July 21: Lamar Odom and Replay in Baseball

One of the big news items from yesterday is the destination of free agent Lamar Odom. He is being openly courted in Miami by Dwyane Wade for a triumphant return. The Miami offer is a pretty robust one, but not in the $8-$10 million that I think Odom felt he could get. But his other option, a return to LA, is resulting in no news from the club. Odom even spoke with owner Jerry Buss to no avail.

Odom's best bet, for an immediate career move that will net him more opportunities for more rings, is to resign in LA and rejoin Kobe and Pau Gasol with newly-signed Ron Artest to form a very good core for a repeat run. In the long run, though, a signing of Odom could signify an intent by the Heat to retain Wade. Toss in the fact that Carlos Boozer has tabbed Miami as his top destination, the Heat could have a Celtics-like return to the top by adding two stars, Odom and Boozer (Garnett and Allen), to the already established one, Wade (Pierce). The Heat would join the talk with Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando and might even move to the front of the class.

All that said, I think that the longer the Heat's offer sits on the table, the more likely Odom goes to LA. He is obviously not signing it for a reason, and it isn't to get more money from Miami. It is all they can offer. He is waiting to see what the Lakers throw his way. His resigning will lock the Lakers in as preseason favorites by a mile to repeat for the title.

The other big item was the comeback and exciting finish in Oakland between the Twins and Athletics. The Athletics came back from being down 1o runs in the 3rd inning to win the game 14-13. The final out came on a tag by pitcher Michael Wuertz on a sliding Michael Cuddyer at the plate following a wild pitch. The call was out, but replay showed the umpire had a terrible angle on the play and that Cuddyer slid in safe before the tag was applied.

MLB has implemented instant replay for close calls on the warning track to determine if it was a home run or fan interference. This was brought on by a rash of calls that went the wrong way early last season. But critics of the replay said that it was only the beginning, and that the league would begin to implement it in more and more situations. They were right.

I think it is time for the league to increase the usage of replay to include close plays at the bags. While human error has always been "part of the game," the technology that has developed has helped let the actual players decide the outcome in basketball (last second shots) and football (coach challenges). There is no reason that the same mindset can't allow baseball to move in the same direction. An extra official at each game designated to review close plays should be simple enough to put in place. Even if it is a handheld device for the head umpire, as was discussed in launching the home run replay, would suffice. It would be quick without much delay. Did the foot hit the bag first or the ball in the glove? Slow motion and frame by frame can makes it easy to determine.

No more are we left screaming at an umpire that won't change his mind as Ron Gardenhire and Michael Cuddyer were left doing Monday night. Close plays can be corrected quickly and efficiently, allowing the game to continue as it should. But what if it is too close to make a determination? Baseball minds already had this in mind way back when: tie goes to the runner!