Ever hear an announcer say that? I have. Was it confusing to you? It was to me. Until I saw it in action. What just happened in the Angels vs. Tigers game is a perfect example.
Austin Jackson, Detroit's rookie centerfielder, lays down a perfect bunt that just died off the end of the bat a few feet down the third base line. Angels catcher Mike Napoli tries to make a play: he overruns it a little, expecting it to keep rolling, lunges out with his glove, grabs the ball, makes a quick transfer and a strong throw... but unfortunately the throw was aimed at the ground just wide of the first baseman, and Jackson gets to second. Jackson made it to second, and was credited with a base hit, while Napoli was charged with an error.
Now, Jackson wasn't necessarily in a slump, as he came into the game hitting .311, but the point is: speed always gives you another way to get on base. If you're fast, you can drop a bunt down and hope to beat it out... no matter what your batting average/on base percentage happens to be at the time. And it's the curious case of slumps that if you get on base in any way - be it a line drive or a walk or a bloop single - it helps you get out of the slump. Like John Lennon said: it's all in your mind.
So Jackson's great speed allowed him to get to first, and Napoli's failed throw to first allowed him to advance to second. But speed on the basepaths is a double-edged sword - no sooner had Johnny Damon stepped into the batter's box, but Jackson breaks for third... and is thrown out by Napoli: 2-5 caught stealing.
So after screwing up a play at first base, Mike Napoli gets a chance to redeem himself... or did he? Replays show that, although the throw clearly beat Jackson to the base, Angels third baseman Brandon Wood, never actually tagged the would-be basestealer out. But apparently, for the umpire, seeing that the fielder has the ball before the runner arrives at the base is enough to call the runner out.
Unjust? Certainly! Derek Jeter had a similar issue with a similar (failed) tag by Scott Rolen last year.
Likely to change any time in the future? Almost certainly not. This seems to be a theme with umpires, that they let fielders get away with "shortcuts" - such as the shortstop not quite toe-tapping second base as he completes a double play. But as frustrating as these gaffes/allowances are, it used to be much worse. Watching the occasional MLB Network old-timey game preview, those umps in the '70s and '80s let players get away with much more than they do now. And not just fielders: you know those borderline check-swing calls nowadays, where the first/third base ump will call a strike if the bat just barely sneaks across the plate? Back in the day, those were pretty much exclusively called balls. And they call this making progress.
Speaking of speed, Reggie Willits just showed off his speed in center field for the Angels, barely reaching a sinking line drive off the bat of Magglio Ordonez... or did he just trap it? No one can really know. I guess it's better than doing the whole thing with computers...
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