You make the call

Rays postgame host Todd Kalas called it 'the worst call that has gone against the Rays in their 11-year history.'

Manager Joe Maddon said, pointedly, 'they got the call wrong.'

Third-base umpire Ted Barrett explained that Rays third baseman Willy Aybar was in A.J. Pierzynski's way, preventing him from continuing to third base, and that's why the White Sox catcher was awarded third despite being tagged out by shortstop Jason Bartlett.

But what we want to know is what you think about Doug Eddings' controversial call that set the table for the Rays' 6-5 loss Sunday in Chicago. Watch the video, then leave us your thoughts in the 'Comments' area below.

(A.J. Pierzynski, right, talks to second base umpire Doug Eddings about interference by Rays third baseman Willy Aybar. AP photo. Click to enlarge.)

Comments

[Lee Spencer]

VERY BAD, BIASED CALL. The umpire should be reprimanded, even fined - the money going to the Rays. The runner leaned into the defensive man who had already stepped out of the way. The runner fell only because there was no one there to fall against. If the fielder had bumped him, then the runner would have fallen toward second base and not backwards. The runner wasn't even in the act of making a turn, only looking to find a man to fall into in order to get the call. Now the Rays have to beat the umpires too!

[Ray F]

...and the Oscar goes to...

AJ Pierzynski of the White Sox.

Shull-Bit!!!

[Dom]

Most NFL umpires, referees and judges don't carry a reputation. Wouldn't it be nice if MLB could garner the same respect for their game officials?

[W]

The Rays are a bunch of whiners! All the calls don't go for you. You hope 50% do. What goes around comes around. One game doesn't make a champion.

[Demetrios]

I am very much look forward to fantasy fest in key west!

[Matt]

Eddings either does not know the rule, is incompetent or corrupt. You decide.

[over it]

We're over it already.
Time to SWEEP the Jays again!
It's bird hunting season again in the Trop.

[Razzlegator]

Hey Mitch,
Learn to spell. It's Rays. After me,
Go Rays!

[Mitch]

You would have to be crazy to throw Carols Pena anything above the knees right now. He absolutely feasts on high fastballs...making him the left-handed exception, rather than the rule. Keep it low and take your chances with the next guy, Jays. Don't let Pena beat you. Go Jays!

-Jay Fan

[Bill]

Time to move on. Best pitcher in baseball, Halladay, on the mound. Hopefully the Rays can continue their success vs. him.

[Terri]

I think the call was just plain wrong, but there is nothing we can do about it - I hope we have instant replay soon and I hope it is used for these kind of calls.

[Dom]

Let's face it. The Rays are drawing the ire of MLB. A small market team getting into the playoffs? How's that expected to fill the coffers? Everyone is upset because the Yankees aren't there -yet! Talk about fair play!?! Even the commish bad mouthed where the Rays played! A lot of people in New York would like nothing better than to see the Rays to go away.

[9equals8.com]

AJ went 0-11 yesterday finishing the day by grounding into a double play (this does include his stats from the game before it was suspended, but I won't let that deter my delight in the stat).

[Demetrios]

I have not been this mad about screwjob of call since my hero Greg Louganis place 2nd in tower event at Montreal Olympics!

[justin]

Astoundingly poor call. Maybe these guys just get bored over the course of the season and make stuff up.

[Dom]

Maybe the best way to settle things is to prohibit instant replay and tell the umpires to stay home. Let the players settle it.

[Dom]

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE VIDEO?

[Yankees]

Super call! Good job ump!

[Papi]

Great call!

[Demetrios]

At first I was very angry at Eddings for making that call. It was horrendous. But the biggest problem I have is with this clown who calls himself a "professional" baseball player. He is making a mockery of the game with that bush league move. That belongs in professional wrestling ....oh wait, he did that a few years ago..go figure. Baseball has a way of returning favors. Let's hope for a re-match in the post-season, we are up by six runs with two outs and Balfour plants a 96mph dent in that platinum dome of that idiot. Balfour's post game press conference......"oops guess it got away from me". People who don't respect the integrity of the game will pay the price sooner or later. don't worry A.J., you can bleach that red stitching out of your hair.

[Batman]

What do you Rays fans expect...
This game was played in Chi-Town....Home of the fix and dive...It was interesting that it took so long to see who would take the dive and who was in on the fix....

[DJ]

I say next time AJ is caught in a run down, the fielder should windup and drill him between the shoulder blades. He'll go down like a rock and then tag him out. He'll think twice about pulling that cr@p again.
AJ is an A hole and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy

[Bill Goode]

I'm sick and tired of watching B.J. Upton take his own sweet time fielding fly balls in center. If he gets to the ball quickly and turns and fires to second instead of the casual lob he made, the baserunner never gets to second in the first place. I think he must have gone to the Manny Ramirez School of Fielding. I thought I read that Madden was going to send Upton down if he dogged it on one more play. If I were Madden, I'd send Number 2 down till he learns how to hustle and do his part in center.

[9equals8.com]

Nix that. I mis-spoke again :) Been writing too many blog comments. My bad. Not sure why Zobrist was still in there other than the missed play in the Angels game.

[9equals8.com]

Yes, that run tied the game (not sure if I misspoke somwhere on here, but you are right that run tied the game - had Riggans caught it, the game was over). I'm guessing Ruggs was not in there left because Zobrist has been hitting well and Joe wanted him in the tie game to keep his bat. But, that play is on Riggans, not Zobrist, in my opinion.

[zeke]

for 9equals8--one of us is wrong on that play from Ben to Riggans. You say the score was tied and I believe that run that scored when Riggans didn't make the play tied it, as a metter of fact I'm positive. man on 2nd, 2 outs, Konerko up, single to left and that would have been the game..rgardless, we were ahead and you can't have an utility infielder in left when the game most likely will come down to defense. Isn't that one of the reasons that the Rays say they brought up ruggiano?? Maddon has no faith in the kid and it showed right there.

[9equals8.com]

I'm just glad to see that the White Sox lost their continuation game against Baltimore today (knocks them back out of first). Oh, and AJ Pierzynski finished 0-FOR-7! No one was more deserving of that stat than he is. Here's to hoping they get doubled up by the Orioles... (AJ is 0-2 so far in that one).

[Ryan Callahan]

Im pretty sure u can only protest a game if it is something that can be proven. That play was what the umpire thought. Not to say he is smart, thats just what he was thinking.

[Shoeless Joe Jackson]

I put 2 dimes on this game and came away flat broke. If AJ played when I did there would be no interference call - only a stretcher to carry his sorry butt off the field to have my spikes removed from his tookus.

Today's Umps and ball players are a bunch of loafer wearin jock strap free stinkobytes.

Damn my feet hurt.

[Razzlegator]

On the radio post game show yesterday, the comment was made(by Rich H) that you can't protest a "judgment" call. That sure covers a lot of territory, or backsides.

[Amanda]

Jesse-
I thought of the same thing. I remember Lou Piniella declaring a (Devil) Rays game under protest when he was our coach. We wound up winning, so it was a moot point, but it might have been a good idea yesterday.
I don't know all the ins-and-outs, though, so I could be wrong.

[Jonny Gomes]

Pierzynski's no Coco Crisp. Let me at him!

[Jesse]

Whatever happened to playing a game under protest? I haven't seen or heard of this in years but it worked for George Brett and the K.C. Royals against the Yankees.

It's a play that should have been reviewed by the league office and possibly the call reversed with the game being returned to that point at a later date if applicable to the final results.

JMO

[jim]

i think MLB should order some of the patches the little league world series teams were wearing I WILL NOT CHEAT!!

[Carl]

It was a bad call which never should have been part of the game. If Riggans holds on to the ball at the plate in the ninth, there is no bad call. This by no means justifies the call which was just short of ridiculous. Unfortunately, the umps cannot take into account what a jerk A.J. Pierzynski truly is or they would have said, "Oh, it's Pierzynski. He's out." My father who is 82 years old and a die-hard White Sox fan said it was a bad call. It was clear to him he elbowed Aybar out of the baseline. Any questions?

[St. Pete Lou]

Sorry, but that was not a "heads up" thing to do. The ends do NOT justify the means. Would I be proud of my son if he did that to win a little league game? Heck no! He would be in a lot of trouble. If you need to cheat to win, you're still a loser in the game of life.

AJ was voted "dirtiest" player in the American League in a poll of his peers this year with good reason: http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=432587. Why the umpires would believe anything out of this historically arrogant lying dirtbag's mouth is beyond me. He should be fined and suspended for a game, and the umpiring crew should be publicly reprimanded. Somebody should have been paying attention. Just as someone corking a bat or throwing a spitball gets reprimanded for cheating when caught, the same thing should happen to this jerk. It's not about a win or a loss (the fact that the Rays let the game go into extra innings is entirely their own fault), nor do I buy into any conspiracy theories even if Boston and NY are far bigger markets than we are. I would be angry about this call even if the Rays had won the game. This is simply about the integrity of the game.

[Laura]

Michael McEuin, you are totally right. I'm a Cubs fan. Imagine how embarassing it is to have Pierzynski in your city. Michael Barrett is still my hero for decking Pierzynski. There is a fine line between aggressive play and cheating and Pierzynski leaps over the line EVERY TIME.

[Helene]

"While the call sucked it was nowhere the unmitigated stupidity of the call against BJ at first base."

Agree with you there. The BJ "phantom turn" call was infinitely more ridiculous. On this one the umps at least have a (extremely lame) leg to stand on because Aybar was following AJ somewhat closely before starting to make a turn away from him. But the fact that they couldn't explain how Aybar was "impeding the runner's progress" (before AJ stuck his arm out and took a dive) without appealing to silly "what if"s speaks volumes.

[matthew]

Instant replay anyone?

[Amanda]

So this is just one gal's opinion, but here it goes.
1. Is Pierzynski a horrible person for that play? No. It was risky and gritty, and probably a bit shady, but he did what he had to in order to help his team win. I don't fault AJ for making that play. I think it was pretty heads-up.
2. Were Pierzynski's post-game remarks and attitude appropriate? Not at all. Mad me want to slap that smirk right off his face.
3. Did the blown call cost us the game? Debatable, but probably not. Some misplays on the Rays' part (Riggans, Upton) were extremely poor, and even if the right call had been made, there's no saying we would have won.
4. Why am I angry about what happened, if Pierzynski did nothing wrong and there's no saying the call even lost us the game? It's the principle of it. These guys, these MLB umpires, are professional and high-level employees in a multi-billion dollar industry. The call was wrong (Aybar made a very deliberate attempt to get out of the way), and a call that blatantly erroneous simply CANNOT happen at this stage of the game. Although the call was a blatant and horrible one, I believe the anger of most would be relieved had someone from the crew stepped forward afterwards and said, "You know, maybe we made the wrong call. The play was fast, and we weren't in the best of positions to see everything on the field. It did look to us at the time that Aybar interfered with the play, though we can see now that might have not been the case." Own it. Yeah, we're all human, and we all screw up. You can be a responsible adult, or the little kid who blames the broken vase on his sister. What's the right thing to do?
5. What about conspiracy theories? The theory that the MLB doesn't want the Rays in the playoffs just doesn't make sense to me. The Rays are the feel-good story of the year, the mighty underdogs, the media darlings, and the heroes for the Yankee and Red Sox haters around the country (believe me, I heard a LOT of thanks and congratulations when I wore a Rays shirt around California). I just don't think it's the case. Now, the theory that this particular umpiring crew swings from the... well, you know... of Pierzynski and the White Sox? Circumstantially, it sure looks that way. But who knows? It could just prove that this particular umpiring crew is worthless.
So there you have it. Long-winded, yes. Biased as a Rays fan, probably. Just my thoughts and opinions on the matter, though. And you know what else? I feel a lot better after writing this.

[Jeff]

The worst call I have seen this year. At least the home run calls were far away and difficult, this one was RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE UMPIRE and the idiot missed it! Anyone who watches that and agrees with it is a blind White Sox fan or knows nothing about baseball.

[Harold]

Interesting comments.
The Crew chief implied that it was OK for the runner to initiate contact. Aybar was moving away from the Runners "line to the base". The runner Moved to his left and initiated contact. While the call sucked it was nowhere the unmitigated stupidity of the call against BJ at first base. The Umpires tried to change their initial story of "he moved toward 2nd base" by saying the runner didnt immediatly return to first base which is obviously stupid as he was allowing the fielder to return to the field of play.
The umpires Vs MLB
I read some comments that say the MLB is afraid to take on the union. They dont have To take on the union. The agreement between the Umps and MLB ends in 2009.
The Umps stand to lose out on the next agreement. With the advent of QuesTec
The evaluation of Umpires will be changed despite the protests of The World Umpire Association. I say good. I used to be an opponent of QuesTec and instant replay as I believed that the human element was an essential component of baseball. But the attitudes of todays Umpires is different. They want to be as big as the athletes they dont want to stay in the background. So I say lets shine a little light on them . Add a new column in the box score. Call it Blown Calls or Missed Strikes. If the Umps want so badly to be in the spotlight that they are willing to Bait players and mangers and hold themselves to be infallable then let the chips fall where they may. Good luck negotiating the next contract
Larnell McMorris, (who also represents the NBA refs). I predict a pay cut or maybe even better a lock out.

[Euro Soccer Guy]

Even I must say that the dive by AJ was one of best I ever see!

[mr bill]

8equals9

Wrong rule. That rule is why the runner turned toward the base line instead of the in field. The infraction came when he was interfered with by someone without the ball.

[kim lehnert's husband]

Sorry fellas . . . allow me to apologize for my wife's behavior. She's been drunk since yesterday's game ended! I got home from my hunting trip this afternoon and the dishes were piled up, my laundry wasn't folded, etc . . . needless to say I restored order with a couple of swats of my belt and I don't think you need to worry about her getting on the computer anytime soon

[mr bill]

Dave I am just lazy not stupid. You do need to read the rules, I assume they are also on Wikipedia. And "90 mph fastball", you need help. Cripple someone for life over a game??

[Michael]

I hated AJ's postgame interview, he acted like he was some sort of hero. Like he hit the game winning hit. Even got the shaving cream to the face like a real game winner does.
It's because his entire team knew he played like a busch leaguer but initiating the contact with Aybar and getting the call his way.
The umps like calling the contact rule, but ignored AJ walking very close to the grass.

The call was wrong.

[rocky]

Yes it was bad call. Those things happen. Focus needs to be on this 6 game homestand vs Jays and Orioles. Rays should take 5 out of 6...if Yankees can beat up on Boston a little we can extend our lead heading into September. How I am supposed to pay attention to my fantasy football team when the Rays are in the pennant race. Go Rays.

[Ray]

The Umpires are a sect, they don't betray themselves, even if they know was a bad call they'll never tell anything. MLB is the big fish, they don't want small markets go to playoff, it would be a disaster. What do you think if Cleveland and Colorado had been in the last World Series? You think MLB had obtained the same revenues? It's a business and the umps are part of that? Why do you think the same umpire called safe the AJ strike out at 2005 playoff? Chicago was a better target for their business.
Doesn't matter what they do, the RAYS belongs and are gonna be in the 2008 playoff

[larry]

If the umpires keep doing what they have done these last few games we will have replay on all calls in a few years.It's one thing to not be able to determine a home run in the new parks or a foul ball from 200 feet away, but Eddy was right there and still blew it.