Instant Replay in the MLB

[trax1]

Tonights the first night that MLB will start using instant replay to determine boundary issues with homeruns, they have a kinda "War Room" set up in New York that if the umpire needs to can call and have them watch the replay and tell him if it was a homerun or not.

I think this is a good thing, but I hope that it just stays at using it just to determine homeruns, and not for anything else.

[Redlegs]

As long as it's just used for homeruns, then I'm ok with it.

[123zzz]

I'm alright with reviewing close call home runs. But judgement calls such as  balls and strikes, bang-bang plays, and down the line fair/foul balls are untouchable as far as I'm concerned. If I can't scream at the umpire, its not nearly as much fun.   

[Redlegs]

But judgement calls such as  balls and strikes, bang-bang plays, and down the line fair/foul balls are untouchable as far as I'm concerned. If I can't scream at the umpire, its not nearly as much fun.   

Exactly

[Holden McGroin]

Instant replay? ok.

Put a chip in the ball and intersecting laser curtains defining the strike zone? That could be done.

Get rid of the DH and we might have something.

[Sandman]

I'm alright with reviewing close call home runs. But judgement calls such as  balls and strikes, bang-bang plays, and down the line fair/foul balls are untouchable as far as I'm concerned. If I can't scream at the umpire, its not nearly as much fun.   

I can't ever understand why anyone would want a referee to be part of the game.

[Saxman]

It has no place in baseball, and is the absolute LAST thing that's been needed to fix the game.

I'd say:

* Consistent strike zone, called according to the RULE BOOK

* Reigning in Prima Donna umpires (I'm looking at you, Angel Hernandez)

* Giving the pitcher back the plate

* Eliminating armor for batters

* Raising the mound

* The rulebook says: A warning is a warning is a warning. You hit a guy while a warning is in effect, you're OUT OF THE GAME. No "it didn't LOOK intentional" judgment calls

* In fact, NO MORE WARNINGS. The players have ALWAYS been capable of policing themselves, and a warning completely alters how a team approaches the game because of the fear of pitching inside.

* Take away the advertiser's control of the flow of games--Pitchers get so many pitches to warm up at the start of the inning. Commercial breaks are getting longer and longer. Half the problem with the length of games is advertising as players wait around for the start of the inning. Ever notice that extra innings move faster than regulation? If you're paying attention, you'll notice that the amount of advertising from the 10th Inning on is significantly reduced.

* Eliminate the DH

* Shorten the season back to 154 games

* Do away with Interleague, or at least remove it from a team's record (historically there were exhibition games periodically mid-season, but they didn't count in the standings)

* The All-star game SHOULD NOT COUNT FOR ANYTHING!

ALL of these fall MUCH higher on the list of things that baseball BADLY needs than instant replay. Hell, I'd even say that the leagues should have been CONTRACTED to alleviate the weak talent pool before instant replay instituted.

Just another sign of how frelling out of touch with reality Selig has been.