That is THEIR job and the call was NOT that difficult. IMO, there was no NEED for a huddle.

What we do not know is if U2 said "We have a catch" , "we have a catch" on the INITIAL play by Rollins. I saw U2 signal the out but you couldn't tell if he signalled the out because Rollins touched the bag or on the catch.

IMO, the "huddle" took too long.

After the play, U2 should have simply said I had an out on the catch. Then U1 would say I have out on the tag of Matsui by Howard. This should have taken all of say 30 seconds yet they huddled for some time.

They are the BEST of the BEST and IMO, the call was NOT that difficult. Yes they got it right but it should not have taken so long. Also, an easy explanation to the coaches.

So while you say nicely done That is their job. We all have jobs and we are paid to perform them. IMO, no different here.

Pete Booth

I agree that it was technically the right call, but it was still imperfect umpiring. The second base umpire signaled out before the shortstop tagged second, but a much quicker out call on the line drive would have avoided the confusion for the base runner.

The first base umpire called Cano safe (when he was already out), so he added to the confusion. I suppose if Matsui had gone back safely to first and then walked off because of the safe call, the umpires would have put him back on first base after their huddle.

Matsui should have been alert and seen the line drive being caught and gone back to first, but this was not a play for which to pat the umpires on the back.

I have Gorman emphatically pumping the out on the catch well before Rollins went to the bag. It was a mess out of a common play, but it was a clear catch, a clear and emphatic signal (50,000 can make too much noise to hear ''catch"), and the eventual tag of the runner that wasn't forced. The Phillies' players played it smart, and it got messy. But unlike some of the calls we've seen lately, the end result was correct.

what i dont get is where you have confusion.. Brian Gorman right way was given the signal for a out.. like 8 times he gave.. Sold that call for me.

Not the 1B ump responsibilty to see if it was trapped or caught. He reacted to the SS going to the bag and then throwing to first. The SS going to the bag confused things.

Imperfect umpiring? What are you talking about? You just said he signaled out before SS tagged the bag. Well that happened approximately 2 nano seconds after he caught the ball. Watching what happens and then signaling is the sign of good umpiring , not imperfect umpiring. Quick decisions, and quick signals get you in trouble.

Its obvious you have spent little time umpiring or playing this game because people do not reacte as fast as you think. Could have, would have, and should have is only realty when being an armchair umpire.

Kevin I agree but why the long huddle?

This should have taken all of 20 seconds to resolve.

U2 would have said I had an out on the catch by Rollins
U1 would say I have a tag on Matsui off the base

End of huddle. Easy explanation to the coaches.

IMO, the huddle should not have taken that long.

Pete Booth

I guess Gorman pumping the out three times before Rollins touched the bag is not enough for some. Maybe if he jumped up and down?

No, but he should know the status of the ball. If he did, he would not have called Cano safe.

As others have said, Gorman sold the crap out of the catch. If the ball had been trapped, I'm sure he would have given a safe (no-catch) signal followed by an out on the force.

I think U1's call on Cano may have confused Matsui into believing he was no longer entitled to 1st base, and he was out on a force at 2nd. I'm not trying to excuse his poor baserunning, but I don't think it was a good job by U1. He should have known it was a caught fly. He has to watch the play at 1st, but Gorman's catch call was well before anything was happening at 1st base (watch the ball, glance at the runners).

I also agree with Pete - why did it take so long? Unless they were considering putting Matsui on 1st because his confusion resulted from U1's call on Cano.

I'm with you. U1 should have read the out on the batter and not signaled anything on the play at first. Matsui was dead anyway.

It's pretty obvious to me that you don't know jacksh*t about umpiring.

I am not so sure 1B ump saw a clean catch, and thenwhen SS goes over to 2nd and then throws, well that could have put more doubt into his mind. I just not ready to throw him under the bus for the safe call.

Without a doubt though I agree, way too much time to discuss a somewhat routine play.

Whether or not he saw a clean catch is irrelevant - Gorman signaled the status of the ball, and his call was big and emphatic. It should have been obvious (to another world series umpire) that he was calling a catch.

it was a pop fly/line drive.. what in the heck do you mean a quicker signal.. as soon as it happen he signal like 8 times.. watch the guy dude. the 1b umpire wasnt looking at the catch...and he should have signal safe.. then thats was they got together.

What was he looking at then? If he would have read the play and his partner, he could have gotten into position for a possible appeal play if there had been one. There should have been a no call on Cano. Since he made a call on Cano, I believe that's why the meeting took a bit longer than usual. The question of "where do we put Matsui?" It was obvious to me that U2 made a call on the catch versus the front end of the double play. Maybe it wasn't as obvious 90 ft away to U1. Since he wasn't looking at the catch, I wonder what his reaction would have been if the SS threw directly to F3 in order to double up Matsui? I would think it would be better to react to the play and your partner rather than the players.