Wednesday 14 March 2012

Spring headlines: No video replay expansion in 2012

Baseball is back! Here at Big League Stew, we'll take a quick dash around the league each morning in an attempt to keep you updated on all the springtime story lines.

• Right now, video replay can be used in Major League Baseball only to determine home runs. The league and the players have wanted to expand that to include trapped balls, fair-or-foul rulings and fan interference around ballparks. But they needed umpires to agree to implement any expansion, and it couldn't be done in time for the 2012 season, the AP reports:

Umpires were concerned the television feeds they received to review calls were not equal at every ballpark. The umps get fewer looks in Oakland, for example, than at Yankee Stadium.

Also at issue is how calls would be made under expanded replay and who would ask for a challenge. Would umpires still make the final decision, as they do now? Or would there be an NHL-style conference room with an MLB executive making the ruling?

Grant Bisbee over at SB Nation has a reasonable take on this. Remember when disagreements about the collective bargaining agreement led to strikes and lockouts and lawsuits? This, this is nothing in comparison. Sure, we all want robot overlords to replace our flawed human umpires with computers and get every call correct using omniscient technology or the Cylon pulsating eye or whatever it is they use. That'll come in time. Until then, just be happy with Phil Cuzzi!

• Someone, get a fresh six-pack for David Wright.

Not beer. Although, maybe one can would be OK. He has a torn rectus abdominis muscle and was treated with a cortisone shot Tuesday. He said he expects to be back in camp doing limited activities Thursday before going full tilt. He'll be ready for opening day, he swears. Nick Markakis of the Orioles has dealt with a similar injury, though he had surgery to fix his torn six-pack.

• Yu Darvish is making all of the right friends with the Texas Rangers. In his second spring start, he allowed two runs, four walks and three hits over three innings. Darvish said he had little command of his fastball, so he used his myriad breaking pitches to get out of jams. Darvish credited Yorvit Torrealba with helping to limit the damage:

"If Torrealba is not catching, I think I'd give up 10 runs today," Darvish said. "Some of my pitches were so bad I don't think any hitters would swing at them."

Getting on the catcher's good side is a wise move.

• The Detroit Tigers are shutting down pitching prospect Jacob Turner for at least a week because of shoulder pain. He's also lost some velocity on his fastball. Turner, who is just 20 years old, is a candidate for the fifth starter's job.

• Manny Ramirez hit his first spring home run and right-hander Jarrod Parker rebounded from a tough previous outing to pitch 3 1/3 scoreless innings for the Oakland Athletics.

Spring Training has arrived! Follow Dave on Twitter — @AnswerDave and engage The Stew on Facebook for your fill of Grapefruit and Cactus!



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