Instant replay and robot umpires for baseball...

[Dawg61]

Here you go Todd so we don't muddy up the perfectly good WoMainieri gif thread.

Point is I think they know that they get a lot of calls at times and it gives them an advantage. I'm for anything that levels the playing field. LSU is sharing a SEC title in part because of a badly blown call in the LSU and South Carolina game. And then the strike zone in the Oregon State/LSU game was unprofessional and unacceptable at any level of baseball and was a factor in why LSU won that game.

Replay and automated umpires eliminate those types of situations and I believe that umpires want to get the calls right. If they're going to hire Joe Blow off the street they need to give them reasonable assistance and especially if they aren't going to let coaches argue with umpires over calls.

I like imperfection in sport and especially in baseball. I like managers arguing with umpires and picking up bases and tossing them in the outfield. I like pitchers and hitters fighting and bench clearing brawls. I love all of that actually. The more the better. Instant replay has robbed us of this in MLB and I ****ing hate it. Give me more infield fly rule calls halfway in the outfield in the playoffs so we can bitch about it a decade later. It's fantastic entertainment wether you are the team benefiting or not. Football is another sport that needs to do away with instant replay imo. Calvin Johnson caught that ball and so did Dez Bryant. **** what instant replay says. Baseball players stealing 2nd shouldn't get called out when the 2nd baseman barely pushes the foot of the base and there's a microsecond of time when the runner's foot isn't on the bag. Instant replay sucks. Don't even get me started on Robot umpires calling balls and strikes. That is the worst idea ever for baseball Brian Kenny.

[Todd4State]

Getting calls correct has little to nothing to do with fighting and bench clearing brawls. That's normally between player and player or maybe more accurately team and team. If you're watching baseball to watch umpires screw up so you can yell at them, call them stupid, whatever...I think you're watching the game for the wrong reason. Baseball entertainment doesn't need to be WWF with drama.

I think it's a quality issue and I'm glad MLB has it. I don't think it's fair to the players to put the time and effort that they do and then have it tarnished because of human error when we have the technology to make it right. Umpires in MLB are for it too.

As long as MLB has umpires that are calling balls and strikes reasonably consistently- I'm fine with MLB not having an automated umpire. They get those calls right more often than not.

The difference between MLB umpires and college umpires is night and day. MLB umpires are professionals that have to go through years of umpiring in the minors and they have to be really good to get to the MLB level in the first place. It's really hard to make it to MLB as an umpire.

College umpires are average Joe's that "just love baseball" who know someone in the SEC office. And they have a "real job" on the side and umpire "as a hobby". It's unreasonable to expect those types of umpires to not affect the quality of the game. All I expect out of an umpire behind home plate is to have the same strike zone for both pitchers. It's a disservice to the hitters, pitcher, and everyone else when an umpire has a strike zone that is wildly inconsistent.

I don't think it's good or "entertaining" for the game when LSU shares the SEC because of a blown call at first base. And ask Chad Holbrook who is now looking for a job after South Carolina how entertaining it is that his job situation was in small part affected because of that. How "entertaining" was the CWS when Oregon State lost because of a blown call on a double and then had their season thrown away because of an incompetent umpire the next game? Bad umpiring caused a less entertaining match-up of Oregon State and Florida.

The SEC has cut out coaches arguing with umpires which has made the calls only worse because now there is zero accountability for making bad calls and coaches just have to take it because they and the school are fined very heavily- EVEN IF THEY ARE RIGHT! If the NCAA is going to take that right away from coaches they owe it to everyone to help the umpires out.

I just don't think it's right in this era of technology to have games and accomplishments tarnished by gross human error. And I've been on both sides of it- odds are the Cardinals win the 1985 World Series had a call not been blown at first base in game six. And that's frustrating because the Cardinals were the best team in baseball that year and I think it took away from the Royals winning it all that year too. Because it's now kind of like...yeah you won but... And I've been on it on the other side with the Pete Kozma infield fly rule which was ridiculously bad. I was happy that the Cardinals won but at the same time I felt like we were very, very lucky.

And if you ask umpires- most of them will tell you that they want to get the calls right and they welcome any technology that will help them get it right. I've heard some of them talk about not being able to sleep at night sometimes because they mess up a call.

[dickiedawg]

I would very much welcome computerized balls and strikes at the NCAA level if the technology is there.
I question how expensive it would be to implement at some of the smaller schools.

[Dawg61]

If MLB goes to robot umpires I'll quit watching and start watching Japanese baseball instead

[Todd4State]

I would very much welcome computerized balls and strikes at the NCAA level if the technology is there.
I question how expensive it would be to implement at some of the smaller schools.

I think the technology is there. As far as the cost part, I envision it possibly being something that the power five schools use while the smaller conferences utilize the "old fashioned way". I definitely think it should be used in the NCAA postseason.

[dickiedawg]

That's... a really interesting position to take.
I don't see balls and strikes as that big of an issue in MLB (though I don't watch a ton of it, admittedly). As Todd said, the umps there are orders of magnitude better than NCAA.

I can see struggling pitchers struggling even more, you know the plate widens a little bit on a 2-0 or 3-0 count. Really in general the importance of command would be amplified.

[Dawg61]

I think the technology is there. As far as the cost part, I envision it possibly being something that the power five schools use while the smaller conferences utilize the "old fashioned way". I definitely think it should be used in the NCAA postseason.

It'll never happen cause there's way too many guys like me that won't let it happen so give it up. Ain't happening. Ever. Let it go. Stop trying to ruin baseball. Tell Will James too. Thanks! Oh and Brian Kenny too, tell that douche to go **** himself while you're at it. Thanks

[Todd4State]

That's... a really interesting position to take.
I don't see balls and strikes as that big of an issue in MLB (though I don't watch a ton of it, admittedly). As Todd said, the umps there are orders of magnitude better than NCAA.

I can see struggling pitchers struggling even more, you know the plate widens a little bit on a 2-0 or 3-0 count. Really in general the importance of command would be amplified.

It's really hard to pitch when you have no idea where to throw it in the first place. It almost becomes a guessing game for the pitcher and hitter for that matter.

[Todd4State]

It'll never happen cause there's way too many guys like me that won't let it happen so give it up. Ain't happening. Ever. Let it go. Stop trying to ruin baseball. Tell Will James too. Thanks! Oh and Brian Kenny too, tell that douche to go **** himself while you're at it. Thanks

I think after the CWS and the Oregon State replay debacle and several calls that would have been reviewed in MLB that were borderline or just plain wrong- I think replay will probably be revamped first. They just need to go to the MLB system of replay.

If you're not for automated umpires, you are not for MSU because to me that takes a lot of the "luck" out of it that LSU seems to routinely get. When ESPN is calling for it- there is a good chance of it entering the game.

[Dawg61]

It's really hard to pitch when you have no idea where to throw it in the first place. It almost becomes a guessing game for the pitcher and hitter for that matter.

Imagine trying to play defense in the NBA when the offense is allowed to palm the ball and travel on every single play. Maybe they should have flying robots that call traveling every time it happens and palming the ball. Only fair for the defense.

[Dawg61]

If you're not for automated umpires, you are not for MSU

Don't even George Jetson

[Todd4State]

Imagine trying to play defense in the NBA when the offense is allowed to palm the ball and travel on every single play. Maybe they should have flying robots that call traveling every time it happens and palming the ball. Only fair for the defense.

Apples and oranges. ESPN already has K-zone and MLB uses something similar to grade their current umpires. Very simple to implement something like that at a conference with the ESPN backed SEC Network where if a pitcher throws a ball in the K-zone and have a red light flash to indicate to the umpire that it's a strike vs. green if it's a ball.

I'm sure that if this was 1955 you would be against batting helmets too.

[Dawg61]

Apples and oranges.

No it's only apples and oranges to you because you love baseball and you couldn't give a shit about basketball. If you love baseball so much maybe you shouldn't **** with the way it's been played for the last 130 years. Do you watch Brian Kenny everyday

[bulldogcountry1]

I always have to be the voice of reason in my family when everyone bitches about the umpires in my niece's HS softball games. I have to remind everyone that it's girls HS softball.

By the same token, we can't expect major league umpires in college baseball. That said, the best college umps should be in Omaha. I'm not sure how they are selected, but they were terrible as a whole.

[gravedigger]

If MLB goes to robot umpires I'll quit watching and start watching Japanese baseball instead

I simply don't understand your reasoning. Sure, I get the human element having value, but the calls being more objective making the game not worth watching?

Come on.

[gravedigger]

Imagine trying to play defense in the NBA when the offense is allowed to palm the ball and travel on every single play..

Wait. You are contending this isn't the case right now?

[Dawg61]

Wait. You are contending this isn't the case right now?

I think you missed the joke

[Todd4State]

No it's only apples and oranges to you because you love baseball and you couldn't give a shit about basketball. If you love baseball so much maybe you shouldn't **** with the way it's been played for the last 130 years. Do you watch Brian Kenny everyday

Yes it is because I don't know that basketball has that kind of technology to make the quality of the game better. I don't watch Brian Kenny everyday. But I've been watching people like Tony Walsh, Greg Street, Scott Kennedy and others **** up a lot of baseball games in the SEC for years and I'm tired of it.

[Todd4State]

I always have to be the voice of reason in my family when everyone bitches about the umpires in my niece's HS softball games. I have to remind everyone that it's girls HS softball.

By the same token, we can't expect major league umpires in college baseball. That said, the best college umps should be in Omaha. I'm not sure how they are selected, but they were terrible as a whole.

It's political.

[Dawg61]

Yes it is because I don't know that basketball has that kind of technology to make the quality of the game better. I don't watch Brian Kenny everyday. But I've been watching people like Tony Walsh, Greg Street, Scott Kennedy and others **** up a lot of baseball games in the SEC for years and I'm tired of it.

Umpires are part of the game. Especially for pitchers. A good pitcher can build a strike zone with an ump. When you limit or set in stone the hitting zone it'll drastically hinder pitchers and greatly influence hitters. They can simply just attack a 1 foot area. Let's just stop arguing this. You are never changing your mind and I am never either and that's fine.