Anybody have any information as to why two and possibly more crews of MLB umpires have been switched around?

Example: Fletcher and Schrieber are working on a different crew. Iassonga is now working with Mike Reilly's crew and Mark Carlson has also been bumped over to Reilly's crew as well.

Just curious is all?

part of it probably has to do with the last series in STL. i read on espn.com or something that gerry davis and someone else wanted to be at the last game in busch stadium because they grew up there or had strong ties to that area, so they are moved into that crew so they can be a part of it.

That is a good possibility, but these umpires like Iassogna and Carlson are getting switched to crews in big series. MLB probably wants Ron Kulpa or Mark Carlson in Oakland or Chicago for a playoff implicating series instead of a AAA fill-ins. They probably only take umpires form weak series like SEA/DET and etc. There is no reason to have four playoff experience umpires in the SF/COL series, so they moved an umpire over. Paul Schrieber, Andy Fletcher, and Mike DiMuro all left during the middle of their series earlier in the week because of injury or whatever, so MLB probably did some emergency switching for this weekends big games. I think it is a good move, but that is just my two cents.

If anyone has any insider info on who will be working in the playoffs this year, please share as you get it.

Thank you.

Umpire47 is exactly correct. Kulpa and Iassogna left the SEA/DET series to fill in on other crews working games with playoff implications.

Don't know why the league chooses to do that in some situations and not others. I imagine it has to do with the experience of the "fill-ins", since Barksdale and Drake worked last nights CWS/MIN game.

First-round umpires are announced this weekend. Insiders with info are few and far between.

That actually makes alot of sence...Its a great way to get the AAA fill-ins time in the bigs,which is great. Seems wierd how some of the umps such as Iassonga has been in MLB for a few years. I would have chosen Tim tscheda since he's got alot of years under his belt,but hey thats just me...


It will be interesting to see who the umps are for the first round.

I'd post my opinion on who should work the first round but I'd get a half dozen WOBW remarks.

So I'll just say that I noticed Mark Carlson's departure has allowed Travis Reininger to work some games with Joe West's crew, which helps the "get AAA guys some experience" theory.

Mattmets,

I will ask the question, who do you feel should work the playoffs this year?

Well I won't go into the entire crews that I think should work, but I think guys who have earned spots include Joe West (who I believe will work the WS), Mike Winters, Mark Carlson, Marvin Hudson, Fieldin Culbreth, Ted Barrett, and Jim Reynolds. These guys are in addition to the guys who seem to be playoff staples: Rapuano, McClelland, Montague, Scott, T. Welke, Marsh, and Jeff Nelson. I think the injuries to Jim Joyce and Charlie Reliford will open up 2 more spots that might not be there, which will probably benefit some younger guys.

Thanks for asking, John :D

No problem Matt. I always like to see what other umpires think about things like this. I like your selections. I would also consider Andy Fletcher, Mike DiMuro, Tim Timmons, Eric Cooper, and Greg Gibson.

I like seeing umpires who truly went out worked hard all season, not had too many problems during the season get selected for the playoffs at any level in any sport.

I also have to root for the veteran Michigan umpire being from Michigan. However, two of the three most likely selections will probably not be selected due to injuires or evaluations and they would be Reilly and Kellogg.

I do think though that Tim Welke is a lock for the playoffs this year if not the World Series. West I think is a sure bet for the World Series, but we shall see as the next few weeks unfold.

I thought Tim Timmons would be good as well, but does he have enough experience to merit a playoff assignment in MLB's eyes? What is it about Mike Reilly that makes you think he won't get it?

While I agree with you on Tim Welke getting a playoff nod, I have to highly disagree with your selection of Eric Cooper.

I think Mark Wegner definitely deserves a spot. I also would consider Doug Eddings, Bill Miller, Dan Iassogna, and Tony Randazzo

Mark Wegner should be there,as should chuck meriweather..I think if the redsox are in it they should being chris Guccione out to do the plate,or second......I think that would be ghreat,seeing if chris is vindictive or if david does anything.


my choices would be

west,wegner,meriweather,timmons,kulpa,crawford,Dim uro,Gibson,
Barrett,Diaz,Hudson,Hernandez,the list goes on.......



Side note:you would think troy fullwood should be working some games when crews switch. I find it hard to believe he isnt since he's done a good job earlier this year. Altho i am glad to see some young guys get called up,thats deffinetly a dream come true.

Since everyone else is posting who they think should work, I'll post the crews I think deserve it, even though my humble opinion means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Crew 1- Crawford, Timmons, Hudson, Everitt, Carlson, Davis

Crew 2- Marsh, DiMuro, Gibson, Barrett, Darling, Culbreth

Crew 3- Hirschbeck, Cuzzi, Winters, Rapuano, Vanover, Wegner (who I think is an incredible umpire)

Crew 4- West, Cederstrom, Bell, Nelson, T. Welke, Reynolds

I also think this year will be the WS year for Wally Bell and Gary Cederstrom.

Those are good crews.A good mixture of umps. Glad wegner is one of them,i also think he's a great ump.

I would like to see Culbreth work the plate when Randy Johnson is on the mound and see if anything interesting happens after Johnson was thrown out last week

this isnt a reality TV show. they arent going to set the crews up to start problems.

also, i like how people are saying that they want to see umpires who worked hard all season blah blah blah get in. do you mean to tell me that you know of MLB umpires that dont work hard all season? please name one.

I am glad you realize how dumb this is. No wonder certain members stopped posting here.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by briancurtin

Quote:

also, i like how people are saying that they want to see umpires who worked hard all season blah blah blah get in. do you mean to tell me that you know of MLB umpires that dont work hard all season? please name one.

No one is saying anyone doesn't work hard. Sometimes guys just have better years, some guys have off years and they should be rewarded. It happens with players too....if we can discuss All-Star snubs with them based on merit we can discuss play-off snubs for umpires.

Brain,
I would think anyone who has 5+ years of experience who has not had a playoff game or all-star game the past two years probably either isn't working hard enough or isn't working smart enough...with a couple notable exceptions for, um, "disciplinary issues," such as Brucie's phone explosion.

Majorleagueumpires.com (Joe West's site) has the Division Series umpires listed. Can't say there are any surprises, except maybe that Mike Everitt and Eric Cooper are placed in the rotation to work home plate in potential Game Fives. Nothing against either of them or their qualifications to work a plate game five. It's just that you usually get a seasoned vet in those slots.

The World Series crew will come from this set of 24. I'm guessing this means either Joe Brinkman or John Hirschbeck will be the Series crew chief. And I agree with someone else who said this might be Gary Cederstrom's year for the Series. I'd think Jerry Layne might get his first too.

Last year they had it so that the crew chiefs would work game 5 behind the plate. Guess that got scrapped this year. A couple surprises on here include Dan Iassogna (who is great but young), and Tim Timmons, who is also young. Am I the only one surprsied that Gary Darling is a crew chief? John Hirschbeck's crew is filled with a lot of younger guys- John and Larry Vanover are the only guys 2nd or higher on a crew. Also, Ed Rapuano did not get an LDS assignment- does this mean he will not work this year's World Series?

Anyway, based on these crews, my World Series prediction:

HP/CC: Joe West
1B: John Hirschbeck
2B: Bill Hohn
3B: Gary Cederstrom
LF: Angel Hernandez
RF: Jerry Layne

According to MajorLeagueUmpires.com...
 

Matt, if you review the listing again, all indications are that, odd as it may seem compared to the other three crews, it appears as if West is the crew chief on that crew.

But, all that aside, Matt, did you by chance forget that Mark Hirschbeck's retirement before '04 elevated Darling to regular season crew chief?

Then again, West may have possibly made a mistake in posting that.

goyanksgo, review it again. Right next to Gary's name it clearly says "chief." I'm not illiterate.

And no, I didn't forget he was promoted, I just didn't think he'd get a crew in his second year as a CC. Much like I didn't think Iassogna and Timmons would get assignments this early in their careers.

How did Bruce Drekman get an assignment?
How does the rotation of a six-man crew go?

HP-RF-LF-3B-2B-1B

I think a better question would be how did Eric Cooper get an assignment.

mattmets - maybe it changed in the 3 hours since you posted, but Joe West is listed as chief.

Yes it did change- on the original list on Joe's website Gary is listed as the chief.

My apologies.

They did switch West and Darling as crew chiefs from the original posting. I wouldn't be surprised if they flip places in the rotation too (West doing game one, Darling game five).

As for Rapuano, look for him in an LCS (along with a few others like Scott, Tschida, Crawford, Froemming). I figure a couple guys will get their first chance at an LCS (Ted Barrett, Paul Emmel).

For what it's worth, the World Series will probably have Layne and Cederstrom working their first, with West and Hirschbeck joining them. The other two slots? Darling and Brinkman maybe. Hernandez a possibility. For some reason MLB is big on him in the post season and let him act as crew chief for the better part of the season too. Go figure.

With regards to the comment about Cooper, he is one of the best young umpires in MLB right now along with Wegner I enjoy watching the both of them. Also, Cooper worked the NLCS last year and did a GREAT job throughout the entire series.

I think the following guys have the best shot of working the World Series this year because of their current year but also recent playoff assignments.

John Hirschbeck (CC)
Gary Cedarstrom
Jerry Layne
Jeff Nelson
Mark Wegner
Angel Hernandez

Layne and Cedarstrom definitely deserve a shot at the World Series because of the time they have put in as umpires, plus I also think because of Nelson's and Wegner's recent assignments to either All Star games, division series, or LCS's they will probably get serious considerations as well if their division series go well this year.

Just my opinion though.

[Edited by johnSandlin on Sep 29th, 2005 at 11:58 AM]

I think your LCS crews will look something like this,

Dale Scott
Ted Barrett
Chuck Meriwether
Tim McClelland
Brian Gorman
Ed Rapuano

Tim Welke
Gerry Davis
Randy Marsh
Andy Fletcher
Mike DiMuro
Paul Emmel

There are many more deserving guys for those assignments. And these names not so much in this order or in this group, but some combination to form two crews.

FWIW, Tim Welke and Randy Marsh were the LCS crew chiefs last year.

In regards to Mark Wegner working the World Series, I would love to see that. But, I think he's probably too young to get that assignment. Then again, Iassogna and Timmons are working the LDS, with Dan in his second full MLB season. I could also see Nelson working the Series, but I think he is in the same boat as Mark. Either way, the LDS crews leave a lot of very very good candidates, even though I wonder why Ed Rapuano did not get in.

MLB could also be taking the approach of the spreading the "wealth" around too different umpires that deserve the assignments. Umpires may have also taken their name out of the running because of working so many assignments over the past few years. Just possible thoughts and suggestions though.

However, I think it is a pretty safe bet that guys the worked the World Series last year will be on either LCS crews this year. You may also find repeat appearances from guys who worked the LCS's last year as well (like Marsh and T. Welke).

Yes, Wegner and Nelson are young, but it looks like MLB is going away from the age and years of service with some of their assignments and going based on evaluations and recommendations.

On 850 WEEI here in the Boston area gary cederstrom is getting alot of praze for his great job behind the plate. I'de have to agree,watching the game on NESN(new england sports network)they have also said he is doing a great job. He's got great controll of the game,consistant strike zone. He should deffinetly do the world series. Its not everyday the umpires get this much praze...Infact in last nights game when o'nora made a bad call at second on a close play,they showed several slow motion replays,and he did infact blow the call...which led to some "bad call"comments. For the most part this crew (welke,cederstrom,o'nora,welke)have done a good job.Wish i could say the same about the redsox...:/

Scotty for the record that was Bill Welke at 2nd, not Brian O'Nora.

I agree this crew did a good job with this Blue Jays-Red Sox series. Cederstrom had a solid and consistent night behind the plate last night. That's one reason I say he's probably a sure bet for the WS this year.

Anyone have the inside track on which crew is doing the Sox-Yanks this weekend? I'm wondering if it will be a crew with some substitutions made to give it more experience than a typical crew would have. I thought I read some time ago that Dale Scott's crew had the assignment originally, but that may have changed. Especially since Kulpa will be off that crew to do the St. Louis series. Unless they replace him with a seasoned vet.

It may be Dale Scott's crew since they were just in Philadelphia. I think that it will be Gary Darling's crew, though, because they've gotten a lot of high profile series. With either of those crews, though, you can't go wrong at all.

I have seen stranger things, but...I don't think Emmel makes it. I saw him blow an easy rotation and work very inconsitant plates this year in Seattle. I'm not saying he's dog poop, 'cuz you ain't in the show if you're not REAL good. But I don't see how they can "reward" Emmel if the rest of his year went like the two games I saw him work.

matt,i apologize I was wrong. I remember the night before o'nora was at second and the nights must have blended together....

Hopefully its either crew,Darlings crew has Wegner in it which is deffinetly good;however dale scotts crew has Tim Tschida in it,which is also a plus.Either will be good.


God i hope the redsox win......alittle off topic..

Saw the boxscore this morning for the Cardinals game last night and it got me thinking about something.

I remember reading recently that MLB allowed Gerry Davis and Ron Kulpa to switch from their original crews and be allowed to join Joe Brinkman's crew this weekend for the final series ever in the old Busch Stadium because of Davis and Kulpa having close ties to the St. Louis area.

Well, as I was reading the boxscore, I saw that only one actually member of Brinkman's crew is working this series. The umpires working are Reininger (AAA call up), Gerry Davis, Ron Kulpa, and Derryl Cousins (original Brinkman crew member).

My question was, with Brinkman being moved or off this weekend, Cousins being on the original crew, and Davis already a crew chief, who is the crew chief for this crew? Would it be Davis because of already being a crew chief? Or Cousins because his crew was originally assigned and Davis is just being allowed to switch around?

Any thoughts on MLB's policy.

I would think Gerry Davis because he is already a crew chief.

Something vaguely similar is in New York, where Gerry's "real" crew is. Bill Hohn worked on Thursday night, but then Chad Fairchild slid into his spot yesterday. Does this leave Doug Eddings as the crew chief?

I wonder why Joe West's site is so far ahead of MLB? You figure MLB knows who it assigned (how else would West know?). Why officially post and announce the crews the day before the Division Series begin? Umpires themselves are told two Saturdays before the regular season ends.

Of course, LCS umpires needed to be informed by this past Saturday if they're working next week's two LCS's. MLB will probably post next Monday. Maybe West will tip us off early again (maybe Tuesday or Wednesday this week).

I still figure on seeing two or three guys working their first LCS. Personally, I'd pick Ted Barrett and Doug Eddings, but I'd also look for Phil Cuzzi or Paul Emmel to get the nod. Crew chiefs? Bruce Froemming hasn't done an LCS in some time. Rick Reed has been absent from the post season for years and had a good year. So they'd be my picks.

World Series - Brinkman, Hirschbeck, Cederstrom, Layne, Darling, West

I think we get it from Joe so far ahead because he is involved. He got the All-Star crew up early because he was the crew chief. I think the same applies with the Division Series. I wouldn't expect to find out who got LCS assignments until they come from MLB.

And that World Series crew seems pretty good, barring the fact that Ed Rapuano won't get it....unless MLB scrapped the Divison Series-World Series sequence.