There were mistakes made by professionals this week. The gritty Ryan Raburn played a pop-fly single into a triple in the Metrodome. Chris Carpenter left a pitch over the middle of the plate Wednesday, and it got crushed by Matt Kemp. Carlos Gomez cost the Twins on Friday with an egregious baserunning error. And, of course, Matt Holliday made an simple error that, if the Cardinals are eliminated by the Dodgers, will be replayed on the same reel as the Bill Buckner play for years to come.
Home plate umpire Randy Marsh didn't see or hear a pitch that hit
Brandon Inge with the bases loaded Tuesday, but millions watching at home knew that it did, and Marsh's decision cost the Tigers a run. Phil Cuzzi saw a ball land foul Friday, but it turns out that it was fair; his error, in extra innings, cost the Twins a situation in which they would have had a runner in scoring position,
as crew chief Tim Tschida acknowledged. On Thursday, C.B. Bucknor missed two calls on tag plays. There were multiple missed umpiring calls in the Colorado-Philadelphia series, as well.
But here's the difference between the mistakes made by the players and the umpires: The umps' mistakes could've all been corrected, each within a couple of minutes -- if instant replay had been used.
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Buster Olney
