At the Letters: Replaying the postseason

Baseball’s postseason started Oct. 6. About 5,000 emails later, it ended with the New York Yankees celebrating and an inbox full of reaction to one alleged steroid user hitting the showers early to an admitted one having the October of his life amid rumors he has equine aspirations, managers blowing opportunities and umpires doing so with their calls – only 10 times worse.

No sense in delaying the good stuff: On to your letters, with my responses in italics. Many thanks to all who wrote.

OK, I agree with you about the Mauer call, even though I’m a White Sox fan. But seriously, have you ever spent a season as an umpire or referee in any sport? Blown calls are part of the game. Live with it.

Tom Eckhardt
Minneapolis

I have not spent any time as an umpire or referee. Vision isn’t good enough. I’d be terrible at the job. Most umps and refs are excellent, in fact. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect, though, and today, the job demands as much.

“Blown calls are part of the game. Live with it.” I love that argument. I really do. It is so flawed, I’m not sure where to start. So perhaps I’ll go with the standard retort and just ask: Why? Why should I live with blown calls when something can fix them? Why does baseball continue to reject the notion of replay after a postseason defined as much by a dozen putrid calls as the games played? And why do blown calls have to be part of the game? Why can’t MLB allow replay for more than home runs? Why does it have to demonize umpires by allowing their missed calls to stand instead of humanizing them by recognizing their errors and allowing them to be corrected?

---

This got me thinking: Cricket, a game that is similar and has its history and debates of blown calls, has been using replay technology. The best part was it added a lot of drama and oohs and ahhs from the crowd while the replay was being played on the screen, making the game more popular. What gives? Does MLB desperately not want the umpires to look bad? That was a concern when cricket introduced replays, but it was all forgotten very soon, as crowds quickly understood that umpires were only human. It’s not like their job security is threatened.

Vijay
Houston

Amen.

---

I am a high school/junior college umpire as well as a player. I believe the instant replay, if even just used in playoffs, would be huge. It is well-documented that when NFL implemented the red-flag replays, the refereeing got so much better. It appeared that these guys took a little more pride in their jobs even if they eliminated being embarrassed in front of millions of fans. The replay holds the game callers immediately accountable for their calls rather than hiding behind the umpiring chief or the crew chief.

Jarrod Sinclair
Apple Valley, Calif.

Certainly more umpires feel this way, right? Don Denkinger – the umpire who made possibly the worst call of all time, when he deemed an out Jorge Orta safe at first in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series – believes in replay. And if he does, how can others not? It’s too reasonable to ignore.

---

So where does the replay stop? The bad ball-strike calls do more to influence a game than the occasional missed call on the bases or on the lines. So where do you recommend the replays stop?

Bruce Kelly
Olathe, Kan.

First off: For all my replay bandwagon driving, it remains a technology with flaws, as seen here.

Personally, I wouldn’t bother with replay on balls and strikes. There were some brutal strike zones, but that’s where it would get into bogging down the game, a worry that prevents replay for expanding at all in the first place.

I’m all for alternatives to my red-flag idea: two challenges a game for each team. There could be a fifth umpire during the regular season who sits in the booth and assesses every play. Plenty of other options exist.

The biggest hurdle is figuring out what happens to baserunners who freeze because a ball is called foul when replay shows it’s actually fair. Do they advance a set number of bases depending on the situation? Is it at an umpire’s discretion? All of this is up for argument, and I welcome suggestions, because before next season begins, I’d like to put together a brand-new replay plan for MLB to consider – one that doesn’t infringe too deeply on the personal aspect that is so ludicrously near and dear to their hearts and yet one that gets the calls right, which is the objective, after all, isn’t it?

---

You’re wrong. Baseball is a quick-decision, close-enough-is-good-enough game. The emotion is what makes it great. If you review the plays, you will lose what little emotion is left. The umps are part of the game. If you want to make sure a guy is out get there two steps earlier not a millionth of a step. This is the fun part of baseball. If you couldn’t argue it was fair or foul, what fun would it be?

Bob Bannon
Crest Hill, Ill.

Well, my mistake. This whole time I thought baseball was fun because it’s a great game. Turns out that arguing about fair and foul makes it such. All these years, totally misinformed …

---

Your recent article about the Yankees widening the chasm is very misguided. The Yankees play within the same rules as everyone else, so blame the system and not the Yankees. The only thing I read is the same old saw that the Red Sox bring out all the time.

Michael Harper
Amsterdam

This is a boiled-down version of hundreds of other emails received calling me a traitor, a Communist, a wuss, a sore loser, a Yankees hater, an (expletive), an (expletive) (expletive) and, yes, even a “butthead.”

And I thought Cardinals fans were sensitive.

Hey, I understand. Yankees fans don’t want anyone raining on their literal and figurative parades, particularly some shlub from the Midwest who must own some deep-seated hatred for New York. Never mind the salience of the points – that money does matter, and that the Yankees are in a great position because of theirs, and that the fact they do spend it makes them better than, say, the Marlins, who trim payroll and pocket revenue-sharing money.

To deny the competitive advantage afforded by New York’s incredible revenue streams – the very thing that allowed the Yankees to sign CC Sabathia(notes), A.J. Burnett(notes) and Mark Teixeira(notes) – is to live a lie. The Yankees won this World Series because of their money. Repeat: The Yankees won this World Series because of their money.

They were shrewd, and they were calculating, and they were excellent in their maneuvering, and they shouldn’t apologize for one second about it, because much like the big stack at the no-limit hold ‘em table, they should use that money to bully the hell out of everyone else. They did, bless ‘em, and the jewelry is now theirs.

---

Why is it in a country that prides itself on a market economy and capitalism, an organization that has become very successful is vilified?

Larry Cass
Vestal, N.Y.

Great question. Perhaps I’m engaging in too much pop psych here, but I’ll have a whirl.

People think capitalism affords them the chance to get wealthy because they believe in themselves and their abilities. People do not trust their sports executives to do things the right way because so many haven’t, leaving a bunch of skeptics who want something that levels the playing field, something that may not ensure their team is competitive but would at least give it a better chance. Thus, the salary cap … everywhere but baseball.

---

The disparity between the 2007 Red Sox and Colorado Rockies was greater than the 2009 Yankees and Phillies (not even factoring in the money Boston spent to talk to Dice-K). No one said boo about that World Series, where a team that annually is another cash cow swept an actual small-market team.

Ike
Brooklyn, N.Y.

True enough. Apologies for that error (as well as the one saying Hideki Matsui(notes) wasn’t on the 2004 Yankees – a total brain fart if ever there were one).

The gap between the Red Sox and Rockies, in fact, dwarfs that of the Yankees and Phillies this year. Final payroll figures show the Yankees spent more than $220 million in 2009 … and the Phillies weren’t obscenely far behind at more than $138 million. The canyon between Boston and Colorado, on the other hand, was more than $94 million – nearly as big as the nine-figure gap between the Yankees and Marlins in ’03.

Perhaps the best explanation is: The difference between the Yankees and everyone else is so great – $59 million this season – it creates a false impression that they’re the only big spenders at the table, when, in reality, the Red Sox are almost as guilty comparatively. Of course, they were $80 million less guilty this year, and that would’ve been enough to fund a dozen teams’ final payrolls.

---

Rooting for the Yankees is like going to Las Vegas and rooting for the casinos.

William Benson
Brooklyn, N.Y.

At the Letters: Where interborough wars begin.

---

With all due respect, Mr. Passan, Bob Gibson did, in fact, have a season like Pedro Martinez’s(notes) 2000 season. Several actually. Gibson’s 1968 season is regarded as the greatest season by a pitcher ever. Also, Sandy Koufax and Steve Carlton both had multiple seasons that could be viewed as better than Pedro’s 2000 season. In Gibson’s ’68 season he had more wins, many more innings pitched, a much lower ERA, 34 starts with 28 complete games and 13 shutouts.

Keith Bradford
Magnolia, N.J.

Pandora’s freer, thy name is Bradford.

Before we delve into this, a reminder: It’s impossible to compare pitchers over eras, so the best way to do it is with a fair number. ERA+ – earned-run average adjusted to the league average with park factors included – purports to do that. It gives a single barometer by which to judge pitchers based on how dominant they were compared to their peers. The average ERA+ is 100. Pedro Martinez’s in 2000 was 291, or almost three times the American League average. That is a modern record, and the next best isn’t all that close.

So, then, we figured it would be fun to rank the 10 best pitching seasons of all time and open up the debate. Have at them:

1.) Pedro Martinez, 2000: The standard. Argue as you may against the inning count, the complete-game total, the 18 wins. Just don’t try to muster anything countering the 291 ERA+ (the best ever), the .167 opponent’s batting average (same) and the .737 walks and hits per innings pitched (tops again, and by a long shot).
2.) Bob Gibson, 1968: Just to get it out of the way … he did it on a 15-inch mound and in an era where the league ERA was 2.99. That said, what a remarkable year on every level. His 1.12 ERA (with a 258 ERA+, for the record) remains the mark at which all pitchers aim and none delivers. Nor will.
3.) Walter Johnson, 1913: Best season from the best pitcher ever. Led the AL in just about everything – including home runs allowed.
4.) Old Hoss Radbourn, 1884: Started 73 games. Finished every one of them. Won 59, with a 1.38 ERA and 207 ERA+. Bonus: Tweets from the afterlife.
5.) Pete Alexander, 1915: Led NL in ERA (1.22), ERA+ (225), wins (31), winning percentage (.756), complete games (36), shutouts (12), innings (376 1/3), strikeouts (241) and a slew of other categories.
6.) Sandy Koufax, 1965: The ERA+ was better in the years sandwiching ’65, but those 382 strikeouts remain remarkable – and just about untouchable for anyone today.
7.) Martinez, 1999: So … 313 strikeouts and 37 walks. That is all.
8.) Greg Maddux(notes), 1995: Hitters actually slugged worse against him (.258) than they did against Pedro in 2000 (.259).
9.) Christy Mathewson, 1909: Plenty are partial to Mathewson’s 1908 season because of the 37 wins and the 390 2/3 innings, which make for a good argument when compared to the 275 1/3 superior ones he threw the next year. His 222 ERA+ was more than 50 points better, his baserunners per nine was lower and for those win junkies, he still scratched out 25 and a league-best .806 winning percentage.
10.) Doc Gooden, 1985: Oh, what could and should have been …

Apologies to: Lefty Grove, 1931; Steve Carlton, 1972; Greg Maddux, 1994; Sandy Koufax, 1966; Walter Johnson, 1912; Three Finger Brown, 1906; Ron Guidry, 1978; Randy Johnson(notes), 2001; Christy Mathewson 1908.

---

Did Manny’s actions influence the outcome of the game? That is really the only question we must ask of any professional.

Mark Denn
Vacaville, Calif.

It is? Perhaps I’m just old-fashioned, or come from the anti-Barkley camp, but I like my athletes to be more than automatons programmed to play the game and treat everything else with the blitheness Manny does. His team’s season was on the line, and the best thing he could do was … take a shower?

Seriously, wait 15 minutes. It’s not difficult. Good or bad, watch the outcome. He owed his teammates as much. Same with the manager who puts up with his nonsense. And the Dodgers ownership and front office that coddled him only to watch him get popped under MLB’s drug program. Can’t, for once, Manny be Manny by doing something right and without prodding?

---

Wow, that was rather unnecessarily nasty, wasn’t it, Mr. Passan? Did Joe answer one of your questions brusquely or refuse an interview? Does he remind you of your father? It’s just baseball. Excoriating politicians is one thing. The guy manages a baseball team, for God’s sake. Lighten up. Might I suggest a hobby? Or a girlfriend?

Ortho Stice
Chicago

Now, Mr. Stice isn’t actually Mr. Stice. He is someone who wanted to hide behind a character from “Infinite Jest.” Bravo, actually, for the reference.

That said, in order:

• No.
• No, he’s rather polite and helpful.
• They’re both bald, were born within a couple years of each other and have excellent speaking voices. Otherwise, not really.
• It is.
• I leave that to Matt Taibbi.
• He does.
• No thanks.
• Sure.
• My wife might be mad.

---

Jeff, you are a complete (expletive). It seems like every single time you get a chance to rip the Cardinals organization you jump on it. You’re an idiot. On a side note, you have a fat head, your haircut is soft and I bet your fingertips smell like complete (expletive) from all the crappy columns you type. Have a good day, sweet pea.

Kevin Glass
St. Louis

I don’t know the protocol for these things, but can one guy really make fun of another by saying his haircut is “soft” and come out of it looking like the winner?

Oh, and by the way, just in case those in St. Louis didn’t happen to see, I picked the Cardinals to win the World Series before the playoffs began. Just goes to show: Never trust anyone from a place where they deep fry ravioli – porco dio! – and call it “toasted.”