With all the b!tchin'
 

about the WS umpires, Jeff Kellog's great call at first tonight goes unnoticed.

I noticed. I called it live from my living room. Replay confirmed that we nailed it!:)

lol

video replay?

They are PAID BIG BUCKS to make those calls.

IMO, MLB umpires should be held to a high standard and IMO this umpiring crew has simply been awful.

The strike zone - It might as well be redefined and the PU's look like they are auditioning for an acting career.

It's one thing to emphatically punch out the batter on a called 3rd strike. It's quite another to do a dance routine on top of it.

As for Welke - Someone upstairs must be shining brightly upon him. He has simply been awful to say the least.

If this had been the LLWS instead of the MLBWS, this Forum along with many others would be buzzing with bashings. The word "Smitty" might have even been uttered.

What we are seeing is a major flaw in the process of assigning officials at the BIG League level.

We are NOT getting what is supposed to be the Best of the Best. There are most likely guys in the minor leagues "cringing' watching these performances and not having the opportunity to get their shot.

Unlike football officials, MLB umpiring is a full time job and one would think that there is a better product MLB can put out there.

If this was OUR shot at say a HS varsity regional game, NCAA Division one game or any other high level type assignment, and we were that bad, that would most likely be our one and only chance and a high level game, but in MLB these guys are for the most part there for life.

So yeah Kellog made a great call but he is supposed to that's why one should get a WS assignment.

I am surprised Buck / McCarver didn't mention that IR should be expanded especially when Welke flat out missed the call. He's lucky Lou Pinella was not still coaching the Rays.

FWIW I am NOT a Rays fan so I could care less who wins.

Pete Booth

Be careful now, This is an adult forum and you're being honest and candid. Maybe coming from a respected longtime member, your post won't get edited or deleted.

This is the first post that I have read of your's but if the other 1k or so are similar than I would rather not read them. All umpires miss calls but you lost me when you started referring to the strike zone.

I have read many of his other posts. This one is as good as most of the others. There is a lot of truth in what he says: This crew has had several missed calls. And pointing out that an umpire's strike zones needs improvement is just as valid as saying he missed some calls on the bases.

You might want to read more than one post from a person before being so dismissive.

Maybe...if you try real hard........:p

First verbal question....ready....Do you know the words to Kumbaya?

















if your answer was no..you may have a shot.....:cool:


griff

Sonny, what SDS has forgotten about umpiring, you will never learn! :rolleyes:

Hey Ozzy.....what did I forget???:confused::cool:

Methinks a certain troll has reared it's ugly head again!

For a while, when the umpiring was suffering after the Richie Phillips charade, it was attributable to there being too many relief-level umpires filling out all the new crews. Now that so many years have passed, Pete and others are asking why there is still a problem finding a sterling crew to work the World Series.

The Hallion thing was positioning like we discussed. The call at third with Welke was a fairly common type of play, and it even looked like he was almost in position to see the tag, but he missed it. No big deal. The Danley punch/appeal where Culbreth walked the guy was awful. And there is no truer statement in Pete's post than the one about any of us having a fart like that and it would be the last shot at a big game assignment. Danley's brother umpires in my unit, and we all got emails congratulating Kerwin for being on the crew and another when he got the plate assignment. It's terrible what happened. But it's part of the risk of performing at anything.

Pete's posts from years back were far different. They were the thoughtful product of one who could analyze...dispassionately, and discuss topics factually and without emotion.

Lately, however, he has changed. His posts are hard to differentiate from a typical fanboy.

Year's back, Pete would never have said that MLB umpires are hired to make certain call. He knew better. MLB umpires are hired because they are the best trained and most experienced at what they do. Those who hire them know that theya are not hiring umpires to make certain calls. They are hiring umpires who, statistics disclose, get calll right a little more than 95% of the time, including balls/strikes, safes/outs and foul/fair. No one with a rational minds believes that MLB umpires are hired to be perfect.

The old Pete would not have made light of the play Kellog had at first. Many, if not most, other umpires would not have adjusted during that mess to see what he saw and make the right call. To dismiss his effort on that play as "that's what he gets paid for" is the same as dismissing a player for hitting a home run in the upper deck of the center field bleachers. After all, that's what players get paid for.

I'd love to see a pitcher strike out 95% of the batters he faces. Isn't that what he gets paid for? When was the last time a batter did his job correctly 95% of the time? Who could afford a .950 hitter...the Yankees?

I've never said MLB umpires are perfect, nor have I said that some mistakes haven't been made in the WS. It seems however that the current fad of dumping on the umpires has obscured reality.

Some of this, no doubt, they have brought on themselves. 30 years ago umpires would never admit their mistakes on national television. They would say, "i called what I saw" and that would be the end of it.

The new warm and fuzzy movement that began about six years ago and includes excessive huddling that has resulted in correct calls being changed to incorrect calls as often and the other way around, was supposed to make umpires more human and accountable. An unintended consequence, I believe is that it has made them the target of an endless supply of fanboys and wannabes who use the umpires admissions to try to appear superior.

The worst umpire at the WS this year is better than anyone on this board. Disagree if you'd lile, if that gets you through the night.

Great post!

Indeed, good post!

Especially the following portions...they apply to all sports!!!

You honestly think that criticizing umpiring is an unspoken statement that we think we're better than they are?

This statement says a lot. So if you are not better than the guy in question, then you can't criticize him. Wow.

What country is this again?

With that logic, the observers/evaluators must be the best umpires in the world because in order to evaluate and to see flaws/areas for growth, you have to be an expert.

That statement's logic just doesn't hold up.

For Kevin and other reading-impaired posters:

I was addressing Pete's missive. I rearely read anything Kevin writes these days.

I said mistakes were made. I believe criticism can be valid. I don't, however, believe that, as in Pete's post, those facts must keep us from appreciating a spectacular effort, whether by an athlete or umpire.

We applaud a player who may have been the goat in one inning, when he jacks a homer in the next. Yet, according to Pete, when an umpies makes near heroic effort to get a play right...it's just his job. That's a shame.

If you need any additional help in reading comprehension, let me know.

LOL @ "heroic effort" by a baseball umpire! Somehow equating Tim McClelland with Audie Murphy makes me laugh.

Heroic effort?

"you can leave demeaning nicknames out of your posts referring to our officiating brethren. K. Thanks. Bye." Officiating.com

I couldn't agree more with these lines.

I agree. McClelland's a much better actor.

Great thoughts. I am going to keep these in mind the rest of the Series and in the future. I think some of the posters, myself included, forget this at times.

:D
And that's a pretty good post too!

Umps under fire video
 

Story does not make sense because after saying it's a problem, both Mota and Gwynn both conclude baseball is better keeping the human element in the game which is the way baseball is designed.

But an example of the way the "feel good" media looks at the game. The perception that okay we have replay let it fix everything is not reality.

Thanks
David

Instant Replay
 

Let me throw it down the middle for you. It is technically possible to remove the umpires from a nationally televised game. But removing the umpires from the game is not a very popular idea at this time, so I will not go in that direction.

So let me hit on instant replay a bit further. Simple idea you already heard about in football. Give each manager one of those red beanies LL ummps carry in their back pocket. If a manager should disagree with a call. He throws out the little red beanie from the dugout in the general direction of the nearest umpire who did not make the call. That ump will gather the crew chief and the ump who made the call and give them an opportunity to request review of instant replay.

The ump in the booth will know the red flag has been tossed and will review the play in isolation from multple angles. By the time the umps on the field request a replay, the booth ump should have an answer for them. Game may be delayed about 3 minutes or less. On the other hand, no more managers acting as bafoons when a call doesn't go their way. Civility is restored.

Would you vote for it? Please explain.

And back to the topic
 

Jeff Kellogg, on the plate for the completion of Game 5, made a great call at the plate.

Nice position on 3BLX for the swipe tag, and good timing to wait until he saw Ruiz holding onto the ball after a diving tag.

I hope I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Great Call by Jeff Kellog
 

I too noticed. It was as you stated. (Excellent Position and Excellent Timing)

I wouldn't say "great" or "excellent". I'd say proper. He used proper technique and timing, and made the correct call. There was nothing special, nor heroic, about this call. It's a routine call, and one any second year umpire should make.

Now, with all the miscues, and faux pas in this post season, a proper call makes one take notice. That's a shame.

The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones.

That's a shame.

You're a "glass half empty" kind of guy, aren't you?

I haven't got giddy about an umpires call since Ron Luciano gunned down a runner at first.

I take that back. When a LL umpire employs rule 7.13, and can either make a run dissapear, or three runners return to their bases, then I give the standing O. Now <i>that's</i> a great call.

It was still good to see a "proper" call!