OK, the umpires blew the call; move along

DENVER • Another blown call late in a playoff game has sparked new life into the hotly contested debate over instant replay in baseball, and like prior arguments after miscues by umpires, nobody agrees on anything other than the mistake itself.

Home plate umpire Jerry Meals admitted that he messed up late Sunday when he allowed Phillies infielder Chase Utley to advance to first base after he fouled a ball off his right knee in the ninth inning of a 6-5 victory against the Rockies in Game 3 of the NL Division Series. Jimmy Rollins moved to third, and Ryan Howard drove him in with a sacrifice fly.

If instant replay had been used, the single undoubtedly would have been overturned since TV angles were conclusive, and Utley would have been forced back into the box. Instant replay was implemented this season but only for boundary calls on home runs.

“I don’t know what else we can do,” crew chief Gerry Davis said. “We’re judged not by excellence but by perfection. Our job is to get every call correct — that’s what we aspire to do. Perfection is very tough. That’s a tough aspiration.”

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wants instant replay expanded even if games are longer.

“We want to get it right,” he said. “I don’t know the answer of getting it right, but at the same time, I agree with getting it right. Whatever that means, something has to be done.”

There’s no need to change the system, said Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino, because if umpires begin “reviewing every play, the games will turn into six- or seven-hour games. Nobody will sit in the stands that long. ... Everybody’s human. They’re umpires. They’re human. We’re human. Everybody makes mistakes.”

Rockies manager Jim Tracy didn’t lose sleep over the call.

“That’s not what beat us. That’s not why we got beat,” Tracy said. “We need to move on. We can’t do a (dang) thing about it.”