Not Jeffrey Maier again!!!

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by mbcrowder
Have you ever felt a foul pole? The one in Arlington is not metal on the outside - it's more like the bottom of a field goal - thick foam on the outside. I would expect a ball hitting that to behave in much the same way as the ball in question did. Looked like it hit the foul pole without hitting the fan to me. The padding is what made it drop nearly straight down.

PS - the friend of the fan who supposedly hit the ball could not have seen the ball hit either glove or pole - he was on the wrong side of the pole to see it. Next time you see the replay, watch for him.

Hey mbcrowder, I've seen the pole at Yankee Stadium, I've touched the pole at Yankee Stadium, I'm a friend of the pole at Yankee Stadium and let me tell you, the pole at Arlington is no Yankee Stadium pole (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Anyway, when a struck ball hits that particular pole it carroms off. It was obvious from replays the fan touched the ball just before the ball was going to hit the pole. A great job by the umps. And I too was wondering just where was Yankee Stadium security.

One other thing that I have been wondering about: when did the foul ball mechanic go from raising both hands in the air to pointing? I've noticed that very few guys now use the 2 hands up mechanic, they go right to the point either fair or foul. On that call Hernandez looked more like a basketball ref than an umpire, and to then get over ruled after selling it with his big call made him look awful. Is this changed or are they using...GASP... "unauthorized" mechanics?