Psych on the College Football, Umpires deciding the Outcomes of Games, Here Come the Phillies

I know I promised some college football talk, but I am going to put it off until Friday. I just have more stuff to talk about with the gridiron season starting than I can get to tonight. I do, however, want to chat about the Phillies & Mets.....

The Phillies won their third straight against the Mets and 4th overall by a score of 3-2. They survived a shaky 9th by Brett Myers when the closer got bailed out by the second base umpire making an interference call as the Phillies were going for a 6-4-3 double play.

Was the umpire technically correct in his interpretation of the rule as it is written? Yes. Did Marlon Anderson leave the baseline and interfere with Iguchi as he pivoted to make the throw to first? Absolutely. Was it, in my opinion (much to the disagreement of most Phils fans I am sure) a terrible call in which the umps decided the outcome of a game instead of letting the players on the field do so? You bet your ass. Here's why....

The Mets had runners on 1st & 3rd base with one out when the controversial grounder was hit by Shaun Green. When Jimmy Rollins picked the ball up and shoveled it to Iguchi for the force, there was no chance (and I mean ZERO PERCENT) that Iguchi would be able to throw out Shaun Green and complete the double play. Therefore, the tying run was going to score. So even though the play was interpreted correctly from the rulebook, the play by Anderson had no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of the play, and the run should have been allowed to score. And, no, Tim Donaghy was not the second base umpire (that joke will keep on giving for years!)

It is a huge win for the Phillies as they cut the Mets lead to 3 games (from 6 three days ago), and they will have a chance to complete the sweep, narrow the gap to 2, and seize all momentum heading into the last month of the season with a day game on Thursday. I, as a huge Phillies fan, would just have preferred no assists from the umps. And I think it is hypocritical to complain about officiating when the calls go against your team but look the other way when they don't.

Bottom line: the Phils won a game with a little help from the umps, they may have won anyway, and in the end, they will happily take it.

As far as the sweep goes, the Phillies have had 10 opportunities to sweep opponents this season, and are 4-6 in those 10 attempts. Of those 10, one was a chance for a four game sweep, which they lost. Hopefully, they can go to 5-6 in those situations in the matinee.

Kyle Lohse takes the hill for the Philberts, and he has looked great since being acquired a month ago from the Reds. This is what it's all about. Let's hope the home teams completes what looked to be an impossible sweep 4 days ago, and let's hope it's the players on the field, not the umps, who decide the outcome of the tilt.