Replay may start Aug. 1

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 14, 2008 | by Ben Walker Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Instant replay might be coming to Major League Baseball in an instant.

Moving faster than expected and coming after a rash of blown calls, baseball wants to put replay into effect by August for home- run disputes in hopes of fine-tuning the system by the playoffs.

MLB and the umpires' union need to reach agreement before replay can be tried, and the sides have started talking. Previously, it was thought replay would get its first look in the Arizona Fall League and then the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

"The game needs it, and I think it does need it soon," Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lieber said Friday before a game at Toronto. "With technology the way it is today, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a part of the game."

Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, is pushing for replay by Aug. 1; Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, suggested Aug. 15.

"It's all still premature," MLB spokesman Rich Levin said Friday. "A final decision has not been made."

USA Today first reported on its Web site Friday that baseball planned to use replay this season, saying MLB wanted it by Aug. 1.

"I don't think it's needed at all, to be honest," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Friday. "How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It's all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You're going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands."

Commissioner Bud Selig will ultimately decide when MLB wants to put replay in place.