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At least one Talkbacker isn't happy with MLB's umpires.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Baseball umpires are clearly out of control and ruining the game. They can and should be replaced with electronic sensors.
Case in point: The home plate umpire "robbed" two Red Sox hitters in a row [in Game 1] on "called" third strikes, which I now know is a euphemism for pitches that are outside the strike zone, but not swung at (a.k.a. "balls"). The announcers just laughed it off, referring to the calls as "generous" and "extremely generous" even after they saw they were wrong.
My real gripe is with the announcers who clearly don't want to admit the game is seriously flawed. They make their living out of the game.
Television used to have a home plate overhead camera that showed most pitches as they actually crossed or didn't cross the plate, embarrassing many umpires, and inciting the fans. Mysteriously, that disappeared, as did commentator criticism of egregious calls by umpires.
I'm sure the technology exists to hook a two-dimensional box up to a set of lights, bells or whistles in real time (like tennis) and bam, we know instantly whether a pitch was a ball or a strike.
Monday night, the Colorado player who scored the winning run against San Diego was clearly out at home and the Padres should be in the playoffs, not the Rockies. Solution: Put the home plate umpire in a chair like a tennis umpire and let him confirm or overrule the machine that calls balls and strikes and let him use instant replay on close calls involving other close calls -- not to ruin the game, but to save it.
Thomas B. Carr, Washington
I'm against technology replacing umpires, or instant replays. But I'm in favor of improving the umpires. My view: too much instant replay in sports.
* * *
Another wonderful baseball season comes to a close and the Nationals surprised many in their last season at RFK. First-year manager Manny Acta made a real difference, as did Dmitri Young.
Mark Young, Alexandria
Many people agree with you. But as the Nationals move into their new stadium they have to work at generating more interest in D.C. and Maryland than they did the past two seasons. Attracting fans from Virginia is not their problem.
