PITTSBURGH -- Major League Baseball's decision to begin limited instant replay on Thursday came as a shock to Lou Piniella.

The Cubs manager will lead his team against the Phillies on Thursday in one of three introductory series where instant replay will first be employed. It was determined that replay review should commence when a new series begins.

"We are?" Piniella asked on Tuesday. "Now what do you do?"

Replay will apply to fair and foul home run calls, and whether said balls have left the playing field. Replay will also look at home runs that involve fan interference. The determination as to whether or not a call should be reviewed will be made by the umpire crew chief.

All games will be monitored and staffed by an expert technician and either an umpire supervisor or former umpire at Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLB.com) headquarters in New York.

At Wrigley Field, the instant replay equipment will be in the umpires' room next to the Cubs' clubhouse. All equipment in Chicago will have a secure telephone link to MLB.com. The same equipment has been installed at every Major League ballpark.

Video footage of the disputed call will be sent to the crew chief and his staff on-site. Only the crew chief has the right to reverse a call, and teams cannot argue the decision once it's made. Decisions concerning the placement of baserunners will also made by the crew chief.

However, Piniella has found several flaws in this system.

"Put it this way: This could turn into a little bit of a fiasco," Piniella said. "All we get all spring is, 'Speed up the games.' I don't know how many directives I've had on 'speed up the game.' This is certainly not going to speed up the game, is it?"

Piniella went on to say that reviewing instant replays could result in the harming of a pitcher.

"I'll tell you what, it'll probably be used as a ploy by some managers just to freeze the pitcher for five or six minutes or to cool him off if he's going really well," he said. "Baseball's got to look at this thing carefully whatever they do. They really do."

Wednesday's game between the Cubs and Pirates in Pittsburgh will be used as the demonstration site for instant replay.

"Do you throw out a red handkerchief or something?" Piniella said, referencing to the way National Football League head coaches challenge plays on the field. "I would love to be able to throw out a red hanky. Imagine throwing something out on a field and not be ejected."