Your first place Pittsburgh Pirates

[jhart05]

This kind of stinks. Since the Crew isn't playing, I was actually going to watch the Bucs on ESPN tonight.

[ELCABALLO45]

This probably deserves its own thread. But the Pirates just lost in the 19th inning on arguably the worst call in baseball history.

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb...lb_1&mode=recap&c_id=atl

[jjfanec]

This probably deserves its own thread. But the Pirates just lost in the 19th inning on arguably the worst call in baseball history.

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb...lb_1&mode=recap&c_id=atl

This is one of the plays that the adherents for more replay in baseball are going to show over and over again. No way a call like that should decide a game.

[bigredrobbo]

Oh. My. God. I just watched that play numerous times and if I was a Pirates fan I'd be steamed. That was a "I'm really tired and want to go home so the next close enough play wins it" call. When all the umpires have been replaced by robots, they should go round to Jerry Meals house and key his car, for it will have been his fault. Even Lugo knew he'd been tagged. Just a terrible, terrible piece of umpiring. If the Gallaraga play at first was bang bang, that one was bang

 

......bang.

 

Edit: shortened length (OWBC)

[Mike2k33]

Not even remotely close. Lugo was out by a good four feet. Circumstances aside, far worse than the Gallaraga play. I really don't care that it's 2am local time or that it's the 19th inning. I don't care that it hurt a team we're contending with for the division... THAT was brutal.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I know this'll be a dissenting opinion, but the Galarraga play was worse.

 

This is the main reason I think a catcher, whenever possible, should avoid 'swipe' tags. When you swipe, there's no visible change of direction of the catchers glove, or no stopping of the momentum of the glove like you'd see on a regular play.

 

I watched this play at full speed, and from the umpires vantage point, it's hard to tell if contact was made, because the swipe goes clean through.

 

Was he out? Yeah. Was it a blown call? Absolutely. But at game speed, on a swipe tag, that's not a 100% gimme call.

[Nottso]

This is the main reason I think a catcher, whenever possible, should avoid 'swipe' tags.

 

I agree wholeheartedly and thought the same thing when I watched the video. Had the catcher just planted the glove in front of the runner and held it there there's no way the ump could have blown that call. Too much showmanship, not enough fundamentals.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

More reasons for machines and replays to replace these tenured clowns. Unbelievably bad call. Imagine fighting for 19 innings to have it come down to that. Wow.

[Ennder]

The Galarraga play wasn't even a bad call in real time, it was a close play because when the 1B caught the ball his foot wasn't on the bag so it was just a race and the ump got it wrong. This play was pretty bad though I guess the ump thought he missed the tag for some reason, seems odd since it was right in front of him... more likely the ump just wanted to go home.

[TooLiveBrew]

Was he out? Yeah. Was it a blown call? Absolutely. But at game speed, on a swipe tag, that's not a 100% gimme call.

 

Well said. This had nothing to do with an ump wanting to end the game, & everything to do with it looking like the tag did nothing but whiff & miss the runner. I guarantee you Jerry Meals wanted anything but to look like he ended the game arbitrarily.

 

 

Imagine fighting for 19 innings to have it come down to that.

 

Well I'm guessing the Pirates had chances to score prior to the 19th inning. It's nice to call it "fighting", but if they come up with one hit w/RISP, they probably don't have to deal with this.

[rluzinski]

This probably deserves its own thread. But the Pirates just lost in the 19th inning on arguably the worst call in baseball history.

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb...lb_1&mode=recap&c_id=atl

I assumed hyperbole but WOW!

[Funketown]

I just saw the umpire's comments on Sportscenter. He basically said something along the lines of "He might have got him on the shin, I don't know". Look, everyone does something stupid. Just have the guts to say "Yeah, I completely blew that call and cost the Pirates a chance to win the game".

[trwi7]

They just showed another replay on SportsCenter and it looked like he missed the tag.

[areacodes]

Here are the quotes from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"I
saw the tag, but he looked like he ‘Oléd’ him and I called him safe for
that," Meals said. "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.

"I
just saw the glove sweep up. I didn’t see the glove hit his leg."

It
looks like McKenry barely nicks Lugo on the slide and if you watch this replay and go to about the 1 minute mark, you can see how it looks like he didn’t get
him. I don’t think this play was
as cut and dry as some posters are making it to be. Did Meals miss the call? Looks like it, but McKenry had plenty of time to put a good tag on Lugo and opted for a swipe tag.

[theavrock]

They just showed another replay on SportsCenter and it looked like he missed the tag.

Exactly. I know that everyone is making this in to a huge deal, but I think people are falling in to the same trap that umps fall in to. Just because the ball beats the runner doesn't mean that the runner was tagged out.

It's very close if you look at the replay from the 1st base side. The irony is that from the other side he looks out and this is the view that the Meals had.

Even if they had replay, if you needed "conclusive evidence" as in the NFL, I don't know that I have seen it from the replays.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

If you are going to make a call that a guy "ole'd" him with the tag when he's got him by 4 full steps, you better be damn sure. He even admitted he missed where he got him on the leg before the glove popped up. The catcher certainly could have made it more conclusive, but it was a bad call by an umpire who was right there in the proper position. He blew it. These umps are horrible.

[ninja33]

I hate when an ump makes a safe call just because a ball beat the player. But like SoCal said, when it beats him by THAT much it better be pretty damn clear that the tag missed. It wasn't a good tag by McKenry, and I acknowledge that there's a small chance he missed (especially watching it in realtime)...but I just don't see how you make that safe call.

 

And any question on if the tag was applied is answered by Lugo's reaction. He was out.

[Ayt]

I agree with many others. If you are going to call a guy safe when the ball beats him by that much it better be 99.9% clear to you that the tag was missed. The benefit of the doubt goes to the defender to a huge degree in a case like this.

 

I'm guessing Meals was just fatigued since the game had gone on so long.

[TooLiveBrew]

"I’m guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when it happened I didn’t see a tag."

 

Excellent clarification from Meals, you can't ask for much more from an umpire than that. Completely understandable missed call. Like Aytumious just noted, after 19 innings, & at game speed, any poster who's claiming this to be some terrible call is just kidding him/herself.

[pingman]

the plate ump also had a very dubious night calling balls & strikes.....in fact he reminded me of Leslie Nielson's strike zone when he played the ump in The Naked Gun

 

McLouth & Fredie Gonzalez were both kicked out for arguing a called strike that could of only been hit by a 3-iron

[Glennron]

Excellent clarification from Meals, you can't ask for much more from an

umpire than that. Completely understandable missed call. Like

Aytumious just noted, after 19 innings, & at game speed, any poster

who's claiming this to be some terrible call is just kidding

him/herself.

 

I disagree completely. Sure, the swipe tag is never a good idea in a situation like that, but it is damn obvious that he was out in real time. It's baffling to me so many people are coming to the defense of Meals. It's a blown call, period. I don't get how that's excellent clarification either. Don't you think Meals probably watched the replay after the game? "I'm guessing he might have got him." At least take responsibility and say "Yeah, I didn't see the tag applied when it happened, but it definitely looks like I missed the call." Like a lot of people I don't see the Pirates as legit contenders come September, but it shouldn't matter. This was a bad call.

[RockCoCougars]

The second angle from the CF camera actually makes it look like he missed the tag. Didn't the Brewers score a winning run on a similar type play this year (only the throw beat the runner by 3 steps instead of the 5 steps last night)?

[trwi7]

Sure, the swipe tag is never a good idea in a situation like that, but it is damn obvious that he was out in real time.

If it was damn obvious in real time that he was out why is there a slow motion replay that looked like the tag was missed and he was safe?

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Exactly. This is not as black & white as some would like to paint it.

 

 

At least take responsibility

 

He did. He said it's possible he got the call wrong, but that as he saw it, the tag missed.

 

 

Don't you think Meals probably watched the replay after the game?

 

I'm wondering if *you* did.

[Glennron]

I haven't seen a slow motion replay, but doesn't the catcher also tag Lugo's arm after he "tags" (I'll give you guys the benefit of the doubt) Lugo's shin? Lugo re-touches home plate after he is called safe because even he can't believe it. I don't know what else there is to say.