I had everything set until the last inning. Watching the game on MLB.tv in both normal and condensed fashion was fine. While I much prefer watching games on the big screen with Tivo for pause, rewind, and naps, MLB has an amazing product on the web. Archives? Check. Every game? Pretty much, despite some arcane black out rules. Condensed games? These are the real deal. I can watch a full game in about half an hour, only missing the gap between pitches. Once you get used to the rhythm of the game in this form, it's a great tool.

So while I was ready to talk about the Dodgers-Yanks and how I don't care a lick about their history, while I was ready to wax rhapsodic about Vin Scully, and while I was ready to recount my experiences watching the game hours after it occurred in a two by one screen, the umpire stopped me.

Joe Sheehan sent me an email just after the game. Sure, Joe is a Yankees fan to his very core, but his point remains true: the umpire at home, Jeff Kellogg, blew it in the last couple innings. With Eric Gagne on the mound, Kellogg shifted to the Jordan Rules. Gagne's strike zone looked significantly different than anything else in the game. Was Kellogg dazzled by Gagne's goggles? Did he have a plane to catch? Are the umps complicit in Gagne's record streak of saves and misuse by Jim Tracy?

Probably not, but it highlights why umpires are the weak link in pitching. All most pitchers ask for is a consistent zone. Even if it's small, a pitcher can adjust and even help an umpire expand the zone. For pitchers, especially those like Tom Glavine or Jamie Moyer, that's a skill. With Questec and ESPN's "K Zone" technology, we have an available tool to correct the problem.

I've umpired and recommend everyone try it. It will give you a new appreciation for the fantastic job most do out there. With no replay, with human eyes, bad angles, hot nights, and antisocial players, they get better than 99% of calls right. Yet nothing affects play like ball/strike calls and there's almost nothing a human is less equipped to do. This is a job for a computer. As with tennis, I think a human should be involved; the ump will need to be behind the plate for some calls anyway.

Here's how I think it should work: the ump behind the plate will hold a small wireless tool, not unlike the clicker most hold. When the Questec or other such device determines the ball passed through the strikezone, it will buzz. The ump will then call a strike. No buzz means a ball. The umpire would have the ability to overrule the machine, but as with current evaluations, he should be called to task if wrong on a regular basis.

Umpires always search for the best angle to see a play. In this instance, the best angle is using lasers and cameras to determine the path of the ball through a cubic zone. It's time to use the available tools to make the game better. Watching this game showed me that the need is great.