Rocktober is Over

The Rockies season is over. After splitting two games in Philly, the Rocks came home and took two tough losses. I'm not going to write much specifically about the games. I will however tip my hat to Yorvit Torrealba, who got a big clutch double in game 4 and a home run in game 2. Although I still don't think he is as good as he played over the past month and a half, he did come through in those spots.

A few observations about the playoffs in general so far:

Three pretty good closers blew saves, while one lousy one managed to get two and blow zero. It just goes to show how anything can happen in a short series. Fair or not, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, and Huston Street are all now rumored to be with new teams next year. Of course there was probably a chance all three would be gone anyway.

The umpiring was horrible around the league. While it's impossible to say that any team would have or wouldn't have won if the calls had been made correctly, it's reasonable to say that we shouldn't have to wonder. It should be up to the players to win or lose games, not umps. Now is the time to expand instant replay. Before that can happen, a few questions about the procedures must be answered:

Can replay happen quick enough not to slow down games?
What types of plays can be reviewed?
How will the plays be reviewed? (I.e. 5th ump in booth)
How will the Replays be initiated? (Personally, I think it should be up to the umps, although managers should have some way to ask for them. However, I do not think there should be any punishment for a failed review, like in football. I don't want to see anyone lose a game because they asked for a review, and was forced to give up an out. I also would not want to see a play not be reviewed that should, because a manager is afraid of being punished. If you do that you are changing the game too much.)
What will be done if continuity of a play is interrupted and how can you prevent that from happening? (My suggestion is that an ump can give a signal on a close play to "play it out" and that it will be reviewed when the play is over. If the review shows a fair ball, for example, then everyone stays where they ended up. If you do not have this, then a foul call that is over turned will require judgement by the umps to figure out where each runner should be.)
Where does the burden of proof lie? (In football, if a play is inconclusive then the ruling on the field stands. That may be logical, but in some cases, I don't think that would be the best way to handle it. For example if an ump says a fielder came off the base, or a runner missed a base, I feel that a replay should have to clearly show that happened, regardless of what the play was called on the field.)

Hopefully the league will spend some time this winter figuring out these questions and implement replay for next season, before something like this or this happens again.