yanks go down!

[camarokids]

I am always happy to see the Yankees lose!

However, as posted earlier, the Yankees did beat themselves.
Twice Aroid struck out with the bases loaded. Just one or two clutch hits and the Yankees would be in the ALCS. Jeter almost won the game in the eighth with a two run homer.

[camarokids]

I enjoyed the Yankees losing. It's tough being a mid-market team competing against teams with HUGE payrolls. I didn't see any issue at all with the strike zone last night.

Agreed. From what I saw, I only watched half the game, the ump was right on.

[xpress34]

You know if the Yankees had won and anyone came out saying the strike zone was different for the two teams, etc, the Yankees fans would have been saying it was just 'sour grapes' that the 'better team won' and all that crap.

Strikes Zones are all over in every game I have ever watched and to not even give Detroit credit (i.e. ...the Yankees beat themselves, not the Tigers...) - I'm sorry, but that's just being a sore loser. I guess it's true that Yankees EXPECT that they should win and that other teams are beneath them.

Congrats Detroit! Looking forward to seeing the Tigers against my Rangers!!!

[yanks12025]

How did the Yankees not beat themselves. We had the bases loaded twice with one out and only scored 1 run.

[jppopma]

I didn't notice any wide difference in the strike zone between the teams. Just because an umpires strike zone doesn't match up with the pitchtrax or whatever little box TBS puts up, does not mean that he is wrong. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to agree with the calls the umps were making more than where the display box showed the strike zone to be.

[gingi79]

I didn't notice any wide difference in the strike zone between the teams. Just because an umpires strike zone doesn't match up with the pitchtrax or whatever little box TBS puts up, does not mean that he is wrong. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to agree with the calls the umps were making more than where the display box showed the strike zone to be.

I didn't watch on tv, but the online ones are based on a computer generated dynamic specific box for the player based on the plate and his shoulders and knees. When a ball lands literally inches off of square center and it's green (meaning a ball) it's offensive to see.

The Phillies deserved to lose, the Cards got fleeced on more than a couple of calls. Ditto the Brewers who should have won in regular innings. Some people will say it all worked out in the end. Good for them, a rare evening out when the right teams won. That doesn't mean Umpires, the most readily proven flawed and corrupt negative influence in sports shouldn't be replaced by computers

[xpress34]

How did the Yankees not beat themselves. We had the bases loaded twice with one out and only scored 1 run.

So the Tigers didn't throw the right pitch or tighten up their defense? I'm not saying the Yanks shouldn't have been able to produce, but you're also not giving the Tigers any credit for stepping up when they needed to either.

[xpress34]

[QUOTE=gingi79;269659]I didn't watch on tv, but the online ones are based on a computer generated dynamic specific box for the player based on the plate and his shoulders and knees. When a ball lands literally inches off of square center and it's green (meaning a ball) it's offensive to see.

The Phillies deserved to lose, the Cards got fleeced on more than a couple of calls. Ditto the Brewers who should have won in regular innings. Some people will say it all worked out in the end. Good for them, a rare evening out when the right teams won. That doesn't mean Umpires, the most readily proven flawed and corrupt negative influence in sports shouldn't be replaced by computers[/QUOTE]

Gingi -

I have to respectfully disagree - or hope you are joking. Yes, their are human flaws in the game and I can't count on both hands how many calls I've replayed on my DVR to see 1st base Umps ringing up a runner whose foot is on the bag while the ball is still a foot from the 1st baseman's glove. But, that is also part of the history and beauty of the game. The Ump is usually listening for the POP of the ball in the mitt, but sometimes the players foot hitting the bag makes the same or similar sound and a human error occurs.

At home, it has always been widely accepted that if a pitcher can repeatedly 'paint' the same spot and it's borderline near the plate, the ump is going to start giving the pitcher the nod on that pitch.

I have watched many guys hit a spot and it's called a ball - the 1st few times in that spot. But as the game goes on and the pitcher keeps hitting that same spot, the ump starts giving the pitcher the benefit of the doubt.

It is also true that bigger name pitchers, veterans, etc usually have an unfair advantage over a rookie and such before the 1st pitch is even thrown.

All that said, there is an old sports adage that rings true with ANY sport when it comes to wins - "If I was lucky and won vs good and lost, I'd rather be lucky than good."

All the best -

Smitty

[godwulf]

With instant replay now assisting the umpires with "boundary calls", it's only a matter of time before a greater reliance on video and computer is instituted on a wider basis. I'm all for tradition in most things, when it comes to Baseball, but MLB has brought it on themselves, by permitting a lot of lazy, opinionated, half-blind old incompetents to officiate in these games, while making little or no effort to rein them in or correct their deficiencies.

Personally, one of the practices that I find most offensive in the entire sport is that of an umpire calling his strike zone, rather than the one described in the rule book. Giving a "veteran" pitcher a bigger strike zone than a relative rookie comes a close second. So-called "high strikes" are still strikes - so why do they get called balls nearly every time? How many Major League hitters have knees that are six inches off the ground? Quite a few, judging by some umpires' strike calls.

[xpress34]

GW -

I thought that's what the 'Qwest Tech' (or whatever it's called) system was for that they installed a few years back in about half the MLB stadiums.

It's a camera set up run by MLB that records every pitch and the call made by the umpire and they are scored on their accuracy.

The last I read about it, If an umpire had a game with less than 85% accuracy (as scored by the system vs his calls) he would be written up and possibly fined. If it happened multiple times the umpire could be reprimanded and - like a player - sent down to hone his skills.

Not sure if MLB is still using that system or not - I know the Umpires and their Union didn't like the whole system, so they may have gotten it removed in their CBA.

- Smitty