Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he watched the replay several times of the blown call which cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game. So did countless others across the country. That doesn't mean the Sox' skipper is in favor of allowing the umpires to do the same thing during the game to make sure they get a call right.
"No. No. Uh-uh," Francona said when asked if replay should be expanded to include calls such as the one that umpire Jim Joyce admittedly missed on Wednesday night.
"He made a mistake," Francona said. "There's a few things to remember. With the instant replay they have now and how slow they can make it, things are scrutinized so much because we have the ability with technology. … He missed a call and the importance of it, he said, was the biggest call he's ever had.
"When you're at field level it's going fast. It was a bang-bang play. It was wrong. It happens."
Francona has been pleased with the use of replay on calls on home runs and boundaries, and he also said he's in favor of exploring the use of a fifth umpire in the booth. But if you allow calls like the one Joyce made to be reversed, you open up a whole new can of worms, Francona said.
"We'd be out there all night. I think there has to be a line where you stop," Francona added. "I think they've done a good job with instant replay.
"Again, with technology it points out every error that there is. I think with the speed of the game, there's 'K Zones' on certain networks, some of them they don't even match up with the other one so … we've got pretty good umpires. Sometimes, everyone makes a mistake. That's just the way it is."
Both Francona and Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein admired the way both Galarraga and Joyce handled the situation, the former understanding that people make mistakes and the latter apologizing for his.
Until the replay rule is expanded, if ever, their actions will speak volumes.
"I thought the way Galarraga handled it was incredibly admirable," Epstein told reporters Thursday. "Everyone's human. People makes mistakes. [Joyce] is a great umpire, a really good guy and he feels worse than anyone. There's something that can be taken from that.
"When adversity happens, if we could handle things the way Galarraga did, we'll be in good shape as an industry."
Epstein did admit that the controversy may add fuel to the debate going forward, saying that "there's growing sentiment for it."
However, he sided with Francona when asked if Major League Baseball should reverse the call.
"I don't see how baseball can let that happen," Epstein said. "Then, any time a team loses a game there's gonna be no good reason why that can't be overturned as well. It's a slippery slope."
