Misadventures in Officiating...

Well, I just knew that the Phillies were going to prove me wrong, and win this year's Fall Classic. But the Tampa Bay Rays got a reprieve in the form of a timely RBI single, and an even more timely call to suspend Game 5. That's right, the series is on hold until better weather surfaces.

I don't disagree with Bud Selig's decision in this matter, probably because I am rooting for the Rays. But you have to admit that it hurts the Phillies because you know that Cole Hamels wasn't done when they called this thing. He was only at 75 pitches, going into the 7th inning (his spot is due up first in the bottom of the 6th). But with the delay, he will not be on the mound for the remainder of the game.

Then again, with the bullpen that the Phillies have, maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all. All I know is that if the Rays can get going, especially if Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria get hot like they showed last night, and get this thing back to Tampa, they have more than a legitimate shot at taking the whole shooting match.

Now, the umpires, on the other hand, need to figure out what is going on. The umpiring for the Series has been horrific, with numerous blown calls and inconsistent strike zones. This seems to be part of a bigger trend right now in sports. Off the top of my head I can think of several missed calls in the past weekend: the no-call of blatant holding on Michael Johnson in the Tech-UVA game that led to a Virginia TD; the missed call on the Eagles punt that claimed that the Falcons touched the ball (they didn't), giving the Eagles possesion leading to a score; the entire sequense of plays at the end zone in the NY Giants-Steelers game with the back-to-back challenges of touchdowns; the whole World Series. Coupled with numerous mistakes already made this year in officiating, it looks to be an atrocious year for the officials. Glad I'm not one of 'em.

Speaking of Tech, the Jackets looked horrible this weekend. Hopefully this isn't the start of the Wreck's annual fade, and more of a one-off bad game. We gotta play better next week against a decent FSU team that is trying to prove it is still the class of the ACC.

~E~