Warning!! It's Baaaaaack!! Off-topic Baseball Thread '08 !!

[ChuckElias]

Sox finally clinch a playoff spot, eliminating the Yankees. (That's just not as much fun to say without Dan around. )And Papelbon looked like his old self in getting the 4-out save. Got out of the 8th inning with one pitch and dominated the 3 hitters he faced in the ninth. Okijima also came in with the bases loaded and got out of it without giving up a run. That bodes well.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

Sox finally clinch a playoff spot, eliminating the Yankees. (That's just not as much fun to say without Dan around. )

Admittedly, it would much more therapeutic.

[Nevadaref]

Dodgers @ Giants
Bottom the 6th, runner on first, one out
Bengie Molina hits a deep fly to right. It hits right at the edge of the brick face and green metal top of the wall. It is called a single on the field, and the Giant have runners at the corners.

The ground rules of the park specify that a ball which hits the green metal is a homerun, so the Giants manager disputes the call. Also in a silly move on his part, he replaces Molina with a pinch runner, Emmanuel Burriss, at this time.

The umpires elect to use video to review the call. The call is overturned and ruled a homerun. Emmanuel Burriss is instructed by the umpires to run from first to home. He does so while laughing.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy now comes out and argues that Molina should be allowed to remain in the game, since the pinch runner was unnecessary after the call was reversed and a homerun credited. The umpires say no. Molina has been replaced and is out of the game. Bochy lodges a protest and the game continues under protest following a seven minute delay.

Less important, but not less interesting, is how to score the play. Does Molina get a homerun and two RBIs, but Burriss gets the run scored? Burriss can't get the second RBI as he never batted, right?!?!

Obviously the intelligent thing to do would have been to wait for the outcome of the video review prior to making any changes (similar to the NFHS basketball rule about not granting time-outs while a replacement for a DQ is pending), but neither Bochy nor the umpires went that route. So now we have a nuance to the new video replay rules.

This play reminded me of the homerun last year by a Red Sox player and a runner was injured rounding 2nd base. They had to wait to remove the injured player and put in a pinch runner to finish the play.