Admit you're wrong...

I didn't see much of the Angels/White Sox game last night, but I did see the end. There are a couple of things I thing need to be clearly understood before commenting.

1. The call did not give the game to the White Sox. It didn't cost the Angels the game. After Pierzynski was called safe at 1st, there was a runner at first with 2 outs. Had Escobar retired Crede, they go to the 10th. Had Pierzynski been called out, the game would have gone to the 10th and Chicago may well have won anyway. It was a huge call, but not determinative.


2. Josh Paul made a mistake. If it's close, which it was, the catcher should tag the batter in any case, just to avoid the specific situation that came up.

That said, Doug Eddings, the home plate umpire, screwed up. Big time. He called Pierzynski out, correctly, and somehow changed his mind just because Pierzynski ran to first. A terrible call.

It is clear that Eddings made the out call. It's clear both from what he did, and the way the rest of the Angels reacted - they all started off the field when Eddings made the call. David Pinto's got a lot more, including this:

One thing is clear. When Eddings is interviewed after the game, he says he used his normal strike mechanic to call the play. That appears to be making a fist with his thumb up in front of the chest. Eddings is wrong there. On strike one or two, he does use that sign for a strike. But on a swinging third strike he sends his right arm out to the side with his palm parallel to the ground, and only when he's sure of the out does he give the fist and thumb. Eddings signaled an out with his hands last night. There's no doubt of that.

The umpire screwed up. He didn't cost the Angels the game, but he definitely screwed up.