Not Safe At Home, But, Please, Don't Give Us Instant Replay

We're still all a-twitter about that amazing Rockies win over the Padres last night; it's rather difficult to be more dramatic than a three-run comeback in the bottom of the 13th inning with the whole season on the line. Oh, and there's controversy too!

Forgive us for quoting, uh, the most recent post, but we think Rick sums it up well; if one of the Padres can find out where Matt Holliday lives, he can still drive over there with a ball and tag him. We think it's pretty clear that Tim McClellan made the right call — that is to say, no call — and then was swept up in the drama of the moment and backed away. You can tell by the way he so casually gives the safe sign; it's as if he's trying to act like, "Hey, duh, he was safe along, obviously." Umpiring's a tough job, but we think he did every single thing wrong there.

One thing we can't get behind, though, is instant replay. Maybe we can support instant replay to tell whether a ball went over a wall, but we don't think we're being out-of-touch purists to believe in the sanctity of the umpire. No game is more human than baseball, and its traditions are what make it what it is. It would be no fun whatsoever to see Lou Piniella arguing with a camera.