RE: Davidson's reversal call on the tag up play

I think the WBC should make a statement on behalf of the umpires (Davidson) that while the mechanic was incorrect (Knight making the initial call), the reversal was in fact, the WRONG call.

They do this in the NFL and while it does not change the end result, it atleast shows the team from Japan that it was an honest mistake and not a "conspiracy on foreign soil". Any thoughts... give me a chance to get my shield because I got a feeling there's going to be a lot of sh!t flying around here ;)

Balkin' Bob doesn't seem to be the apologizin' type to me ;)

Actually, it's now "Ballin" Bob.... he awarded a ball against the Japanese pitcher for going to his mouth on the dirt area :)

I don't know enough about the technology used by ESPN2 to know if the two screens they showed were in sync or not. Let's assume they were and some tech in the truck wasn't looking to create a controversy.

The coach comes out and says something like "Hey Bob, the 2nd base ump can't have gotten a good look from where he was but you probably did. Isn't that your call?"

Bob may say, "Yeh it's my call but let me see what my partner has to say".

Bob to second base ump,"Did you get a real good look at the play? Are you certain of the call? Because if you aren't, it my call and it looked to me like he left early".

Second base ump replies, "No, I'm not real sure. Go ahead and change the call".

Who can say except those that were involved but I'll bet the real comments were not too far off from what I guessed. So, apologize for what? Calling what you see? Fixing a mechanics error? It's baseball - calls get blown. Calling the game is hard enough without some sanctioning body making apologies for the guy in the trenches.

At this point, all Davidson had to do was say...

"Yeh Buck, you're right it is my call - but I don't have him leaving early either so we're going to stay with that call"

Sh!t House avoided - no controversy - Knight owes Davidson a couple of pops after the game.

I guess hindsight in 20/20 and without hearing what Davidson and Knight talked about, we can only speculate. Bottom line, they kicked a crucial call and someone needs to be accountable. To ease international tensions, just fess up and admit the mistake. In my opinion, that's alot better than just chalking it up to "It's baseball - calls get blown".

Sal,

Why does there need to be an apology again? Do you apologize after a blown call in a big game? Does anyone in baseball? Don't lose any sleep over it if there isn't one, as we probably won't go to war over it, and the games will still go on.

While I agree that it's not a great idea for MLB to be running around making apologies after every judgement error by an umpire, and I think it's actually quite silly that the NFL does so except in egregious errors (like fouling up a play that was REVIEWED)...

This is different. It is an international competition, and the first of it's kind. I think a decent amount of goodwill might be generated from an honest admission of the mistake. What if Japan fails to make the 3rd round solely on this call. You think they'll come back? Or might they fold up their pride and refuse to play in what they likely think is an inherently biased competition?

Next time you see a replay of this whole sequence of events, watch Knight closely as he and Davidson confer. Right before they break and Davidson gives the hammer, it looks to me like the last words from Knight are, "I missed it.".

When I first saw that play while watching the game, my first thought was that, even if it was the home plate umpire's call, whether or not the runner left early would have had to been almost impossible to discern. With the throw being well off-target and no play involved at the plate, I'm thinking, "Stick with the original call".

Excellent! He got to make calls he hasn't seen since his 1972 NFHS days ;)

Solely on this call? This call lead to all the US runs or prevented any other opportunities for Japan to score?

Yes, it was an important call. Yes, I think it was missed.

The statement / question you pose, however, sounds like something we'd hear from a fanboy.

It should be noted that the manager may not have even known that Davidson should have made the call. In the post game interview he stated that he came out because he had a good view of R3 and that he thought R3 left early. The ESPN guy then asked if part of the reason he came out to challenge the call was because of the rotation of the umpires. The manager replied by saying no, the only reason he came out was because he personally thought R3 left early.

I believe we extracted our own "apology" at
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Kind of sounds like the Bartman play. Cubs lose and it's Bartman's fault although everybody forgets that the next batted ball was a routine DP ball to the SS that would have ended the inning but it was booted and many more runs followed after the boot.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by umpduck11
[QUOTE]Originally posted by btman

Quote:

Originally posted by mcrowder While I agree that it's not a great idea for MLB to be running around making apologies after every judgement error by an umpire, and I think it's actually quite silly that the NFL does so except in egregious errors (like fouling up a play that was REVIEWED)... This is different. It is an international competition, and the first of it's kind. I think a decent amount of goodwill might be generated from an honest admission of the mistake. What if Japan fails to make the 3rd round solely on this call. You think they'll come back? Or might they fold up their pride and refuse to play in what they likely think is an inherently biased competition?

wHEN DID WE GET AN APOLOGY FOR pEARL HARBOR?

Over 20 years ago.

I believe we extracted our own "apology" at
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Idiot


[Edited by GarthB on Mar 13th, 2006 at 08:49 PM]

Before we start talkin about more wars ;), I don't want this to turn into a trash Bob Davidson thread. While I don't agree with his reversal, I wasn't there nor do we know what was said between he and Knight. As Dan pointed out, we can't even be sure that the replay guys timed the split screen correctly.

With that said, you've got to believe Japan feels they were robbed. If the shoe was on the other foot (US team had a call changed against them by a Japanese umpire while playing a game in Japan), it would be showcased all over the US Media and we Americans would be screaming bloody murder. Other than a few internet articles, we actually haven't heard much about the controversy. In fact, the little we did hear/read about actually said that the US got away with one.

As we know that perception can be viewed as reality, especially when it comes to officiating, would it hurt anybody if a statement was made? After all, this was a very strange call that went against the "visiting" team in a rather high profile game. IF a mistake was made, admit it like the NFL does and then they can put it behind them.