Balkin' Bob Davidson...

[UMP25]

...doesn't look very good out there.

So I'm sitting behind the plate at Comiskey Park last night (I refuse to call it U.S. Cellular Field) watching my White Sox's bullpen collapse against those Damn Yankees, and I happen to get the game where Balkin' Bob is working the dish. No balks called by him, but he sure doesn't look good as a plate umpire, particularly when he's rotating and running here and there without ever taking his mask off.

Nobody on, ball hit to deep left field, U3 went out for the fly, U2 comes in, and Bob rotates to third to take a possible batter-runner there. Bob's got his mask on the entire time. Never did he take it off, even when the batter stopped at second and Bob trotted back to the dish.

Nobody on, nobody out, ball hit to right field with U1 going out. Bob comes up the line to cover first base. Again, his mask is on the entire time, even as he trots back to first base. On ground balls when he ran up the first base line in foul territory trailing, his mask was on all the time.

I think the only time I saw him take his mask off is when he tossed AJ Pierzynski in the 8th inning after AJ struck out.

OK, there's my mild b*tch for the day.