Ope
06-03-2010, 12:28 PM
Few of you know that I am a Tiger's fan. Surely, even fewer know the name Armando Galarraga. After having a stellar rookie season in 2008 (13-7 with a 3.73 ERA and a WHIP of 1.192 for all you stat nerds) he had a drop off in 2009 (6-10 with a 5.64 ERA.)
After starting this season in the minors, he was called up to replace Max Scherzer who was struggling. This call-up gave way to a win in Boston on May 16 where he gave up only one run in 5.2 IP. In his next two appearance, he gave up 5 runs in just over 6 innings of work, leading many to believe that last year's woes were not quite behind him yet.
Then came last night. Galarraga cruised through the first 8 without much incident. On the first pitch of the 9th inning, Mark Grudzielanek crushed a ball to left-center field. Austin Jackson makes an amazing full-sprint, back to the mound catch to keep the perfect game alive. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8632009
Mike Redmond hits a soft grounder to short to record the second out of the inning.
With a 1-1 count, Jason Donald hits a soft grounder to the right side of Miguel Cabrera. Miggy fields it cleanly and tosses it over to Galarraga for the final out. Jim Joyce, the first base umpire for the night, calls the runner safe. As you can see here, the call was terrible. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8632337
After seeing the replay, my first reaction was disbelief, which of course led to fury. I absolutely could not believe what I had just witnessed. I was screaming for Jim Joyce's head from the top of my lungs, but after hearing what manager Jim Leyland said after the game, I had to agree. He called for the fans to give Joyce an ovation in today's game. Joyce will be behind the plate in the series finale against the Indians tonight, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope the fans give him a hand. Joyce will have to live with this for the rest of his life, and listening to his post-game comments, you can tell that it absolutely kills him.http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8632475
This all could have been prevented if it weren't for the incompetent dinosaur known as Bud Selig. Selig's "traditionalist" view of the game has scarred it for life. He has fought tooth and nail to keep instant replay out of the game. There is no way he can fight it now. It is his fault and his fault alone that Galarraga was denied only the 21st perfect game in baseball history, and only the 19th since 1900.
Here's the solution: Selig takes out his mighty gavel and gives Galarraga the perfect game. Considering it was the last out, there is no doubt that the game should have been over. Effective the first game after the All-star break, expanded instant replay is mandatory. We can not wait until next year. Blown calls should be a thing of the past.
Bud Selig was quoted after the game, "You damn kids with your new fangled typewriters and telephones don't know anything about baseball. Baseball is a traditional game. It's a ga-ZzZ...ZzZ...ZzZ.
So in closing, all I have to say is: Fuck you, Bud, fuck you.
I'm gonna go weep now.
After starting this season in the minors, he was called up to replace Max Scherzer who was struggling. This call-up gave way to a win in Boston on May 16 where he gave up only one run in 5.2 IP. In his next two appearance, he gave up 5 runs in just over 6 innings of work, leading many to believe that last year's woes were not quite behind him yet.
Then came last night. Galarraga cruised through the first 8 without much incident. On the first pitch of the 9th inning, Mark Grudzielanek crushed a ball to left-center field. Austin Jackson makes an amazing full-sprint, back to the mound catch to keep the perfect game alive. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8632009
Mike Redmond hits a soft grounder to short to record the second out of the inning.
With a 1-1 count, Jason Donald hits a soft grounder to the right side of Miguel Cabrera. Miggy fields it cleanly and tosses it over to Galarraga for the final out. Jim Joyce, the first base umpire for the night, calls the runner safe. As you can see here, the call was terrible. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8632337
After seeing the replay, my first reaction was disbelief, which of course led to fury. I absolutely could not believe what I had just witnessed. I was screaming for Jim Joyce's head from the top of my lungs, but after hearing what manager Jim Leyland said after the game, I had to agree. He called for the fans to give Joyce an ovation in today's game. Joyce will be behind the plate in the series finale against the Indians tonight, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope the fans give him a hand. Joyce will have to live with this for the rest of his life, and listening to his post-game comments, you can tell that it absolutely kills him.http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8632475
This all could have been prevented if it weren't for the incompetent dinosaur known as Bud Selig. Selig's "traditionalist" view of the game has scarred it for life. He has fought tooth and nail to keep instant replay out of the game. There is no way he can fight it now. It is his fault and his fault alone that Galarraga was denied only the 21st perfect game in baseball history, and only the 19th since 1900.
Here's the solution: Selig takes out his mighty gavel and gives Galarraga the perfect game. Considering it was the last out, there is no doubt that the game should have been over. Effective the first game after the All-star break, expanded instant replay is mandatory. We can not wait until next year. Blown calls should be a thing of the past.
Bud Selig was quoted after the game, "You damn kids with your new fangled typewriters and telephones don't know anything about baseball. Baseball is a traditional game. It's a ga-ZzZ...ZzZ...ZzZ.
So in closing, all I have to say is: Fuck you, Bud, fuck you.
I'm gonna go weep now.