Correction: In Friday's post I stated that Obama had failed to join the international criticism of the jailing of three female rockers in Moscow.  In fact, while obama stayed silent, the US State Department did criticize the sentence.  The US response was tepid at best and a more competent administration would have ramped up the criticism beyond what it was in view of the fact that Putin and Russia are clearly trying to silence dissent.  Obama has declined to join the criticism, doubtlessly because he doesn't want to offend the despot when he hopes to negotiate arms reductions with him after the elections.  This is the same nonsense that kept obama from backing iranian protesters being attacked by the mullahs.  Every other western nation was having at the mullahs and backing the pro-democracy protesters, everyone, that is, except obama.  obama was hoping to talk the mullahs into ending their nuke program, so naive was he.

No corrections are necessary on the story about the umpiring embarrassment in Detroit last night.  The first base umpire called Jhonny Peralta out at first on a spectacular play by third baseman Manny Machado and first baseman Mark Reynolds.  Machado ranged behind third into foul territory to scoop a bid for an extra base hit by Peralta.  His rifle throw was slightly toward the outfield side of first, but Reynolds stretched his body while keeping his foot on the base.  Replays showed that the initial call was clearly the correct call, but the four knuckleheads over ruled themselves, going from right to wrong.  Reynolds and Buck Showalter were both ejected.  The only thing that would have ameliorated the disgrace would have been a group mea culpa, but these four lacked even that much integrity.  They were too busy writing up the two ejected Orioles, hoping to get fines piled on top of their screw ups.  It's an unwritten rule that judgment calls are never over-ruled.  Last night shows why.  If there was any justice, the fines would be levied against the four who screwed up and not the two who called them on their error.

In Detroit tonight Zach Britton stymied the Tigers and Chris Davis hit an opposite field three-run homer to spark the Orioles to a critical 3=2 win.  Davis' homer was his 19th and came in a scoreless tie in the seventh inning.  The Tigers got two back in the eighth, but Peralta, who knocked in both runs with a two out hit, was caught in an inning-ending rundown on the same play.  Jim Johnson retired the Tigers in order in the ninth, earning his 36th save.