Umpires miss again in postseason

A few years ago, four umpires gathered in the middle of the diamond to sort out a home-run-or-not call that none of them clearly saw. As arguments raged around them and a crazed crowd looked at TV monitors and howled, one of the umps simply said to his crewmates: "It's a shame that there are 50,000 people here tonight and we're the only people who don't know what happened."

Or words pretty much to that effect.

Now it's become an all-too-familiar trap — umpires miss a call in October, fans ramp up the call for more replay.

Make it three postseasons in a row.

What had been a relatively quiet opening day of playoffs for the umps suddenly soured Wednesday on what should've been the final out of the evening.

New York Yankees right fielder Greg Golson swooped in and clearly made a terrific catch on a sinking line drive by Minnesota's Delmon Young. But right field umpire Chris Guccione, working his first postseason game, ruled that Golson has trapped the ball.

Golson, manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees argued. The six-man crew huddled, then let the call stand. It became moot — sort of — when Jim Thome popped out on the next pitch to seal the Yankees' 6-4 win over the Twins.

"We don't comment on judgment calls," umpiring supervisor Larry Young said after the game at Target Field.

Said Golson: "I'm just glad it didn't end up costing us. It was a really big play."

Added Girardi: "It's not like they were out of position or anything. They hustled out there. It just happens."

Maybe too much, some say.

The postseason last year was littered with missed calls. Girardi and the Yankees benefited, in fact, when a fly ball by Minnesota star Joe Mauer landed a foot or two in fair territory, only to be called foul.

Major League Baseball began trying replay on a limited basis in late 2008, using it only to review potential home runs. By that point, the NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA and Grand Slam tennis all employed some form of video review.

Last month, Commissioner Bud Selig was emphatic: no extra replay in this postseason.

Selig said he'd talked it over with his blue-ribbon panel of managers, management and ownership.

"I don't get the feeling that there's a lot of support for it, at least their conversations with me," he said at the time.

Whatever, it's one day of playoffs in 2010, one more missed call. Chances are, more than a few replay proponents will catch Selig's ear about that.