Opinions That Make No Sense

I KNOW everybody has a right to an opinion, but by doing so many are shown to be clueless.

Take these paraphrases of a recent quotes for example, " I would rather have my favorite baseball team lose from a bad umpire call than have them easily, quickly reverse the call, get it right, and have my team win."

and

"In fact, I hate the idea of umpires getting the call ultimately correct (and my team winning) so much that I want them to get rid of instant replay before the season even starts."

Did they really say that?

As I said, it's a paraphrase. What they really said was,  "I hate instant  replay in baseball," and "I wish they would get rid of instant replay before the season started."

In this day and age where basically every single game is broadcast in HD and every single play has multiple viewing angles and nearly every play can be quickly reviewed, why would you NOT want officials to get the call RIGHT? Seriously, what reason could you possibly have for wanting the umpires to get the call WRONG?

In football and basketball so much of the game is officials making judgement calls. Did the player hold too much? Did he get pushed too hard? Was his momentum too much to completely let up in time?

Even with replay in those sports you will STILL get an opinion call on if it was or was not legal. That's why commentators and fans often disagree with the officials even after the slow-motion replays are examined from every angle.

The old adage that every play has a penalty involved is probably closer to the truth than the leagues want to admit.

But baseball is such a pure game that it's easier to get the call right. Did he catch it or not? Was he safe or out? Did the ball leave the park? Was it foul or fair? It's the perfect sport for replay as a result.

I don't long for the days of Billy Martin or Earl Weaver coming out and arguing the play with EVERY umpire, kicking dirt on every base, arguing even MORE once he is tossed from the game, AND THEN refusing to leave the dugout before he takes every bat and throws it on the field.

The delays were interminable AND the umpires NEVER backed down. Gardy is probably the best example in modern day ball. It's both embarrassing AND stupid.

The games will go faster without the arguing. The calls will be correct more often, and officials will no longer get away with really bad calls. And guys like Gardy will finally have the appeal they so desperately need.

You will still have umpires calling balls and strikes. You will still have calls to close to reverse. And you will still have players and managers arguing with umpires.

They will just be doing it LESS. And they will be getting the calls right more often. The human element will still be in play. It's that the really stupid human element will be eliminated.

Even if games take a bit longer at the beginning as they get used to the most efficient way of using replay, I can't believe a fan would rather see his team LOSE in 2 hours and 53 minutes than win in in 2 hours and 59 minutes. You spend all that time watching, would you not rather watch your team WIN?

Unless you're the same person who never complains when the bank makes an error with your account,  or you know the clerk charges you too much at the store and you never say anything, because you know "that's life" and you LIKE the human error element in life, even if its easily fixable, then you should like officials easily getting calls right in baseball too.

Because it's even easier than fixing a bank error, or mentioning to a clerk that they got it wrong. I mean you don't have to anything except sit there. Better yet, you have bonus bathroom break.

I think replay should be constantly refined to the point where the impact on the game isn't even noticeable.  I really think that they could have done more initially so what is happening right now could be better, but NOT having replay at ALL? That makes no sense. Not when the alternative is getting the call wrong.

The hardest part of watching sports right now is not your team underperforming, it's watching officials underperform while costing your team wins.

Million dollar players in billion dollar stadiums having their game judged by umpires too stubborn to change their minds has always been difficult to watch. It's time to do something different.

And better.