Port spoke to Eddings in the morning, running over how the umpire signaled his call. Port said he saw no conclusive proof that the third strike was caught on the fly, and allowed how “hypothetically, there may have been” some benefit had the six-man crew huddled up to discuss the dispute.

Later, Eddings said he should’ve been more emphatic in making the call.

“The only thing I’m down on myself is I should have sold it either way,” Eddings told The New York Times for a story posted on its Web site Thursday night. “I should have either said, ’No catch,’ or, if I did have a catch, that he was out. Which I never said: ’He’s out,”’ Eddings said.

Maybe instant replay could have helped. Baseball took a look at going high-tech last November, but put aside the topic after general managers split a 15-15 vote on whether to keep exploring the subject.

The NFL, NBA, NHL and now nearly every major college football conference all use some form of replay. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has said he is against it and can veto any proposal by anyone to give it a try.

Even the upsetting loss Wednesday night didn’t change Scioscia’s mind.

“I’m not in favor of replay at all,” he said.

And because it was a judgment call, there was nothing Scioscia could’ve done at the time, either.

“No, it’s not protestable. He’s saying he didn’t call him out,” the manager said.

Game 3 is Friday in Anaheim, with John Lackey scheduled to pitch against Chicago’s Jon Garland. Tired from all their overnight travel lately, the Angels planned to skip the conventional off-day workout Thursday in their own ballpark, choosing instead to let their players rest.

Eddings probably won’t have a quiet time the next time out. He’s scheduled to work the right-field line in Game 3 — with the low-slung wall in Anaheim, he’s sure to hear it from the Angels fans.

In the meantime, baseball has another October argument on its hands — reminiscent of Reggie Jackson not budging in the baseline during the 1978 World Series, Don Denkinger blowing a big call that cost the Cardinals in ’85, Kent Hrbek lifting Ron Gant off first base in ’91 and 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reaching over the right-field wall in the 1996 ALCS.

And these playoffs, now missing the Yankees, Red Sox, Barry Bonds or any famous “curses,” suddenly offer plenty to talk about.

On Sunday, the Braves and Astros played 18 innings in Houston for the longest postseason game ever, highlighted by 43-year-old Roger Clemens coming out of the bullpen to rescue the Astros.

Now this.

What’s next?

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