Umpires...
by free7694 on Sep 26, 2009 9:39 PM MDT
Email
Print
There is no doubt that some bad calls have gone against the Rockies in the last few games, but the question is why. Is MLB trying to get a bigger market in the playoffs? Are umps holding a grudge over the SpillySlam incident? Are we not getting respect? Or is it just plain human error that we're noticing more in the pennant race. Many opinions have been expressed on the issue, so I thought a formal poll was in order.
Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).
39 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I think there needs to be another option.
Because the answer to “Are we getting the shaft?” could be yes without the reason being either of the first two options. Unless you mean “Are we getting the intentional shaft?”
I'm torn actually
as I think it’s a little of A, and a little of B….but more B.
I think this is a vendetta on the parts of all the Crews to prove that they can affect games, and the playoffs. Don’t ever show them up with your celebration of a Walk Off Grand Slam. They are letting all the league and players know, they can ruin your life if you cross them.
But wouldn't that entail everyone else in the league noticing?
Because I highly doubt most of them are.
but like you yourself noted
if the call is going for YOUR team, the fans will think it’s just fine. So they won’t notice at all.
I meant other players, not the fans.
If the umps are trying to send a message to players, others around the league (and not just the ones playing against the Rockies) have to notice and realize why.
I also believe that its both A and B
Can there be a fourth voting option that is A and B? I cant vote yet because if I vote for one logical reason i’ll feel bad about not voting for the other logical reason
Having watched and played baseball at all levels for the last 20 years,
I know Umps will be bad. Sometimes there are times when they’re bad and it hurts you, and then there are time when they’re bad and there is no reprocussions. This is more of the former.
-Joe
"Let me see that thong, th-thong thong thong!" -Sisqo
I've played and watched baseball for longer
and I’ve never seen anything like what I saw tonight. That was far, Beyond, a few bad calls.
It should not happen with this frequency at this level of play.
These guys are not getting $100/game on a sunday morning to stick it to some weekend warrior on the field. I don’t think the analogy holds.
ridiculous
calls have gone our way too, drew and george just don’t freak out about those.
An mlb conspiracy is flat out ridiculous you should be mentally examined if you think that.
if anything, its the kobe effect: primetime players like pujols getting the benefit of the doubt on close calls, but that effect in baseball is nowhere near that of basketball (except at fenway i gather)
I'll say you're right on one count
We’ve gotten a few calls. But not many. As for
but that effect in baseball is nowhere near that of basketball
see Maddux, Greg. Sure-fire hall of famer, and didn’t throw 10 legit stikes in his career.
Fearing a collapse; hoping to be proven wrong.
see Maddux, Greg. Sure-fire hall of famer, and didn’t throw 10 legit stikes in his career.
If this is a slam against Maddux’s skills, you may want to think about that a bit more. Greg Maddux is not a future Hall of Famer because of the umpires.
"Admirably obsessive." - Uni Watch, March 24th, 2009
NA34 | HK | RMN
Maybe later in his career, himself and Glavine would get the benefit
but you don’t have a career BB/9 of 1.80 purely because the umpires like you.
EXECUTE
by Andrew Martin on Sep 27, 2009 12:11 AM MDT up reply actions
You're right
The umps are out to get the Colorado Rockies. No longer shall they suffer the incestuous complaints of the unruly Todd Helton, the rudeness of the unkind Jim Tracy, and the mocking celebrations of the egomaniac Yorvit Torreabla. All of those inflated personalities which whine and moan and express emotion at a level far above that of all the other more polite, courteous, humble teams, like the dodgers with the ever-kind Manny Ramirez, the Cubs with gentlemanly Lou Pinella, and the Red Sox with the calm and tame Jonathon Papelbon.
Further, the MLB has no choice but to squash the Rockies. Letting such a midmarket team into the playoffs would be disastrous for baseball, so they must bend games in order to let the team whose market is so infinitely larger and better for baseball and tv ratings, Atlanta. And the dynamic personalities on the Braves will undoubtedly further baseball’s image as it competes with the NFL for prime time audience and media attention, far more than that of the boring Rockies. Dynamic personalities such as Brian McCann, Javier Vazquez, and Yunel Escobar. And let us not forget the fan favorite Chipper Jones, who is renowned for his kindness and warm-heartedness.
Adding all these elements together makes it clear that the Colorado Rockies are, in fact, the devil, and it is the sole purpose of the Umpires Association of Major League Baseball to make sure that they do not reap any rewards for their evildoing.
by nugg on Sep 27, 2009 12:14 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sarcasm. I've heard of that.
May even have to try it someday.
Our federal government isn’t very good at keeping secrets. Is there any reason to think that MLB would be better?
And it’s not liike MLB and the umpires are in bed togehter. It hasn’t been that long since the MLB-umpires union conrontation. If there was any guidance or even a hint to slant games in anyone’s favor it would probably get a sportswriter a Pulitzer.
I was there last night and there were quite a few calls that looked terrible. But I was in the cheap seats, so was going as much by fan reaction as what I could see. Still haven’t seen the replays.
I remember the Spilly walk-off grand slam, but I don’t recall what about that slam or the celebration would generate a vendatta on the part of the umpires. What am I missing?
PS.
Eric Young Jr. was out on the pick-off.
Adrian Gonzalez prolly didn’t go around on the Street K the other day.
Yeah, we’ve gotten shit on lately…but we’ve gotten our calls as well.
But, one thing I do see is EPIC players being treated less well by umps…like seeing the Toddfather get called looking so often…I feel the UMPS are trying to even things out.
Okay, I have a question:
To protect my sanity and energy, I haven’t been paying particularly close attention to Rockies games in the past few weeks (lest anyone say I’m no longer a real fan, I do honestly have my reasons for this), so I haven’t been following this umpiring breakdown that closely. Basically — in almost every game, there’s some bad calls and some good calls. Are these so completely extraordinary? And are we just not adjusting to the strike zone? It’s well known that umps establish their own zone…maybe we’re having trouble making in-game adjustments?
Also, please don’t hate me for this, but whenever things aren’t going your way, isn’t it always tempting to blame some external force? Like the Giants about the radar gun and the bullpen mound. Because this doesn’t usually happen, we naturally blame something else. I could be wrong about this; as I said, I haven’t been paying close enough attention to truly make an opinion about this, so all of these speculations could be totally off. I just thought I’d put it out there.
Carlos Gonzalez is a sexy man
This thread is ridiculous. The umpires are not out to get us. They just suck at their job.
They suck at their job for every team in MLB, not just us. They most certainly do not have a vendetta against one particular club.
Rob Neyer and I are in accord on this one—MLB umpires do poorly at a job for which they are well compensated and which could be done just as well by hundreds of minor league umps. I’ve done it…it’s not a hard job.
Eschew Obfuscation!
When did Neyer say that?
Although I agree that minor league umps could probably do just as good a job as the 68 guys in the majors right now, I don’t agree that they do their job poorly. I’ve been an umpire (in Little League, but still), and it’s not very difficult, but I doubt that you or I could perform as well or better than professional umpires.
by controlled_slide on Sep 27, 2009 9:52 AM MDT up reply actions
I just realized
That in two consecutive posts, I called umpiring “very difficult” and “not very difficult”. I guess I mean that actually making the calls is not difficult, but knowing where you need to be and positioning yourself properly to make correct calls can be difficult. Also, calling balls and strikes is much more difficult at the Major League level than it is in Little League where I’ve worked.
by controlled_slide on Sep 27, 2009 9:55 AM MDT up reply actions
Right Here:
Umpires don’t live like the Common Man
and here: Umpire Makes up Rule.
He sums up my argument about MLB umpires being eminently replaceable better than I could.
And here he comments on conspiracy theorists (he thinks it’s ridiculous):
Questioning Umps’ Integrity
And finally, here’s a THT article on the eyes of umpires
Eschew Obfuscation!
by Jeff Aberle on Sep 27, 2009 10:21 AM MDT up reply actions
Neyer seems to be saying mostly what I'm saying
That yes, umpires are replaceable. I also think that they should probably be replaced far more frequently than they are and that performance, not longevity, should be the most important factor in deciding whether an ump stays in the majors. However, Neyer doesn’t say that they are bad at their job. In fact, in the first article you cite, he says:
But it’s not an easy job and they generally do it well.
The point I’m trying to make is that Major League umpires are in the Major Leagues for a reason; just like most of us couldn’t hit a Major League fastball, most of us couldn’t call balls and strikes in a Major League game as well as Major League umpires do.
by controlled_slide on Sep 27, 2009 11:00 AM MDT up reply actions
After I posted this I realized that Neyer and I don't see eye to eye on this...
what I’m saying is that for the compensation they are given above and beyond their minor league brethren the major league umpires are not that much better or talented at their job. It’s a market inefficiency.
Eschew Obfuscation!
by Jeff Aberle on Sep 27, 2009 11:08 AM MDT up reply actions
Ah
I see what you’re saying. However, as long as MLB makes way more money than the Minors, that won’t happen. They almost have a lifetime appointment to their job, so the only way a Minor League umpire gets a shot is if a Major League ump retires.
by controlled_slide on Sep 27, 2009 11:16 AM MDT up reply actions
I've always wondered why they are"appointed for life"
I guess it’s something like tenure… not performance rated..right?? Seems a big difference between minor and major pay also.
Is it in the Constitution?
No, that’s federal judges.
Have there ever been upmires fired other than with the union fiasco a few years back?
And spekaing of that union fiasco, it’s impressive how Bob Davidson worked his way up through the minors and back to MLB.
And getting closer to the original topic, we just had an incorrect call go in our favor at first!
Everyone should read the book "As They See 'Em"
It’s a very well written account of a journalist who spent a few years interviewing umpires, as well as attending an umpire school and umpiring some games, including a major league Spring Training game. First, umpires care greatly about getting calls correct, second, they don’t have anything close to team allegiances, third it is a very difficult job, fourth, they have an extremely high rate of accuracy.
Is it frustrating when a call goes against your favorite team? Of course. However, the vast majority of calls are made correctly, and over the course of a game and season, the bad calls will even out.
by controlled_slide on Sep 27, 2009 9:50 AM MDT reply actions
Just ordered it from Amazon.
Had been thinking about it since reading the great post and thread on the book here on Purple Row.
OT, of course, but Steet coming in to start the 8th!?
Umps sure screwed us today
or wait, they screwed the cardinals
conspiracy or not,
it doesn’t matter what team you root for- the umpiring this year has been atrocious. That pitch to Giambi on Saturday was almost in the dirt. Even worse, the umps basically handed a game to the Red Sox last week against the Angels- and I have no love for either team, so that’s as neutral an observation as you can get. And then the league looked into comments the ANGELS made after the game, because the umps whined to the league! This is beyond comprehension, and is one of many things that Major League baseball, under the rule of Bud Selig, has royally screwed up.
Bottom line- instant replay MUST be added, outside of home run calls. People who rant and rave about it “slowing down the game”- or even worse, it ruining “the human element”- need to get over it already. It’s not like every play would need to be reviewed, just the ones that are so blatant. Besides, a quick review on an obviously blown call would be quicker than a manager screaming for 10 minutes to no avail. (though it may be less entertaining, as well…)
Its amazing how good most of the 1st base umpires
are. balls and strikes are always called slightly personal for each umpire but go watch web gems and those umpires will get the call right most of the time even when its a 1/30 th of a scond that seperates safe and out. Today in the ninth, the cards runner was safe by 1/30 th of a second, one frame of footage. Fowler was probably safe by 1/15 th of a second. Although each seemed to be obvious, its hard when the ball is getting launched 90mph from across the diamond and guys are legging them out at 15mph.
Maybe they should expand Replays?
Allow each manager the opportunity to have an umpire review a perceived bad ball/strike or base-running call that would’ve led to an out/safe call once or twice per game like college football? I don’t know what would be equivalent to a loss of down for an incorrect request, perhaps an extra out or something?
However, if an ump is struggling to get the strike zone correct, reversing a single pitch call may not help that much, since they would be likely to miss a subsequent call as well. Also, while being able to reverse a call may have prevented SD from scoring the go-ahead run and given Dex 1st base the other night, it may have cost the game yesterday by having Street pitch to Pujols with runners at 1st & 2nd with no outs….
did anybody see the highlight with Iassogna tonight?
got hit by a pitch straight in the chest! karma’s a b*tch!!!!
aw, nobody deserves to get hurt
EXECUTE: It's the Clutch thing to do
by Andrew Martin on Oct 1, 2009 7:10 AM MDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Five tips for Showtime’s second season of ‘The Franchise,’ featuring the Miami Marlins
- The 10 best things about being a Detroit Tigers fan
- Surprise! A’s finally end the Yoenis Cespedes derby with $36 million deal for Cuban star
- The time Whitney Houston sang to Jim Bowden
- Pitchers and catchers! Mariners get early start in Arizona
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
