Who will replace Froemming?
 

George Steinbrenner was upset with Bruce Froemming's handling of the "buggy" game in Cleveland. The Yankee boss is quoted in the New Jersey Register:

"The umpire was full of [expletive]," Steinbrenner said of the retiring Froemming. "He won't umpire our games anymore."

So who fills in for Froemming tonight?:)

Haha well I don't know about tonight, but Froemming's spot for next year has already been filled by the rehiring of Hallion and Hickox. Tough break for Rob Drake who probably would have been next in line.

Great, now the trolls are encouraging the sniffers.

Based on size alone , it is not surprising that it takes two officials to replace Froemming.

Either Tim Donaghy who has a lot of experience with "bugs" or Mike Winters who is familiar with the {expletive}

That was cruel!

Despite his size, Bruce is still one of the quickest umpires out there. He used to win bets in match races against people who perceived him to be slow afoot.

What did that idiot Steinbrenner expect of Froemming? The UIC of the game was Laz Diaz and he handled the situation just fine. I suppose King George wants to have all the bugs fired! He sure doesn't dictate who works his games. He can buy a baseball team but not the umpires.:(

Steinbrenner comes close to making me appreciate Jerry Jones. Close, but not quite.

steve, you know better than that. the plate umpire in pro ball is not the UIC unless it is a 2 man system. anything other than 2 man and the crew chief is always the UIC.

Hallion and Hickok were re-hired but they did not take Froemming's spot nor is it a lock that they will. I thought based on what I had read when they and Bob Davidson were set to be re-hired that they had a pre-determined order as to "when" they would be officially re-hired. When Terry Craft retired last year, I thought one of the two (Hallion or Hickox) would get his spot. Instead it was Lance Barksdale. Then during the offseason, Hallion and Hickok were officially rehired as part of the WBC/TV mic negotiations. They are considered rovers. Now whether or not they simply slide them onto a crew to fill Froemming's spot, I don't know. I would defer to someone with an inner knowledge of MLB workings.

The crew chief is the UIC for every game? What happened to Rule 9.04(a)? It has always been my understanding the Senior Umpire, or Crew Chief was a separate thing from the UIC, who by rule is the plate umpire.

I did not read that Froemming was named Crew Chief, but I guess it makes sense because he is the senior man, but I've always heard it expressed separately from the actual UIC of the individual game.

That may have been true a few years ago. It isn't now.

Nope, the crew chief is the UIC in mechanics above two man.

9.04a is one of many outdated rules in the book. also, seniority does not necessarily equal crew chief. tim tschida was the senior man on the crew for the sox/angels series, but was not the chief. you may not read anywhere who the chief is, cuz the general public doesn't care. if it isn't announced, you know who the chief of the playoff crew is by him working the plate in game 1 of the series.