Comments on: Joe West’s crew strikes again

By: highump

highump — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:36:15 +0000

You, sir, are more informed than 99% of the baseball population. The umps get graded every game. They are held accountable through fines (common) and even suspensions (rare). Should they trim the old and bring in the new? They are already doing that. Does Holbrook have a quick trigger? Yes. Is West still an excellent umpire? Yes. What the union guarantees is this accountability is kept private. Umpire accountability has been kept private since the dawn of umpire accountability, as the general public is simply to ignorant to need to know about such details.

By: highump

highump — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:25:17 +0000

Saw the replay. The finger point right after the call in Holbrook’s face could have gotten him tossed right there. My guess is Mr. Holbrook regretted not immediately ejecting him, then Mr. Laird made it easy with a post-call dugout tirade. I can’t find a replay showing anything Mr. Laird did in the dugout, so passing judgement on that would be speculation, at best (ahem, Craig, ahem).

By: highump

highump — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:20:56 +0000

A manager can carp as much as he wants? LOL

Rule 9.02 (a) Any umpire’s decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to,
whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a
runner is safe or out, is final. No player, manager, coach or substitute shall object to
any such judgment decisions.

By: highump

highump — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:08:37 +0000

This another classic example of an ump hater, with little to no information about what he is talking about, quick to use anything possible to add to his “case history” of why umps suck.

By: crackersnap

crackersnap — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 02:58:06 +0000

Rumor has it that they already do use the PitchF/X data and video to review umpire information and then grade the umps. My guess is that there is some union prohibition from the use of any word that might be considered even remotely negative.

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 20:28:40 +0000

Love it when we all agree.

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:30:11 +0000

still waiting for that sarcasm font…

By: paperlions

paperlions — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:28:42 +0000

It happened just recently (http://kowb1290.com/umpire-ejects-minor-league-pa-announcer/) and has happened in the minors every few years.

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:26:34 +0000

PA announcers, you say? Yeah, when that happens, that’ll be all the proof we need that this has gotten way out of hand.

Oh wait, that’s right, we have all the proof we need that this has gotten way out of hand.

By: leeeroooyjeeenkiiins

leeeroooyjeeenkiiins — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:23:29 +0000

Bud Selig, is that you? Who taught you how to use the internets?

By: uwsptke

uwsptke — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:57:56 +0000

This is the same guy who thought Greinke showed him up after throwing his glove on the ground in anger after failing to cover the bag in time. Tossed him after 4 pitches.

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:54:31 +0000

yes. also, during the meeting, he ejects everyone that disagrees with him. On the rare occurrence that a meeting ends with more than just West still in the room, he taunts the remaining participants mercilessly until they respond, then ejects them too.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:52:57 +0000

I am pretty sure you an actually complain as much as you want from the dug out without breaking any rules. Players and coaches are not allowed to leave their positions to argue. That is really the only rule. But umpires are given the discretion to throw out anyone in the park (including any fan or employee) that they want to throw out. That authority is meant to keep the game civil and moving along….it is not the umpires job to actively search for reasons to throw out players/coaches/fans/PA announcers….they are supposed to use the authority when the game can not proceed in an orderly fashion because of repeated interruption….not to placate their own over-inflated egos.

A manager can carp from the dugout as much as he wants, the umpire is at liberty to ignore him because he isn’t actually doing anything against any rule.

By: steve7921

steve7921 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:40:01 +0000

Good Ole Bud could solve the instant replay issue very easily…hold these umpires accountable just like they do in the NFL. Grade each umpire in each game and at the end of the season, if there grade are below a certain standard…see yaaaaaa!

Joe West, Sam Holbrook, Angel Hernandez, Bob Davidson…I shouldn’t know their names, maybe thats the standard…if 1,000 fans from around the country know an umpires name, then the ump is fired!!!

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:49:33 +0000

Does he open up union meetings with a song?

By: cur68

cur68 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:45:36 +0000

Or something.

By: frank433

frank433 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:31:54 +0000

Leyland kept his guns holstered until West pointed at the Tigers dugout towards Verlander (who was tossed by West in a previous game when he was on his way to the bench after a pitching change). Leyland defended his bench then was ejected. That’s when the guns were blazing.

By: mirmz

mirmz — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:28:47 +0000

Write him a letter; I hear he reads those.

By: delawarephilliesfan

delawarephilliesfan — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:25:53 +0000

Here’s a quote for ya:

said West “just isn’t a professional” ……called West “arrogant” and said, “he’s got this macho thing, he’s got to show everybody that he’s the boss.”

From this fracas? Last season? 2 years ago? Nope, that was Nick Leyva in 1990 after West ejected Von Hayes from a game. Hayes’ sin? Telling his first base coach (telling his own coach) that Home Plate ump Harry Wendelstedt made a “Horseshit Call” earlier in an at bat in which Hayes ultimately hit a single.

Google that whole affair, it became so heated that NL President Bill White ultimately threatened to resign over comments Cowboy and Ritchie Phillips made

By: spudatx

spudatx — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:15:08 +0000

Holbrook is the same egomaniac who tossed Grienke a few weeks ago after two batters. Umpires like this are damaging the game in their pursuit of making it onto TMZ or ESPN or whatever.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:11:26 +0000

I think labeling it as ego is not being specific enough.

Specifically, I believe it’s insecurity and bravado.

Why else would an umpire glare at a player all the way back into the dugout and while he’s in the dugout?

Ya know that kid with the Daytona Cubs who was ejected last week for playing 3 Blind Mice?

Yeah, well, I got a warning from a AA home plate ump for doing the same thing once. The ball was dead and it was clear to everyone around me that I was doing it for the fans – who reacted with loud cheers and laughter (obviously everyone in the park was thinking the same thing) after a series of poor calls by the umpires.

In entertaining the fans and enhancing the game experience I did my job that day – if only the umps had been doing the same, they would have never paid any mind to my opportunistic sound quip.

PS – I was in charge of the game experience at the time and I was in little danger of getting in real trouble . . . however depending on the type of personality that runs the front office – or the league office – an intern could be an entirely different case altogether.

By: craggt

craggt — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:04:31 +0000

Because West is the longest tenured umpire and (I wish I was kidding here) West is the president of the Union.
*smh*

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:00:17 +0000

In my experience, unions protect the inept- it’s the whole “All for one” mantra. It’s one of the reasons they get so much flak from non-union folk.

By: skids003

skids003 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:53:21 +0000

Come on Craig, there has to be more to this story than this. Did he yell something out at him or just “talk” about the call to his teammates. Where’s the rest of the story?

By: skids003

skids003 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:51:10 +0000

And that’s why you are the Commissioner, thank goodness.

By: stairwayto7

stairwayto7 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:49:56 +0000

fire all the umps after the season! Their egos are bigger then thier stomachs!

By: eshine76

eshine76 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:48:09 +0000

If a player looks at a called 3rd strike that he doesn’t like, briefly questions the ump and then walks off the field, will he get thrown out for smashing a water cooler with his bat?

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:35:06 +0000

Why does MLB and the Umpires Union tolerate this stuff from this particular crew?

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:18:35 +0000

According to mlb.com, the call was bad (per video review) and Leyland did say something to the ump but went back to the dugout without incident. But then West decided to warn Verlander — who was in the dugout and not playing that game — because he was yelling from the dugout (and I imagine there were a lot of players who were). Leyland objected to West warning Verlander and told him he should mind the players on the field instead of fussing at guys off the field. That’s what made West toss him. The whole thing stinks and discredits the umps!

By: cur68

cur68 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:00:21 +0000

If I were commish instead of Bud, know what I’d do? I’d travel to one of West’s games (in his mind I’m sure he thinks of them as “his games”) and wait for him, or one of his boys, to pull this crap. Then I’d march onto the field, call a meeting and confront the whole passel of idjits right there. If they gave me any crap about reversing the call I’d toss them, en mass right there and call in the replacements. I’d use really big arm movements too. Like just the hugest arm wave you ever saw to indicate that West and his whole crew could get lost. I’d shot putt them outta there. Hell, I might even javelin throw them too. Might even come up with an individual toss move for each one of them . . . probably have to mimic a hammer toss for West, he so fat. They want to be part of The Show? Fine. They’re part of The Show. They’re the part of The Show being invited to waddle their fat butts right the hell out of there.