Mike and the "Mechanic"

As most of you probably saw, the White Sox defeated the Angels last night thanks to a controversial call. With 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth, A.J. Pierzynski appeared to have swung and missed at strike three, a low ball apparently caught by Angels catcher Josh Paul. Home plate umpire Doug Eddings makes a flat, outward motion with his right hand, which seemed to indicate swing with no contact. He then, after a pause, brought his right hand up to a fist and pumped it down in the classic out movement. Apparently no verbal call was given at any time. Pierzynski, in a heads up play, runs to first. Paul simply got up, trotted toward the dugout, and rolled the ball towards the mound. With Pierzynski on first, Eddings calls him safe, ruling that the pitch hit the ground, and thus the Angels needed to put Pierzynski out at first base.

The replay, to my mind, shows pretty clearly that Paul caught the ball cleanly. But that's not really relevant. The real question is what should have been done on the field at the moment. Eddings, in a brief postgame press conference attended with two advisers, said his call was his typical third strike "mechanic", but did not clarify whether he called the batter out or not. He also said something else interesting: he said "I was watching the players for their reactions to the play." This is probably exactly the right thing to do, given that he could not see the play himself as he was screened by Paul. But Eddings mistake was to rely on Pierzynski's reaction, because Pierzynski could not see the ball either. Only Josh Paul knew at the time whether the ball was caught, and Eddings should have relied on his reaction, which was consistent with a catch.

In my view, Eddings thought the ball was caught, and made that call with his fist, but panicked when he saw Pierzynski run, and changed his mind. Credit should also be given to the White Sox Paul Konerko, who a few innings earlier struck out on a check swing that looked like a non-swing. Eddings made a quick call on that, without looking for help. Konerko complained bitterly all the way back to the dugout about Eddings making such a quick call, and I think put some doubt in the umpire's mind about whether he got it right. That doubt prompted his confusing reaction to the play in the ninth. That's why you argue with umpires over close calls -- to get them thinking the next time around, and maybe get them to go your way in their indecision.

Ultimate credit, though, should go to Angels skipper "Mike" Scioscia. He objected to the call on the right grounds -- that Eddings switched his call -- but more importantly refused to dwell on that play and criticized his team for their play elsewhere in the game. He knows that it is more important that his team get over this loss and focus on the next game, rather than whine about the bad break. He is focused on his team's mental preparedness and approach, rather than a particular detail. He is, in many ways, dramatically unlike our manager, Frank Robinson.