Instant Replay in the MLB?: I'm Going to Have to Side with Lou on This One

I knew it. I knew I shouldn't have done it. Oh, why oh why did I HAVE to insult Vanessa Bryant in my first blog of the summer? Why was I tempted by that purple tutu to write demeaning things about Kobe's suga' momma,? Oh, those damn purple tutu's get me every time.

That's right, I figured all you blogettes out there, (that's my new word for readers of the blog, sort of like the Rockettes but without the high kicks), I have been placed under the Vanessa Bryant Curse. Worse than the Curse of the Bambino, the Vanessa Bryant Curse focuses solely on the world of sports, honing in on the sport nearest and dearest to your heart, and sucks the soul out of it.

And somehow, that tricky Vanessa knew that my favorite sport was baseball. Ever since I insulted Vanessa the world of baseball has been turned upside for me. First, the Red Sox trade Nomar (ok I know that happened about 6 years ago but I'm still upset). Then, two weeks ago, they try to eliminate fighting in baseball. And now, they want to add instant replays to the MLB? And the Tampa Bay Rays don't suck this year? What is this the second coming of the Apocalypse? What has happened to my beloved sport!

But rather than focus on the Ray's lack of suckage, fighting in baseball, or even Nomar (swoon), the focus of today's blog is on the push for instant replay's in the MLB. After many a blown call by umpires all over the league, the MLB is looking for a little computerized backup to help legitimize the calls made in baseball.

To which I have to say, seriously? Come ON MLB don't do this to me. What are we trying to become, the NFL with our flashy secretive replay TV's? What next Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders at baseball games? John Madden hosting Sunday Night Baseball while trying to sell us tough actin' Tinactin?

According to an AP report on sportingnews.com, the MLB wants to created a a "NHL-style war room" in New York where video feeds would be reviewed by a supervisor. Basically the supervisor would review any play that was being questioned and describe it to the umpire crew chief, letting him make the final call. So, it's sort of like the blind leading the blind, right? And, can it even be called an instant replay if the umpires are not even seeing the instant replay? Call me crazy but, this sort of sounds like adding an unnecessary middle man to the whole situation.

But really, it was Lou Piniella that captured my thoughts exactly, and a heck of a lot more eloquently when he stated: "I don't think it's needed at all to be honest. How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It's all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You're going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands."

Amen to that Lou, amen to that.

And a final thought, why do umpires need extra assistance at doing their jobs? Baseball is the slowest moving sport besides curling, heck, curling may even move faster than baseball. There are only 10 players, counting the one at bat, on the field at any given time for four or so umpires to pay attention to, is that really not enough eyes to make a correct call? I mean, you're getting paid to watch a Major League Baseball game from on the field! What could be better than that? What are you not doing when you are supposed to be paying attention and making correct calls? Checking out the hot ball girls? Making crowns out of dandelions? Do your job! Maybe it isn't instant replay that the MLB should be looking into but instead, younger, less A.D.D prone umpires.

So how do you feel about the instant replay? Is it a yay or a nay in your book? Let me know, write a comment below!