New York Yankees made one of the more impressive put outs you’ll see. What was even more impressive is that he did it without catching or presenting the ball. What was unimpressive is that a FAN did present the ball to the umpire.

DEWAYNE WISE – BEST ACTOR NOMINEE

Here is what happened. The Yankees led the Cleveland Indians 6-0 in the 7th inning while the Tribe had a runner on third. The Jack Hannahan (.256, 3 HR, 18 RBI) of the Indians hit a fly ball into foul territory in left field. Wise extended his glove near the stands in foul territory and flipped into the crowd. Wise arose with his glove closed and umpire Mike DiMuro called Hannahan out.

Replay showed that it was not a catch. Wise knew he did not have the ball in his glove. Wise put his head down and made a bee line for the dugout with his glove closed, probably hoping that DiMuro would not ask to see the ball. Actually, DiMuro didn’t have to ask. He simply needed to look at the fan near the left field wall holding his new souvenir in the air for all (except DiMuro, apparently) to see.

What a catch...NOT! 1

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

The Indians would go on to lose 6-4. Hannahan would not get a chance to bring the runner on third home and nobody would get a chance to bring Hannahan home, which would have given the Indians an additional two runs because the Yankees were awarded a third out for a catch that Wise never made.

Once again, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig’s stubborn refusal to join every other major team sports league in the 21st century has impacted the outcome of a game. Fortunately, there are 162 regular season games and the impact of this single mistake should have a limited impact on the outcome of the Indians’ and Yankees’ seasons.

However, we got a glimpse of how Selig’s precious “human element” made a mess of the 2010 Divisional Series matchups. We watched Armondo Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers get robbed of a historic perfect game, ironically against the Indians, due to “the human element” of umpiring during the 2010 regular season. Earlier this month, we watched Johan Santana of the New York Mets earn a no hitter in spite of a Carlos Beltran “foul ball” that landed on the foul line past third base, puffing clouds of white chalk into the air. These are not footnotes in the stories of the respective seasons. These are eye opening plays that altered significant events in baseball.

By all reports I hear in sports media, MLB has lost substantial market share in the 35 years old and under demographic to the NFL and NBA. By refusing to use an easily available tool to ensure that games are called properly, Selig is planting his feet in the mud for a cause that will not attract those younger fans. A commissioner who kicks and screams into the future is not what a game with a shortage of younger fans from a tech savvy generation needs.

American Idol rejects aren't as tone deaf as Bud Selig is to his customers - the fans. 3

CAN’T WE JUST GET RID OF HIM?

Selig recently signed a contract extension, extending his term past the 2012 season, which was originally the final year of Selig’s contract and, according to rumor, supposed to be Selig’s final season before retiring. Clearly that isn’t the case. We’re stuck with him, baseball fans.

So since we can’t give Selig a golden parachute (not to be confused with the golden shower some fans may want to deliver to the commissioner), the only other option is to sit back and watch baseball crush itself under its own weight and continue to erode the integrity of the outcomes of its games. In time, enough black eyes, such as the Dewayne Wise call, will make even the most stubborn mule tired of being hit in the eye.

We haven’t reached the All-Star break yet. There is plenty of time for more umpiring calamities. If we are lucky, perhaps a team could lose a game solely because of a painfully obvious bad call. Perhaps the owners will steamroll Selig and demand an expansion of instant replay before the postseason.

Perhaps I’ll get a date with Megan Fox.

I think most guys reading this have a better chance of getting closer than this to Megan as baseball will of getting closer to expanding instant replay under Bud Selig's watch. 3

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.

1) Image from http://aol.sportingnews.com
2) Image from www.waitingfornextyear.com
3) Image from http://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com
4) Image from www.imageevent.com

MLB Playoff Expansion - Better Late Than Never

I have never been shy about my criticism of Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. I've poked fun at him, such as when I compared MLB to the Flintstones while other sports were in the space age. I've outright lambasted him, like when he bungled Armondo Galarraga's perfect game in 2010 yet has since been reluctant to expand instant reply. But I have always said that the one time he has made the right decision is when it came to expanding the playoffs in 1995 and revisiting the idea last year. It appears that an expansion from eight to 10 playoffs teams in MLB is imminent.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH?

Jamele Hill of ESPN.com wrote an article essentially arguing that eight is enough, a position with which I completely disagree. Hill essentially puts fourth a number of "what ifs", hypotheticals, and suggestions that undesirable practices that the expanded playoffs are intended to discourage will never completely be eliminated in baseball. While I could not wrap my mind around her line of thought, her detailed position and her supporting points lit a fire under me to counter her arguments. whether you agree or disagree, the entire point of writing an opinion is to make people think.

Jemele Hill's suggestion made Detroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland fall of the wagon. 2

DO YA REALLY WANT MORE?!

I am not sure I understand Ms. Hill's reasoning for keeping the MLB playoffs at eight teams. Sports are better when fans are engaged. MLB's current system of fewer than 1/3 of its teams in the playoffs results, every year, in disengaged fans, often soon after the All-Star break in July.

Her first argument is that the MLB regular season finale evening of 2011 would not have been as dramatic with 10 playoff teams qualifying. No other night in the 143 season history of MLB has impacted that may teams' postseasons. It was a fortunate anomaly for baseball fans and is unlikely to happen again any time in the near future, expanded playoffs or not. I think Ms. Hill offered a weak argument against expanding the playoffs.

Her argument is that the expanded playoffs will never eliminate "below board strategizing", (such as teams tanking the division to receive a more favorable match-up in the Divisional Series), which it true. But expanded playoffs with an extra round required of Wild Card teams will certainly eliminate the incentive of that particular, and all too common, practice.

There's no better place on a Sunday afternoon in the summer than at the ooooold ballpark! 1

TAKING THE SUMMER OUT OF "THE BOYS OF SUMMER"?

Ms. Hill then argues about an expanded playoff field diminishing the regular season. This was the point with which I could not possibly disagree more. The regular season is diminished as it is. Expanded playoffs will make September baseball much more exciting for several teams (the two additional teams and the teams against whom they are competing). Generally speaking, the casual fan doesn't care about the regular season except to see the occasional match-up of two teams (or a player or a story) that peeks Joe Fan's interest. Many a causal fan does not start paying attention to MLB until playoff time and that casual fan, not the die-hard fan, is the one whose viewership is up for grabs with other sports entertainment venues.

Last, change is inevitable in sports and baseball is long overdue on almost every progressive change (instant replay, PED testing, etc.) that the other major professional sports leagues (and even the NCAA) have incorporated, including playoff expansion. There are myriad reasons that Major League Baseball has been hemorrhaging market share to the NFL and others over the last 30 years. Expanded playoffs is not among those reasons.

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.

1) Image from www.bleacherreport.com
2) Image from www.detroit4lyfe.com

Major League Baseball is in the Stone Ages

1, 2

If you have ever taken college level business classes, you learn some very basic premises about business that lend themselves to common sense. Companies selling stock want to offer investors an opportunity to earn a return on the investment. The companies want to demonstrate that they are going to offer a product with value, with a demand. Companies want to show that they will innovate and be better than the competition. How else can you get someone to put his money into your company?



The gramophone was good enough in my day!



If I have to explain to you why you
should want to buy from me instead of
"Black & White Guy" on the left, you should
jump in front of a bus right now because your
DNA should not remain in the gene pool.

3, 4

So, what would you think of a company that clings to century old technology? A firm that does not bend to the whims of fancy, Johnny-come-lately trends just because every other competitor is using it and its customers love it…. A firm that believes its shortcomings are part of its charm…. A firm that would not want to deprive its customers of its failures because its customers would be deprived of the human element that makes the product so great…even when it is not great.



Sounds like an insane proposition, does it not? That is what Bud Selig and Major League Baseball put forward to the public. In contrast, the National Football League has utilized and fine tuned its use of instant replay for the past 15 years. It has expanded its brand to play regular season games in Europe. It has marketed itself to the point where the NFL is in the sporting news every day of the year – preseason, regular season, post season, offseason. If the NFL is the equivalent of the Jetsons in the sporting world, Major League Baseball is the Flintsones.



STRIKE THREE! YOU'RE OUT!!!

 5

George Jetson flies around through skyways in his vehicle. Fred Flintstone has a bunch of logs and branches with an animal skin for a roof and two cylindrical stones for wheels, attached to the chassis. They both make the best use of the resources available to them. So lets take a look at how George Jetson’s counterpart, Roger Goodell, handles situations in comparison to Fred Flintsone’s counterpart, Bud Selig.

6

Situation – officials make egregious calls that alter the outcomes of games.



Roger Goodell thinks, “This is unacceptable! We have 20 high def cameras covering every angle of the field at all times. We are going to make the officials take one more look at the play, from every angle imaginable (in 90 seconds or less), and have an opportunity to correct any mistakes they may have made.



Bud Selig thinks, “The human element is part of the charm of the game. It’s what people pay for! The ’27 Yankees didn’t need instant replay. We didn’t need any fancy, high definition nonsense to know that something was wrong with the 1919 Black Sox! The original call was good enough for Johnny Mize; it’s good enough for Johnny Damon! YABBA DABBA DOOOOOO!”



Situation – after looking at the impact of a rule on the game, it is clear that the rule is a stupid one. It’s bad for the game and the fans dislike it.



Roger Goodell thinks, “This is unacceptable! Our fans have a voice and if we ignore that voice, they will start doing their talking with their wallets and remote controls. Jane, we’re going to stop this crazy thing! The tuck rule, as it was, was stupid and the better team did not win. That was changed. Calvin Johnson caught, what any normal, rational person, would think is a touchdown. The rule is stupid. We're changing that next year."



What’d you say, fans? You know what, it IS bad for the fans when two teams that play an entire season are in a game to decide one of our participants in our signature event, the Super Bowl, and a coin flip heavily influences the outcome in overtime. Let’s FIX that next year so that a team doesn’t win a coin toss, get a good kickoff return, one good passing play, and a field goal to advance in the playoffs.”



Bud Selig thinks, “The show must go on! I don’t care if game 5, a potential closeout game, of our signature event, the World Series, has to be played in a maelstrom and we might not be able to finish the game. People want baseball and, gosh darnit, I’m gonna give it to them! If we have to call it after 5 innings, I’m in charge, we’ll pick it up where we left off. I’m not going to let some stupid RULES mess up the flow of the game! (This is contradictory on so many levels.)



PLAY BALL!!!

7

WILLLL-MAAAA! Why are people belly aching about the All-Star Game? The better league should host the World Series and the All-Star game is a gallant effort from the greatest ballplayers in world, played to the finish, to decide league supremacy! Nobody cares about trivial things like win-loss records. Those all star players break their neck to prepare for the All Star Game and we are going to honor that warrior-like commitment by deciding who gets to host the World Series! They're a team! And they're in it together! Those fans just don’t understand what they would really like better. YABBA DABBA DOOOO!”



Situation – The final month of the regular season approaches.



Roger Goodell thinks, “We have 32 teams. With 12 playoff participants, all but the worst of the worst teams have a chance at the playoffs in December. Most fans are going to be engaged with their teams until the end. People are buying tickets and watching on television. People are talking about all of the games. Even the worst teams could play “spoiler”. It’s a good thing Pete Rozelle and Paul Tagliabue added wild card teams so that games not involving division leaders actually MEAN something.”



Bud Selig thinks (in 1993), “Well, we have 28 teams now. We’ll have 30 in a few years. (sigh) Well I…guess it can’t hurt to add a divisional round to the playoffs. It’s just…two more teams in each league. Someone will like it…I guess.”



There is no better way to spend a Sunday than at the oooold ballpark!

 8

(in 2010) “No, damnit! We have 8 teams going to the playoffs already! I don’t care about empty stadiums in August and September. I’ve broken tradition enough as it is! I don’t care if we have more than double the teams we had 50 years ago. That means better competition. If Pittsburgh Pirate fans are REAL fans, they’ll stop wasting their money on Steelers tickets in the fall and watch all of the young prospects…the ‘Pirates of tomorrow’ grow before their very eyes. We are NOT going to become the NBA!! (Isn’t that the truth!) I’ve listened to the fans, and people do not want MORE playoffs. They want to hurry up and get the season over with! (And at the rate he’s going, everyone will share that sentiment soon) YABBA DABBA DOOOOO!"



So which company do you want to invest your money in? One that is a pioneer for sports technology? Or the one that is too rich in tradition to bend to the whims of its customers and make all kinds of stupid improvements and useless changes that make the product better? I know where my money is going. And here’s a hint: I think the Flintstones' descendants made the right choice to reinvent the wheel.




Only this dude would invest in MLB with a plan to make money.
And we all know where Gordon Gecko ended up.

 9
 
 
1) Image from wordpress.com
2) Image from insidesocial.com
3) Image from answers.com
4) Image from indiatimes.com
5) Imnage from mtcave.blogspot.com
6) Image from animationartgallery.com
7) Image from sportsillustrated.cnn.com
8) Image from xmmlbchat.blogspot.com
9) Image from guardian.co.uk