Bud Selig is Gutless, and Heartless

Last night in the bottom of the 9th inning Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out from throwing a complete game. The final batter up hit a grounder that brought the first baseman away from the bag and Galarraga was forced to take the throw and cover the bag himself. He got there in time, fielded the ball properly, but the umpire just missed the call. The bad call robbed Galarraga of a perfect game on what should have been the final out of the game.

Bud Selig once again proved to everyone that he is still a coward and will not do what it right for mankind and the game of baseball. He once again failed to show even the slightest emotion when releasing this statement, "As Jim Joyce said in his postgame comments, there is no dispute that last night's game should have ended differently." He clearly acknowledges that it was an out, and the umpire acknowledged the out after seeing the replay, yet Selig will not do what he has the power to do as the commish: reverse the ruling.

The call was impact-less on the outcome of the game. But it would mean a lot to the history of baseball as it would only be the 21st perfect game in major league history. It would also mean a lot to the Tigers organization. The radio announcer of the Tigers said it bes, "The Tigers' fans have been cheated out of the greatest pitching experience in Tiger history."

The bottom line is the game should have been perfect. The final call just wasn't. It can and should be changed because there would be no impact on the actual result of the game (a Tigers win).

I feel bad for Jim Joyce and Armando Gallaraga. Both seem like stand up men for how they handled it during and after the game. Gallaraga had his bright smile when the call was missed, and Joyce stood there and took the verbal assault from Jim Leyland and Gerald Laird when he was leaving the field (and after both manager and player got a better look at the call on replays in the dugout). Why will Selig just not make the change to help out one of his umpires does he really want to Joyce to live with this call for the rest of his life? Why not make the change to give Galarraga what he deserves? Do you really want the pitcher to be cheated out of one of the rarest things in baseball history?

Of course Selig's answer was yes to all those questions. And it is no surprise. Bud Selig may be the only man alive who can come out of this looking like the biggest jackass of all.