MLB Wants Replay by August for Homers

Instant replay might be coming to Major League Baseball in an instant.

Moving faster than expected and coming after a rash of blown calls, baseball wants to put replay into effect by August for home run disputes in hopes of fine-tuning the system by the playoffs.

MLB and the umpires' union need to reach agreement before replay can be tried, and the sides have started talking. Previously, it was thought replay would get its first look in the Arizona Fall League and then the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

"The game needs it and I think it does need it soon," Cubs RHP Jon Lieber said yesterday before a game at Toronto. "With technology the way it is today, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a part of the game."

Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, is pushing for replay by Aug. 1; Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, suggested Aug. 15.

"It's all still premature," MLB spokesman Rich Levin said. "A final decision has not been made."

USA Today first reported on its Web site yesterday that baseball planned to use replay this season, saying MLB wanted it by Aug. 1.

"I don't think it's needed at all, to be honest," Cubs Manager Lou Piniella said yesterday. "How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It's all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You're going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands."

· UNCERTAINTY: Braves RHP John Smoltz hopes to pitch again, but acknowledged his most recent shoulder surgery required repairs that have ended the careers of many others.

Smoltz said the season-ending operation performed on Tuesday by James Andrews fixed injuries to "five or six problems," including his labrum, AC joint and biceps.

-- From News Services