MLB needs to clean up its act

Last week Tuesday, during the heated set of games between the Giants and the Athletics, there was yet another moment of sheer lunacy by the umpire crew. But I may be getting ahead of myself.

Exhibit A: A's vs. Indians. Adam Rosales hits a ball to center field, appearing to strike a railing above the yellow home run line. After the umpires looked at it on video, they instead called the play a double and the A's, who would have tied the game, wind up losing 4-3.

Exhibit B: Astros vs. Angels. THE VERY NEXT DAY, Umpires allow Wesley Wright to be relieved by Hector Ambriz despite Wright never facing a batter, a clear rules violation and resulting in the umpire being suspended for two games. The Angels played the remainder of the game under protest, but wound up winning despite the advantage gained by the Astros.

And now this. In the sixth, Andres Torres hit a line drive toward the umpire who ruled the ball fair. As the ball skipped toward the Giants bullpen, an overzealous fan tried to reach over and grab the ball. On replay, the ball strikes the fan on the forearm. Meanwhile, Gregor Blanco went from first base, around second and third and went in to score for the Giants. The play appeared to be called dead and due to the fan interference, the ground rule double applied. Meanwhile, security detail, who happened to be sitting right where the whole thing happened, worked on dismissing the fan in question.

So here's the thing. Did the umpire really call fan interference? If so, he botched the call since the Blanco run still counted and given the ground rule double, would have only been awarded third otherwise. If not, why did the play just stop? The only thing I can figure is that the players held up since the ball was secured, but it doesn't seem that way. Remember I mentioned the security guy? Why was it none of the umps noticed him? If he's busy ejecting a fan for touching the ball, wouldn't it occur to the umps that the fan TOUCHED THE BALL? Bob Melvin came out to argue the call but it was pretty evident the umps were saying no fan interference.

So let's recap. One ump can't see a home run even after watching it on HDTV, one ump doesn't know the basic rules of baseball, one ump can't ask a security guard if he's ejecting a fan because he touched a ball in play. This all in the span of less than a month. THIS is what drives me crazy about baseball. Sure, one ump got suspended, but when do we hear about other blown calls and the such leading to suspension? Not to mention the replay rule is right now for home run calls only, and even then, aren't getting them right.

MLB needs to take a page from what other leagues are doing and forget the cries of the traditionalists. From the NHL, set up a war room with all games in play under supervision. If there is a dispute and the umps are looking at replay, have someone from the war room on the phone with the umps during the replay to offer a final call on the matter. From the NFL, all scoring plays are reviewable. Give the managers of both benches two challenges for base calls. Pitchers either on the field or in the bullpen cannot throw warmup pitches during a challenge. Some final suggestions, high speed cameras trained on the bases for help with bang-bang plays. Also, balls and strikes remain at the discretion of the plate ump and cannot be challenged.

I know that MLB has closed doors meetings with umps and the like and don't make things public to protect the integrity of those that officiate the game. Wake up MLB, umps are losing integrity right in front of everyone's eyes.