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World Series Umpiring

Midlo DadMidlo Dad10,000+ posts
Not since Elrod Hendricks tagged Bernie Carbo with his empty mitt while the umpire's back was turned has there been a World Series so heavily afflicted with bad umpiring.

I realize the players are afraid to buck the umpires' union. After all, they're likely to be back no matter what you do, so why get yourself in the doghouse for the rest of your career? But if Bud Selig doesn't do something to impose accountability on umpires when the next umpires' union agreement comes up, something is seriously wrong.

I'm about ready to turn all balls and strikes calling over to "K Zone". Maybe then a ball at the belt buckle would not be called "high". That would be a start.

Plays like the safe call on Moyer's flip to Howard's bare hand (clearly out) and Longoria's tag on the rundown play with Rollins have me ready to jump on the replay band wagon. In both instances, the replays not only showed that the plays were not close, they showed umpires with their noses pointed right at the plays.

What, pray tell, were they looking at, if they didn't see the plays? I understand human error, and that occasionally you'll be screened or caught out of position. But how do you look right at a play as a VERY highly compensated, full time umpire and not see what's right in front of you?
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H Homerun041,000+ posts
I know the umpires are working hard, but I was thinking the same thing but did not want to say it.

Do they still have the systems in place to check the umpires, they use to hate to go to AZ because they knew they had the system in place that would track and rate their ball and strike calls.

Since they have the systems in place for home runs, why not use them on other calls as well to get the calls right.
J jdfromfla100+ posts
What is even more disconcerting is that they seem to be more fair towards the Phills..The last 2 nights at least the strike zone was a total c r a p shoot (C r a p isn't a curse word come on!!)..might just as well call balls and strikes via a oija board...disembowel a small critter or just flip a coin..I'm not seeing a professional pride in this crew..don't know why, consistency seems to be the enemy..If I'm Maddon I'm letting someone get run just so it comes to the forefront..heck it might make it swing the other way..couldn't get worse. Throw in McCarver and it's almost tough to stomach the game..Cannot remember a worse announcer ever..it's like Buck nudges him awake and he regurgitates whatever idiot statement pops into his muddled brain.
Last edited by jdfromfla
2Diamonds2Diamonds100+ posts
Yup! McCarver says last night "when a pitcher like Kazmir is struggling" Come on. he had to throw right down the middle! Just like the first game, he had Utley struck out 2 pitches before he hits the 2 run bomb! Umpires should be held accountable as well as players and I'm not seeing it. I understand they are just human, but come on, this is The World Series!
J jdfromfla100+ posts
I know they are getting feedback..they knew they blew the call on Rollins they know their strike zone is being challenged (And is obviously inconsistant) they get feedback right after the game or next day..they see replays and get supervision...It's like they are being defiant. I know if it was a Torre dugout or a Pinella dugout somebody will have already been run..maybe even a huge postgame dust-up where someone gets a huge fine.
piaa_umppiaa_ump5,000+ posts
quote:
It's like they are being defiant.


No one is being defiant....trust me they know they are on the spot in front of the entire nation...

Umpires as a whole do not want to be wrong, being correct, getting the call right is the reward...blowing it and having it spread all over the screen is the umpires worst nightmare....

You are right however, about them getting immediate feedback...from MLB and from the media...
biggerpapibiggerpapi5,000+ posts
I can't remember if it was Sunday or Monday but I do remember Dioner Navarro getting rung up on a questionable strike and he started to say something to the umpire on the way back to the dugout but, wisely, he shut up.

At that moment, I thought, maybe someone needs to get run to make a point. That 10-2 game might have been a good time.
J jdfromfla100+ posts
quote:
No one is being defiant....trust me they know they are on the spot in front of the entire nation...



I am also a certified ump Piaa..None of what I'm seeing is making me a bit happy..nor do I wish to be in their shoes. It is a phenominon I've seen in other instances..perhaps defiance isn't a great fit for what is happening but..perhaps the defensiveness that they are sure to feel because they have been shown so openly wrong has made them get that hunker down feeling and..say more apt to react instead of think through a call..the 3b ump didn't have to go immediately..if he would have relaxed and thought about what we know he really saw..heck he had perfect positioning on it.. you and I know he saw the tag..he reacted and had to live with it..That defensiveness makes you less likely to take that extra half second..at least in my experience..(Myself and brother umps I've observed). It's a pressure cooker and they like Col. Potter once said on MASH..they need to drop their drawers and take a slide on the ice..so to speak.
Midlo DadMidlo Dad10,000+ posts
"Defiance" is one word maybe. "Arrogant" is the word that comes to my mind, esp. when the umps take it upon themselves to alter the strike zone from the rule book, or day to day and game by game.

In the real world outside baseball, employees who disregard mandates from superiors on a regular basis get fired. In my mind, the power to fire a couple of them would bring the rest into line. See if there's somewhere else they can make what they make. It may not be player pay, but it's pretty darned sweet.

Right now they can do what they please and face no consequences. It's a power trip for some of them.
CPLZCPLZ1,000+ posts
Baseball is responsible for empowering the umps.

Midlo is right, a couple of well placed cannings, and everyone falls in line.

Some time ago, umpires decided that "they" were part of the show. They take control of the strike zone, they take control of the inside of the plate, they take control of retaliation. Heck, I saw Charlie Hager, White Sox knuckleballer, get tossed with no warning for beaning a batter with a knuckleball that was so slow it didn't register on the gun. This was in a game where there was no bad blood or inside pitching going on.

The fact that good umpires are sitting at home watching these guys sully the whole profession, is abysmal. The fact that MLB won't take the reigns and force compliance with a strike zone shows a complete lack of leadership from the top.
L Lonzo10+ posts
i agree with CPLZ, at some point some umpires started believing that the fans were paying to see them. I believe it is possible to see this attitude and action should be taken by powers-that-be to squash this arrogance in the umps that need it. I would also think, that union or no union, the other "invisible" umps would like to see it also.

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