The Giants won today's game

The Giants scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th today against the Mets for a dramatic 4-3 victory and completed a 4 game sweep.

That's what actually happened. Anyone who saw the game today saw Mets third baseman throw high in a play at the plate, scoring Ishikawa for the winning run.

It was that way with the naked eye.
It was that way with the replay.

But like Jim Joyce and Armando Galaragga's complete game, reality doesn't matter... only the opinion of the umpire.

Phil Cuzzi, who already unnecessarily delayed the game by jawing with K-Rod, called him out at home.

Even the Mets announcers were saying as it happened "The Mets caught a HUGE break."

And that was BEFORE they looked at the instant replay.

And the replay was shown on the New York station while Bruce Bochy was still arguing... which spits in the face of the insane "Well, it will slow down the game" argument against instant replay.

He was safe. The Giants won the game... except they didn't.

If the Giants miss the playoffs by a single game this year, remember that play.
And know that the entire television audience saw the call was wrong in less than 1 minute.

I guess you can't waste a minute in determining who won or lost a game.

It's bonkers.
Just bring in instant replay!!!

Is the pitching getting better or is it just me?

2010 has already had some extraordinarily special pitching moments and we're not even in mid June.

Either the steroid era is really over or the pitchers are on something.
And it's great for baseball in my opinion.

We have had Ubaldo Jimenez throwing a no hitter and putting up numbers that would be eye popping in a pitchers park let alone the zero G of Coors Field.

We have had Dallas Braden throwing a perfect game on Mother's Day (and seeing his grandmother trash talk A-Rod to boot!)

We had Roy Halladay throwing a perfect game in Miami.

We had the Armando Galarraga spoiled perfect game.

We had Daisuke Matsuzaka nearly throw a no hitter.

We had Stephen Strasburg's mind boggling debut.

We had ancient Jamie Moyer throwing a shutout.

We've seen Tim Lincecum, Jon Lester, Adam Wainwright, Clay Buchholz, Matt Cain and Josh Johnson all throw like aces.

We've seen Jaime Garcia, Mike Pelfrey, David Price, Phil Hughes, Mitch Talbot, Mike Leake and Mat Latos all blossom into top starters.

We've seen comeback seasons from Tim Hudson, Ervin Santana, Livan Hernandez and Carlos Silva.

There's a surplus of Cy Young contenders and well pitched games with intriguing match ups are becoming more and more common.

Just today you have Toronto's Shaun Marcum going up against Tampa Bay's David Price and St. Louis' Adam Wainwright is going up against L.A.'s Clayton Kershaw.

Not to mention Dallas Braden, Jonathan Sanchez, CC Sabathia and Clay Buccholz are all taking the hill as well.

Look, I know the home run is sexy and there is a sense that most fans just want to see a slugfest... but I don't believe that.

I think that if you get a dominating pitcher facing a kick ass hitter, it makes for a confrontation unlike any in sport.

How exciting is a home run into the upper deck when the pitcher is a scrub just up from AAA, or a middle reliever who barely has a job, or Kyle Farnsworth?

Maybe this IS the end of the steroid era for hitters... the slugger happy AL hasn't seen a 40 home run hitter since A-Rod's 54 taters in 2007.

And perhaps when someone says "they are a 30 home run hitter" or "they are good for 95-100 RBI" it won't sound like they are describing a platoon reserve shortstop.

Maybe we can expect some real dominating pitching. Maybe all the nonsense that we'll never see another 300 game winner can end.

Maybe games will move quicker. Maybe runs will be at a premium and when a team falls behind by a few runs, it will make the game more tense instead of having everyone think "Ah don't worry... this will be a 9-8 game by the end."

It's as if they are playing BASEBALL and not just playing home run derby!

What a novel concept!

Armando Galarraga should be the S.I. Sportsman of the Year

Oh I am sure there will be some record breaker in football or basketball. Probably there will be a hero in the World Cup.

Or perhaps Phil Mickelson's Masters win will get people all weepy.

But how could there be a better example of class, excellence and sportsmanship than what Galarraga displayed over the last few days?

He showed excellence with the perfect game... and then overwhelming calm when the call was blown, and he just gave a laugh.

That night he had the dignity to comfort umpire Jim Joyce after the game.

And then came the next day. Everyone screaming bloody murder. I wrote about 4,392 blog posts about it.

Airwaves were jammed.

Columnists wrote about it.

Bud Selig mulled over it!

A regular season game between Detroit and Cleveland overshadowed Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Boston and Los Angeles!

Even the White House referenced it!

And how did Galarraga, the man who was denied immortality, handle it?

Less than 18 hours after it happened and tempers simmering, he brought the line up card out to the visibly distraught Jim Joyce, shook his hand, gave him a pat on the back and it was a new day.

Try watching that clip and not get choked up.

You tell me there isn't a Little League coach or a Pop Warner, YMCA basketball league or youth hockey coach in the world worth their weight who wouldn't want their players showing that kind of sportsmanship!

When everyone talks about the selfishness of the athlete and how nobody can relate to them and how they are a bunch of spoiled cry babies, along comes Armando Galaragga. The guy who had every reason to bitch and moan showed set the new standard for playing it cool.

The S.I. Sportsman of the Year is supposed to honor not only those who play the best on the field, but dignify the sporting world (you know, like past honorees Pete Rose, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.)

Galaragga's class is something that should not just be swept under the carpet.

In an odd way, for Galaragga's legacy, the blown call was the best thing that happened to him.

Sure Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay got their moment in the sun from baseball fans. But my in box and Facebook page was filled to gills with messages from friends of mine who don't even follow baseball.

My wife even said "Now I have faith again in that stupid game."

He even got a Corvette out of it.

Give him the Award. And when future generations ask "Why was the Tigers #3 starter the Sportsman of the Year?" they can learn a little bit about class.

And hopefully by then, those kids will ask "But didn't they have instant replay then like now?"

Greg Lee's thoughts on Jim Joyce's call

My friend, the great writer, editor and Giants fan Greg Lee wrote to me after the whole Galaragga/Jim Joyce fiasco.

"Maybe they were shooting a Southwest Airlines "Want to get away?" commercial."

That's the best explanation yet.

No Cleveland fans... Galaragga didn't bobble the ball

Cleveland fans are writing on some blogs that the call against Armando Galaragga was good one because he bobbled the ball.

An interesting piece of revisionist history (right up there with Pedro Martinez ATTACKED Don Zimmer in the 2003 ALCS.)

Um, do you know who agrees with you Cleveland fans?
NOBODY!

Not even Jim Joyce used that as a lame excuse.

Here's the clip.

Point out where the bobble is and e mail me at info@sullybaseball.







I thought I told you Cleveland fans to stop watching sports this year!

Jim Joyce becomes an immortal

Seriously... I kind of feel good for Jim Joyce. Most of the times an umpire's name is not part of the story of the game.

Every once in a while an ump does something truly memorable, like Don Denkinger blowing that call in the 1985 World Series or Eric Gregg having a strike zone approximately 5 yards wide and 15 feet high in the 1997 NLCS.

But to TRULY be the story is very rare.

If the Cardinals pulled a double play on the next batter, nobody would have remembered the blown call. And the Braves could have adjusted instead of looking at those wide strikes.

But what Jim Joyce did today was extraordinary.

He blew the final play of a perfect game.

Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game. He did. That's not an opinion... that's a fact. And in real time it looked like he covered first for the final out in time.

In slow motion it looked like... um... it wasn't close.

This wasn't a blown call in the 7th. If an ump blows a call in the 7th, 8th or even the top of the 9th, you can't necessarily say the pitcher would have completed the perfect game. He could relax after letting up a hit.

But with 2 outs in the 9th... there is no other scenario other than "Perfect Game" or "Blown Call" on that grounder.

There have been only 20 perfect games thrown in baseball history (and it seems like 15 of them have been thrown since Mother's Day.) It should be 21.

Why isn't it 21?

Because of Jim Joyce.

And what is the headline for this wonderful game? Is it Armando Galarraga's game of his life?

Nope!

It's Jim Joyce!

And from this day forward when people talk about perfect games and they list perfect games, announcers will say "And remember Armando Galarraga had a perfect game, but the final call was blown by Jim Joyce."

That is epic.

That is knowing this massive bed wetting will be known among the all time bad calls.

Doesn't happen every day for an ump.

Oh and one more thing... did you see Galarraga's reaction?


He was grinning.

Jim Joyce stole his bid for immortality and he had a smile on his face.

How classy was that?
How centered is this guy?

Or maybe he knows that Joyce just got himself his own place in baseball history... and not the way he wants it.


INSTANT REPLAY ANYONE?