History Will Not Be Made

I was going to write a blog post about the Yankees, but in light of recent events I am going to put that off for a bit. I want to talk about the umpires in the MLB right now. I don't know if they're just blowing more calls, going on more power trips, or whatever this season but lately they have been awful. First, Joe West goes out and calls the Red Sox & Yankees pathetic and embarrassing and a "disgrace to baseball." Yeah, a couple of the best teams are truly embarrassing for the sport because they play 4 hour games. THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF BASEBALL. There isn't a time limit. You go out and play the game without clocks. I would understand him saying that the pace of the game needs to be picked up a bit and players should not take as long. But the fact that he calls out two teams was uncalled for. Even if he said "For example, the Yankees and Red Sox play long games that could be played quicker than they are" or something like that, I would not have been as mad.

Anyway, I won't get into that. Then, he goes and ejects Guillen & Buehrle after they got mad after two balks were called on Buehrle. On the first balk, Guillen goes out to talk to Joe West about what exactly he saw and to make sure Buehrle didn't go apeshit on West. He keeps talking, then gets tossed. Then West calls another balk on Buehrle. Buehrle throws his glove down in disgusts and gets tossed immediately! Guillen said West wants to control the game. He sure is completing that goal.
And now, tonight, Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was pitching a perfect game. It was the 9th inning. He was 1 out away from making history, as well as throwing the THIRD perfect game of the young 2010 season. The 1st out of the 9th was made on a spectacular catch by Austin Jackson, and you could just feel it. This was going to be a perfect game. But then, Jason Donald grounds out to Miguel Cabrera and Galarraga rushes to the bag, catches the ball, and touches the base. He's out. But no, Jim Joyce throws his arms out to his side to indicate he's safe. I was in shock. Everyone in the stadium was in shock. Jason Donald was in shock. The perfect game was gone. Just like that. If it was a Yankees pitcher throwing a perfect game, I would've gone ballistic. Now, I'm not lumping Joyce in with the likes of Joe West. He didn't go crazy ejecting people out of the game for silly reasons. But, it's just another indication of the umpires making more and more blown calls (or so it seems). In this instance, the blown call is HUGE. It altered history. I know that seems dramatic and an overexaggeration, but it's not. Tigers fans are going to remember this. Baseball fans are going to remember this. Galarraga was incredibly classy after the game talking to the media. I would not have had the same reaction as him, so I give him props for remaining so calm and taking everything in stride. Jim Leyland also held his cool as well. I've always been a fan of Leyland, and this goes to show that he knows just what he's doing out there. I get that umpires want to get calls right, and if Donald had been safe, and Joyce had gotten the call right, I don't think people would be AS mad. I would still be mad because I think in that instance, on such a close play even if Donald had gotten there before Galarraga, you should still call it out. The guy was 1 out away from a perfect game. It was a close play, a half step close kind of play, and that call should not have been made. Joyce blew it. I am sure he feels awful, but you should not be making that kind of call on that kind of play in that sort of situation. Even seeing it from different angles, it's still hard to believe he thought the Donald was safe. He clearly was not. I know those kinds of plays are made quickly, but man! It's over with now, and nothing can be done to change what happened. The Tigers still won the game. Galarraga didn't make history tonight. Instead, history was ripped away from him in a split second.