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Mon Jul 18, 2005, 10:49pm
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Wow. I never thought I'd see the day that such an obvoius judgement call was overturned. Granted, I do believe the crew of Dana Demuth and Laz Diaz got the call right, but I can already here the cries of all you umpires out there screaming "group hug!" So I have to ask everyone: What is your initial impression of what happened on that night? (If you did not see it, check Yahoo Sports).
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Mon Jul 18, 2005, 11:20pm
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Here is what happned:
Julio Lugo hit a grounder to first and Schilling went to cover the bag. First base umpire Dana DeMuth ruled that Schilling beat the runner, but he thought the pitcher missed the bag and called Lugo safe, allowing a run to score. ``I assumed the whole foot missed the bag, so I banged him safe,'' DeMuth said. ``I wanted to make the right call.'' Schilling argued, prompting DeMuth to summon home plate umpire Laz Diaz. Diaz said he saw Schilling touch the base and the call was overturned, ending the inning and taking the run off the board. The Red Sox left the field quickly, but Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella was enraged and stormed out of the dugout. ``Dana DeMuth, he's 6 feet away from the bag. And then you've got a home plate umpire who's 90 feet away and sees it better than the guy at first base. It's hard for me to believe,'' Piniella said. ``You've got one base to call. Make the call and stand by it.'' Piniella was quickly ejected in the ensuing argument and had to be held back by first base coach Billy Hatcher. ``Whoooo!'' Hatcher said. ``I've got to get back in the weight room. That's a strong man.''
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 05:20am
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Well, I saw the replay over and over, and depending on which angle you see the play at, the outcome is different. The only person that had a good look at the play was U1 (DeMuth). No one, and I mean NO ONE had a beter look at the play on that field last night.
This is one of those plays that the calling official earns his money - it's a live or die play! This is not the kind of play that can be discussed because no other umpire was in position to see the play. Even though Diaz was chasing the play, he did not have the a better view. So instead of letting the call be what it is, the umpires get together and the call gets reversed. Now Pinella comes out and all I could say was that he was gone the minute he came out on the field. There was no way he was going to accept this bull$hit reversal of a call. Look, if Diaz was even close to where DeMuth was, I could see having a meeting. But as I said before, this is that rare call that you have to live or die with. It's the kind of call that you have to have the balls to make and once you do you have to stand with it. In my opinion, DeMuth needs to check his crotch to see if he is a gelding or not. "I just wanted to get the call right" is just a bull$hit way of saying "I made a call but I don't want to piss anyone off so I want to have everyone's opinion so I don't take the heat myself."! I don't agree with making a call then meeting then making another call. Make the damn call right to begin with!
__________________
When in doubt, bang 'em out! Ozzy
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 07:02am
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Quote:
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 07:21am
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I didn't see the play live, but as soon as I saw the play with no commentary I knew the crew had gotten together. Laz Diaz absolutely had a better view of Schilling's foot on the bag. For some reaosn, Dana was in foul territory and could not have possibly seen whether Schilling's foot got the side of the bag. Diaz, following the play down the line, should have and did see it with no problem. There was nothing "rare" about a ground ball- FWIW I've had this situation a couple of times this year where a coach has asked either my partner or I to ask for help on a foot on the bag.
If you want to make a stink about something, debate whether Schilling actually beat Lugo to the bag. Dana and Laz got it right here.
__________________
Throwing people out of a game is like riding a bike- once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun.- Ron Luciano
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 09:48am
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Quote:
It was the right call as Schilling did get the bag ahead of the runner. DeMuth had to of figured that he did not have the best angle on whether or not Schilling's foot hit the side of he bag so he got help. Plus with as bang bang as it was he may of felt he did not get the best look and probably felt more comfortable asking for the help to make sure it was called right.
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Jim Need an out, get an out. Need a run, balk it in.
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 09:56am
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Anyone know why DeMuth was in foul ground for this call? If he'd been in the more normal position for the call, he would likely have seen Schilling's foot better.
__________________
"Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile." - Hall of Fame Pitcher Christy Mathewson
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 10:23am
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No clue why Dana was in foul ground....I had that exact same question.
Jim Joyce has been hurt for a few weeks....he sprained his knee covering the plate from first in St. Louis and has been out ever since.
__________________
Throwing people out of a game is like riding a bike- once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun.- Ron Luciano
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 10:36am
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Blue Jays and Devil Rays Saturday. John Hirshbeck also went in foul ground on a similar play. He called a Devil Ray player safe who was clearly out on the tag. I wonder why they didn't ask for help from the HP umpire?
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 10:37am
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Well, as far as I could see, DeMuth must have felt pressure from the defense and on a 4 man crew, you can go into foul ground without a problem.
From the replays, I don't agree that Diaz was in a better position. No, I like most of you, do not do MLB games. But what they do up there there affects the rest of us down at our levels. Since this whole meeting crap started, we amateurs are constantly asked to "check with your partner" on every whacker. I think that if you all like meeting to get the call right so much, then why not do like NFL officials and meet at every play? Why not get the video cameras out for FED and NCAA so we can waste time looking at replays to make a decision. And finally, why don't we just put a time clock in center field and give MLB say, 2 1/2 hours to get 9 innings in? Baseball is supposed to be officiated in the present, not the past. Here's the play, here's the call - that's it! If you don't make good calls, you loose your job (MLB) or you don't get games (the rest of us). If I need help with a call, I go for it BEFORE I make the call as we were trained to do eons ago. If there is a possible rule mis-application then there should be a meeting. But I'm sorry, a bang-bang play should get one call - not a call, then a meeting, then another call. I'm for getting the call right, but that is my job, not a committee's. So, I'm sure that most of you don't agree with this because our society demands investigations and verifications and political correctness. Well, this is baseball, not Watergate. I say save the meetings for the politicians. I'll just concentrate on the play and live with my call.... just as I am doing right now.
__________________
When in doubt, bang 'em out! Ozzy
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Tue Jul 19, 2005, 12:05pm
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So Ozz, tell us how you REALLY feel about this.
Hey I wish gas was .32 cents/gal, the balloon vest was still used, Pres. Kennedy was still in office, that girls name I was with Nov. 6, never mind. It would be a funny (and dull) world out there if everyone did everything the same and nothing ever changed. Oh , and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now either!!!!!!!!
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