Live Q&As

Let's get right to the heart of this thing. The answer is: No, but close. I think you have to argue that Don Denkinger's call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series -- in which he called Jorge Orta of the Kansas City Royals safe at first, even though he was out -- was more costly. The Royals went on to steal that game, then beat St. Louis in the seventh game. That's bigger, because it affected more people.

But this? This is a travesty.

There's just no way to make this better, after the fact. Even if -- and this won't happen, but let's just suppose -- MLB decided to reverse the call and give Galarraga the perfect game. He still loses the moment. And really, given that this was a regular ol' early June game, it's about the moment. You think Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay didn't enjoy that explosion with their teammates?

How many cigarettes do you think Jim Leyland smoked last night?

Griffey's midseason retirement -- with his Mendoza-line average and no homers as a part-time (no-time?) player -- feels odd, just not right for a player of his stature. And I have to say that this is one of those departures from the game that makes me feel downright old. I'm basically Griffey's contemporary, and his 20-year career spanned all of my adult life. I'm trying to put that aside and just close my eyes and envision his swing -- man, what a swing -- but it's hard.

Of course, any time a minor leaguer traded away becomes a success somewhere else, fans of the old club vent a bit. (I grew up re-living the Jeff Bagwell-for-Lary Anderson debacle.) But keep in mind that the Rangers traded away Galarraga for an outfielder named Michael Hernandez (who?), and that the Nats at least got a summer o' fun out of Soriano. Galarraga has even been down with Class AAA Toledo this year, so let's not go crazy about what could have been over one night.

I just am not in favor of instant replay for plays like the one last night. There is almost no greater problem in baseball than time of game, and putting instant replays in for calls on the basepaths would add, I'd guess, five minutes a night. That would be unacceptable.

As for Griffey, I doubt it on the 90 percent threshold. I find BBWAA voters strange. My thought would be that you look at a player's career, and decide whether you believe he is a Hall of Famer or not. Why would that change over time? Why would you hold back your vote just so a guy wasn't a "first-ballot" Hall of Famer? It's like the BBWAA members want to create different levels of Hall of Famers.

Plus, sports writers shouldn't be voting on this stuff. But that's another matter.

Completely, completely bizarre, and I have no eartly answer. If there have been 20 perfect games in history, doesn't that mean there's one every five years or so? Now, there have been three in three weeks? (OK, two, I guess, but come on.)

Here's the thing this teaches us: If you have tickets to a ballgame, go. Just go. You have no idea what you'll see that night. It's the best sport in that way.

Really, really doubtful.

Boz wrote a column about the wretched O's this morning, and you're right, they're God-awful. It would have seemed to this outside observer that, with Adam Jones and Wieters and Brian Roberts (hurt) and Markakis, they had the makings of a very good lineup, and the pitching should have been better. But Matusz has been hit hard, Milwood hasn't won a game, and Andy MacPhail has to take some heat for some of the free agent signings. (Tejada? Really?)

Could it happen to the Nats? Sure. Their free agent signings (Dunn, Pudge) have generally worked out OK. But it feels like the Nationals have a more solid foundation underneath them than they have in Baltimore -- and one more great draft could even strengthen that.

Can't imagine that would be the case. It would be treated like a normal rain-out, which means the ticket-holders for that night would get tickets for the rescheduled game. I suppose that rescheduled game could be the following day in a day-night doubleheader (given that the Pirates don't come through town again), but my guess is they'd find a mutually open date later in the season, at which 41,000 people would get so see, say, Craig Stammen.

My thoughts on Morgan -- mostly from afar -- have been that he couldn't possibly be the savior he was painted to be when he arrived last year. He was traded for Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge, not Tim Lincecum and Albert Pujols. And he was essentially cast aside by the Pirates, for goodness sake.

I thought it was interesting Riggleman put him back in the leadoff spot last night. His OBP is .330. The Nats really have no real leadoff hitter, and I wonder if that will really end up hurting them over the long haul.

Agreed. Agreed, a thousand times over. I was of the mind that the Flyers would be overmatched, but I just don't think there's anything as unpredictable as the NHL playoffs. (Ask the Caps, right?) We've now had three one-goal games, including one in OT. And is there anything as tense as overtime playoff hockey?

Thanks, Mom.

Uh, it'll be hard to get back to .500 today, given that they're two games under and play only once today.

Left a lot of guys on. Made three more errors, adding to their league-leading total (what the heck is that all about), struck out 13 times and Lannan couldn't get the big outs. A pretty disheartening loss.

Yes, you're right. The ejection in that level of JuCo ball normally means a one-game suspension, but because he was ejected earlier in the year, too, he gets another game added on. Can't imagine this would affect the Nats' plans.

I think time of game is something MLB absolutely must get under control, or they risk losing a generation of fans, if they haven't already lost them. The umps, by and large, do a fantastic job, and the average of five minutes (a completely fabricated guess, by the way) would have to include some games in which three or four plays were reviewed. I just don't think that's acceptable.

Yanks-Red Sox games are almost unwatchable at this point. I grew up an AL fan, but man, do I prefer NL ball now.

I thought Soriano led to Zimmermann and Michael Burgess, but Burgess might have been the Jose Guillen compensatory pick.

Love tracing things backward like that.

Came back as an umpire? A modernist umpire, I guess?

Merrill Hodge?

Have to say I was really struck by Mike Shanahan's endorsement of Westbrook yesterday. Would be really interesting to see those four guys -- a great 2006 fantasy team -- in the same training camp.

Austin Jackson's catch for the first out of the ninth was simply incredible. I was convinced, as I watched it, that it was an easy double. And yes, in retrospect, maybe it would have been nice if it would have dropped. But then, what would we have talked about this morning?