Kuzul

With two outs in the 9th inning, the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins homered to tie Houston at 2-2.

With two outs in the 16th inning, and two men on, Ryan Howard should have been in a position to win the game 5-4.

But Howard had long hit the showers.

Why?

He was tossed from the game several innings earlier by third base umpire Scott Barry, a minor league replacement ump.

Howard’s crime?

Disagreeing with two appealed check swing calls in the same at bat, the latter resulting in Howard striking out (and going 0-7 on the night).

The first check swing, Howard put his hands on his hips, which Barry mocked right back.

“Unprofessional,” is how Phillies color analyst Larry Anderson described it on the radio.

The second check swing, which was a TERRIBLE call if you’ve seen the replay, garnered almost an immediate ejection after Howard’s reaction.

Howard charged Barry and had to be restrained.

The Big Guy was HOT, pointing at the home plate umpire saying, “Don’t you try to stop me.”

This is the same ump that tossed the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman after throwing his bat to the ground on a swinging strike three (foul tip). The same Ryan Zimmerman that had NEVER been ejected from a game.

The Nats’ Rob Dibble was apoplectic.

“I shouldn’t know these guys’ names,” he fumed, referring to the umpires.

So instead of Howard standing in with a chance to redeem himself for an 0-7 night, Roy Oswalt got pressed into duty. As a left-fielder no less.

This marked the second night in a row that the the Phillies were on the wrong side of an umpire “judgment call.” 

First base umpire Greg Gibson ruled Monday night that Michael Bourne did not run out of the basebath after a bunt attempt, nor did Ryan Howard apply the tag. 

Replays showed both calls were suspect.

Houston would push what proved to be the winning run across the plate with two outs in the inning. A run that would not have had a chance to score had Bourne been ruled out at first.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would eventually be tossed. According to the Phillies radio broadcast, it wasn’t the first time this particular ump had ejected Manuel.

He then cited MLB regulations saying he wouldn’t talk about the call. (Funny how Jim Joyce was able to)

So, two consecutive games. Two consecutive controversial losses.

Perhaps it’s karmic retrobution for the Phillies extra innings win over the Florida Marlins on August 6, when earlier in the game third base umpire Bob Davidson called Gaby Sanchez’s line drive down the third base “foul.”

Replays showed the ball was clearly inside the third base bag, yet Davidson was defiant afterwards, saying he called the play correctly.

There are two problems here.

First, the drumbeat for instant replay is growing louder.

Purists can claim “human element” all they want. I consider myself a baseball purist, and the game needs replay.

More time is wasted with managers arguing the call instead of just looking at the play and making a determination.

The Little League World Series is using replay, and a close play at first base between Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia was reviewed and overturned this past weekend.

It was quick. It was decisive.

It was correct.

The second issue is the attitude problems some of these umpires have. 

Maybe Barry was looking to make a name for himself. He is a replacement, afterall.

Davidson could have asked for help from the home plate umpire on the Bourne play.

He did not.

Nor could the other umps intervene.

Gibson had to ask for help.

He chose not to.

NFL refs huddle when another sees a play differently. They discuss it. And try to get the call right.

And replay is there for the occasions when they get it wrong.

MLB needs to get handle on those that handle the rules.

Because these moments will get replayed-on SportsCenter and other highlight shows.

Over and over and over again.

The game would be better served if those highlights showed its officials getting the call right.

One way or another.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Breaking up is always hard to do, even when it’s for the best.

You start reminiscing about all the good times you’ve had, the places you’ve traveled together.

It’s even harder when you live together.  All their stuff is in your place, and everywhere you look are reminders of the good thing you had.

But sometimes it has to be done, even if you don’t have another special someone waiting in the wings.

You don’t stay with someone just because you’ve always been with them, hoping that things will get better.

Sometimes, it’s just no longer working and you need to start seeing other people.

For the Phillies and Brad Lidge, that sometime should be now.

There’s a give and take in every relationship.  Last night, the Phillies took the lead in the top of the ninth against the Nationals.

And Brad Lidge gave it away.

It was clear from the start the inning would end badly.  Lidge had no semblance of the strike zone last night.

Even the untrained eye could see he was struggling just to put the ball over.

A typical Lidge outing these days is enough to make your heart race–although not in a good way, like in the old days.

The year was 2008, and Brad Lidge was perfect. Not one blown save.

Not in the regular season.

Not in the postseason.

Lidge came out of that bullpen, and you knew it was game over–for the good guys.

Not any more.

Sure there are sparks of what made you fall in love with the guy in the first place.

The fall-off-the-table slider.

The sizzling fastball.

But when one of the traits starts to fade and you look a little deeper, you realize that there’s not much else there.

Lidge is a two-pitch pony. When one isn’t working, he has to lean on the other to get by.

Even this casual baseball writer can see it.

So what do you think happened when a professional hitter named Ryan Zimmerman stood in against Lidge in the bottom of the ninth with two on, trailing by one?

Lidge got smacked around.

Hard.

He sent that ball deep (and I mean deep ) to straightaway center field.

You square away on a ball like that, you knew what was coming.

Really, we all should have seen what was coming.

Perhaps someone (say, Charlie Manuel) should have seen how wild Lidge was and prevented the abuse that was to follow.

If a starting pitcher was that wild, he would have signaled for the bullpen.

But in baseball these days, it’s the closer’s job to get it done.  And in general, managers stick with those closers until the game is either won or lost.

Even if it’s obvious that a guy just doesn’t have good stuff on a night, he’s left out there to do his job.

The problem that Manuel is facing is that he really doesn’t have anyone else in the ‘pen who has shown he can do the job.

And unfortunately, the clock just struck midnight, ending the annual ball that is the trading deadline, with nary a maiden with closer stuff going home with our handsome prince.

So the Phillies leave the party with the same date they brought. Never showing any signs of checking out the other options there.

While it does speak to their loyalty, it doesn’t do much for the long term happiness of the team…and its fans.

Maybe things will get better. 

Maybe Lidge will find that spark that made him the best closer in baseball two years ago.

Maybe.

But most broken marriages don’t get better without counseling.

Perhaps Lidge can learn a new pitch, like Cole Hamels did in the offseason, so he isn’t walking so narrow a tightrope should he not have his best stuff on a given night.

Maybe they just need a “cooling off period,” so Lidge can focus on him, because we all know we can’t contribute to a relationship unless we’re comfortable in our own skin.

All I know is that this marriage between Lidge and the Phillies appears to be broken, and their friends are worried about it.

We Phillies fans know you have been through a lot together, and we hate to choose sides.

But like in most splits, you end up sticking with the friend you’ve known longer.

Sorry, Brad.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com