Sabathia 1-hits Pirates; Brewers to appeal single

[wayne1218]

Sabathia one-hits Pirates; Brewers to appeal scorer's ruling on single

PITTSBURGH -- CC Sabathia pitched a one-hitter in his latest dominating start, allowing the Pirates only a controversial infield single by Andy LaRoche in the fifth inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Pittsburgh 7-0 Sunday for their eighth victory in nine games.


Sabathia (9-0) pitched the majors' fourth one-hitter this season and couldn't have come much closer to a no-hitter, with no Pirates batter except for LaRoche coming close to a hit.

The Brewers said in an e-mail to ESPN.com's Buster Olney they would appeal the official scorer's ruling of LaRoche's hit.

"We are putting together a DVD with all the replays we have and sending it to MLB tomorrow," said Mike Vassallo, the Brewers' media relations director. "We had to send a call in earlier this season and got it reversed. So hopefully we can go 2-for-2."

The Pirates defended the decision of the scorer, Bob Webb, to Olney.


According to a spokesman, Webb double-checked the replay, and he believed that with the way the ball was rolling and with Sabathia having to turn and throw, and where Laroche was when the ball was fielded, it would have taken an above-average play to make the out.

[ELJUGO]

Not something you see every day.

[frankb03]

IMO it should be ruled an error.

I was out all afternoon. When I got home I turned on the TV to ESPN News. They were showing the highlights from that game. As soon as I saw the play in my mind I immediately thought error. I didn't notice until I watched the entire segment the ramification of that play.

[beerball101]

saw the replay, how is that not an error? guess pitchers dont make those,lol

[griswold]

It should have been an error but I hope they don't reverse it.

It takes the magic away from a no-hitter.

In my opinion, they shouldn't reverse any calls after a 15-minute period. It gets too political.

on the other hand, if the game was in Milwaukee, I guarantee you it would have been an error

[savage1]

It should have been an error but I hope they don't reverse it.

It takes the magic away from a no-hitter.

In my opinion, they shouldn't reverse any calls after a 15-minute period. It gets too political.

on the other hand, if the game was in Milwaukee, I guarantee you it would have been an error

I agree;the call shouldn't be changed simply because of the circumstances surrounding it.
If the play had just been part of a regular game where Sabathia gave up a few hits, no one would have bothered to appeal.
Until/if they make plays like this subject to instant replay(of course it will never happen), one just has to accept the premise that the official scorer is part of the game in the same manner in which an umpire is, and that therefore original decison should stand.
I realize there have been instances in the past when the official scorer on his own has changed a scoring decision from an error to a hit after a game, but I believe that changing a call from a hit to an error such as is the case here doesn't occur as often;considering the circumstances surrounding today's game, even if the decision were changed to call the play an error, people would remember it as an asterisk no-hitter because what could be deemed a political decision was made after the game to effect it.

[LVJimmy]

Mil appealed something earlier this season which took 2 ERs away from a pitcher.

[KazDog]

Absolutely should be changed. Just because some moron, who is the official scorer, can't obviously tell that it is an error, shouldn't be allowed to take away a no hitter from CC. It's a no brainer reversal.

KAZ

[savage1]

Here is more on this issue:

PITTSBURGH -- To the Milwaukee Brewers, CC Sabathia pitched the no-hitter that wasn't.

Even if Sabathia may have been the only player in their clubhouse who wasn't upset that the best-pitched game of his career will go down as a one-hitter.

Sabathia limited the Pirates to Andy LaRoche's infield single leading off the fifth inning, on a play Milwaukee manager Ned Yost argued was an error on the pitcher, and the Brewers beat Pittsburgh 7-0 Sunday for their eighth victory in nine games.

Sabathia (9-0) pitched the majors' fourth one-hitter this season and couldn't have come much closer to a no-hitter, with no Pirates batter except for LaRoche threatening to get a hit during the team's 10th consecutive loss.

"He accomplished a no-hitter and wasn't given what he deserved. That should have been a no-hitter," Yost said. "That's a stinking no-hitter we all got cheated from. I feel horrible for CC."

The Brewers said they plan to send a DVD of the play and send it to Major League Baseball, asking that the call be overturned. However, according to baseball's rulebook, only the official scorer may change a judgment scoring call.

If official scorer Bob Webb were to decide to change the call, it would be the first time in major league history a no-hitter was awarded retroactively.

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LaRoche's softly hit grounder on a 2-2 pitch rolled about 45 feet between the plate and the mound before Sabathia picked it up barehanded, only to drop it. The ball may have been hit too softly for Sabathia to get LaRoche at first, even if he had made the play cleanly.

Bob Webb, a major league official scorer for 20 seasons, immediately ruled a hit, explaining he watched LaRoche out of the batter's box and the runner was two-thirds of the way down the line before Sabathia picked the ball up. Yost and several Brewers players disagreed -- strongly.

"That's a joke. That wasn't even close. Whoever the scorekeeper was absolutely denied major league baseball a nice no-hitter right there," Yost said. "They threw hit up on the board even before LaRoche hit the bag. That's a play CC makes easily, throws him out by 10 feet -- to me it's a no-brainer.

"That's sad. It really is sad."

The Brewers' Ryan J. Braun said, "There's no question that's a no-hitter."

Despite the Brewers' protests, the play in question is routinely called a hit and fielders often get angry when they are called for errors on easier plays. The Associated Press polled eight writers who have reported on the majors for 10 years or more, and six would have called it a hit.

Webb wouldn't comment on Yost's remarks, but said the play did not meet the rule book criteria for an error.

"The way the ball came off the bat, it was spinning, and it went to the left of the mound with a left-handed pitcher going to get it. It's a difficult play," Webb said. "The definition requires standard effort, and that would have taken more than an ordinary effort. The runner was well down the line."

Also, Sabathia pitched with almost no pressure with a multiple-run lead in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, which wouldn't have been the case if he had a no-hitter going and every late-innings pitch would have been critical.

Sabathia accepted the scoring call calmly, blaming himself for LaRoche getting on.

"The ball was still rolling and I probably should have picked it up with my glove. We probably wouldn't be having this conversation," Sabathia said. "I think if I pick it up with my glove, I get him."

Sabathia wouldn't speculate whether he would have gotten LaRoche if he had picked the ball up cleanly barehanded.

Maybe Sabathia felt he could make a play as he did the inning before, when he caught Nate McLouth's line drive up the middle with the palm of his right hand and flipped the ball to first to turn a double play.

LaRoche was looking for a changeup but got a slider -- the first one he'd seen from Sabathia in two at-bats -- and barely got his bat on it.

"I just got it on the ground," he said. "I'd like to think it was a hit. From a selfish standpoint I'd like it to be a hit, but you could make a case either way. But I'm hitting .160 -- I need every hit I can get."

I happen to agree with the scorer and the 6 of 8 AP writers.
In addition and as stated, there is no guarantee he would have got the no hitter if the play, which occurred in the fifth inning, had been scored a hit because of the pressure factor involved.
Other points to consider:
The fact that the play occurred in the fifth inning when the chance of a no hitter was still quite remote means that the scorer called it as he saw it meaning there was probably no home town bias.
I have seen a number of similar plays over the years in non no-hitter type situations which pitcher simply didn't get out a runner on which he had to field a slowly hit ball, and the play was called a hit, and nothing was said or done by that pithcher's team.
I would love to see the instances over the years under similar circumstances(if there were any)in which the official scorer either on his own changed the call to an error or when the team in question even bothered to appeal the call let alone win it.
The fact is that pitchers aren't usually given errors in situations like this simply because they are pitchers;whether you agree or not, the fact is that this is the philosophy of scorers(I am not talking about a pitcher throwing the ball into the dugout behind first base on a routine groudner hit back to him), and I don't think it should be changed especially retroactively simply for the sake of saving a no hitter.
ps What if the circumstances were different:
Say in the fifth inning, someone hit a blooper that a Milwaukee infielder or outfielder dove for, and the umpire called it a trap rather than a catch and thus a hit rather than an out.
OK lets say then in above instance that CC goes on like today and doesn't allow any more hits;however, the replay seems to indicate that the fielder indeed catch the ball.
Should there be a rule which allows the Brewers to appeal the call and get it reversed saving the no-hitter?
To reiterate my overall point and feelings, scoring is part of the game,;the fact that this particular call was made in the fifth inning with a pitcher, who has historically been given the benefit of the doubt under these conditions regarding the non calling of errors, is the determinant factor here and NOT the fact that this would have been a no hitter had this play been ruled an error rather than a hit.

[flarendep1]

It should have been an error but I hope they don't reverse it.

It takes the magic away from a no-hitter.

In my opinion, they shouldn't reverse any calls after a 15-minute period. It gets too political.

on the other hand, if the game was in Milwaukee, I guarantee you it would have been an error

Nothing wrong with getting it right after the fact, I hope they do the right thing. A no-hitter is a no-hitter magic or not.

[savage1]

Perhaps if they change the ruling to a hit, they also ought to consider allowing a pitcher who loses a game by allowing a grand slam walk off home run, to appeal to the league, telling them the pitch was a mistake and be permitted to go back out to the mound again and get another chance to face the same batter and try to get him out a second time.

[beerball101]

just my 2 cents, i dont watch alot of bases, but ive seen hard azz hits to shortstops, glazed off there gloves got errors.......


guess its all , about who keeping score,lol

[frankb03]

It should have been an error but I hope they don't reverse it.

I agree!

As I posted I believe it's an error. However, if they reverse it IMO it's a tainted no hitter.

[frankb03]

Absolutely should be changed. Just because some moron, who is the official scorer, can't obviously tell that it is an error, shouldn't be allowed to take away a no hitter from CC. It's a no brainer reversal.

KAZ

I disagree for 2 reasons.

First, it's take away all the spontaneity of a no hitter.

Second and MORE importantly, there's a HUGE difference pitching into the 8th and 9th inning with the pressure of pitching a no hitter vs. no pressure when throwing a 1 hitter.


Who's to say if they scored it a error in the 5th he continues to throw a no hitter?

[The Lovedoc]

i disagree as well