Notebook: Hurdle wants instant replay
Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants Major League Baseball to take another look at instant replay.
Twice in three games, Hurdle contends, wrong calls by umpires cost the Rockies home runs. He spoke with the MLB office Tuesday to voice his concern.
“It’s a very difficult call and my point of contention is it either is or is not a home run,” Hurdle said. “I don’t think that’s an area where the umpires’ discretion should be involved.”
The NFL, NBA and NHL all use some form of instant replay. The issue has been raised in recent years by baseball officials, but never progressed far – commissioner Bud Selig is among those against it.
On Monday night, what appeared to be a ninth-inning, go-ahead homer by Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki was instead ruled a double by second-base umpire Bob Davidson, who said the ball went off the top of the wall in left-center field.
Hurdle was ejected for the first time this season after a long argument. Tulowitzki eventually scored the tiebreaking run in a 3-2 win over St. Louis.
On Saturday, the Rockies said a home run by Garrett Atkins was taken away by umpires who didn’t see the ball well enough.
“You can’t lose home runs,” Hurdle said. “When they’re hit, they need to be a homer. That’s it, that’s the bottom line.”
Draft comes to TV
The MLB draft next month will be televised for the first time, with four hours of live coverage on ESPN2.
Tampa Bay will have the first pick in the June 7 draft in Orlando, Fla., and the cable network will broadcast each team’s first-round choice. The draft will last for two days and 50 rounds.
Clearing the bases
Jorge Reyes, a pitcher in the New York Mets’ minor league system, was suspended for 100 games by the commissioner’s office after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. … Washington Nationals closer Chad Cordero was placed on the bereavement list with his grandmother dying in California. … Zack Greinke, who gave up three two-run homers in one inning Sunday in a loss to Detroit, has been dropped from the Kansas City Royals’ rotation.