Even The Umpires Missed A Good Game

To everyone but MLB umpires, this image is of an out

If an umpire blows a call, but no one is awake to see it, is it really a blown call?  That is the sentiment I’m pondering today as folks around the nation are bitching about another questionable outright blown call in the MLB playoffs.  This time, it happened as the Rockies and Phillies battled at Coors Field on a night too cold for baseball and a start time too late for everyone.  You might say the blown call was playing the game on Sunday night at 8pm local time, but you might more accurately say it was Chase Utley being awarded a single in the top of the ninth.

Admittedly, this is all second-hand information because I didn’t see a second of this game live.  There was football to be had, and when Peyton Manning had asserted his dominance 10-minutes into that game, there was sleep to be had.  Meanwhile, the Rockies were playing for their post-season lives while I’m sure someone somewhere watched with interest.  Clearly, the umpires weren’t among those interested spectators as they blew a vital call in the ninth.  Apparently, they felt it was enough that they braved the elements all game long.  Getting calls correct will cost you extra, Bud.

Head over to Big League Stew if you’d like to see a frame-by-frame breakdown of the play.  I guess the guys over there don’t enjoy the sight of the back of their own eyelids quite as much as the rest of us.  They point out that not only did Todd Helton keep his foot on first base to get the force out, but also the ball hit Utley on his way out of the batter’s box, which should have caused the play to be dead right there.  I’m occasionally a forgiving person, so I realize to err is human.  But I’m learning that to err often and repeatedly is umpire.

And while many people whose love for baseball is second only to their love of a decent night’s sleep skipped the game last night to dream of a world where baseball games don’t start after 7pm local time and the temperature is never below 50-degrees, the umpires took the opportunity to dream of a similar world while the game was being played in front of them.  And while they dreamed of a place where every batted ball stayed at least 10-feet from the foul line, they seemed to miss as much of the game as you and I.

Tags: baseball, Chase Utley, Colorado Rockies, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, playoffs