Sliding Brave Ruins Another Night For the Pirates...Actually Another Ump Blows a Huge Call

You Make the call...hard to see how he is safe by this

This game was a marathon, a classic pitching duel between two great bullpens. The Pirates and the Braves playes 2.07 games last night, 18 innings with the Braves winning with one out in bottom of the 19th. How they both lasted that long, I have no idea. There were plenty of chances for both teams to take the lead, but it never happened. An entire game went by without a single run scored, the second game that is, and it was unclear who would win this ridiculously long ball game. Who knows if it would've gone longer, but Jerry Meals apparently was very tired at 2am and decided enough was enough. Unfortunately that's not how it works in baseball, or for that matter in any sport. A complete, and very dissapointing, blown call at home plate cost the Pirates 6 1/2 hours of hard work, and brilliant work by their bullpen, to go to waste. You can see by the picture above that it is clearly out. McKenry clearly swipes at Julio Lugo, but somehow this means it is out. I guess after 1am, the umps will do anything to stop the game....Even though they don't work until 7pm the next night.

Now you can say that I'm biased, and I probably am, but even the Atlanta and national media are calling this a blown call. Even the Atalanta announcers were suprised that he was called safe. Obviously if you're a Braves fan you'll just say, blown call but I'll take it; and if it went the Pirates way the I would've had the same reaction. However, I am seeing people on twitter who I know aren't Pirates fans saying they want instant replay and how this such a terrible call. Now I'm not a fan of reviewing everything, but after a play like this it's hard to argue against replay for calls at home plate.

And just in case you think my picture is doctored or that the angles make a difference, here's the link to the MLB.com video of both TV and radio from both teams for that play. You can hear the utter disgust in the voice of the Pirates announcer and complete shock from the Braves. I've listened to it a few times and honestly still can't believe what I'm watching.




You guys make the call and leave a comment if he was safe or out. 

Pirates Win on ESPN

John Amis/Associated Press

Well if you weren't in Pittsburgh last night and chose to keep ESPN up until the rain delay ended around 9pm, you saw the Pittsburgh Pirates on ESPN for the first time since 2004. I myself was excited because I could actually see a live Pirates game, being that I am currently in NYC. The game got off as a normal game would I guess, I have boycotted ESPN baseball games because the Pirates haven't been on since 2004. The announcers talked about the feel good story of the Pirates actually winning, and Clint Hurdle making the clubhouse atmosphere much better; things that were all known a month ago by anyone who even read one article about the team since May. Then they started to drift their non game related conversation towards something like they were doing us Buccos fans a favor by having us on ESPN. Saying things like now the Pirates are on ESPN, just what the fans want. Well the fans you are speaking of didn't see one second of the game on ESPN as they were probably in Pittsburgh, and fans like me in other places would probably have rather heard our own announcers Raise the Jolly Roger than ESPN's. However I understand that for national TV, the announcers usually aren't the ones you like and they do have to tell the story to the masses who might not know where Pittsburgh is or that they have a baseball team even.

All of this aside, I just couldn't get past the live strike zone. Now like I said I've never watched an ESPN baseball game, so I was surprised to see this appear on my TV. I HATE IT!!! I hate it to the point that if the Pirates had lost I would've irrationly blamed the live strike zone for my anger and stress. It really took away the enjoyment of watching game. It went from watching a pitch, wondering if it would be a strike or a ball, to yelling at the TV because the ball went through the box but wasn't called a strike.

It basically turned watching a baseball game into a game of golf, where you criticize every single shot. I don't want to criticize every single pitch in baseball, there's over 200 a game!! I want to enjoy the game and not care if the second pitch of the 15th at bat in the game is a ball or a strike. Now I don't mind this technology on a replay, like a home run or a big strike out. In fact I love it for that, because it is a few times a game and you can see how much the ball breaks, or where the hitter connects with a ball for a home run. That shows me something cool, that I never would see otherwise, but every pitch???? That is ridiculous and overkill.

Unless schedules change, the Pirates wont be on national TV until Saturday August 13th on Fox. Hopefully we get another great win and I don't have to watch the live strike zone.

On a final note, the Pirates beating the Braves feels good. The Pirates still winning, feels good. The Pittsburgh Pirates fighting for first in the division, it feels Great! Lets Go Bucs!