Why Does Michigan Have to Win In Spite of Officiating?
Why does Michigan get the short end of the stick with officiating when it reaches the championship level of any sport? I'm talking basketball, football, softball. Are we simply too nice to the refs? Why are other schools getting better calls than us at this level?
Wouldn't it be nice to get a fair shake for once?
there are tough calls that couldve swung the game. But letting Luke Hancock get any look he wanted to close out the first half made a biger impact.
im not saying there werent some big calls they missed, I still thinke Trey pinning Siva on the glass was a terrible call. Can officals suck? absolutely. can they miss calls? absolutley. Even with bad officiating are there things you couldve done to overcome the loss? absolutely.
but I don't think they are why we lost. Florida is why we lost and us beating ourselves is why we lost.
We needed to have our best game of the series defensively and instead we had our worst.
I was so mad when we threw to second to try and get that lead runner. In the same situation in Game 2, we played it safe and threw to first.
That's the type of shit Florida did in the first inning of Game 2 and lead to our run.
But we haddd to score when we had our first two batters HBP in the 4th inning. After some way outside pitches being called strikes, it led to Lawrence striking out and killing the momentum.
I wish we were a lot more agressive on the bases. Our inability to manufacture runs just killed us.
and I hate to call it out for what it was, but the throw to second was a classic example of suddenly it's the championship game and you're going to do something different now? Instead of what got you here, you're going to try to do too much?
The last thing you want in the first is a big inning, and it opened the door. With Haeger coming up next, it was really a bad softball play.
Frustrating.
As bad as Schilling was he at least had some good commentary at this point. He mentioned if you get the out at first, with first base open you can either pitch around or intentionally walk the Player of the Year from Florida.
To many bad plays in the field and no timely hitting for UM sealed their doom in this game.
But wasn't he the one that said they should have gone for the lead runner on two different occasions? He was quick to criticize in a game he admittedly doesn't understand too well. Softball is a bang-bang game of quick decisions. You don't have the luxury of checking the field like you do in baseball.
you had the other team's fastest runner at first. You had the prospect of a base open to put the other team's only hitter that had hurt you. You had an easy out to take to get one of the first three outs (and the first three outs of this game were predictably big). You had Wagner on the mound and the prospect of making that team earn a run against her with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out.
She should have known all this before the ball was bunted. Sweet should have been taking charge and screaming at her to throw to first, as she had a look at the entire play developing before her (Stewart was way too far up the line to second to make that throw). The instructions should have been clear as to what to do on anything but the worst of bunts because her positioning indicates that they clearly had correctly anticipated bunt.
This all should have been worked out. It was a total failure of instructions, decision-making, and communication. It was the chink in our pyschic armor that we never recovered from. A massive first flinch that set the tone for the rest of the game.
It doesn't define our season or our team - in what was a great season for a great team. But it did definite this game and it was really bad.
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This^. Even the homer in me says that the ref should have just swallowed his whistle and let the play go on. There was not enough there to call a foul on anyone at that juncture of the game.
this is what society has become. we didnt get what we wanted. its someone else's fault, just not ours.
And since most seemingly wanted Duke to lose in the NCAA Tournament final this year, I feel like the bad calls which solidified the win for them also may still resonate w/ people and contribute to this sentiment.
*weeps*
Louisville got their comeuppance this year against Sparty
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And here I was, thinking that 6 AM in the morning was typically too early to drink, particularly when in about 90 minutes you planned to be at your desk. I suppose that might have to go out the window now - this one still stings a couple years removed from the "call".
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...in the morning
Yeah, Penn Staee.
Tell that to the guy who apparently had it spray painted on the side of his Corsica.
True, there were about 4 or 5 50/50 calls in this game, and none of them went our way.
- they hit ~4 balls where at least 90%, and probably 100% of their foot was out of the batter's box. That includes the 4th RBI hit. None of them were called.
- Romo's potential double down the line was a really tough call for the plate ump (I think he made the call). He needs to determine where the ball crosses the bag. from my guess, I would say it was within 1-2 inches. (If we were the team that always got calls, that would have been called fair, for sure)
I don't think any of the HBP's were really bad calls, with the possible exception of the first one. But even that one, her foot was out of the box, but it wasn't intentionally leaning into the pitch. I don't know the rule there.
What was worse in this game was that more of the 'almost hits' went against us (see SiLo's 2 line outs), while Haeger's RBI was off of a pitch where she was jammed and it fell. That's just softball (or baseball). It doesn't make UF less deserving, but it does make for a frustrating game.
That's where every team out there has legit complaints. Sure there were some terrible calls, like that pitch a foot outside called against Abby, but if that's where the complaints are, then I agree with the down voters out there.
A couple terrible calls (mile outside pitches called strikes, Lawrence goes from 2-0 count with 2 on and no outs, to 2-2 count and she strikes out. Changes the entire inning and momentum.
However. Michigan went 1-4 against this team. Can't fault umps for that. They are better. Michigan has the second best team in the country.
They'll be back in the World Series next year, I'm confident of that.
Every fanbase asks this question because you only remember when the refs make bad calls against you and never remember when they make bad calls for you
There's probably LSU fans still ranting about how Sierra Lawrence's shot down the line was foul. Probably a few thousand Virginia Tech fans who are on edge about how they got jobbed in the Sugar Bowl against us.
and the only people who don't understand this are idiots who are either blind or don't understand the rules of the game.
Just for clarification's sake.
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anyone can complain about that foul ball. Looked pretty foul to me. If it was fair, it was fair by milimeters, and considering it was a judgement call from the home plate ump, I would say foul ball was a reasonable call.
The only play I really had a big issue with was the first HBP. The Florida hitter was completely out of the box and practically stepped in front of the plate. But Florida has been doing that s*** all year and the umps haven't been calling it, which is why they have a ridiculous number of HBP. So........
What really killed Michigan was bad defense in the 1st inning and bad hitting all game.
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It was really close, and it went against us Screwed? No. Didn't get the breaks? Certainly.
At least 3 runs were on plays like that. (Uf's 4th run was driven in by a batter out of the box).
When you lose by 3, it's rational to feel that the calls were a big factor.
I would say calling that ball fair would have been far more controversial. The ball looked foul to me on replay. I said "if it was fair, it was fair by millimeters" because we didn't get a definitive shot right down the line from field level, so I can't be sure. But the ball looked foul and I don't really see how anyone can be mad that the ump called it that way.
I'd say that ball was definitely MORE foul than the ball down the line against LSU that was controversial that we got called in our favor, so, take that as you will.
all the educated LSU fans (just about) agree it was a fair ball (I read their board after the game).
We bend over backwards a little too much as UM fans. Stop referring to that play as controversial. It wasn't. The only controversy is from people who don't understand the rule for a ball that bounces before it reaches the bag.
At the game, in section 22 (left field) close to the foul line. It looked clearly foul from where I was sitting. Close, sure, but clearly foul.
on perfectly executed fake field goal in your legendary coaches final Rose Bowl game..
That one was intentional. Ref had it out for Bo and admitted it.
(Fake punt, BTW)
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Did I really just wake up to a 70+ comment thread about the officiating in a softball game? A game Michigan lost by like 3 runs?