Strange Replay Ruling in Yankees-Mariners

In the ninth inning of the Yankees-Mariners game there was a particularly strange replay ruling. The play on the field was ruled a home run and there was a runner on first base. The umpires deliberated and ruled that it was a double and that the runner from first base should score. I don’t see how this makes any sense at all.

How can they assume the runner from first would score? If you go back and watch the replay it’s clear that the runner was rounding third as the ball came into the infield so how can the umpires assume the runner would’ve scored?

If I were the umpire in this situation I would’ve awarded each player two bases and had runners on second and third. This has to be the call in this situation because you can’t assume the runner would’ve scored. The play had been signaled a home run and the runner from first wasn’t running hard so none of what happened during the play after that should be taken into account. If baseball’s interpreted like this then a ground rule double would always come down to a subjective call of whether the runner from first would’ve scored or not.

I’ve tried to research whether there is any precedent ruling like this and could not find anything. It seems like if the MLB put a replay system in place they couldn’t possibly just let the umpires subjectively put runner where they think they would’ve went. That’s a stupid system and the ground rule double rule completely contradicts it. I thought it was incorrectly called and I think we’re going to see a lot more calls like this made as the MLB (hopefully) incorporates a rational replay system.

Chris Paul’s Temper Tantrum and Technical Fouls

How did Chris Paul not get a technical last night? With only a few minutes to go in Game 6 of the Memphis-Clippers series Paul was called for a pretty non-controversial foul on a Memphis fast break. After the foul Paul had what could only be called a temper tantrum and proceeded to leap right at a ref screaming at him. Somehow this wasn’t interpreted as a technical foul.

This is starting to get out of hand. What is and what isn’t a technical foul in the NBA? Amare Stoudemire had to sit out a game last year because he had so many technical fouls for clapping his hands in frustration after bad plays. Carmelo Anthony got a technical foul for throwing a bounce pass too hard to an official in Game 1 of the Heat-Knicks series. Rajon Rondo got ejected from the last seconds of Game 1 of the Celtics-Hawks series for reacting to an atrocious game changing call, then tripping into a ref. Rondo’s actions were seen as so egregious that he was even suspended for the next game of the series.[1]

These are somehow worse than completely losing it and going right after a ref? I actually don’t mind Paul not getting a technical in that situation. I hate when officiating helps decide the outcome of a game, especially when it’s an emotional player at the end of a hard fought game. The only reason it’s absurd he didn’t get a technical is because technicals are consistently called for way less. If the NBA’s new “Respect the Game” rules mean it’s a technical when a player claps his hands then Chris Paul throwing a temper tantrum has to be called as well.

A big problem with officiating in the NBA is players are clearly officiated differently. It’s nothing new. It’s been this way ever since I can remember watching. It used to be frustrating watching different rules apply to Jordan compared the rest of the league and it’s just as frustrating to watch different rules apply to Lebron, Wade, Rose, Pierce, Garnett, Duncan, Parker, Ginobli, or any other player that has “earned” the respect of the officials. Outside of flopping, this is probably the worst part of watching the NBA.

It’s just frustrating to watch Rondo get ejected and suspended from a game for having less of a reaction than Chris Paul had last night. That’s the NBA though. End Rant.

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[1] I found this to be completely absurd. I thought Rondo had every right in the world to be upset about that call, which essentially ended the game incorrectly. He clearly tripped into the official and did not mean to “bump him,” yet the NBA still suspended him for a game? Shouldn’t the official also be punished for ruining the end of the game? Why does the blame always have to be on the players?