By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

 

The NHL has it, and so does the NBA. It has become a staple of the NFL. It is instant replay, and it can be either your savior or your demise, as calls to a higher authority often are. Fans can have it anytime they want from video, TiVo, or the internet, in HD and at more angles than you can shake a hockey stick at, know what to do with, or even fit on the screen. So why doesn't MLB have it?

Instant replay is something that could've helped both New York baseball teams Monday night, and potentially have helped them come away with wins. In the fifth inning against the Mets, Giants catcher Bengie Molia blasted a pitch from Oliver Perez to left-center field that appeared to pass through the arms of a fan and strike near -- but not at -- the top of the wall. The ball bounced away, and was then retrieved by Moises Alou. Third-base umpire Mark Wegner ruled it a home run and crew chief Bruce Froemming held up the call, leaving manager Willie Randolph and the rest of Mets fans calling foul, as San Francisco went on to score nine runs in the inning.

 

Earlier that night in the Bronx, the Yankees were the recipient of another bad call from second-base umpire Gerry Davis, who admitted he missed calling Willie Bloomquist out as he attempted to steal second. Photos and replays on TV repeatedly show the Mariner pinch-runner out as Robinson Cano applied the tag. The call cost the Yankees the lead as Bloomquist came around to score on Kenji Johjima's two-out single. That left the door open for Adrian Beltre's rocket over the left-center-field fence that won the game for Seattle in the ninth.

Yes, sometimes you get the calls, and sometimes you don't, but then why do you have QuesTec? If that system is designed to evaluate umpires on their calls after they've made them, why can't you help them make the right ones to begin with? Every game is already televised and recorded, and the broadcasters have no trouble reviewing a play from the pressbox or broadcast booth almost immediately after it happens.

For those who wish the sport to remain "traditional," and wish that a pair of human eyes should have the final say on every play, fine, but if an umpire is unsure, he should at least have the humility and the decency to confer with the other officials on the field. Calls have been reversed before, and the point is to get it right. Baseball is a game that is constantly moving forward, and changes have been implemented to the game before in recent years, which have been good for the sport -- namely the wild card and interleague play.

Obviously you can't have an official review on every play from a fifth umpire sitting in the booth. Then, the game would be five hours long. The same goes for arguing balls and strikes, but what about having reviews of steals and home runs? That would certainly be reasonable, and giving each manager one or two challenges per game is fair. I'm not talking about having it right now in every single regular-season game, but what about the postseason? What about trying it in the All-Star game? It couldn't hurt to try.

Wanna argue with the Ref? Don't like the call? Go ahead and make your own!