MLB: Detroit Tigers Get Raw Deal Today vs. Texas Rangers

Understand it's early in the 2012 baseball campaign.

Understand teams, players and umpires will make mistakes, especially in April.

Completely copy the world has much bigger issues than questionable calls during early ballgames.

But how the Rangers scored their top of the 11th inning winning run versus the Tigers today points to exactly why baseball needs to get with the second decade of the 21st century and fully embrace instant replay.  

As if Texas needed any offensive help, Rangers third basemen Alberto Gonzalez squeeze bunted a ball with the bases loaded and the game tied at two a piece. Nelson Cruz came home from third to score the Rangers third run of the game. Instant replay showed the baseball ricochet off Gonzalez’ bat and hit him squarely in the knee.

The ball dribbled up the middle of the field, enabling Cruz to come home from third to score the winning run.

Furious, Tigers manager Jim Leyland flew from the dugout to appeal the call.

The umpires conferred, and Leyland’s appeal was denied.

But the big league front office will see this umpire completely blew this call, not to mention the distinct sound a baseball makes when hitting a bat vice a knee.

This play should have been a dead ball strike.

Again, understand it is early in the season.

And again, understand people make mistakes.

But calls like this should tell the big league baseball powers that be to wake the hell up.