ghost of miles

At least they pulled it out, Dave, and Javy had another strong outing, putting aside said bad pitch. Very good 8th inning comeback from the Yanks, and even if A-Rod didn't come through for once after an IBB to Tex, it still led indirectly to the tying run (the wild pitch while A-Rod was batting) and the NY runners moving into a position from which Cano was able to knock them both in. Joba kept it interesting again, didn't he? Still, one run given up is better than five... glad we didn't get swept on the road. I'd be curious to look at a team split for hitting on the road vs. at home...sure seems like the offense tends to go silent whenever we're away from Yankee Stadium these days. Dan, I think there's an excellent chance that we'll have 4 AL East teams with 90 wins or more by the end of the season.

Is anybody who played in the band still alive? EDIT: Well, Nat Peck for starters, it appears.

All tied up in Toronto after 7 as the Blue Jays just hit their 5th HR in this series so far off the Yankees.

Another BIRTH OF THE COOL connection to Miller's AAF (interesting, now that I think about it--the AAF did "Moon Dreams" and had Carisi for a spell)--is the presence of French horn player Addison Collins Jr. in the band. He was part of the Mel-Powell-led "Swing Sextet" aka "Uptown Hall Gang" band-within-a-band, and evidently responsible for that group's doing "Night in Tunisia" (which surely must be one of the first known recorded performances of that tune, coming in late '44 not long before Sarah Vaughan would wax it as "Interlude"). I wish there were more of the Uptown Hall Gang's performances readily available; right now they're scattered across the MISSING CHAPTERS series (and the Timeless CD, good as it is, is not really a straight-up representation of that group). If you can find it (some used copies seem to be floating around), Geoffrey Butcher's Next to a Letter From Home offers a well-detailed account of the Miller AAF band.

Great station--several friends of mine worked as DJs there in the late 1990s. Sounds like a fantastic opportunity for anybody in the area to get on the airwaves.

Use of instant replay is not going to result in 10-12 minutes being added to games--particularly as if, per reports yesterday, that Selig is looking at a one-challenge limit. (Also, I haven't seen any recent stats, but the first year the NFL went to expanded replay, they found it added an average of 72 seconds per game.) Also, any time "used up" for umps reviewing a play is sure to be made up for by fewer incidents of managers yelling their heads off at umps. Besides, are we going all Joe West here? TV's a big culprit in why games have gotten longer. Besides, you're talking a maximum two reviews a game, and even that won't be the case most of the time. NFL refs are given 60 seconds to make their determination. I just think the whole "will slow the game down!" cry is a bit of a red herring. It's not "lawyering up," simply giving managers one chance per game to make sure the right call was made in a key situation. I'm more inclined to favor two challenges, but one's better than none. As for the scenario of "if you give 'em one, they'll want more": I can almost guarantee you that managers and now even umps would rather have one than none. They'd be inclined to use their one challenge quite judiciously. Have NFL coaches clamored for more challenges? Hardly! (Though they do use the same two-challenge system that I favor.) The NFL has had its current instant replay system since 1999, and if anything, the game's only gotten more popular. What on earth is so wrong about a limited use of available technology that makes it much more likely that athletes' performances on the field during a game will be accurately reflected in the game's outcome? Rather than living with what in effect is a lie, simply because we didn't want to wait 60 seconds to make sure a crucial call was right. EDIT: USA TODAY has an interesting article on MLB & the NFL's move to instant replay.

As others have observed, if this does indeed lead to expanded replay, Galarraga may well be remembered even more than if he'd gotten the official perfecto (though it still would have been an astonishing moment for baseball history...the second perfect game in 4 days and the third in less than a month, a feat I doubt we'd ever see equaled again). It's sure made me a fan of him. I'm also still in awe of the tremendous catch that Austin Jackson made... not to mention the way Jackson's been hitting for Detroit so far this year. Much as I like Curtis Granderson, I still regret that we had to give up AJ to get him.

Nice words from A-Rod for Griffey.

Voila--The Code. And far more meaningful/significant in this instance than A-Rod's little jog across Dallas Braden's mound, if we're going to be talking--thanks to Braden--about "unwritten rules" this year.

On a totally unrelated and much happier (for me) note, the Yankees are certainly benefiting from a relatively soft part of the schedule (excepting a Toronto series this weekend and the Phillies coming up soon)--and from having their lineup nearly at full strength again (save for Nick Johnson, who outside of being a Human Base-On-Balls machine wasn't contributing much anyway). After today's game six of their nine most-frequently-playing starters are hitting .300 or higher (including both catchers--Cervilli and Posada--with Posada looking to be the primary DH until Johnson returns later this summer. Frankly, I think NY's better off with the current Cervelli-at-catcher, Jorge-at-DH configuration). And though there's been a lot of talk about A-Rod's possible power decline, at his current pace he'll end up with about 40 doubles, 25 HR, 130 RBI, and a .300 BA/.500 SA. With Cano on an absolute tear behind him in the #5 spot, we're even managing to survive Tex's continuing woes in the #3 slot quite well. (EDIT: looks like Cervelli's now dropped to .294...but still 6 of the top 9 batters at .300 or better, 7 at .290 or better, plus Thames coming off the bench at .303) As for pitching, Javy seems to be finally getting on track, Phil Hughes has had only one bad start all year, Andy Pettitte is having a great season... my continuing concern is the bullpen. Even if Joba manages to stabilize and Mo pulls out yet another very good year as a closer, the middle relief still looks very shaky and unsettled to me.

That's not at all what I said. I said that if in Joyce's mind the call was so close that it could go either way, that he should have defaulted, benefit-of-the-doubt style, to Galarraga. Plenty of other people, including former players like Joe Morgan, were saying the same thing last night. I was NOT advocating that Galarraga turn what he thought was a "safe" call into an "out." The fact that he evidently thought Donald so clearly safe is simply more evidence of how badly he blew the call. With any kind of luck this kind of travesty won't come to pass again. Kudos to Galarraga for being such a class act about it. Until then, we can all go back to sighing about "Oh, isn't it terrible? All part of the 'game.'" Maybe that had to be the case at one time, but in 2010 there's no need to continue letting such black marks upon baseball's integrity stand. At least something good will probably come of it in the form of expanded replay. Well, exactly. If nothing else, it's going to certainly reduce the amount of time managers spent jawboning angrily at umps--and it will do much to ensure the fairness of the game and that the game's results more accurately reflect the players' performances. Why on earth that's such a terrible thing is beyond me. It certainly hasn't hurt professional football at all.

Hey, at least Galarraga got A NEW CAR!!!!!

At least they're going to look at expanding replay. Hopefully we'll have both Galarraga and Jim Joyce to thank for something like this never coming to pass again, with everybody on the planet, including the ump, acknowledging that he was wrong, and a player robbed of glory...and yet the call shall stand, even though there would be no reason whatsoever if some sort of limited replay had been in use. Edit: Denkinger now supports replay as well.

Even national-level politicians from Michigan are getting into the midst of it now.

NY Daily New's Mike Lupica: Selig should overturn call ESPN's Ian O'Connor: Hey Bud, don't shrug this one off EDIT: Holy crap--ESPN has an AP report up saying that MLB is indeed considering reviewing the call this morning and may decide to overturn it! The article also reports that St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa says the call should be overturned. Via Mike and Mike in the Morning:

Here's the top half of the ninth, including Austin Jackson's incredible catch: Galarraga's perfect game--ending The whole thing just makes me ill and angry--so utterly avoidable. I've watched baseball for nearly 34 years now and seen some pretty bad blown calls, but on some level this one just about tops them all. Just an absolute travesty.

Jayson Stark: Can we please have more replay? To this I'd add only that I think managers should be given two challenges per game. Jeff Passan: It's the perfect time to expand replay

I have no love whatsoever for the "tradition" of blown calls, especially ones so significant as to change the fate of a World Series or a perfect game. To me, officially pretending that Galarraga didn't throw a perfect game makes a sham of the integrity of baseball. Limited use of instant replay would do much more to protect said integrity. The NFL sure hasn't collapsed from using it! Plus the sacrosanct "immutability" of the game is way overblown... MLB has done all kinds of things in the past few decades that have altered the nature of the game, from lowering the pitching mound to the AL's instituting the DH. If we're going to stay in 1920, let's do away with batting helmets and bring back the color line! How on earth is instituting limited instant replay going to destroy baseball? Instead we'll take away Galarraga's perfect game and leave Jim Joyce--an umpire who, by nearly all accounts, is an excellent and widely-respected longtime vet--with a permanent cloud of infamy around his name, all because MLB refuses to embrace the technology that would do wonders to ensure the statistical integrity of the game. I deeply respect your love and knowledge of the game, Dan, but I feel strongly that what happened last night was a needless crime against the game's history. Not only for Galarraga, who will not likely ever come close to such an achievement again, but for the fact that it would have been the third perfect game thrown in less than a month...astonishing. The only good that can come of this is if it does in fact lead MLB to finally accept some expanded form of instant replay.

Joe Girardi seems to think Selig/MLB should consider overturning Joyce's call: Post at Bless You Boys: Dear Mr. Selig: Make This Game Perfect I'd be astonished if it happened, but I think in this case it should. Others have made a good argument that you don't have to worry about "setting a precedent" either, if you also institute some version of instant replay--this kind of situation won't even arise again.

Great comment from a poster at Pinstripe Alley:

Denkinger's blown call is an even better argument for there being some sort of expanded replay appeal--that was an even more historically significant mistake. Limit it to 1-2 challenges a game to prevent abuse. And I'm not arguing for a "preferred outcome," I'm just saying that if we're going to talk "unwritten rules" this year thanks to Dallas Braden, I think most umps would have been inclined to call in favor of the pitcher there if they were on the fence about the decision. Giving a potentially perfect-game pitcher the shaft is a much bigger deal than potentially taking away a single from a hitter on a team down 3-0. But Joyce obviously didn't even think that it was a "could-go-either-way" call--or else he did and was determined to show he wasn't going to be "swayed" by circumstances, which leaves one just as prone to screwing up anyway.

Joyce has admitted that he blew the call. It's the top story on Yahoo's home page right now. Jon Heyman at the Times tweets: In other, admittedly less dramatic news, Toronto's blown another lead against the Rays, and Boston's on the verge of sliding past them into 3rd place in the AL East.

J.H., I agree re: overturning. Incredibly exceptional circumstances and yes, they sure need to expand the situations in which teams can appeal via instant replay. Plus, you want to talk about an "unwritten" baseball rule? If that's a close, could-go-either-way call, then the ump in that circumstance should surely come down on the side of Galarraga and the Tigers--particularly as it wasn't a game-changing play. But it wasn't even a close could-go-either-way call...Donald was clearly out. Why on earth Joyce chose to call it the way he did is utterly beyond me.

MLB's current rules regarding replay appeal pertain only to home runs, correct? Boy, if ever there was an argument for expanding that a bit, that call certainly makes it. I feel terrible for Galarraga, who seemed to handle it better than his understandably outraged teammates. Here's the play. Matthew, thought you'd appreciate this comment via Blogging Bombers: Here's Austin Jackson's catch that kept it alive at the top of the 9th. Hey Dan, I haven't checked the vibe over at Over the Monster (and I can only imagine what it is over at Bless You Boys), but at Pinstripe Alley Yankee fans are seriously p*&#ed about the Jim Joyce call. Photo via Bless You Boys (Tigers SB Nation blog):

I just watched the replay on GameDay...outrageous! Galarraga was robbed. And that after former Yankee prospect Austin Jackson made a tremendous catch at the start of the inning to preserve the perfect game. Wow--that would've been what, the third perfect game in less than a month?