NBA Preview

Okay, I'm a little late here and trying to catch up on some necessary posts.

So the NBA season is now underway, which is great since baseball is now over until spring and Football can really only keep me occupied on weekends.

First, I'd like to point out that I've added Jason Kidd to the list of Officiating Disaster Heroes on the left side of the page. This is due to me being a big fan of his, the Nets, and of the comments he made at the end of a 12/26/06 game against Detroit where he refered to the referees as the "Three Blind Mice".

"That's how I felt. That's how I think our team felt. It was the truth," said Kidd of his barrage after the referees swallowed their whistles on what looked like an obvious contact foul by Rasheed Wallace against Vince Carter in the final seconds. "I have no comment on the fine." (source)

Sources also say that Kidd informed other team mates to not say anything regarding the officiating of the game, and that he would make a statement on the team's behalf, to avoid multiple fines. Sure enough, Kidd was fined $20,000. Talk about taking one for the team.

And due to some offseason news you may have heard regarding a certain NBA referee, I've started a new poll to see how your view of the NBA may or may not have changed. Please take some time to cast your vote. Today is election day!

Instant Replay in MLB?

So the General Managers meetings are underway in Orlando. According to Peter Abraham, one of the topics being discussed is instant replay. The GMs of the game really have no say in the matter, but could influence a decision of the commissioner.

Personally, baseball needs instant replay. The biggest question to me is, how would you implement it? Are managers going to be responsible to challenge calls on the field, similar to the red flags thrown by coaches in the NFL? Perhaps a new job of 'Replay Official' should be introduced and work with the official scorers of the game in the booth along with monitors to watch replays, signaling to an on-field umpire when it is determined a call should be reversed.

At a minimum, I have felt that MLB needs to at least automate the strike zone. I had a poll running regarding the introduction of instant replay when I started this blog and automating the strike zone was an option. To me, this is the biggest grey area in baseball officiating. Home plate umpires far too often mishandle things in this aspect of the game. Balls are called when a pitcher misses his target, but still throws within the strike zone and strike zones vary depending on who the home plate umpire is.

The strike zone should not change for any situation, other than vertically to compensate for the height of the batter during his swing. Automating the strike zone can be done rather easily, as seen by the pitch location graphics shown on the television replays, and of course QuesTec. A strike or ball call can be relayed to the home plate umpire who would signal for a ball or strike, as he normally does. The job of the home plate umpire would then be a bit simpler. Mike Mussina would agree.

When the technology is available to improve the game, it should be taken advantage of. I hear arguments against instant replay in baseball stating that it would take the human element out of the game. This is ridiculous really. Human Element? By this logic, players should not watch video, pitch velocity should not be looked at, and players would be using bats carved by hand in the off season. Go see a vintage league game if that's what you want. Honestly, I hear they are great!