The fuzz brains in the League office have finally submitted to the use of Instant Replay only to determine whether a long fly-ball, deep-deep-deep, is or isn't a home run. All camera angles are assembled by the league office. The umpires leave the playing field. The crew chief makes the call. MEANWHILE, THE PARANOID POWERS THAT BE DO NOT ALLOW CONTROVERSIAL PLAYS TO BE SHOWN ON STADIUM VIDEO DISPLAYS. Fans in the stands don't see anthing of what's going on unless they can see it in a highlight package when they get home.
The Umpires in Baseball are perhaps no more incompetent than their peers in other sports, but they are the most arrogant and obtrusive. How often have we seen umpires bait players into arguments and look for conflicts? Nobody comes out to the park to watch umpires have it out with players. Umpires are at their best when they're invisible. If there is a tough call, they gather together and consult.
Likewise, as new technologies are introduced, they should be as unobtrusive as possible too. There surely are other plays that should be subject to Instant Replay like close plays at the plate and certain foul calls. It wouldn't be practical to subject every ball and strike call to replay, but umpires should be assessed on their accuracy. The camera shots and other readings that can help determine strike calls should be available to each team. Teams should be able to have some means of protest, granted such efforts wouldn't overturn games, to help improve the call of the game.
BULLY UMPIRES MUST GO. PERIOD. EVERY FAN KNOWS WHO THE BLOWHARDS ARE.
Like interleague play and wild cards, the use of instant replay looks like another good idea Baseball will screw up somehow. If it weren't such a great game....
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