Buccos Fall, "Jerry Meals Says It’s Safe"

That is the phrase of the day in Pittsburgh thanks to umpire Jerry Meals and Adam from The Pensblog after horrified Pirates fans witnessed a call at the plate around 2 a.m. this morning that rivals the Sid Bream Slide. (Younger Bucco fans can "Google" that.) By the way, check out #JerryMealsSaysItsSafe on Twitter. @TPBAdam has really outdone himself on this little Twitter game!

The Buccos battled the Atlanta Braves last night for 6 hours and 39 minutes over 19 innings: a franchise record for the longest recorded game. The Buccos had not scored since Michael “The Fort” McKenry smashed his second major-league homerun in the second inning. The Braves had not been able to get on the board since the bottom of the third inning.

Buccos and Braves fans alike struggled watching this game. Around the 14th inning, I was barely able to function. Bring on 15! The time no longer mattered; I was invested. There was no way I could sleep knowing that I could miss something huge.

I had no idea at about 1:15 a.m. how huge of an event I would have missed as I watched a few fans fade off of Twitter and Facebook, claiming that they just couldn’t hang any longer. Paul Maholm, who is scheduled to pitch tonight, most likely had the option to leave Turner Field to rest up for tonight’s game. Maholm showed heart and dedication and stood by his team. If they couldn’t sleep, neither would he, as he stood in the visitors dugout surrounded by teammates in rally-hat mode.

Around 2:07 or so, IT happened. Scott Proctor hit a bouncer to Pedro Alvarez at third, who fired the ball home to McKenry as Julio Lugo tore toward the plate. McKenry tagged him on the leg at least 3-to-5 feet from the plate. I jumped up from my half-coma. A triumphant "YES!" barely passed my lips as it quickly turned into "Are you joking?!?" when the most erroneous call in sports was called by Meals. “SAFE!”

Daniel McCutchen, who was now in his sixth inning of relief pitching was motioning frantically at McKenry to turn two and get the ball to Lyle Overbay at first to cinch the third out of the inning and catch Proctor, who had fallen on his way down the baseline. There would be no third out. There would be no 20th inning.

Safe. Two cities stunned. One stunned that such luck should befall them, another flipping out in front of their televisions, pounding furious messages into keyboards and smartphones, sending their astonishment across cyberspace.

The statement from Meals poured more salt on the open wound of exhausted and furious Pirates fans. He claimed that he may have been wrong.

Pirates president Frank Connelly filed a complaint with the commissioner’s office today. The Pirates organization has handled this atrocity with complete class and dignity. But this is the second time in about two weeks that McKenry couldn’t believe the call at the plate, this one meaning so much more as the loss dropped the Pirates out of first place in the NL Central division. Wins and losses for the Buccos right now mean everything, as the division is so closely contested between the Pirates, Cardinals and Brewers.

It is time for baseball to enter the 21st century and usher in the video replays for calls at the plate. Currently, MLB only reviews homeruns, but why not calls at the plate? The NHL reviews goals, so why not review calls at the plate? This call was the difference between a win and a loss, and it is a loss that hurt the Buccos dearly.

This team is extraordinary. After 18 years of losses that made you want to cry at times, this team just has it. They are talented, young and united. Meals just added fuel to a fire that has been kindling since April. These boys are going to use this to push back into first.

Let’s Go Bucs.

To see the "call heard 'round the world," click here!