Mauer's "Foul" Ball
by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Oct 10, 2009 8:37 AM EDT
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PrintLet me preface by saying that last night's 4-3 comeback win was epic. Like CYC said, it had all the makings of a classic Yankees' comeback win of Octobers past.
However, as great as it was, I felt the need to talk about the blown call in the top-half of the inning.
What should've been a double for Joe Mauer was called a foul ball by Phil Cuzzi, who was standing right on the line. I understand that human error is part of the game, but there are blown calls and then there are BLOWN calls (if you catch my drift).
It's inexcusable for a professional umpire to miss a call like that. I've seen missed calls on baseballs that hit the line or that were inches fair, but not five or six feet fair. I don't know what Cuzzi was watching, but it couldn't have been the ball. I watched the replay again about a dozen times and there's not even a logical explanation for what he could've seen.
We can say all we want that "oh well, the Twins left 17 runners on base" or "oh well, the Twins had three chances with bases-loaded nobody out" or just "cry me a river Twinkies." But, the fact remains is that blown call was the worst I've seen in years - maybe ever. It made Jeter's homerun on Jeffrey Maier's catch in the 1996 ALCS look feasible. If Mauer's ball was foul, then so was Tex's walk-off homer in the 11th.
Suddenly, this now seems totally legit...
If it's a double, Mauer comes around to score on one of the singles that followed him reaching base. Tex's homer only ties it in the 11th, and we're back to where we started. People are chalking it up to "human error" and being "part of the game", yet if the same thing happened to the Yankees, all of us would be screaming bloody murder.
Had Mauer's hit been properly called a double, would the Twins have necessarily won the game? No. Are the Yankees the better team? Yes. Will they win the series? Probably.
But that call by Phil Cuzzi warrants three things:
1) A fine
2) An apology
3) A suspension for the rest of the playoffs
Go Yanks.
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Exactly 13 years to the night of Jeffrey Maier
ROCNation had said last night “Mauer=Maier” 13 years later=who was one of the heroes last night? Number 13. A tad creepy.
Anyhow,I can’t wait to see how the pitch of instant replay flys over with Bud,because its well known that all he wants to do is speed up games. But I’ll take the right call and a long game over a blown call and a quick game anyday. You’re so right,that if it had happened to the Yanks,and we had lost that game……….we’d all be livid.
------It's October,winning is what the Yankees do........let's just do it already
by ReggieARodJeter on Oct 10, 2009 9:06 AM EDT reply actions
LOL!
as only CYC points out so well, the way the number always seem to ad up for the Yankees is always creepy.
It was just meant to be for A-Rod to do that wasn’t it? …well the last time they played the Twins in the ALDS, A-Rod played pretty well didn’t he?
What the f$%k is the internet?
by FreeBradshaw on Oct 10, 2009 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Definitely a fair ball...
did it cost them the game? YOu can never say it did or it didn’t either. If that happened to Texiera or someone else on the Yanks, we’d be out with our torches and pitchforks wouldn’t we?
It’s actually amusing that someone can miss this call. You can see Cuzzi staring right at it. Its almost as if in his mind he was already calling the ball foul before it landed. Or maybe he just got the fair signal mixed up with the foul?
I dunno, but he has some explaining to do.
What the f$%k is the internet?
Mauer said himself that if he’d been on second that single up the middle probably would have been caught.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
it probably would...
but still, while the call on the 2B was blown, I just don’t want to hear how THAT was the difference in the game.
There were plenty of questionable calls going both way in the game.
I doubt the Twins are blaming that one call as the difference in the game. They had numerous other opportunities to win that game.
…you know, cuz they WERE LEADING before Joe Nathan pitched to A-Rod with Tex on base.
What the f$%k is the internet?
by FreeBradshaw on Oct 10, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Right
The “foul” call was so emphatic. Like he had no doubt about it—-Lol. Oh well,sux 2 be a Twin fan right now. Sorry guys.
------It's October,winning is what the Yankees do........let's just do it already
by ReggieARodJeter on Oct 10, 2009 9:49 AM EDT reply actions
Bases loaded no one out, no runs scored
That’s really what matters. Say Mauer gets his double. Giradi probably walks the next batter to set up the DP. So back to back singles gets the same result. First and Second no one out. Bad call yes, but they happen all the time in this game.
If Mauer 's double drops in
You bet your ass Girardi walks Kubel to set up the DP. And as you said same outcome. Men on 1st and 2nd no out.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
by CasanovaWong on Oct 10, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
And now..
we get to listen to 30 hours of replay crap on that play.
jimmie has it right though – If Mauer gets that double, Kubel gets IBB’d – you still first and second, nobody out. The complexion of the inning would not have changed and Robertson still would have been brought on to pitch.
Oddly little discussion about the high number of walks with 2 outs given to the Twins in this series — especially on close pitches that were given to the Twins pitchers but not so much the Yanks’ pitchers.
The ‘real’ blown call was the 3-1 fastball to Alex by Nathan. Let’s talk about that one – it’s more fun :)
by detroit yankee on Oct 10, 2009 10:38 AM EDT reply actions
Blown Call
Absolutely 100% that ball was fair. HORRIBLE CALL! INEXCUSABLE! Twins and their fans have every right to be livid right now. In my opinion even if Mauer doubles right there and scores on the next hit the Yankees still win. That pitcher i don’t know his name milijares or something? He was shaky at best he was giving up the lead no matter what. And how about the umpire behind the plate he was horrible both teams were infuriated with him. where do they get these guys?
How about in the 4th inning
Gomez gets thrown out trying to go to third before Delmon Young can score. Instead of 1 un in with men on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs it goes to inning over no runs scored.
Twins had plenty of chances to win that game 17 LOB isn’t gonna cut it.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
Thanks for that post Mr Wet Blanket on a great win. Not many are going to be as outraged as you are on a Yankee blog on a blown call that helped the Yankees win.
This is more appropriate for a Twins blog
We go for objective here, as much as we can. It was blown call. As with Maier’s reach, it’s a part of the game. And now it’s just part of the mystique.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
Yeah well
It wasn’t fair by six feet.. In fact it was onlu fair by about a foot, maybe.. It’s understandable that Phil Cuzzi could miss that call. I was at the game and that play seemed like it happened so fast. I dont think anyone thought it was fair to begin with. Now you uave to realize Melky ran a ggood distance to catch that ball and almost snarred it in his glove, Cuzzi could have been looking at his glove thinking Melky had it… Yes, it was a blown call, Yes, if it happened to the Yankees I’d be furious too.. But…BUT! That does’nt defeat the fact the twins had every chance in the world to score… They tied a ML record, allowing a batter on every inning for 11 innings andstill didnt get the job done.. They had bases LOADED with NO OUT! give me a break.. Cry me a river.. This is october baseball and the yankees were destined to win this game! Im sorry but in october ball, ANYtHING can happen including blown calls and you have to man up and continue to push.. Your tellin me the twins lost that game because of that call? If anyone thinks that theu should drown themselves in a toliet. They did not capitalize on any chances… Bottom line.. It was the best game i’ve been to.. Ever. YANKEES WIN!
by Fluke on Oct 10, 2009 10:57 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
i'm not arguing that the Yanks lost because of that call
but to say that it’s “understandable” that Cuzzi could miss that call? give me a break.
these guys are paid to get it right, and paid to not blow a call that most of the Twins players could clearly see from the dugout. obviously the five/six feet was an exaggeration, but the fact remains that it was clearly fair. clearly. there is no excuse.
by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Oct 10, 2009 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes
You are right, no excuse for that bad call. No, we have absolutely no idea what WOULD have happened if it was a double because the complexion of the inning would have changed, Kubel gets walked and the pitch sequences would have been different.
by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on Oct 10, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions
First of all, it was not fair by 5 or 6 feet.
It was fair by no more than 6 inches. That isn’t to excuse the call of course. It was an absolutely horrible call. Melky’s leg/foot must have blocked the view of the umpire.
As some of you have pointed out, no way did the Twins lose because of that one call.
by Rumplestiltskin02 on Oct 10, 2009 11:01 AM EDT reply actions
I just saw a replay from a camera near the foul poll. It looked like Melky ran between the ump and the ball.
I feel bad for the ump. You know he was up all night thinking, ’I’m there to make one call, and I blew it.’
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
I had the same idea...
was it a bad call? Yes.
But it wasn’t so clear and cut and dry as many replays show, especially those that are shown from the first base side cameras.
What the f$%k is the internet?
by FreeBradshaw on Oct 10, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
That's what I thought as well.
Looked like the umpire was screened out of the play inadvertently by Melky’s body. Not a great call, but also probably not as obvious as it might seem from our vantage point. I do think even if that call were made correctly, there’s still at least a 70% chance the Yankees still win the game.
Get Over it Yankees won.... I dont care..
The only thing I care is that Marte should not be allowed to pitch anymore in no post season games… unless he pitches to Ortiz..
you're assuming that if Mauer got the double the exact same thing would have happened to the next two batters
and maybe if it does happen…with a guy on second our outfield would have played shallow and since Mauer was slow we might have been able to throw him out at the plate
If Twins fans want to get upset about a blown call...
…they will have no sympathy from the Tigers fans. If the ump notices that pitch hitting Inge’s jersey with the bases loaded, Tigers get a run. Guaranteed. In the case of last night, as others have pointed out, Mauer getting a double does not guarantee a run scores, since Girardi may well have called for the IBB. At least for the Twins, they only got screwed out of a base, not an out.
Bad calls are a part of the game, have been for years. Same with inconsistent strikezones, and just plain luck. Yankees got some good luck last night, had a call go their way, but most importanty – hit with men on base! The Twins had almost twice as many hits as the Yankees, but the Yankees plated runs, and that’s what this game is all about.
true
but there’s a big difference between a pitch thrown 90+ mph grazing a baggy jersey and a ball that was at least a foot on the fair side of the line.
the Inge call and this Mauer phanton foul call are apples and oranges.
Twins had their chances and it’s not the reason they lost, but there’s no excuse to miss a call that blatant. that’s my point.
by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Oct 10, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with your point 100%
And I’d never say that a blown call in one game excuses another blown call in another game. I was addressing all of the dumbasses on the web today saying the Twins were robbed “by the cheating Yankees”. Of course our good buddies at ESPN very ‘objectively’ showed the play, and then showed Gardenhire stating that of course the Twins would have scored had it not been for that play, and then let the viewers draw their own conclusions. No mention at all of how having Mauer on 2nd instead of first might possibly have altered the Yankees pitching strategy… But, we’re used to that.
On a not-so-unrelated topic, it was also funny to see the ESPN anchors bemoaning the poor offense of the Red Sox. I get the feeling that if the Angels sweep the ALDS, we’ll see a lot more NFL Live and and lot less Baseball Tonight. Not that that is a bad thing…
Speaking of Umps
Did anyone else think Chuck Merriweather gave more outside strikes to the twins than to the Yanks. I can think of a few occasions (Hughes vs Punto) in the 8th where it should have been strike 3 but it wasn’t called but Blackburn was getting a ton of those on the corner. TBS’s strike zone was whacked too. Great to see the boys get a win, though! What a tense game!
TBS's strike zone was definitely off
I think that worsened the perception of strike zone disparity. I really think that ump was consistent (note: I did not say good). Blackburn threw a particular pitch that started in and broke out, and TBS’s graphic just shows where the ball ended up, not the path it took to get there. Not that I’m an expert, but I could see on the replays that the ball was shifting, but that the strike zone only showed the place it ended up being caught by the catcher.
I didn’t like this ump, but he was consistent, which I’d think is part of the reason the Yankee hitters started hitting the ball hard after they’d had a couple at-bats each.
The other thing to note is the camera placement.
It’s not straightaway center, but a little to the left. So the looks we get can be deceiving.
It was a really bad call...
and you know, yes it went the Yanks way, but I would rather have seen the play called correctly. No matter what, anytime you get a call like that that swings in our favor, always, always, always, something else will happen that goes the other team’s way, Murphy’s law. I would so much rather just see the right call made everytime.
Each manager should have 2 challenge flags per game, just like football. I know it may extend the game, but we all thought instant replay on homeruns would too & it hasn’t been a significant problem.
It was a horrible call
but there is no way that the Twins, their fans, and Yankees haters can use that as an excuse and reason that the Yankees won this game. Thats not fair. If Mauer has a double, how is it a given that he scores? People are positioned differently in those spots. Batters are pitched to differently. Everything changes. What if Marte walks Kubel? Or maybe Girardi doesn’t trust Marte and goes to Robertson early. Or maybe Mauer is thrown out at the plate. A number of things can happen. Twins fans and Yankees haters are using that as an excuse, saying that if the umps made the right call, the Twins would have won. How? Even if Mauer scores, then doesn’t Teixeira’s home run tie it up? And then we’re right back where we started, with A-Rod coming up.
It was an awful call. But the guys using it as an excuse (or claiming that the Yankees “bought” the umpires) are just kidding themselves. The 17 men the Twins left on base today, and Joe Nathan’s usual choke job in the playoffs, is the reason that the Minnesota Twins lost this game. The Twins are just kidding themselves if they think differently.
Dekinger and Gregg flashbacks
Chuck Meriwether had no idea where the strike zone was. His calls were, to be kind, consistently inconsistent. For a team like the Yankees, that works against them because a large part of their hitting approach is plate discipline. Taking a pitch, clearly out of the strike zone, only to have it called a strike has to effect them more then an aggressive hitting team that is not as selective at the plate. Watching Meriwether made me flash back to Eric Gregg. Just a bad game from a guy who should be better then he showed tonight.
Phil Cuzzi must have been channeling Don Dekinger out in left field. Not only did he miss the ball being fair but he emphatically missed it. Good thing Gardenhire could not see it from the dugout . If he had I can guarantee there would have been an ejection on that call. That being said, the Twins still had the bases loaded and none out and did not score.
There is no guarantee
that if he gets the call right that the situation plays out the same, we will never know what would have happened would they have intentionally walked Kubel to set up the DP? Would Mauer have gotten thrown out at home? Who knows, no one and we never will but there still is no excuse for that call to be blown like that.
It is pointless to discuss the what-ifs in sports.
Like someone has said before me, Kubel could have been walked to set up DP, or he could have been struck out, or worse he could have been HBP; and Mauer could have been thrown out at home, and worse, he could have pulled a hammy and season over.
Gardenhire was being a dumba$$ talking about the what-ifs in the post game. We shouldn’t guilt ourselves into doing the same dumb thing as he.
blah blah blah
Let’s not go over the array of calls in sports post season history…..cause there are plenty that eclipse this…..
Fact is it was a blown call but at game speed…..its harder then you think to track it. They left over a dozen men on base. Move on people. I guarantee you ron gardenhire is not talking about that call with his players right now. He’s barking on his bullpen and his lineup for leaving so many men on. Just like how gerardi would be getting on our players about letting blackburn damn near embarass us. We won that game because we didn’t waste as many opportunities as they did. And our pen was better. Move on because the longer and more we discuss it the longer it will linger in the brains and spew out the mouths of people who question our post season success. It takes a little luck to win rings and anybody who disagrees has not been around sport very long. Cause I have seen some shit let me tell you.
by NYYWinsRings26 on Oct 10, 2009 6:08 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Instant Replay
Let’s face reality. Umps are human, just like the players and they make mistakes just like the players.
So, why should a mistake by an ump ruin a game? Crap calls like that should have instant replay available.
As a matter of fact…ANY PLAY in a game that is not about a ball or strike pitch SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR INSTANT REPLAY!! No doubt!! Don’t we want the game to be called the right way for the Yanks??? They too may be horribly screwed by a terrible call. How much will that suck?
The thing is this….instant replay should be a fast look over. It should take less than 1 min for a replay ump to look at the play and decide what is what. It’s not that hard!
Do the right thing MLB….get instant replay for everything not pitch related.
Thanks…
Pardon the cliche, but veryone HAS to accept what happened as PART OF THE GAME!!
If MLB really wanted to, it could remove the need for umpires altogether and computerize calls on pitches and plays in order to avoid this kind of thing.
However, there are many out there — most, apparantly — who feel that digitizing the game to that degree would remove one of the most essential elements of the game itself — its dependency on the evaluation of human reason. Umpires are the judges of the baseball courtroom, and for the sake of the game, we have to entrust them with making the proper call.
Cuzzi tried his best and screwed up. No doubt. I’d be pissed as hell if it happened out in Anaheim (I always associate anti-Yankee bad calls with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California United States Of America Western Hemisphere Planet Earth Milky Way Galaxy.) But EFF IT. We go through, and we go through with our heads held high.
Besides, give Mauer the double, and Tex’s homer counts as the TYING run, which pretty much means we would have probably won anyway given our late-inning grittiness.
Oh, and I forgot to mention --
Since we reject the digitizing of baseball, we must be fully prepared to handle situations like these — whether it goes for us or against us. Thank goodness it went for us.
But don’t hold your breathe — it appears we’re playing Mickey Mouse’s team in the ALCS; which brings to mind the fact that they should rename that park “Blown-Calls-Against-The-Yankees Stadium.”
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