Major League Baseball

Giants benefit from Buster Posey's controversial steal

Published Oct. 8, 2010 10:54 a.m. ET

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Buster Posey, his cream-colored Giants uniform covered in dirt, crossed home plate to a thunderous roar at AT&T Park Thursday night as he scored the lone run in the Giants' playoff victory over Atlanta.

There was only one problem: It shouldn't have happened.

The television replay clearly showed that Posey should have been called out when he had stolen second base earlier in the fourth inning. Even Posey seemed to agree that the Giants had caught a colossal break.

"I guess it's a good thing we don't have instant replay right now," a grinning Posey said later.

In fact, the apparent botched call only adds more fuel to the growing outcry that baseball needs to implement some form of expanded replay to correct obvious injustices. If nothing else, this was just the latest example of how one play can have a huge impact on a postseason series.

That run was all the Giants needed as ace Tim Lincecum pitched a brilliant, two-hit gem. And for their part, the Braves were quick to credit Lincecum -- and not blame second-base umpire Paul Emmel. But as Braves catcher Brian McCann added, little things can make all the difference.

"That stuff happens," McCann said. "It's a bang-bang play and it didn't go our way. On a night like tonight, where one run is going to win the game, all the small things matter."

Posey had led off the fourth with a ground-ball single. With the next hitter Pat Burrell swinging on a 3-2 count, Posey bolted for second. After Burrell struck out, McCann gunned the ball to second baseman Brooks Conrad.

"I thought we had him there," Conrad said of the play. "I had to reach for it, but I definitely thought I put the tag on him before he reached the bag."

Instead, Emmel ruled that Posey beat the tag -- giving the Giants rookie catcher his first career stolen base.

"I saw him safe," Emmel said. "That's what I called."

Two batters later, the Braves saw the scoreless tie broken as Cody Ross' single under the glove of Atlanta third baseman Omar Infante brought Posey home for the game's only run.

Grumbling about bad umpire calls has become an annual rite of the playoffs. This postseason may only be a couple of days old, but already the complaining has begun in earnest.

In the opener of New York-Minnesota series Wednesday, Yankees right fielder Greg Golson made a great, ninth-inning catch on a sinking liner by Minnesota's Delmon Young only to have it ruled a trap. (The Yankees still hung on to win.) Twins manager Ron Gardenhire got thrown out of Thursday's game after a missed third-strike call that went against his team preceded the Yankees' go-ahead run.

Earlier Thursday, a livid Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was tossed after an umpire said that Texas hitter Michael Young held up on a check-swing with two strikes in the fifth inning. Young smacked a three-run homer on the next pitch as the Rangers went on to win 6-0. The Rays already were fuming after a questionable call stalled a potential rally in their opening loss.

On Wednesday, Giants manager Bruce Bochy had added his voice to the chorus of those in favor of baseball taking better advantage of modern video technology.

"I just think it's all about getting it right," Bochy said. "Umpires are human and they may not see a call that may dictate who wins the game. So why not get it right?"

But Bochy was backtracking on his stance after Thursday night's game, saying he wants replay only for some situations -- like plays at the plate and balls hit down the lines.

"You start to slow the game down when you start reviewing every play," he said.

Bochy had an unlikely ally. Even though veteran Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said his infielders told him Posey was "out by six to eight inches," he doesn't like the idea of replay.

"It's fine the way it is," Cox said. "We'd be arguing and throwing red flags 10 times a night."

Meanwhile, the legend of Posey continues to grow.

"It was a beautiful slide, wasn't it," he said, smiling.

Contact Mark Emmons at 408-920-5745.