Via an AP report from earlier today, it seems MLB may expand instant replay in 2012 to include reviews of fair/foul calls and possible trapped catches. Anybody who's read LL for more than a few days is probably aware of the local opinion concerning instant replay in baseball, and so I find this to be good and interesting news.
Only adding to the interest is that the article includes quotes from one current Mariner, and one former Mariner. Says Chone Figgins:
"I think it might be too much if you do that. Then you have to do it for everything, strikes, I think it's just a tough call...To have those guys go back and look at replay for everything, it would be just too long unless they had a signal from upstairs and hit a button."
Chone Figgins seems mildly opposed to expanded replay, because he's afraid it will eventually lead to Ultimate Replay, a scenario in which everything that takes place on the field is methodically reviewed by a video judge before action may proceed. Chone Figgins is right to oppose an impossible scenario that will never exist. I like waffles, but I'm opposed to everything being made out of waffles.
Of course, Figgins only seems concerned about the time expanded replay would take, rather than the concept itself, so that's refreshing. As for the former Mariner, we've got Ryan Franklin:
"Yeah to all of them, oh yeah...I just think they should all be called the right way, and it doesn't matter if it takes an extra five minutes."
Truth be told, this caught me completely by surprise, because Ryan Franklin always struck me as a guy diametrically opposed to progress.