Video review would have helped Jays
Catch ruled a trap sparks ruckus, umps eject pair
NEW YORK Rajai Davis made a splendid diving catch in centre field, rolled over, dropped the ball as he made the transfer, picked it up and threw to second base. At the bag, Munenori Kawasaki tagged one runner coming back and another coming in.
The Toronto Blue Jays needed two outs to escape a jam, and in that whirlwind moment, Davis figured the mission had been accomplished. Then he saw manager John Gibbons running from the dugout and was incredulous to learn the catch had been ruled a trap.
It was a catch. And after the game, crew chief Ted Barrett admitted that with the benefit of video review, it “probably would have been ruled a catch.”
The ensuring ruckus over the play drove home the need for expanded video review of close plays. It also sparked the ejections of Gibbons and Mark Buehrle, who was chirping from the bench, and stood as a memorable moment in another forgettable loss for the Blue Jays.
The Yankees won 5-3 and swept the four-game, threeday series. The Jays blew a lead in every game. They scored a total of 11 runs. They are now 0-10 at Yankee Stadium and 1-12 against the Yankees this season.
The disputed play occurred with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning and allowed the Yankees to score a run that broke a 1-1 tie. Davis said the disputed play underscored the need for replay review, which could come to the majors next season if all parties involved agree to a proposal presented by MLB last week.
“It’s a good thing, just to get the calls right,” Davis said. “If we can get the calls right, the game changes, and this is an example of that.”
Barrett, the crew chief, said first-base umpire Scott Barry ruled that Davis had trapped the ball. After the game, the umpires watched the replay.
“It looked to us like (the ball) bounced, but probably inside his glove,” Barrett told a pool reporter. “So on replay, (it) probably would have been ruled a catch.”
Barry ejected Gibbons and Barrett tossed Buehrle. The umpire said he warned Buehrle to stop yelling from the dugout.
Buehrle watched the play unfold and let Barrett know what he thought of the call. He did not include profanity in his commentary, he said. “I just said it was brutal,” Buehrle said. “He didn’t like it.”
If Davis’s throw reached second in time to complete the double-play before Eduardo Nunez scored from third, the Jays might have escaped the inning unscathed. Gibbons thought that was unlikely, but acknowledged that it was impossible to know what would have ensued if the correct call had been made.
“It he catches it, the run scores anyway because (Nunez) tagged up,” Gibbons said. “But you never know. The inning could explode on you when (Robinson) Cano’s at the plate.”