I don’t generally root for technology.
I’m not afraid of it per se. I certainly use it. But I tend to think it creates at least as many problems as it solves.
So I was caught off guard by how much I’ve enjoyed watching home-plate umpires get corrected by the robots in this first week of the baseball season.
But first, I need to note a mistake from Monday’s newsletter:
The history I provided of the Mariners’ television history included a significant error.
The deal the Mariners signed with FSN in 2000 was worth a reported $300 million over 10 years. It was NOT $300 million annually as my initial newsletter indicated. I mistook the total value of the contract for the annual payout. That deal was re-upped in 2007, reportedly for $450 million over the next 13 years.
I’m embarrassed about making what amounts to a 10x mistake in total value. I do my best to be accurate, and when I fall short in that regard, I’m grateful when it is pointed out so I can correct it.
OK, now back to the robots.
In case you missed it, teams can now challenge balls and strikes.
Each team starts with two challenges, which can be initiated by the batter, the pitcher or the catcher touching their hat. The challenge must be made immediately without consultation from the dugout.
This has led to some funny moments.
Twins manager Derek Shelton was certain the Baltimore pitcher waited too long to challenge a pitch that was overturned. After Shelton was ejected, one of Baltimore's TV announcers said, "He's arguing with the robots. You can't defeat the robots."
But the breaking of CB Bucknor was even better.
For those unaware, the retirement of Angel Hernandez left Bucknor as the reigning "Worst Ump in Baseball," and in one of his first games behind the plate this season, he had five calls overturned.
Five.
If you watch closely, you can see him dying a little with each one.
It’s possible that the man was so rattled that in the next series, he missed Jake Bauers stepping onto the bag at first.
When Bucknor took a direct hit in his mask on Wednesday by a foul tip, I will admit I felt kind of bad about how much I relished his calls being overturned. I sincerely hope he's OK.
🏈 Jalen Hurts is starting to sound a little like Russ 2.0
Both were high-profile transfers in college football.
Neither was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft.
Each started two Super Bowls in the first five years of their respective careers, their respective teams winning one.
And as I read the ESPN.com story published this week about Hurts, I felt myself transported back to the late 2000-teens, when we were hearing very similar things about Wilson.
“He has shown a reluctance to let it rip sometimes …”
“His steely resolve can be both a benefit and a hindrance as the face of the franchise.”
“Force fields are good for keeping unnecessary distractions out, but bad for connectivity.”
It sounds very similar to the kind of grumbling that was documented in Seattle by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham in 2016 and Greg Bishop and Robert Klemko of Sports Illustrated the following year.
Now there are some clear differences between the players. Wilson was more elusive as a scrambler; Hurts is stronger as a runner. Wilson had a better deep ball, but Hurts isn't bad in that regard. Neither really throws over the middle.
Wilson started in the first game of his rookie season; it took Hurts a little longer.
Wilson reached the Super Bowl twice in his first three seasons. Hurts reached his second Super Bowl in year 5.
Each one of them shows how valuable it is for an NFL franchise to draft a very good, maybe great quarterback.
They also show what happens when the franchise-quarterback contract kicks in and that quarterback is now expected to be the answer to any and all problems that arise.
I don't think that Hurts is a bad quarterback. I don't think he's an average quarterback.
I think 20 teams in the league would swap their starter for him in a second.
Wilson was valued even more.
And yet within their respective teams, there's a feeling that this quarterback is a little too stubborn to make the changes necessary to get the team back to the top of the mountain.
The Eagles have changed offensive coordinators, going to Sean Mannion for next season. That’s something Seattle tried, too. A couple of times. It will be interesting to see if things play out differently in Philadelphia.
💸 Extenuating circumstances
Remember what I said a couple of weeks ago about contract extensions leading to the most predictable and redundant conversations in pro sports?
Well, we've got another example.
The Mariners signed infield prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million extension before his first major league at-bat.
Here's where you can use the script I typed out:
“I know it's a lot of money, but that could end up looking like a bargain a few years from now given how good he is and the prices at that position.”
Maybe that's true, and it’s hard to complain when a team invests like this in a player this promising.
But I also remember when the Mariners sought to sign Jared Kelenic to what sounded like a similar deal. That was something disclosed in Kevin Mather's now-infamous Bellevue Rotary Club appearance, and as it turned out, the Mariners were fortunate Kelenic didn't sign it.
You might also remember the Mariners signed first baseman Evan White to an extension before he reached the major leagues. That was a lower-stakes deal, though: $24 million over six years, and injuries dramatically impacted White's performance. He was traded to Atlanta along with Kelenic and Marco Gonzalez.
