[Jim Porter]

I saw the game and the play. U1 blew the call, not U2. (U1 later in the game called a batted ball fair while DiMuro, the PU, called it foul - it was not his night.) It was a liner shaded to the right field side of center, so U1 ran out to cover the catch since U2 was inside.

Brinkman was the crew chief. They overturned the call based on U2's information, and clearly the ball was trapped by Damon. So, they ended up getting the call right.

There was 1 out. Initially, as Pete said, R2 was ruled out for failing to tag up. Then, Brinkman was going to leave the bases loaded and just 1 out. But BoSox manager Grady Little and pitcher John Burkett argued heatedly that R1 should be called out on the force at second, that it wouldn't be fair to give them bases loaded. It seemed DiMuro agreed with Boston's stance, so Brinkman changed his mind and declared R1 out on the force.

Piniella did in fact protest the game. His argument was twofold. First, that R1 should not be called out at 2nd, and also that R2 could've scored on the play. Replays showed quite clearly that R2 would not have scored, but he was just as confused as everyone else on the play and unsure whether to go back to 2nd or not, and that's why he never progressed beyond 3rd.

It was a mess. It took a good 10 minutes to straighten it all out. Red Sox coverage even broke away from commercial to show the hellabaloo, because the Red Sox had run off the field after they thought they completed a double play to end the inning. It's a shame the Devil Rays ended up winning in extra innings. It would've been grand to hear the outcome of the protest, because if the Rays had lost, it clearly would've affected the outcome.