I don't have the energy to write about baseball after watching the Vikings find a way to crush my spirits yet again. I just wanted to say this:

Tonight was almost enough to make me consider my stance on replay in baseball. Almost.

I fully recognize that I'm looking at this through purple-tinted glasses, but there were at least two plays on the Saints final drive that, in my opinion, the referees (a) got wrong; (b) reviewed, and then (c) got wrong again. First, the Saints went for it on a 4th and 1, with the running back jumping over the pile before getting pushed back. The referee placed the ball at least half a yard beyond the first down marker.

Looking at the replays, it may or may not have been a first down, but the ball didn't advance anywhere close to where the official marked it. If it was a first down, it was so by half an inch or so. On review, they should have placed it in the right spot and (probably) called for a measurement. To merely announce that the play stands, as they did, was ridiculous.

Second, and at least as important, was the throw by Drew Brees that took them from the 33 to the 21, from the far outside of field goal range to relatively comfortable field goal range. The receiver went up, appeared to catch the ball, juggled it all the way down, and (it appeared to me) ultimately trapped it between his hand, the leg, and the ground. It was called a catch, reviewed, and confirmed. Looking at all the replays, I don't see any way that that can be called a catch.

On the other hand, a big play that led to the game-winning field goal was a deep throw by Brees that sailed well over the receiver's head, but resulted in linebacker Ben Lieber being called for pass interference. From even a cursory glance at the replay, it's clear that there was very little contact, and to the extent that there was, it was the result of the receiver realizing that he had no chance to catch the ball and going out of his way to attempt to draw an interference call. But of course, that kind of play can't be reviewed.

So the Vikings were screwed either way (er, both ways). If any one of these calls went the other way, the Vikings might well have won the game. Of course, if they could have hung on to the ball or Favre hadn't chosen the worst possible time to premiere as a Viking his patented Crazy Idea From Outer Space throw, they would have won much more easily. But they could have won if any one of those things had changed. So to me, they don't share the blame, they each deserve all of the blame. The NFL has an awfully comprehensive replay system, and their officials still made bad calls that ultimately may have decided the game.

So: even when there is review, it's possible for an official to completely blow a call. And there will have to be some plays that aren't reviewable, which might be even more frustrating. Why do I want replay in baseball again?

Well, two reasons:

1. The rules in baseball are one hell of a lot clearer than the rules of football. There are many fewer judgment calls. If the Saints' receiver who trapped the ball against the turf were trying to catch a baseball in a baseball glove, there would be no doubt whether he'd caught it or not. There's no analog to spotting the bal vis-a-vis the first down marker. These kinds of gray areas don't really exist in baseball officiating the way they do in football.
   
2. I'm convinced the referees in football just aren't very good. Or maybe it's the system that isn't any good. The rules for hitting quarterbacks have gotten positively silly -- I'm convinced that nobody actually knows what they are, which is why you see a 15-yard penalty pretty much every time a quarterback hits the ground after throwing. They just blow calls left and right, even (as we've seen) after viewing the replay. I don't know if it's that they're recruiting the wrong types of officials -- too old, not athletic enough, not sharp-eyed enough -- or if it's just something that can't be adequately done by human beings, but the NFL officials are just plainly and obviously wrong far more often than their MLB counterparts. This past postseason notwithstanding, I don't think you get the same problem in baseball at all.