Cubs general manager Jim Hendry considered himself a purist, but came around on the idea of instant replay, reasoning: "(Once) the umpires felt it was appropriate, how can you go against that?"
Umpire supervisor Larry Young outlined the procedure at Wrigley Field on Thursday before it went into effect. Young emphasized that replay is limited to home run calls, and said he doesn't expect it to widen in scope.
The crew chief is ultimately responsible for making the call, and once he decides to look at the video on a monitor, he'll receive feeds from an MLB office in New York. Officials are aiming for reviews that last for about two minutes and 30 seconds. Cubs manager Lou Piniella won't be throwing any challenge flags onto the field.
"Ready or not," Piniella said before Thursday's game. "Listen, (I) think it's a good idea. Look, we have all the confidence in the world in the umpires. They do their jobs (very) professionally and very accurately. But there's an instance where they both can get a play (correct).
"Am I ready for replay? Yes."
Are you ready for instant replay? Has baseball lost part of its identity here? Will this be a small, measured step, or the first move toward replay of balls and strikes, calls at first base and catches in left field?
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