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Don't get me wrong. I think expanding instant replay to include pretty much every call on the field except balls and strikes is a massive step in the right direction. When the fans can sit at home and see a replay from fifty different angles and in super slow motion, why keep that from the guys on the field? The continued outrage will stem from the calls that don't get reviewed. Instead of being yet another blown call, it'll have that much more emphasis put on it because the system won't allow that call to be reviewed. That being said, lets take a look at what might be coming for the 2014 playoffs and its effect on future seasons.
I'm sure most of us remember the blown call by Tim Welke in early 2012 when he called Jerry Hairston out with Todd Helton a good two feet off the bag on a 5-3 putout. Or how about Jim Joyce in Armando Galarraga's should-have-been perfect game? Those calls could be reviewed in the coming years and I for one can't wait.
After reading a few articles on the planned expansion, I'll hold off on giving too many details as I've seen conflicting reports. We know for sure that managers will get a select number of challenges between the first and sixth inning and a select number of challenges between the seventh inning and the end of the game. That may change, especially since games can go 15 innings or longer. Like football, the manager of either team can make the call to challenge a call on the field. If a challenge proves correct, the manager keeps the challenge. So if he has two in the fifth, challenges a call and he turns out to be right, he keeps the two challenges. Balls and strikes will be off limits, which isn't surprising. Yes, I like having the umps behind the plate giving us a reason to yell at the television. I also believe that having a robot calling balls and strikes takes something away from the game. You may disagree and that's perfectly fine. To each his/her own. Everything else is fair game with home run reviews being grandfathered in.
Other than that, nobody really knows exactly how its going to be laid out. At least, not from what I've seen anyway. And since the owners don't vote on it until November, things could change between now and then. Suffice it to say that expanded replay is pretty much in the bag. The only question is how it will be implemented. There will be bugs to be worked out initially, with frustration with all involved, including fans, probably reaching the upper atmosphere. Every new release has bugs in it, from games to apps on your smart phone to instant replay in baseball. One thing to keep in mind for all of us is that, while it may be buggy in the beginning, having a buggy system that can be fixed is better than no system at all.
Not only will there be bugs to work out, there will be fans who become frustrated with a manager because a blown call in the first won't be challenged in case there's a blown call in the fifth. The repercussions of a challenge in the early innings have to be weighed and the manager makes the best call with the information he has at his disposal. And you thought a manager's job was easy. Its another decision the manager has to make, if the manager chooses to make it at all.
While the manager has to make the challenge, there's the possibility that the video guy working in the clubhouse will be tasked with watching the game and informing a coach or player to "throw the red flag", in a manner of speaking. No doubt Joe Maddon will find a creative way of gaining some sort of an advantage with it.
It'll be interesting to see how major league baseball words the rules on it and how its implemented. The first season or two will have challenges and loopholes and bugs galore, but its something that can be fixed in a timely manner, if the powers that be choose to make a decision. They finally did make a decision on expanded replay itself, which is a step I never thought they'd take. With any luck, its a sign of more progressive things to come in the molasses clogged system that is major league baseball.
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