Upon Further Review, Jerry Meals Calls Him Safe

After the Jim Joyce fiasco last year, fans could only hope that instant replay would follow. It didn't.

With every occurrence of a manager spending five minutes arguing a call that was blatantly missed, fans could only hope that instant replay would follow. It hasn't.

Will Jerry Meals calling Julio Lugo safe to end a 19 inning marathon (the longest game by time in Pirates' history) finally bring instant replay to the MLB? We can only hope.

Check out our analysis in our latest podcast below! Our vote: with technology available, use it. And the Little League World Series has set the table for bringing replay to the Majors!

FOR THE RECORD: Too many mistakes are being made in the game right now. That being said, umpires are human, and the human element is something that makes the game beautiful. It's easy to critique a call using slow motion, dvr, and 1080p HD.  Joyce and Meals both admitted their faults. They want to get the calls right. I, too, had great hostility toward Joyce immediately after Galarraga's "28 up, 28 down" last summer. I know that I was wrong. I realized it as soon as I took two seconds to relax and see that it's just a game and that human error will ALWAYS be a part of ALL sports in one way or another. So to those who have sent death threats, harassment, or have posted Meals' address and phone number on message boards, please grow up. It's only a game. That's something we all seem to forget more often than not.

(Oh, and to those who publicly try to claim from their "Armchair Umpire" status that they can call a game better...wake up. And to those other Armchair Umpires who think that Lugo was safe from the replays they've seen....first, Meals said he should've been called out, and I think the HD cameras straight from MLB, ROOT, and TBS are better than your home TV. Take a moment to think before you say you're better and smarter than the professionals.)