3-ball walk still baffles many

SEATTLE (AP) - On Sunday, it took four balls before Cameron Maybin got his free ride to first base.

A day earlier, it was a little easier, at least for him. An umpiring mistake let the San Diego center field draw a bizarre walk on a 2-2 pitch, prompting many in baseball to wonder: Can't anyone here count?

The whiff on Maybin's shortened walk Saturday night that led to the only run of the Padres' 1-0 win wasn't limited to the scoreboard operator or home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi. No one in the Seattle dugout or on the field complained that Maybin was trotting down to first one pitch too soon.

Seattle manager Eric Wedge took it as far as calling a team meeting Sunday morning in part to apologize for missing the wrong count.

"I'm the captain of this ship and something like that cannot happen. That falls on me. I should have trusted my instincts with what I felt it was, but I didn't and that's my fault," Wedge said.