(Image Source: CBS Sports)

BY MOLLY HULSEY

The baseball world is talking about a homer this week - but it’s not one of Albert Pujols’.

After a blown call by umpire Ron Kulpa - a St. Louis native - in Game 3, a reporter asked Kulpa about his hometown allegiance. MLB Operations Manager Joe Torre was quick to respond to the veiled accusation.

“Last night, that question hinted of questioning someone’s integrity. That was so far over the line... We’re not always going to get things right, whether it’s in our professional life or personal life. I just want to make sure that if you have any integrity questions in the future, please direct them to me.”

A reporter at Philly.com says questioning Kulpa’s motives is ignoring the bigger issue - a really bad game by the Rangers.

“It rang pathetic, petty. Because, truth was, the Rangers deserved to lose. Kulpa was a small part of an ugly baseball tapestry, which Torre pointed out.

One bad call doesn’t make the umpire, but one good one should redeem him, according to the New York Daily News.

“Major League Baseball continues to have an umpiring problem, but it's not for lack of integrity. Raising the question of Kulpa's St. Louis ties is idiotic, particularly one game after he called the Rangers' Ian Kinsler safe at second in the ninth inning on a play that couldn't have been any closer.”

And analysts on MLB Tonight think judging Kulpa is a bad call in itself.

KEN ROSENTHAL: “The suggestion that where an umpire is from influences these calls is insulting to these guys. They’re professionals.”

GREG AMSINGER: “It’s very unfair, very antiquated. That’s the kind of thing that you might have thrown out in the pre-televised era. I don’t think there’s any question that that’s not a fair thing to throw at an umpire.”

A second look at the play could have made this a non-issue, and a blogger with CBS Sports suggests it’s time for a second look at instant replay.

“There’s far too much technology at our disposal to allow an easily correctable call to just stand and move on -- especially when the umpire himself knows he messed up. So the focus should be entirely on replay, not Kulpa's honest mistake.”

In the end, a writer for ESPN notes, it could have been a lot worse.

“Rangers fans might not be so favorably inclined toward Kulpa, but MLB skirted a major PR fiasco in the end. When the postgame focus was on Pujols' five hits and three home runs instead of an umpire's tough night, you know things could have been a heck of a lot worse.”

The Rangers and Cardinals enter game 5 Monday night with the series tied 2-2.