JUPITER, Fla. -- The St. Louis Cardinals are going to replay school.
Manager Mike Matheny believes a contested play late in the Cardinals' 9-8 loss to the Mets would have been overturned had the new review process used the same video feed the team saw so he's planning on discussing the call with officials in the commissioner's office.
"I want to see what they saw upstairs, send that to New York and say, 'If you had this, what would you have ruled?' so we can start understanding what things are going to be upheld and what things are going to be overturned," said Matheny. "It seems like if they are waiting for something more obvious, is this really going to be that effective?"
The play in question came at a critical moment in the ninth inning. With none out and runners on first and second, Kolten Wong sent a bunt down the third base line. Mets pitcher Miguel Socolovich fielded the ball and threw to third, where third base umpire Mark Ripperger called Randal Grichuk out.
Matheny told bench coach Mike Aldrete to alert Cardinals staffers watching the feed to check the video, then emerged from the dugout to question the call. Matheny said it took less than 15 seconds to get the word to challenge.
A little more than two minutes later the out call was upheld. Matheny said the replay official didn't have access to the same video feed that the Cardinals' staffers did.
During the regular season, all replays will be reviewed an official at MLB's Advance Media Headquarters in New York. This spring training, reviews are being conducted in a truck parked at the stadium, with fewer angles available.
"The review official didn't have the same angles that we had," he said. "I don't know the technology -- what happened, what angles, what they have except they have the Hawk-Eye up there -- I know that for sure and that's the system that we will all be using. But they didn't have that Hawk-Eye in the truck. What's in the truck? I don't know, but I just know it wasn't the same thing (the Cardinals staffers saw)."
