Looks to me like Torrealba obstructed Holliday's access to the plate. He wasn't in possession of the ball, and his blocking the plate was not associated with his fielding of the ball. Great game, regardless.

King, you wrote: "Replays were inconclusive about whether Holliday managed to touch the plate with his left hand as Padres catcher Michael Barrett blocked him with his left foot."

Well, I (along with the TBS broadcasters) thought it was pretty clear on the replays that Holliday didn't touch the plate. And based on his initial non-call, so too, I thought, did Tim McClelland, the home plate umpire. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have ruled Holliday safe right away? Think about it--if Holliday touches the plate, it doesn't matter that Barrett made a move to tag him as Holliday lays there dazed. The only reason for a delayed call is if McClelland thinks Holliday missed the plate. You see it every day: the runner slides past the base, the catcher misses the tag, and the race is on to make a play, either touch the plate or tag the runner. Only here, after (or just as) the catcher made the tag, the umpire voided the race and more or less said, "I was wrong--he never missed the plate."

I'm not saying anythings shady happened; I happen to think McClelland is a fine ump. But he blew the call. And Holliday's failure to say that he knew he was safe in post-game interviews ("all I know is he called me safe") clinches it in my mind.

You also wrote: "Replays were also inconclusive about a seventh-inning double off the top of the fence by Garrett Atkins of Colorado that the Rockies and the home fans thought should have been ruled a home run."

Again, I (a) didn't think replays were inconclusive (nor did the TBS guys), and (b) think the reaction is telling--this time, that of the fans sitting there. The, ahem, stocky lady dressed in Rockies purple (who seemed to have arisen from her wheelchair, as my wife noted) seemed to be saying "awww" and had a reaction consistent with "oh, how close that was to a home run." Had it actually gone over, she and the fans around her would have been jumping up and down. But they weren't. So that says to me that the umps made the right call.

Good call on your part, by the way, of how different Fox and TBS were. Fox's broadcasts have always annoyed me, but their tone do announce "It's the post-season." This didn't feel like that by the gimmicks and gadgets (or lack thereof), but it was a heck of a game. I think I'll get used to it--only to be shocked back to Fox's overblown style in the World Series.

Bring on NLDS A Game 1 -- Rockies at Phillies!

Curious that the game was considered part of the regular season. That is, the players got an extra game for their career and season stats. Had Jake Peavy won, it would have been his 20th win of the season. And Matt Holliday got an extra 7 plate appearances in which to finish the season with a batting average of .340 for the NL crown. He went 2 for 6, but had he gone 0 for 6 he would have lost the NL crown to Chipper Jones, who only played in 162 games. Why is that?

Seems like it should be considered a post-season game, and its stats post-season stats.

I guess it's a vestige of the time when there was just the regular season and the World Series. If a game was between two teams from the same league, then it was a regular season game. But today, with interleague play and the playoffs, it seems like that game no longer need be considered a regular season game.

Maybe they discussed this, but I missed it.

Good game, and you are right it was a pleasure not to be overwhelmed with visual and auditory graphics. Baseball does better with less..... he was probably out at home.

If Denver makes the series it could get interesting.....This from the National Weather Service

IN MOST YEARS... OCTOBER BRINGS THE FIRST TASTE

OF WINTER WITH THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE FIRST FREEZE ON THE 7TH AND

AVERAGE FIRST SNOW ON THE 15TH.

I thought Barrett masterfully blocked the plate and should've gotten the call (that ump was annoyingly late making strike calls, too)--Holliday's slide was terrible. It reminded me of Gruber's slide in the '92 WS where he nearly knocked himself out bouncing his head off of the turf. I am sure Holliday is still spitting dirt this morning. But what is obstruction? Was there something against the rules that I am missing in Barrett's (not Torrealba's) play?

I didn't have a dog in this fight (although it would have been nice to see Greg Maddox pitch Game 1), but that game is why I love baseball. I hated to see either team lose.

Last night was one of those wild games that highlight the best of baseball. Regarding the controversial calls, I thought the umps got it right on the Atkins double, and did get it wrong on the Holliday slide in the 13th. On to Hoffman, I'm not a Padre fan so I may be out of line here, but despite his saving more games than anyone else ever on the face of the planet, when did Trevor Hoffman ever save a big one? He blew a game in the '98 WS (okay, ancient history), he's blown All Star games (for whatever that's worth), he blew the game vs. the Brewers on Gwynn's triple, and then last night, with a 2 run lead, he blew that one. All great closers blow games, but the great ones save some big ones. How about it Padre fans, what are some big games Hoffman has closed?

Major league rules are posted at mlb.com .

From the definitions:

OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

From the note in rule 7.06:

The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.

So, it's not obstruction if he has the ball.