{"id":15229,"date":"2013-01-21T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2013-01-21T00:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=15229"},"modified":"2013-01-20T13:10:29","modified_gmt":"2013-01-20T13:10:29","slug":"weekly-hit-ground-ball-more-replay-on-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=15229","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Hit Ground Ball: More replay on the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For many people, part of baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s charm is the way it stays the same. The sport cherishes its past; traditions are embraced and comfort is taken in the idea that the game played today is little different to that of 100 years ago.<\/p>\n

Yet within this nostalgic view, it shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be overlooked that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the midst of a period of important change in MLB.<\/p>\n

Last season saw the introduction of a new Wild Card round to the postseason, this year will bring season-long Interleague play with the Houston Astros moving to the AL West, and it appears that 2014 will herald the start of a new era of expanded instant replay.<\/p>\n

ESPN.com\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jayson Stark recently wrote<\/a> about the delay in making changes to the current limited replay system and all of the complexities that are currently being debated within MLB, with a view to a new system being in place for the start of the 2014 season.<\/p>\n

Any fan who has seen their team undone by a clearly incorrect call \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s every fan, despite MLB umpires largely doing a brilliant job \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will be keen for baseball to finally join the ranks of most other sports by introducing instant replay in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n

However, the belief that replay is an officiating panacea is not true. Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter is quoted in Stark’s piece saying “Right now, they’re right 99 per cent of the time. But they should be able to get to 100 per cent [by using replay]”.<\/p>\n

Sorry Buck, but you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re out of luck there.<\/p>\n

Even with plenty of cameras at every game \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and Stark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s article raises the important point that camera coverage is currently very varied in MLB ballparks \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible to get the perfect angle for every incident. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not always an issue, but it is in some cases and without the perfect angle you still have to rely on an element of judgement.<\/p>\n

That judgement isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t simply an interpretation of the rules, it can also involve how your brain interprets the images. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen it plenty of times in cricket: a super-slow-mo, zoomed-in image shows the ball coming into close proximity with the bat for a potential \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcknick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Some will see the ball clearly deviate as it clips the edge of the bat, others will see it harmlessly passing by. Both sides are left incredulous that the other can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see what looks indisputable to them.<\/p>\n

So instant replay isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always a clear-cut way to answer every single argument and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important point to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

It still should be better than the current situation though and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really what most are looking for. What we want is an end to blatantly incorrect calls changing the course of a game.<\/p>\n

The difficulty comes in implementing a system that allows the officials to target those important decisions without reviewing every marginally questionable case. MLB\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s initial relationship with replay focuses on home run calls as these are key plays where a run or four is scored (or not). A close play on a runner reaching first base may be inconsequential if followed by an inning-ending double-play on the very next pitch, or it could be the precursor to a six-run rally.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simply not always known what will turn out to be a crucial play while the game unfolds.<\/p>\n

Stark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s article states that managers and players are not overly keen on a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcchallenge\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 system, which suggests that it will be up to the umpire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discretion as to whether a decision is referred onto a fifth umpire or not (thankfully the farcical sight of the umpiring crew heading off the field to consult replay images in secret as everyone else twiddles their thumbs appears to be on borrowed time).<\/p>\n

That should be a manageable system as currently it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rare for there to be more than a couple of incidents per game that might need to be reviewed. The danger is that umpires become overly cautious and start checking decisions just to be sure, perhaps egged on by managers demanding a play to be reviewed. The only way we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll know is to live with the system for a few years and to see how it goes.<\/p>\n

Whatever system is introduced, you can be sure that it will not please everybody and it will not bring an end to umpiring controversy. However, the new system in 2014 doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and logic tells us it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the definitive answer to using replay.<\/p>\n

So long as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accepted as a search for improvement, not a search for complete perfection, a new system should have a positive affect on those who play, watch, or officiate in MLB.<\/p>\n

Rounding the bases<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was sad weekend for baseball with Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Earl Weaver passing away. The book \u00e2\u20ac\u2122Weaver on Strategy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/a> is one that any British baseball fan should consider adding to their collection.<\/p>\n

One week ago, there were three main free agents left on the market, all of them being clients of agent Scott Boras. That list is now down to two (Michael Bourn and Kyle Lohse) after Rafael Soriano agreed a two-year, $28m contract with the Washington Nationals. Boras\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 strategy appears to be to wait for other players to come off the market \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unless bowled over by an offer \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to then leave him and his clients as a team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only option if they want to improve via free agency. It worked with Prince Fielder last year and has worked for Soriano now, so don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised if Borne and Lohse end up with lucrative multi-year contracts too.<\/p>\n

As for the Nationals, they followed up on strengthening their bullpen by trading Michael Morse to the Seattle Mariners in a three-club deal also involving the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. Morse became surplus to requirements once Adam LaRoche agreed to return to Washington on a two-year contract. The Mariners desperately needed to upgrade their offence, but their fans have some reason to feel underwhelmed by being reunited with Morse alongside the acquisitions of Raul Ibanez, Kendrys Morales and Jason Bay this offseason.<\/p>\n

Mike Napoli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s move to the Boston Red Sox has finally been agreed, but the Red Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concerns with one of Napoli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hips has cost him a lot of money. The initial three-year, $39m contract that they had agreed early in the offseason has turned into a one-year deal guaranteeing him $5m, with a further potential $8m in incentives.<\/p>\n

Enthusiasm for the World Baseball Classic still appears to be lukewarm in the States, but the announcement last week of provisional rosters<\/a> for the event certainly caught the imagination of baseball fans in many other parts of the world. Barry Larkin, who will manage Brazil in this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tournament, explained the situation well in stating,\u00e2\u20ac\u0153being on the other side internationally, the tournament is humongous .. there is a tremendous amount of interest and excitement. I think it’s more exciting because of the opportunity it gives the players who are not in the States”.<\/p>\n

The highlight of the WBC roster announcements for me was looking at the talent on the Netherlands\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 provisional list. Dutch Major league (Hoofdklasse) stalwarts such as pitchers Rob Cordemans and David Bergman could be joined by highly-touted prospects such as the Rangers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jurickson Profar, the Red Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Xander Bogaerts and the Orioles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jonathan Schoop, as well as the Braves\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 shortstop whiz Andrelton Simmons. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that not all will be on the final roster, but the Dutch will have an exciting infield even with only a couple of them joining the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2014 may herald the start of a new era of expanded instant replay in MLB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[503,553,6],"class_list":["post-15229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-hit-ground-ball","category-mlb-2","tag-featured","tag-mlb-2","tag-world-baseball-classic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15229"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15235,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15229\/revisions\/15235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}