strange....now in the Cubs-Expos game yesterday, PU Ted Barrett tells the media that he kicked a call at the plate:

(from CNNSI)
-------------------------------------------------------

With runners at second and third and one out, Rivera broke for home on Brian Schneider's grounder. First baseman Derrek Lee's throw home appeared to beat Rivera, who slid outside past catcher Paul Bako and reached with his left hand to touch the plate as he slid by.

Rivera looked up at Barrett, who made no sign until Bako came over and tagged him for the second out. Expos manager Frank Robinson argued the call with Barrett, then crew chief Ed Rapuano -- the second base umpire, to no avail.

Barrett got a different perspective following the game and acknowledged that he missed the call.

"After looking at the replay, it looks like he made a great slide and got his hand in," Barrett said. "So all I've got to figure out now is next time how to get in a position where I can see that."
---------------------------------------------------------

..............what's going on? Is it a good idea to confess your sins to the world like this? I'm getting more confused by the day......or is this another "big dogs can do what they want" situation?

No, this is just another case of a good official realizing that he doesn't have to maintain some perceived macho image to earn and maintain respect in his profession. When in reality, the image perceived by others for maintaining this staunch, stubborn, conceited I never make a mistake attitude, un-masks their true inadequacies not only as an official, but also a human being.

It's a breath of fresh air. As a result, I have more respect for Ted Barrett.

Nobody expects umpires to be perfect. It's their arrogance that turns people off.

Arrogance is not an affliction necessarily limited to those working professional baseball, by the way.

One of the <i>potentially</i> <A HREF="http://baseball.officiating.com/x/article/3654">biggest messes</A> I ever got into as an umpire was squelched by a simple confession of "We blew it, coach."

David Emerling
Memphis, TN

He admitted this to the media?
 

I have no problem with him admitting a mistake. I just want to know why he is talking to the media. I thought that was a big no no? I know in the NBA and NFL there are rules that strictly forbid the officials to comment to the media.

I guess times are a changin'.

Peace

I did not see the game, but I have already received one phone call and a couple of emails from friends/umpires that DID see the game about another call in the game:

Bako was on third. Maddux hits a grounder down the 3B line, Bako heads back to 3B. The ball, in fair territory, hits Bako in the back and bounces into LF. U3 calls the ball fair, and in play.

Well, IF this is what happened, U3 blew this one, where is his confession? 7.08f is pretty clear, a runner hit by a fair batted ball in fair territory is out, ball is dead (assuming it has not yet passed an infielder, etc. etc.) On this play, F5 was behind the runner, so passing an infielder is not an issue.

Now, Steve Stone and Chip Carray tried to justify the call with, "Bako had gotten back to the base before getting hit, so he can't be out if he is on the base. Good call." Well, we know THAT isn't true. But apparently, Robinson or no one else even questioned the call.

Have the facts been presented to me accurately? Is this what happened? And if so, where is U3's mea culpa.

Sounds like Barrett may not have been the only ump on the crew missing one yesterday.

I saw the play...
 

...and your take on it was correct. I dunno why interference wasn't called either 'cause that's the reaction I had. But the 8,122 in attendance and the other two thousand watching the game (c'mon, it's the Cubs and Expos) got a good look. I hope the UIC talked about this in the post-game...

...don't get me started on Pat Hughes claiming that an overthrow by Rivera (Expo RF) allowed Bako to score from second because it's "one and one" (ugh)...

Atl Blue, Im glad you mentioned this other call because I saw it too and had the same reaction: it doesnt matter if Bako was on the bag or not, he's out, yes? I wasnt surprised that the commentators got it wrong (Steve Stone: "now if he'd been off the bag when he was hit, he'd be out"), but there was the 3B ump staring right at it and gesturing 'fair ball', Bako trots home, and NO ONE says a word about it..no ump, no managers, nothing. I thought I was in the twilight zone and that *I* must be wrong! *puzzled*

Re: He admitted this to the media?
 

Your question makes no sense, since it's not a question.
Who else, but the media, asks questions of the umpire crew after the game?
How else do we hear about issues involving professional officials - the media!?!

This game was filled with close and questionable calls. A reporter from WGN (the Cubs flagship) asked him about the two controversial plays. He admitted that he had a good look at the one replay and that “my call was unacceptable” - his words.

As was stated here (very recently), MLB is making their umpires more accountable. We have had over a two dozen umpires explain controversial calls to the media this year. In a major market it gets great play - with the Cubs alone, we have had Brinkman, Bucknor, Rapuano and West explain their controversial plays and kicked calls from this year. How could it be "a no no" when you see it on TV almost every week?

Times have indeed changed - I think that was brought up here recently, too! Officials are being scrutinized more and held accountable. This is all in an effort to get the call right.

As his comment alluded, he will have to get in a better position to make the call. Hell, we teach rookies to set up third base extended. He just got caught with his pants down and is trying to show MLB that he knows that something needs to be done in order to get the call right. (Was that ever discussed here? That might make a good topic, someday.)

Lastly, we like to stay on topic here...this is a baseball site. I believe that this post says it all.

“ JRutledge - Senior Member
Registered: Jun 2000 - Posts: 3901

I am not offended.
But I would really not want to read about a sport that has nothing to do with the board you posted on.

I will only speak for myself. But I am sure I am not the only one.

Peace
__________________
"I'm living my life like its GOLDEN!!"--Jill Scott

Fox Valley Football Officials

Inter Association Council of Athletic Officials

Athletic Officials Association
Mar 30th, 2004 09:46 AM

This is about the interview, not "getting it right."
 

Windy, other sports do not allow their officials to speak to the media, no matter what. If anyone comments at all, it is the "Supervisor of Officials" of the NFL or NBA might release a statement to the media. But "calling" officials do not give interviews or even crew chiefs do not give interviews to the media about plays. In some cases if a league or conference knows a mistake has been made, they report the action in a press release. They do not give access to their officials to comment. And in some cases they have been suspended for talking to the media. One of the best examples of this was when Ted Valentine talked to Referee Magazine over the "Bobby Knight" incident. Valentine was suspended for one season.


Well if it is happening on TV every week, I surely do not see it. I have also have tuned out most baseball games, so I can honestly say I have been paying attention. I just know that it is not allowed in the other sports or levels that are on TV.

What does giving an interview have to do with "getting it right?" My statement has to do with the interview with the media, not the scrutiny that officials find themselves in. Every since SportCenter and 24 hour News and sports channels have been around, of course there is going to be scrutiny. That has been going on for at least the last 25 years.

That is all great, but why is he talking to the media about that. Should MLB be evaluating his performance and suggesting what he needs to do next time? That is what other leagues do. They do not go talk to the media about their calls and things they need to work on.

I am not posting this to discuss an issue with you. I just found it odd that MLB makes it acceptable for one of their umpires to discuss plays and situations. In an association that I belong to, there was an official that worked a game that was on national TV. There were two plays in the game that were made that the crew chief admitted that the crew messed up. They did not give an interview or a release a statement from the media. The crew chief (fellow association member) talked to the association about the play and not the media. He explained that he did not want us to go to the public about what he stated in that media. He also told us that media from all over the country tried to get interviews from him by calling his job. His secretary was answering more calls about this game than the reason people normally called for. I just found it interesting that still to this day that if something took place with this official or any official that worked the league would get fined or suspended and that MLB allows their umpires to speak freely to the media about plays. They even suspended Ozzie Guillian(sp?) for commenting on an Umpire's ejection report and I never heard the Umpire comment or give an interview about the situation or Ozzie's comments.

Peace

Re: This is about the interview, not
 

Right, but baseball doesn't work that way. In baseball, each individual crew chief is responsible for fielding questions from the media. Each crew chief decides on their own whether or not to allow one of his umpires to address questions from the media directly. History has shown that, in the face of a controversial call, the umpires will field indeed field questions.

I brought this up in a Post "Cubs at Montreal". Today I looked this up in J/R. There are two exceptions where a base is a safe haven. When a runner is on base and gets hit by an infield fly and when a runner is on base and the fielder and the batted ball are in the immediate vicinity of the base. If you think about it what choice does the runner have but to stay on the base otherwise he's an easy out.

Gordon,

The umpire explained to teh WGN reporter as 7.08g. This might be another reason why the MLB permits the umpires to explain their calls to the media. The confusion that ensued was intense and he was trying to look efficient after kicking his call.


Rut,
Once again, you missed the point. Not only does MLB allow the umpires to talk with the media, they encourage it and have directed their officials to talk with the media in the past. During Spring Training, Joe Brinkman, Ed Rapuano and Joe West gave extensive interviews. It is all in the name of making the game more friendly and accounable.

You claimed to not have seen any of these umpires talk about their calls during the past year. Yet, many members here are saying that they have seen them over the last few months. What exactly are you watching?

Not Major League Baseball.
 

Not sure what giving an interview has to do with accountablity. The umpires are accountable to the League and the ML Office, not the American Media.


Windy,

I do not watch Baseball Tonight every night. I do not watch SportCenter to follow all the MLB games. I would never buy the Major League TV package to follow every pitch or to see managers fall asleep during games. I just found it odd that MLB was allowing umpires to give interviews. They cannot do it in other sports and that is why I found it odd. That is it. That is all. I did not see the play in question or how the umpire blew the call. I am also not debating that he blew the call or that he even gave an interview. I never claimed to be such a baseball fan that I have to know the daily batting average of Albert Pujols. I just found it "curious" why he would give an interview. It appears that MLB allows this and that is fine. I just do not think they should for reasons I have stated. If you feel they should, we will just have to disagree. ;)

Peace

Your heading for your initial response tipped all of us that you are not an expert on MLB, you didn’t need to tell us. You should watch those shows once in a while. Not because, you wouldn’t make a comment as inane as “I just found it odd that MLB was allowing umires to give interviews.” Instead, you won’t make the same mistakes and maybe you’ll get past the first round of high school baseball playoffs in Illinois. Oh, I had little doubt that you would not feel comfortable with officials being accountable to the world. So, yes, we will agree to disagree. I believe that we are headed in the right direction. Letting officials hide behind bogus calls is wrong for the game, recruiting of new officials and just bad PR.

Ladies and gentlemen,in this corner is WCB. And in that corner is JR. Me doth really think they JUST CAN'T STAND EACH OTHER.

Holy comment Batman, you mean like brother and sister. No Robin, more like Umpire and Coach.

Hey Bugs, thats just unbaweaveable.

Nah, dey just both eat too many carrots.

What does the IHSA Playoffs have to do with this discussion?
 

:rolleyes:

I never claimed to be a MLB expert.

Why, so I could fall asleep?

I did not realize that was a major goal. I guess we all need goals. ;)

You are right. I want to be accountable to the media, then the people that understand the mechanics and the umpiring process.

I did not realize that having every game on TV was hiding. I guess the USC-VT game on Saturday had little scrutiny because the officials did not give an interview about an OPI call. You know, there were not any evaluations from the assignors or NCAA evaluators because they did not stand up in a press room and answer questions about a critical call.

Windy, did you come here to have a discussion of the issue or did you come here to try to get into another pissing match? Go back to your organization and claim you are the best umpire to them. I think the rest of us do not care.

Peace

SO WHAT??
 

I can't stand Buttsludge. There are countless umpires and lurkers of this board (and others) who can't stand his stupid a$$, either. Yet, we're still entertained by his propencity to continually show how stupid he is. What does it matter? He's free to spout his idiotic ramblings here and on other sites. Those that fall for it.......well there's one born every minute.
Is this a great country, or what?

Neither can I
 

I mostly lurk on the football board and a little bit of basketball. Rutledge is everywhere spouting the same outlandish junk.

The are plenty of people here that spout a ton of crap. Some seem to love to twist thing others say to try to get an ego boost or to try and bring down the person they do not care for.

I have had disagreements over mechanics, rules, calls etc with different officials. I don't have the need to resort to name calling.

There is no official that calls thing 100% correct. There is no such thing as the perfect game by an official. Some places use different mechanics or signals or whatever. Respect what is being said. You may disagree with it, but atleast respect it. We should all be here to learn, but unfortunetly some people SEEM to think they have nothing left to learn.

Last time I checked, one of the things to being a good, respected official is honor and integrity. Childish name calling does not lend to those traits that all official should have.

Re: Re: He admitted this to the media?
 

I agree that most times 3B extended is preferable place to be. The way this play went I think Ted just had it blow up a bit in his face and did not get a good look at the hand touching the plate, not due to angle so much (though 3B extended or point of the plate would have helped some) but due to how close he was.

I have been taught to give yourself some distance. Get back to the edge of the dirt over even just off the dirt to give yourself an better view of the play. That is were I would fault him more than being 1B extended. While he was not dead on top of the play, being another foot or 18 inches back would probably have prevented it. I think he was close enough that all he could do was see if the tag was made and because of the timing of it all, did not get a good look of the hand touching the plate. Thus the kick.

I also have more respect for Ted for admitting the mistake. It takes a real man to admit when he is wrong.

I only hope this is not in reference to that mile long spoute fest (mostly of personnal attacks and not informative discussions) about another official overturning (in this case Ted's) a call. Barring instant replay, there is next to no chance of this being "overturned" The play happened at home and, more than likely, no other official would have had a good enough view to "overturn" the call. Maybe 1B would have. 3B and 2b would have probably been blocked off by the catcher to see anything. Am I saying that there is not a 100% chance of that getting "corrected"? No, but the other officials would have had to have a perfect view of it and the plate official would have had to ask if his partner(s) saw anything different. Very few PU's would have gone to ask that question.

Hold on there, little doggie.......cowby
 

If you respect the words of an idiot, then that says a whole lot more about you, than it does about me (or others), who calls a spade, a spade.
I happen to fall in the in the group who feel that respect needs to be earned, and your boy, Rut, hasn't earned it. Quite the contrary, actually, at least in my opinion. Of course, you're free to continue to seek his counsel, if you feel it's going to make you a better official.

Have you ever kicked a call...I mean a really bad call, that you could probably make in your sleep? The coach comes out and says, "Are you blind? That was the worst call I've seen this year. You'd better go back to T-Ball and get some practice." or some variant. What just happened? You made a horrible mistake and someone called you on it. You were a bonehead and a couple of names were thrown your way. You are supposed to be thick skinned, but it stings, because you know you can't argue with the guy...HE WAS RIGHT. So you eat it.

This is not Rut's M.O. He jumps into conversations and throws out ridiculous statements all of the time. he can't support them and when he gets challenged he starts twisting and turning from the original topic and what got him into trouble.

Acoountability is what it is about these days. Make your call...if it's wrong and you can make it right with the help of your crew, do it. If not, have the balls to admit that you kicked it. We are not privy to a lot of the face to face stuff. But I bet you a dollar to a donut that you've had guys say stuff like, "Skipp, if I had to do it all over again, I might have called it differently. We talked and none of my partners had a better look. You know we're trying like hell out here."

Rut is of the school that you can have an opinion about anything and don't need experience, facts or figures to support them. The battle that I wage with him is confused with "Big Dog vs. Lil' Dog". When I was young, I learned that you don't nip the heels of the Big Dog unless you want to get bitten. He apparently didn't.