Once again, the baseball playoffs are overrun with glaring umpiring errors, including some that affected have the outcomes of games.

We neglected to bring this up in our earlier discussion of baseball's PR problems, because frankly, the solution isn't so obvious. Everyone is clamoring for instant replay to become a more integral part of the game, but that won't solve the larger issue.

Much like in basketball, the vast majority of decisions that baseball umpires make are subjective judgment calls, where replay is useless. The two controversial plays from the American League games were on balls and strikes, and replay just isn't a viable option there. One of those involved a check swing--the Rays thought Michael Young went around on a third strike, the umpire saw it differently. But a little known-fact about the baseball rule book is that it doesn't not even define what a swing is. A swing is whatever the umpires says it is.

The play in the Braves-Giants game--while it didn't even elicit a complaint from baseball's most ejected manager, Bobby Cox--was much more suspect. A blown call on a tag at second base that eventually allowed the only run of the game to score? Would replay have changed the outcome of the game? In the fourth inning? There's simply too many other variables over the course of the game to know the true impact of one bad call.

More importantly, the experience with NFL replay has shown that even when the cameras are on, referees can still get the call the wrong. And it won't solve the real underlying issue, which is the competence of the umpires on the field. Fans no longer trust them and if baseball can't find a way to reform the training and criteria for umps--the proposed post-season summit would be a good start--that bad taste of recent Octobers will continue to linger.

Even after the feel-good swell of Roy Halladay's no-hitter, Cincinnati Reds players were grumbling about the fairness of the calls. In a no-hitter! No magic camera in the sky will solve that.

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The Yankees and Rangers will both try to end their American League Division Series tonight, but it remains to be seen if they will get any help from the umpires--or if the men in blue will find some other way to screw things up.

The calls have been so bad this October that MLB has agreed to a rare meeting between the league, umpires and members of the players association this December, in an effort to solve what has become the sport's thorniest issue. Nearly every game this postseason has contained at least one controversial call, with several of them impacting the final score.

Last night's NL games were not an improvement on the horrendous officiating that has continued to plaque the baseball playoffs. Braves manager Bobby Cox was ejected in the second inning against the Giants after his shortstop, Alex Gonzalez, was called out at first, even though the fielder had been pulled off the bag. He was thrown out by Paul Emmel, the same umpire who botched an earlier call that led to the only run scored in Game 1.

And in the Phillies-Reds game, Chase Utley reached on a hit by pitch--despite admitting later that the ball didn't touch him--moved over on a disputed call at second, then scored on a error ... when the inning should have already been over.

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Monday's big-market Yankee-Rangers ALCS game garnered lower TV ratings than the Titans blowout win over NFL afterthought Jacksonville. It's all because baseball is stuck in the past, evidenced by MLB's refusal to adopt instant replay, claims USA Today national sports columnist Christie Brennan. 

While both low ratings and the lack of instant replay have been the source of much debate over the last week, the link between the two seems tenuous, at best. Frustrating as lack of replay is, it's hard to believe that is the major factor behind the public's decision to tune out baseball in favor of football.

Football is simply the better sport for television. The speed and physical play hold an audience's attention better than the jockstrap adjusting, the batting glove tightening, and the tobacco/bubble gum spitting which constitutes most of the action in a baseball game.

Read her full article in the USA Today >

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We are mere weeks from the free agency signing period in baseball. Let's take a look back at last year's free agents and see which ones were the biggest busts...

6. Jason Marquis, Washington Nationals — Marquis signed a two-year, $15.0 million deal with the Nationals. They would have been better off signing some scrub for league minimum. After only three starts, Marquis was shelved with bone chips in his elbow. He wouldn't return until August and made only 13 starts all year. He finished 2-9 with a 6.60 ERA.

5. Rich Harden, Texas Rangers — Harden signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Rangers this past off-season. That was quite an investment for a team with a payroll south of $60 million. 18 starts later, he had a 5-5 record with a 5.58 ERA and was left off the postseason roster. Of course, Harden's failures may have led to the Rangers trading for Cliff Lee. So maybe this was a blessing.

4. Nick Johnson, New York Yankees — Johnson signed a two-year, $11.0 million deal and was supposed to be the on-base machine to slot in at the #2 spot in the lineup. The risk was that Johnson tends to end up on the DL a lot. And in that respect, he didn't disappoint. His season was over in May, hitting .167 with 2 home runs. He played only 24 games and was paid more than $150K for each of the 36 times he reached base.

3. Mike Cameron, Boston Red Sox — Cameron signed a two-year, $15.5 million deal and was a key component in the Red Sox defensive revolution. But it is hard to cover center field from the DL. Cameron played just 48 games thanks to an abdominal injury and his season was over in July. He hit .259 with 4 home runs. 

2. Chone Figgins, Seattle Mariners — Figgins signed a five-year, $45.0 million deal with the Mariners and was supposed to be a key member of a playoff contender. Instead, Figgins hit .259 with 1 home run. His .340 OBP was the second-lowest of his career. And in the end, the M's finished 61-101 with the worst record in the American League.

1. Jason Bay, New York Mets — Bay signed a five-year, $80.0 million deal with the Mets with the hopes that he could actually tame the cavernous outfield at Citi Field with his bat. Umm, not so much. After hitting 36 home runs with Boston the year before, Bay hit 6 with the Mets. At this rate, the Mets should get about 30 home runs for their $80 million investment, or about $2.7 million per home run.

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The Braves outlasted the Pirates in controversial fashion last night, scoring the winning run when the home plate umpire ruled that Braves baserunner Julio Lugo somehow avoided the tag of Pirates catcher Michael McKendry.

With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 19th inning, Atlanta’s Scott Proctor hit a dribbler to third. Pirates third basemen Pedro Alvarez threw the ball home well ahead of baserunner Julio Lugo.

McKendry seemed to clearly tag Lugo’s leg before he reached the plate.

Lugo himself even looked like he thought he was out.

But umpire Jerry Meals ruled otherwise, and the Pirates bench erupted in anger as the Braves streamed out of the dugout to celebrate.

“I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area. I'm guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when it happened I didn't see a tag,” Meals admitted after the game.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was disgusted.

"The game tonight deserved way better than that," he said.

Check out the video here, since MLB.com won’t let anyone embed video of the umpiring blunder.

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After being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the season-opening series, it has been a rough start to the year for the New York Yankees. So you can forgive manager Joe Girardi if he was a little testy last night in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Baltimore Orioles.

After a couple of pitches went against the Yankees, Girardi was giving umpire Laz Diaz an ear-full. Rather than yell back, as some umpires will do, Diaz instead simply used a gesture to ask Girardi if he would like to come out and take over.

Unfortunately, Girardi did not take him up on the offer. The Yankees would go on to win 6-4 in the 10th inning...

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The Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 Wednesday afternoon in thrilling fashion, but it didn't come without controversy.

Jerry Hairston Jr. came up to bat for the Dodgers with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. He hit a grounder between third and short and Rockies third baseman Jonathan Herrera made a marvelous diving stop to throw him out.

There's a tiny problem with the out call from first base umpire Tim Welke, though: Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was a good TWO FEET OFF THE BAG and Hairston was safe by a mile. Watch (via SB Nation Denver):

Unbelievable. It wasn't even close!

This screen shot captures the nuttiness perfectly:

Seeing as the umpire didn't eject Don Mattingly when he came out to argue the wrong call (Mattingly was incensed), we're guessing he immediately knew he was incorrect.

And he certainly knows by now.

Replay, anyone?

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Occasionally PA announcers like to have fun with their musical selection during baseball games. But one minor league umpire thought a PA announcer went too far last night when he played "Three Blind Mice" following a questionable call.

The announcer, an intern for the single-A Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League, was ejected, and the PA system was ordered shut off for the rest of the game, which is too bad. Because then nobody could play "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" in reference to the ump's rabbit ears.

Here's the video...

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Most MLB games are pretty standard, with little to throw off an umpiring crew.

Then there are situations like what happened in the bottom of the seventh inning of Sunday's game between the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dodgers infielder Luis Cruz came up to the plate with two runners on base and only one out. Cruz popped it up down the first base line and then....confusion ensued.

Who was out? Why were runners all over the place?

In the end the umpires got it right, but all the moving parts made it a very difficult call to make.

Watch the full play, then click through to see it broken down

Dodgers infielder Luis Cruz was at the plate with two runners on and one out

Cruz popped it up along the first base line (note for later: the runner, Andre Ethier is in the way of Marlins first baseman Carlos Lee)

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Earlier this week, many wondered how the umpires could have screwed up a replay that clearly showed the A's had hit a game-tying home run. Now there is a growing sentiment that the umpires actually screwed the call up on purpose.

Peter Gammons of the MLB Network appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show," and was asked about the horrible call. Gammons chuckled and described it as "almost belligerence to ignore the replay."

Dan Patrick then asked Gammons if he was indeed saying that umpire Angel Hernandez actually refused to overturn the incorrect call because he is against replay in general. "That was certainly the impression many of us had," said Gammons. "You couldn't rationalize seeing what he could see and calling it a double."

Gammons went on to explain that there is a very strong sentiment among some umpires that officials should never admit they are wrong.

If this is true, Major League Baseball has a huge problem on their hands. This suggests that umpires are no longer doing their job, and instead are taking the law into their own hands and picking and choosing which rules they want to enforce.

And that will kill the integrity of both the umpires and the game a lot faster than the occasional blown call.

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There were at least three plays in baseball yesterday in which an umpire blew what appeared to be an obvious call, leading some to wonder what is going on with the umpiring.

Umpiring in MLB is either getting worse or technology is just better at showing us the blown calls. Neither answer is good for baseball, and this is just another reason why they need to completely overhaul and expand replay. The fans at home cannot be in a better position to make calls than the umpires controlling the games.

The first blown call came when Henry Blanco of the Blue Jays hit a ball into the left field corner. The throw by Sam Fuld of the Rays easily beat Blanco to second base and replays showed Ben Zobrist's tag was clearly in time. But umpire C.B. Buckner ruled Blanco safe. Blanco would later score and the Blue Jays won by two runs:

In the Orioles-Yankees game, Brett Gardner was picked-off first base by Matt Weiters. But even though replays showed it wasn't close, umpire Eric Cooper failed to get into a good position to see the tag and ruled Gardner safe:

And then later in the same game, Weiters beat out an infield single, only to have Cooper call him out. It was such a bad call that in this image, the ball hasn't even entered the frame yet and Weiters is already on the base. It was a tie game at the time and the Yankees would eventually win by two:

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It's still early, but this Major League Baseball season has already been marred by blown calls and poor umpiring.

It's so bad, in fact, that one umpire cost a team the game when he blew the same call twice– first in real-time and the second time on the instant replay.

Umpires provide a so-called "human element" to the game, so no one expects them to be perfect. The real issue here is the stubbornness of MLB to implement and enforce expanded instant replay.

We have the technology to get the calls right, and it's infuriating to think games are decided by umpires who can't (and aren't expected to) see everything.

Umpire Andy Fletcher kicks off the season with a blown call on Opening Night. Jose Altuve was called out despite sliding under the tag. [3/31/2013]

Fletcher strikes again! The umpire robbed Elvis Andrus of a single by calling this trap an out. [3/31/2013]

The throw beat Yunel Escobar by a mile, but C.B. Bucknor took the worst possible angle on the play and called the runner safe. [4/6/2013]

Source: MLB

The case for replay continues. Tied 5-5 in the top of the 12th inning last night, the Rockies and Padres each had a blown call go against them on the same play. 

The bases loaded with one out, Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal slapped a chopper down the third base line. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado fielded the ball and attempted to turn a double play. 

The umpire at third ruled that Arenado stepped on the bag, earning a force out. The first base umpire ruled Grandal safe at first on the throw. Reviews showed both calls to be inaccurate. Arenado threw the ball before he stepped on third and his throw clearly beat Grandal. 

The Padres scored on the play and went on to win 6-5. The run deserved to score, but the surrounding circumstances were botched.

A scoreless bottom of the inning saved the umpires from critical hypotheticals and conjecture, but such a trend is not one worth following.

Video of the blown calls:

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Baseball's new instant replay system isn't perfect, but it is a welcome step in the right direction of getting the calls right on the field.

In addition to blown calls, there is one other common and popular aspect of the sport that is about to disappear forever.

There will no longer be any huge arguments between umpires and managers.

Now, instead of arguing a call and getting into a heated screaming match, a manager will just tell the umpire to have the play reviewed.

Some people might applaud the loss of what they consider childish behavior by both the manager and the umpire. But it is also a grand tradition of the game. And even though managers almost never win their arguments, the arguments and potential ejections are often used with strategic purpose, whether it is to try and get the next call in their favor or to rile up their players.

We might still see an occasional flare up if a manager is out of challenges. But outside of balls and strikes, something managers are not permitted to argue, there are very few "judgement calls" in Major League Baseball.

Gone will be the days of a manager sprinting out to the field and going toe-to-toe with an umpire. And that is a little sad.

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In the first inning of Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Evan Longoria hit what appeared to be a home run, leading to an unusual scene in which a fan was ejected and then reinstated.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons argued that the fan interfered and asked that the home run be reviewed. Here is the catch. It was certainly close...

Even though the play was ruled a home run and the umpires had not yet completed their review of the replay, the fan was escorted out...

The umpires came back and said the call would stand as a home run, apparently not seeing enough evidence to overrule the call on the field...

Shortly after the umpires returned, the fan was allowed to return to his seat...

Where he was greeted with a hero's welcome...

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Usually home plate collisions are between a runner and a catcher. But during the Angels win over the Rays, Ben Zobrist was trying to score a run when David DeJesus was run over by the umpire.

DeJesus, who scored earlier on the hit, was exactly where umpire C.B. Bucknor needed to be in order to make the call at the plate. So instead of going around DeJesus, Buckner knocked the Rays outfielder over with a strong forearm. DeJesus went tumbling.

There didn't appear to be any hard feelings after the play as DeJesus said something to Buckner and was all smiles as he walked off the field. You can see the full video at MLB.com...

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Technically, last night's tiebreaker game between the Rays and Rangers was a regular season game, but make no mistake, the winner-take-all showdown had all the makings of a playoff game, including a brutal blown call that had a huge impact on the game.

With two outs and two runners on base and the Rays clinging to a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning, Delmon Young hit a line drive that clearly bounced into the glove of center fielder Leonys Martin. However, the play was ruled an out, costing the Rays at least one run.

It was so clear that the ball bounced that even the TBS announcer says "he can't make the play, it bounced" while calling it live. Replays later showed that it wasn't even close.

MLB used six umpires for this game, instead of the usual four umpires, even though it was not officially a playoff game. It was one of the extra umpires, Bruce Dreckman in left field, that made the call.

Thankfully, this will all go away next season when MLB expands replay. But this play is an immediate reminder that MLB still has to play the 2013 postseason without expanded replay and it could get ugly.

Here is the full video of the play...

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Here’s Matt Holliday. It’s strike three and it was three bad calls.

Holliday’s body language speaks clearly, and his reaction is understandable. The pitch was wide, even wider than the first two pitches, both of which the umpire miscalled as strikes.   Here’s the data:

The PITCHf/x technology that makes this graphic possible, whatever its value or threat to umpires, has been a boon for sabremetricians  and social scientists.  The big data provided can tell us not just the number of bad calls but the factors that make a bad call more or less likely.

In the New York Times, Brayden King and Jerry Kim report on their study of roughly 780,000 pitches in the 2008-09 season. Umpires erred on about 1 in every 7 pitches – 47,000 pitches over the plate that were called balls, and nearly 69,000 like those three to Matt Holliday.

Here are some of the other findings that King and Kim  report in today’s article.

•  Umpires gave a slight edge to the home team pitchers, calling 13.3% of their pitches outside the zone as strikes.  Visitors got 12.6%.
• The count mattered: At 0-0, the error rate was 14.7%, at 3-0, 18.6% of pitches outside the zone were called as strikes, and at 0-2, only 7.3% of pitches outside the zone were called as strikes.
• All-star pitchers were more likely than others to get favorable calls…
• …especially if the pitcher had a reputation as a location pitcher.
• The importance of the situation (tie game, bottom of the ninth) made no difference in bad calls.

It seems that expectation accounts for a lot of these findings. It’s not that what you see is what you get. It’s that what you expect is what you see. We expect good All-star pitchers to throw more accurately.  We also expect that a pitcher who is way ahead in the count will throw a waste pitch and that on the 3-0, he’ll put it over the plate.  My guess is that umpires share these expectations. The difference is that the umps can turn their expectations into self-fulfilling prophecies. 

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Joe West, a longtime umpire and apparent country music star, took a hard line drive off his chest protector in the sixth inning of last night's Mets-A's game. For a second, the play looked scary.

Then West responded like this:

Great reaction, and shout out to West for wearing a chest protector. 

Watch the full video below (via Deadspin):

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While Major League Baseball has expanded its replay system in an effort to reduce incorrect calls made by umpires, the strike zone remains the most frustrating aspect of a baseball game and new research shows why.

According to rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball rule book, a strike zone is defined as "that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap" and is determined by "the batter's stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball."

Here is the diagram that accompanies the definition:

However, what umpires actually judge to be the strike zone is different even though they are getting better.

In a research paper examining the performance of Major League Baseball umpires, Brian M. Mills of the University of Florida shows what pitches are actually called strikes.

The diagrams below, reproduced with the permission of the author, show the strike zone from the umpires point of view. Balls thrown inside the green line were called a strike more than 50% of the time and what we see is something that looks much more like a square strike zone (or even a circle) and less like the rectangle portrayed above.

As shown by Mills, the strike zone has evolved since 2007, the year when Major League Baseball began using Pitch f/x technology to monitor the speed, movement, and location of pitches. The actual strike zone has become a little more narrow and umpires are more likely to call strikes lower in the zone.

But there are still problems.

The biggest issue is that umpires have a different strike zone for left-handed and right-handed batters. The data shows that right-handed batters are more likely to have an inside pitch called a strike and left-handed batters are more likely to have an outside pitch called a strike.

Players and managers always say that the most important criteria for an umpire calling balls and strikes is consistency. However, this data shows that even though umpires now have a strike zone that is starting to look more like the rule book there are still inconsistencies in how it is called.

Even with the expansion of the replay system, it is still hard to imagine a time when something other than umpires are calling balls and strikes. But as we get better at seeing how often the umpires are wrong, something will eventually need to be changed.

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