But the person on the field who made the biggest impression on me was home plate umpire Ron Barnes. In the first inning, he called a ridiculous stike zone. Balls that were 6-8 inches off the plate were called strikes. I didn't take an official count, but of the first five batters that came to the plate, I think four gave Barnes a look as if to say, "You must be joking." After giving these two young pitchers a lenient strike zone to throw at for the first few minutes of the game, he closed the strike zone down a few inches, helping both young pitchers give up 11 runs over the next 2.2 innings. However, his strike zone continued to have more width than heighth the entire game.
Even commentator Orel Hershiser noted the extremely liberal calls and showed several replays, asking viewers to "decide at home if this was a strike."
I'm not sure what Barnes was doing. Maybe after several veterans showed their displeasure, he decided to call a smaller zone, but after the first inning, Biddle and Westbrook were continually behind in the count.
The new strike zone dictated by Sandy Alderson and Bud Selig was not readily apparent last night. The idea that Major League Baseball has any control over the umpires is a fallacy. Unless Alderson wants to review tapes in the offseason and fire the umpires who refuse to adapt, they will never control them. Not that I'm suggesting that Alderson should take that course of action, I'm just saying that's what it would take for the umpires to listen to him.
Could it be very hard for Major League Baseball to automate the calling of balls and strikes? The technology must be available, and if the commissioner or any other owner had a progressive bone in their body, it would happen. So don't expect it, ever.
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