Link'd Up, 10/13/09: The future of baseball?

In the 72 hours since Phil Cuzzi became a household name across the country and a pariah in Minnesota, the debate about major league umpires has once again entered the national spotlight. No less an authority than the Wall Street Journal devoted its one-page sports section Tuesday to an in-depth look at the men in blue, detailing the history of umpires in baseball and examining new technologies that may one day render umpires obsolete.

The latter point is what really interested me. If the Pitch f/x system is in fact close to 100 percent accurate calling balls and strikes, then my dad's continuous pleas for "an infrared strike zone" may actually already be possible. Numerous obstacles would remain before home plate umpires could be replaced by technology, and there are those who would fight the change tooth and nail even if the new system got it right on every pitch. But it's intriguing to know the technology is out there.