We know the pitching staff is extremely shorthanded and Click didn't do nearly enough at the deadline. And we know that collective team psyche is pretty shot right now. Hey, sometimes you run into a hot team in the playoffs. But I want to see some fight in these guys. Maybe get it back to Houston. Starts with ABC. Altuve, Bregman, Correa. They're supposed to be your leaders. And Lance firing up the dugout a la JV in Game 2 of the world series wouldn't hurt either.
Sure it might well have been a clear error. But that arm was not in an unnatural position, mere inches from James' leg. So if it is not in an unnatural position, I don't see how the ref can determine the ball was handled deliberately from just a freeze frame. The ball might indeed have been handled deliberately, but ref should actually watch the video before deciding.
There's not a lot of official guidance on VAR, but the premier league has at least said "Real-time speed replays will be used initially to check for intensity. Slow-motion replays will be used to identify point of contact." -- https://www.premierleague.com/news/1297368 If just a freeze frame was considered, then there was no motion used at all in the VAR decision, let alone slow motion.
I think he relied on whatever was said in his ear about the arm moving forward. Disappointing because he had access to the video and is supposed to watch the video with his own eyes. The red card is not the problem for me. The problem for me is that we got a decision overturned based on the VIDEO assistant referee process, which has a "clear and obvious error" standard, with just a single image and no actual video being used.
Doesn't the letter of the law basically mandate looking at more than a freeze frame before awarding a straight red if the hand is that close to the body? Not sure how you can conclude deliberate intent without seeing if/when/how the arm moved. Could the ref have ended up deciding it was deliberate and therefore a straight red despite the ball deflecting off the leg first? Sure. But you gotta do work. Pretty sure the VAR rules say you look at slow motion replays (which include more than a single video frame) to determine the point of contact.
I may be biased but I am starting to wonder if our best lineup puts Mount in midfield and has two energizer bunnies in Pulisic and _______ up front next to Big Rom to receive balls to feet from Rom and constantly run at defenders.