Friday morning Rangers stuff

Games like last night are what make it so baffling to me that people in the game, like Bud Selig, are so adamantly opposed to instant replay.

In the fifth inning last night, umpire Paul Nauert just flat out blew a call when Elvis Andrus tagged Rene Rivera while Rivera was still a step off of the second base bag.  It looked like a blown call live, replays showed that it was clearly a missed call, and it could have been reversed and rectified in the time Ron Washington spent out on the field arguing the call.

And yet, because Bud Selig and his cronies -- and, make no mistake, the umpires' union -- want to keep the "human element" in place in regards to the game, that call couldn't be reversed, the Minnesota Twins got an extra out in the fifth, and it ended up making a big difference when there was a two out, three run homer by Michael Cuddyer that inning.

It is an obvious, correctable mistake, and instead of using the technology readily available that would allow those mistakes to be rectified, MLB is choosing to simply stick its head in the sand and continue to let umpires make calls that, within thirty seconds, everyone watching the game on TV can see was missed.

Just maddeningly.

Jeff Wilson's game story focuses on the umpiring, saying that Nauert "blatantly missed" the call at second base, and also questioning the double to lead off the bottom of the 9th that came around to score the winning run.

Evan Grant has his post-game thoughts up at the DMN Rangers blog.

Behind the paywall, Grant talks about the Rangers hitting failing in the clutch.

Bryan Dolgin has his take on last night's game at ESPN Dallas.

T.R. Sullivan's game story discusses the problems the Rangers have had at Target Field, and the decision to let Arthur Rhodes face Alexi Casilla in the 9th.

Wilson's notes talk about the change in the hitting coach and Matt Harrison's kidney stone, which still hasn't passed.

Sullivan's notes talk about the Bob Geren firing and Ron Washington's reaction to that, along with updates on injured pitchers, including Darren O'Day and Scott Feldman.