By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Manager Joe Maddon is ready to convert.
Despite all his outside-the-box thinking and unconventional methods, Maddon actually considers himself a baseball purist and traditionalist.
But after seeing more calls missed by umpires — or, as has happened twice this season, changed from what he felt was right to wrong — Maddon is starting to see the need to help the umps by expanding the use of replay.
"For years I've been against that ... coming more from the purist attitude," he said. "But if you really want to be intelligent about it, this stuff is available; technology is a part of our game, all the stuff that we use in the dugout. The fact that replay is already utilized, let's expand it."
Maddon's initial thought is that replay should be employed for calls made from a distance (like, just coincidentally, the second base ump overruling a call at first base). Baseball already has replay for home run calls, and is considering expanding it next season to include fair-or-foul calls down the lines and on trapped-or-caught balls in the outfield.
"Anything at a distance I think is worth considering," he said.
He doesn't want to mess at all with the calling of balls and strikes which, as frustrating as it can be for strike zones to change from umpire to umpire, he considers part of the human element of the game.
But — memories of Texas' Michael Young in last year's playoffs still fresh — would favor using it, or even some system that could include lasers, for check swings. "If there's any way technology can tell us whether there was a swing or not a swing," he said, "that would be wise, too,"
Baseball is typically glacier-paced in making changes, but Maddon is now hoping for it to happen sooner. "At some point you eventually have to include air conditioning in your vehicle or go out and buy a high-definition television," he said. "You just have to eventually go there."