GIANTS
Jim Joyce, History and the Replay that Wasn't
Murakami | 12 comments | 11/07/10Outstanding commentary below by Ryan Larimore of the Bleacher Report on the Gallaraga situation — he says, "Jim Joyce just ripped up your lottery ticket." In case you're not up to speed, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game yesterday when umpire Jim Joyce called Jason Donald of the Indians safe at first. Later replays clearly showed that the call was blown, robbing Galarraga of his place in history — especially because he would have been in on an precedented trifecta of perfect games this season. http://imgur.com/fk2nh.jpg Larimore focuses on whether stodgy, stolid, immovable Major League Baseball should do the right thing and reverse Joyce's call, awarding the perfect game to Galarraga. Probably not gonna happen. [Update 6/3: It didn't.] But my take is this: expand the frigging instant replay in baseball. It's not unthinkable, it's not unprecedented — hell, baseball already uses replays, initiated by the umpire crew chief, to determine: • Home run calls (fair or foul) • Whether the ball actually left the playing field • Whether the ball was subject to spectator interference Spectator interference? I spit on your spectator interference. What we're talking about here is a matter of life or death — no, beyond that: baseball immortality. The fossils who run MLB fall back on the argument that human error is part of the game. Well, so are bench clearing brawls, and you don't see baseball encouraging those. Craig Calcaterra of the NBC Hardball Talk blog put it best when he said, and I quote: "Take your 'human element' and stuff it, mister. The human element got it wrong. The human element cost Galarraga his place in history." Maybe it's time for the Obama administration to move on MLB and nationalize baseball for the duration. Imagine if you will, that you had just purchased a winning lottery ticket. You just did something that very few people can claim they have done, you won the lottery. Now imagine right after you win the lottery, Jim Joyce walks up to you and throws your winning ticket in the shredder. Then minutes later publicly apologizes for the error of his ways. Sure you can tell everyone that you had a winning lottery ticket, but the fact it that you will not be given the money without the ticket. The apology didn’t bring…
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Brevard County Manatees change "batting practice" — BP — to hitting rehearsal
Murakami | 3 comments | 11/07/10To which I say, GO, MANATEES! You and your HR. The Brevard County Manatees (High Class A; Florida State League)…
Great characters make you remember a good story. While their run to the World Series Championship helped the 2010…
Okay, maybe my perspective is a bit biased. I've been a Giants fan since day 1, basically, so every…
San Francisco is falling in love all over again with the Giants - Sports Illustrated
Murakami | 5 comments | 11/06/10This isn't just hype. Not only am I seeing black and orange everywhere — City Hall and Coit Tower are…
There's an irresistible appeal to these 2010 National League Champion San Francisco Giants. (Which is a gratuitous use of…
Useful tips from bandwagon jumper Peter Hartlaub, the San Francisco Chronicle's art and culture critic. Hartlaub, who freely admits that…
The New York Times discovers postseason baseball in San Francisco — who knew?
Murakami | 2 comments | 11/06/10This article has a lot more to do with an East Coast narrative than reality — the Giants have either…
The Beard is Too Damn Feared: Facial Hair at Center Stage as the Media Circus Descends on SF
Murakami | 1 comment | 11/06/10Nice that the Giants are finally starting to get some attention from the national media, even news organizations based in…
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