Oh, Sweet MLB Instant Replay Irony

During last night's Phillies-Marlins game, we had yet another disputed home run call. Philly's Shane Victorino hit a line drive that, as you can see from my lovely illustration, was foul by inches -- I assure you, it did not hit the pole (video here). However, the umpires incorrectly ruled it a home run.

Now here's where the irony comes into play: MLB was testing its instant replay equipment at the game, but the umps had no access to the monitors:

The first night Major League Baseball tested instant-replay equipment at Citizens Bank Park, it had a controversial home-run ball in the seventh inning in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Shane Victorino's two-run homer off Renyel Pinto looked foul on instant replay. Third base umpire Dale Scott called the ball fair and the umpires conferred after the Marlins protested. But the call stood, cutting the Marlins' lead to 4-2. Scott acknowledged after the game that the ball was foul.

Unfortunately for the Marlins, MLB was testing the equipment it could use in the future only to see how it works. In other words, umpires had no opportunity to run to a TV screen to check it out.

Perhaps, I'm missing something here, but what is there to test? Video cameras and television monitors have been tested at sporting events for, oh, about the last 70 years. I'm pretty sure they both work.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.