View Single Post
  #37 (permalink)  
Old Wed Jul 27, 2011, 12:54pm
ILRef80 ILRef80 is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 169
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichMSN View Post
Potentially spectacular? Making this call is the equivalent of saying that a piece of thread did not touch the needle as it passed through the eye.

Maybe I am just too old school (I never thought I'd say that), but to me, this is, without a doubt, picking up the poop-covered end of the stick for no good reason. There's one thing to have courage to make the right call, but when the ball beats the runner by *this much*, the call had better be 100% defensibly right. In other words, the question that needs to be asked here is: Prove to me he missed the tag. I agree with the announcers (another first) -- unless there's clear daylight, I'm calling the runner out.

I couldn't agree more. I constantly side with umpires when having discussion amongst family or friends. But this one can't be defended. Meals just missed it. It doesn't make him a bad umpire, he just kicked it for whatever reason. It happens.