Managers are really getting a hang of this replay thing…in fact, I’m not even going to whine and complain today!
May 21st, Reds vs Nationals – it’s a trap!
Is it me, or have we not seen a lot of trap plays get reviewed this year? The Nationals challenged this Billy Hamilton catch down one in the bottom of the eighth, and it was reversed, giving Washington a baserunner to lead off the inning. Denard Span got as far as third with two outs, but couldn’t come home to tie the game, and the Nationals eventually lost by a run.
May 21st, Athletics vs Rays – catwalk drama.
Drama over the catwalks at Tropicana Field is nothing new to MLB. Since the then Devil Rays came into the league, the catwalks have been a source of scorn and confusion for many fans and umpires. But I believe this is the first time we’ve had a review of whether or not a ball actually hit a catwalk in fair territory or not. The hit call on the field stood.
May 22nd, Brewers vs Braves – did they just kill the neighborhood play?
The neighborhood play is obviously alive and well, but the Brewers challenged whether or not Chris Johnson touched second base before the foot of Jean Segura. On the field, he was called safe, which you don’t see too often on a clear 4-6-3 or 6-4-3 double play. The review killed that bizarre situation, and awarded Milwaukee the out.
May 22nd, Brewers vs Braves – now THIS is killing the neighborhood play.
Jean Segura’s foot was nowhere near second base after this crazy flip by Jeff Bianchi. Ryan Doumit was called out at second, but replay revealed that the call was egregiously bad, and the out call was overturned.
May 23rd, Rockies vs Braves – insane coordination.
Justin Upton air mailed this throw into second base, and a better throw gets Nolan Arenado without a second thought. But Dan Uggla was able to corral the throw and quickly flip it to Andrelton Simmons, who slapped a tag on Arenado a fraction of a second late. But…Arenado over-slid the bag, and Simmons tagged him while he was in no man’s land. The call on the field stood, but the decision looked more than questionable.
May 24th, Royals vs Angels – Alex Gordon nearly makes an unreal catch.
Holy crap, this catch by Alex Gordon was unreal. Even if the call was overturned, the effort by Gordon was crazy.
May 26th, Pirates vs Mets – THE COLLISION RULE LIVES!!!!
You guys, we’ve finally had a call overturned because of the collision rule. On this play at the plate, Daniel Murphy was called out at the plate – which he clearly was when you ignore the collision rule. But upon further review, it was ruled that Russell Martin was ruled to have blocked the plate with his leg without the ball. The call was reversed, Murphy was declared safe, and we finally had a definitive example of the home plate blocking rule in action.
