[minnfan]

Okay, maybe I'm wrong in this...I don't know the rules all that well. However, momentarily ignoring the fact that ruling this as fan interference would have resulted in a dead ball, which might have yielded little difference in the outcome of the game, I'm still hooked on why this was not ruled fan interference.

Maybe the definition of fan interference shouldn't be determined by which side of the fence a ball was caught by a fan, but by whether or not the player going after the ball had a reasonable chance of catching it and making it playable. Yes, it looks like it was *technically* acceptable for this fan to attempt to catch this ball -- it was falling on his side of the fence. However, it was marginally falling on his side of the fence. This inch or two probably would not have affected Alou, as he still seemingly had a chance of catching the ball.

The fact of the matter is, I think we can all say that if this guy hadn't been there, Alou would have had this ball, no question. Now, if the ball had been coming toward this guy and was more than, say, an arm-length on his side of the fence, sure, it would be have been fine for him to go after it. But anything less than that would have made it possible for Alou to catch the ball, and therefore would have made it possible for the out to be called. Maybe umps should consider this, if it's possible.

A lot of people might feel that even discussing this rule is a moot point. In fact I know a lot of people think so because many have said that ANY fan would have gone after this ball. Not so. There were at least three people to this guy's left who were pulling back from the falling ball like it was covered in Anthrax -- check out the pictures. *AND* if this guy had his headphones on during a game, my guess is he was listening to the commentators, which probably would have alerted him to the fact that Alou was coming his way. I guess it might warrant going back and listening to what the commentators were saying at this time. Had they already called a home-run or were they still unsure? My guess is they were unsure but were saying Alou was running back, which should have tipped our fellow off.

So, because it is possible for fans to know what they're doing, maybe it's possible to ingrain in their heads that they are not allowed to touch a ball that is falling close to the fence -- no matter if it's a mere three inches in their favor. We've all been witness to too many amazing feats by players folding their wrists over fences so their gloves can reach another six inches on the other side. It's possible to catch these foul fly balls.

So if the ball had been ruled fan interference (like I'm saying it should be been), maybe the Cubs wouldn't have felt so disheartened. Would Gonzalez still have flubbed up? Yeah, probably. But I guess we'll never know. Let's just hope the Cubs win tonight so this guy doesn't have to live with his face plastered all over his television screen for the next three months.