She kinda (ok, did) look like a man..... ya had to look real close to see the extra material on it's shirt !!

Thank you Miss Swan!

http://www.collectmad.com/COLLECTIBLES/madtvswan.jpg

I'm sorry, from reading this thread I can't follow this post. What is "its"?

This guy working the Japan-Mexico game has one of the biggest strike zone's in the tournament.

He is doing a good job of letting us know that a ball fouled directly back to the screen is, in fact, foul though!

ctblu,

I've been watching some & had the same observation - especially low and low & outside.

It would be a lot more fun to be a pitcher in this game than a batter.

Any speculation as to why? I ask because as I've been watching, he seems pretty steady, he's set up in the slot & has a pretty consistent head height, and his timing seems fine. Just an expanded "notion" of the zone, or do you see something I don't that could explain it?

JM

Jim:

I think it's simply he's of the school that if the pitcher hits the mitt "near" the plate, it's a strike. That probably works during the regular season back home, but it's out of place with this quality of pitching and hitting.

After calling one grossly outside, he seemed, to me, to back of little and not give the Mexico catcher as much as he wants.

What a horrible strike zone. Dreadful. My wife said he sucks and looks weak mechanically. Well, she's the boss.

Garth,

Actually, it's John - but no matter.

I had a similar thought in regard to him "backing off", but then he seemed to return to his previous form.

On another topic, I had tried to send you an e-mail at the "msn.com" address published in your officiating.com "author profile" because I was interested in your opinion on a question I had. I don't know whether you never saw it or simply found my query an annoyance. If it was not the latter, please send me a current e-mail address at [email protected] and I will resend. If it was the latter I will "cease and desist".

Thanks.

JM

Low, outside 8 inches, doesn't matter. Strike. Can't believe he's working a championship game.

The Mexican catcher OWNS him. Had him calling anything he (F2) wanted to be a strike by the end of the top of the 1st. I swear, it's as if he sold his soul to the devil. This guy was perfectly fine in his first TV game earlier this week. He is conjuring the ghost of Eric Gregg tonight.

John But No Matter? Hell of a name.

There was one semi-close up of the PU on an outside pitch he called a strike that leads me to believe this guy is "tunneling" instead of tracking. It appeared he was watching the ball up to about six feet from the plate, but then kept his eyes straight ahead instead of tracking the pitch to the glove. This would have him making his decision about the pitch when last seen, prior to reaching the plate.

I noticed this catcher earlier in the tournament just a workin' every umpire. I love it when I get catchers like this. This kid actually turned around and looked at the umpire when he called ball. Ever since then he has given the catcher everything he wants. I would have took great pleasure in calling ball on every one of those pitches.

Well, I guess he's been consistent at least. Consistently wrong.

Garth,

Thanks. When I call balls & strikes from the dugout, I always follow the pitch all the way to the catcher's mitt before I make my call. ;)

Seriously, thanks for pointing out something I hadn't noticed.

John

He just called an unbelievably high strike in the bottom of the 6th.

It's going to be a heck of a matchup tomorrow. Carter VS Matsumoto. Over 100 MPH equivalent for both pitchers. I hope whoever is working the plate does a better job of tightening up the zone and making the pitchers work the real corners, not the opposite batters box corners.