Umping like it’s 1999

The one problem with the baseball playoffs is when it comes to writing about it, the games happen very quickly. By the time I can figure out what I want to say, the next game is played and everything changes. Not that I’m complaining. I love the quantity of games stuffed together. But, I have a little break here with just the one game scheduled today, and lots to talk about from last night’s game. Everything from ARod to Umpires is just screaming to be talked about.

I guess I’ll start with ARod. He’s having himself quite a postseason. Nobody expected a talented player like himself to continue choking his way through every October. It all had to even out eventually. I just have to wonder about the Fox broadcast, and the glowing over him. He did admit flat out to cheating. Should we be putting him on a pedestal? How about just mentioning the accomplishments in passing? It just seems icky to be pumping him up like that.

Speaking of the Fox coverage, was there anything more repulsive than their references to the two Nick Swisher blown calls? The both happened within batters of each other. The pick off at second was enormously missed. How an ump could miss that when he's standing right there is incredible. He should be removed on the spot.　 Then Swisher goes to third, and is　called out for leaving early. Fox spends about an hour pointing out that the ump wasn't looking at Swisher. He was looking at centerfield. Where else should he be looking? If he looks at Swisher's foot, he has no chance of knowing when Hunter caught the ball. At least looking at center, he can pick up Swisher out of the corner of his eye. Then, Fox shows replay after replay of Swisher's foot and Hunter's catch. The problem is, that the view was from in front of Swisher. You have no idea if his foot is on the bag, or a foot in front of the bag. The perspective or view was completely wrong. How Fox could even say he was on the bag was poor reporting on their part. If you look close, Swisher's body is moving forward, and his leg muscles are moving. He certainly could have been off the bag. It's not like every part of his body was at rest. I have no doubt that the ump saw him moving early, and made the call. I have no proof whether he left early or not. In any event, from then on, Joe and Tim couldn't mention enough that the Yankee lead could have been even larger if the run hadn't been taken off the board. Poor Yankees were cost a run by a questionable call. They never mentioned that Swisher should have been out two batters earlier. He never should have scored in the first place. They went on and on about NY being cheated on a questionable call, while ignoring that the Angels were cheated out of an obvious call.

The other questionable call in the game was, of course, the double play that wasn’t at third base. To me, this is a classic case of the umpires not working together. There is a home plate umpire, and a left field umpire who have perfect views of the play. Especially the guy in left, since he really had nothing else to look at.　Neither one of them cared to mention that Cano was two feet off the bag when he was tagged? Nobody wondered why, with Posada wandering by the coach’s box, the Angels catcher would go out of his way to tag a runner standing on the bag? If Cano was on the bag (where he should have been) they would have gone to tag Posada before he got away. If plays like the ones last night don’t scream out for replay, I don’t know what does.

Speaking of Posada, I always knew he was Bush…I didn’t know he was an idiot. First, he can’t score from second on a double because he doesn’t know how to run the bases. Then, right away he gets caught in a rundown on a groundball. He runs back to third, but doesn’t know enough to stand on the base. (Again, Cano should have been there. But, Posada needed to adjust) Then, to top it off, he later forgets how many outs there are, and leaves the plate unguarded with a runner on third. Quite the game by Jorge.

The interaction between Cano and Posada following the non-RBI double was interesting as well. Cano drills the double, and Posada clearly should have scored. Cano looks up, notices that he lost out on an RBI, and get grumpy. He stares out to rightfield, and can’t even look at Posada. Posada motions towards second, and apologizes to Cano, saying it was his fault. He didn’t apologize to his dugout, just to Cano. He wasn’t sorry that he cost the team a run. He was sorry that he cost Cano an RBI. In the middle of a playoff game, Cano was worried about his personal stats…and Posada knew it.

Here’s hoping that the Phillies take advantage of tonight’s opportunity and wrap their series up. That gives them time to line up their aces for the World Series. The Angels need to at least win tonight. Perfect world, they at least force a game seven. We’ll see how it goes.

Boy, the Phillies look tough right now.