Replay ruling in 6-3 loss frustrates Nationals

ATLANTA - If you're getting frustrated by the new instant replay system in Major League Baseball, it might make you feel slightly better to know that you're not the only one.

The frustration extends to the Nationals clubhouse, especially after last night's 6-3 loss to the Braves, when the Nats felt they had challenged a call that would be overturned, only to see the umpires stick with the ruling on the field.

In the top of the third inning, with a runner on first and the Nats trailing 4-1, Nate McLouth dropped down a bunt and sprinted down the line. The throw got to first just as McLouth did, and the Nationals outfielder was called out.

Manager Matt Williams came out to argue the call, and after getting the thumbs-up from bench coach Randy Knorr, Williams decided to challenge the play. The umpires went to the headsets and the crew in New York looked at the video replay. After a lengthy delay, the umps came back saying that the call on the field stood, meaning there wasn't indisputable video evidence to overturn the original call.

This despite the fact that McLouth sure looked safe on multiple replays, as his foot appeared to hit the bag before the ball settled in Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman's glove. Instead of having two on and the tying run at the plate with no outs, the Nats instead had a runner at second with one out.

Williams has toed the line when asked about review in the past, but he didn't shy away from voicing his opinion on the issue after the game last night.

"I'm extremely frustrated by the process at this point," Williams said. "Because if they're seeing the same feed that we're seeing, I don't know how he's out. I don't know how Nate is out if they have the same feed that we have, so that's frustrating because I thought he was safe. We've looked at it 100 times since then, and we believe he was safe. And if that is a safe call, then we (keep) our challenge. ...

"Again, I'm frustrated by the (McLouth play), though, because I see him as safe. And we have the same technology and the same video. I don't know about that one. That frustrates me."

Williams wasn't the only one irked by the ruling on that play.

"I saw it up on the scoreboard when they kept replaying it up there," McLouth said. "Whoever looked at it, wherever they look at it, apparently didn't see enough evidence to overturn it. I knew it was close when it happened but I didn't know positively if I was safe in real-time. After seeing the replay, it certainly appeared that I beat the throw but whoever makes those decisions didn't think so."

The replay system is obviously something that we all still need to adapt to as the bumps in the process get ironed out. This is all still very new, and we shouldn't have expected it to all go incredibly smoothly right out of the gates.

But the reason that managers, coaches and players are at least willing to put up with the lengthy in-game delays is because they want the calls to be made correctly. If the umpires are able to get the play right because of replay, then the long chats between managers and umps and the frequent stoppages are something that most people can stomach.

"I don't know," McLouth said when asked his take on replay. "(I've) seen more three-and-a-half hour games in the first two weeks than I have ever seen. I'm not complaining because you can't complain unless you've got a way to fix it and I don't. I think everyone is doing the best that they can. It's a work in progress."