Much has been made over the use of instant replay in baseball.  Just prior to press time, another call has been blown that has affected scoring.  Needless to say, the Orioles and Yankees are deadlocked prior to the bottom of the ninth.  Of course, had the home plate umpire employed baseic logic, Hideki Matsui's line out to Kevin Millar would have ended the game.  Ramon Hernandez hit a two out single to right field.  Bobby Abreu made his usual good throw.  Jose Molina placed his glove on the middle of home plate as Kevin Millar slid home.  The call?  Out!  A bit of logic would dictate that Millar would have had to slide through the first half of the plate prior to touching Molina's glove.  Alas, it was not to be.

The replay discussion has involved home runs.  Frankly it's not a bad idea.  The official call can be posted on the outfield scoreboard.  In the midst of baseball puritanism, scoreboard watching - replay style could become a new tradition.  But there is a more pragmatic reason.

Let's face it, the concrete doughnut is a thing of the past, and that's a good thing.  A ballpark is now an anchor for urban renewal.  It isn't just a place where games are played.  It's a feat of architecture as well - with poles in play, hills that require sherpas, left field toy factories in play, catwalks, and regular old yellow foul poles that don't line up with the fould line.  Frankly, it's hard to call home run versus in play.  There should be no shame in getting by with a little help from your friends.

Back to my introductory rant, should replay be employed for all scoring plays?  Opponents would say no, since once you're in, where would you stop?  Couldn't a blown out/safe call be construed as a potential run thwarted?  Then what about balls and strikes?  It's a valid argument.  All I could say for reassurance is that baseball would look at out/safe and ball/strike as win some/lose some. But a blown homer call is a sure thing, so only that would be reviewed.  Could you get Emperor Bud to put such a thing in writing?  I'm sure you could, and in car salesman fashion, he'd be sure to put it in 3 point font!

While we're at it, let's ponder some other rule changes in baseball.  See if you like these:

• Tough luck or too tough on offenses?  The Padres just lost a sure run when a gapper bounded into the stands.  The runner on first was going on contact with two outs, but was sent back to third.  Should a runner be allowed home plate on a two out ground rule double?
• Should there be a minimum performance standard for pitchers, or are LOOGYs a necessary evil?  Eight pitches?  Two batters?  What do you think?
• Should it matter when the rain delay occurs (as it relates to suspending a game)?  Why shouldn't four innings played count toward the tally?
• One "time out" for each dueler per at bat.