Tichenor exudes awesome awesomeness
 

Todd Tichenor ejected Twinks catcher Mike Redmond
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090528/ca...eJQWybhnNgzQ--

Manager Ron Gardenhire http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090528/ca...7EKmRcK_M7Kw--

Red Sox Catcher Jason Varitek http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090528/ca...bnWLGlHq3hCA--
and, Red Sox Manager Terry Francona http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090528/ca...Y7AnnG8OaP.g--
all in the 7th inning.

Redmond had an aneurysm arguing a play at the plate and was dumped quickly. Gardenhire tried to get out there to "protect the catcher" but it was too late. He was dumped pretty soon after that. Joe Mauer was the DH and had to suit up immediately to replace Redmond. Now, the pitcher is batting in Redmond's spot.

In the bottom of the inning, Josh Beckett loudly protested a ball call. Varitek immediately got in Tichenor's face hoping Beckett would not get dumped. Down goes Varitek and then Francona was gone soon after that.

Todd Tichenor, this http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...7/cokezero.jpg is for you.

Joe in Missouri

Help, I'm at work!
 

Someone please post videos as soon as possible. I am at work and cannot watch, only listen (in between working). It sounded interesting.

No video yet that I can find. Would've been nice to see that bloodbath on TV though. :D

I know the game was being broadcast in MN by Fox Sports N(et)/N(orth).

I saw it on MLB .TV

Actually, I had it on in the background and had gotten the window up to eat a sandwich...right place right time.

my .02
 

4 in one inning.....got to be some kind of record.... I had heard of more than that in a game..but not one inning.....

I can't find a video on MLB.com yet since it was a day game today. The video should be up later tonight though.

Just watched it on Sports Center...nice little pirouette maneuver. :)

I've seen Todd work--PCL represent! :D

I'm Tivoing the replay of the game right now...sounds like one for the archives!

Todd's from our area, and came to our meeting for JUCO umpires. Nice to see him taking care of business.

I found an interesting piece in the 2009 MLBUM:

Crew Chiefs shall decide rotation assignments when a new umpire joins a crew. It is suggested that a substitute umpire who joins a crew from the Minor Leagues should start at 2nd or 3rd base. When a substitute umpire joins a crew from another Major League crew, consideration should be made of the substitute's last plate game. Minor League umpires should not start behind the plate when joining a crew from the Minor Leagues.

I'm surprised it took as long as it did for Varitek to go.

Varitek and Francona get dumped. I'm surprised that Varitek didn't get dumped as soon as he turned around. Turn your sound up to see Beckett's thought about Todd's strike zone in the first couple seconds.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=4770653

Example of what happens with a young umpire even in MLB. He did eject probably too quickly, but he did stick to his guns.

Reading the story at ESPN, the players were both surprised at how quick the ejection was. I guess that shows just how much the veteran umpires put up with before an ejection.

thanks
DAvid

I always thought a catcher turning around on you was a near automatic dumping. He could have gotten Beckett too if he wanted to for the display and "Gawddammit!" on the mound.

He took care of business. Good for him.

I was listening to Peter Gammons this afternoon and it was disgusting. He said that the umpire was clearly over his head and does not belong anywhere near a major league field. He went on and on for about two minutes about how incompetent the guy was. It was on the Tirico and Van Pelt show and you can listen via Itunes. I lost a lot of respect for Gammons. The ejections were absolutely valid. Don't put it on Tichenor.

Crew chief said he took care of business appropriately and was glad to see that.

Looks like he took care of business.

Is it just me or did Varitek pull that pitch?

I assume Jerry Layne said this who is the fill-in Crew Chief? Mr. Montague is who Mr. Tichenor is filling in for.

I think that Tichenor made 4 very good ejections. Both catchers made the mistake of direct and animated confrontation and both managers were pretty much gone the moment they too became animated.

I really had to laugh at the guest announcer (no clue who it was) on NESN. He was rambling on and on how the catchers were:

"....excited due to the closeness of the game and the umpire was incorrect in not letting them vent! After all it's not about the umpire, it is all about the game and the players, not the umpires! This guy (Tichenor) has a lot to learn in that department! He's too cocky (Tichenor) and has now changed the entire course of the outcome of the game"

Give me a break!

Same thing Mr. Montague would have said "Crew chief said he took care of business appropriately and was glad to see that", and the same thing Doug Harvey and Bill Haller use to say with all the new young umpires who had just been hired or were under option (working up) that are now senior umpires. Even if, by chance, a young umpire ejects a little to quickly (heck, they say that about a lot of ejections, and even to the senior umpires many times), it is easier to tone an umpire "down" rather than the other way around.

Besides, most managers and players love to "test" new umpires anyway. That can even happen at the amateur level. Just think of the crap they tried to give you years ago when you were just starting versus the crap they try and give you now if you are a senior amateur umpire. You made the same great call in your first year and got a bunch of crap for it. Now, when you make that same call, no one says a word. Go figure. Right on Ozzy.

Of course, I don't know what was said so this is just speculation, but I thought the Redmond EJ was surprisingly fast. But like I stated earlier, I thought the Varitek EJ took longer than it should have. I expect that Varitek was just protecting his pitcher but you can't tell me he was surprised he was dumped when he turned around and confronted Tichenor.

And prior to that drama there was a bunt that at live speed appeared to hit Lugo while he was out of the box. Gardy was out there for a long time and kept asking him to get help from his crew. He stuck to his guns and after a few replays, including the overhead camera, he did get it right. "Gardy asked him, are you positive that he was in the box...are you sure," It turned out that he got that one right. Although I do think there was an out at home. Do you all think he took the best angle on that play or could he have seen the swipe had he been more 3BLX? It was a banger of a play for sure.

You could see in the Varitek ejection that Tichenor was about ready to get him, turned his shoulders and cocked the hand, seemed to second guess and then let it fire. Maybe he was second guessing himself but 'Tek was probably trying to make a new "point"

Tichenor also was the one in Toronto who went to dump the O's manager and then stopped looked at Jerry Layne and then fired away. Maybe he's thinking he's got to quick a trigger and he wants to make sure hes getting it right before the managers hit the showers.

Charge the umpire and make gestures like that and you're going to get run. Screw this "it's too fast" nonsense. It's the manager's job to argue calls.

That was Chris Tiller.....and he hasn't been back up since.

Left Field Corner Has this as ejcections 2,3,4,and 5 and then says it is his first Ejs of the year?

Yahoo has a whole blog on him here:

Big League Stew

I think it is completely unfair to say that the Redmond Dumping was "too fast". I could not tell what he yelled...and he was yelling in his face. I think that gets you gone. The two managers are a gimme.

It seemed like his mask was bobbing at Beckett and maybe he yelled at Beckett before Beckett yelled at him? Varitek kept point out to the mound...was he yelling at Tichenor for yelling at Beckett? In any case, Varitek knew he was going as soon as he turned around like that.

He might have missed the call at the plate-big deal.

I partially agree with you on the Redmond EJ. I think that we really cannot tell for sure whether is was too quick, but there was not a whole lot of time to say any magic words (and I couldn't see any from the replays last night). BTW (not that T knew it but) this is Red's 1st EJ in his 11 year career. So he is not really one to say magic words (I also know this from my time working as a Ride Operator at the old Camp Snoop in MOA, he used to bring his kids there and was always very nice, even remembered me when I went to Spring Training one year).

Overall, I was surprised that Beckett stayed in the game after that little incident. (So I guess 'Tek did his job.)

From what we could hear Beckett didn't say anything to PU...yes, he cussed, we all heard that...but this ain't no FED game. For the number of very close pitches there were, I'd say Beckett didn't show much emotion.

You must be watching a different clip. If you think that rip wasn't directed at Tichenor, you must be losing it.

Everybody in the stadium knew it was. But he didn't say "________ you"

Sometimes pitchers will give me the stink eye and I know what they're doing, but I'm probably not going to dump him.

The catcher that jumped up and then charged the ump got what he deserved. He was way out of line. He showed complete lack of respect for the umpire and the game. He was way out of line. That was a major blow up. Way to go Ump!!!!!!!!!111

Yep, he knew he was going to get dumped...when F2 turns on an ump, I'm guessing they look at it just like a batter drawing a line in the dirt. Pretty much immediate dump.

As far as the Redmond EJ goes, maybe it's been eleven years, but we don't know what, if anything was leading up to him getting dumped. Maybe he was badgering him for most of the game...we just don't know. He must have said something though...

I don't disagree, just stating that we've seen MLB umpires seemingly have more restraint. Don't get me wrong, I think he did what he had to do.

1. Tichenor blew the play at the plate. Redmond had a good case for argument.
2. When arguing, you can't show disrespect to the umpire by cussing. Gone.
3. Gardenhire is a garden tool, and is always getting run because of his big tool mouth. Gone.
4. Varitek has no business turning around and showing up the umpire. Gone.
5. Francona is also a former rat, and therefore a tool, and said the wrong thing. Gone.

Looked like four solid ejections to me. Screw Gammons and all the rest of the moronic broadcasters who always immediately take the player's and coach's sides in every argument, and never stop to consider the bad behavior that led to the ejections. To them, the umpires are just a bunch of overpaid goons who have no business doing their jobs properly, and should just kowtow to the players and managers.:mad:

Harrumph!
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...byn_hilton.jpg

I just thought that four in one inning was cool...

:D


Let's not forget that Gammons is a season ticket holder in Boston; therefore, a fanboy - it's showing!

That was a mistake. Earlier it shows his first ejection, which was on May 20:

"HP Umpire Todd Tichenor ejected Marlins left fielder Jeremy Hermida to end the bottom of the 10th inning of the Diamondbacks-Marlins game for arguing a called third strike. With two out and one on, Hermida took a 2-2 fastball from Diamondbacks pitcher Tony Pena for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located above the knees and on the inside corner, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the contest was tied, 7-7. The Diamondbacks ultimately won the contest, 11-9."

As an ex-catcher I will say that Varitek did what he was suppose to do to keep his pitcher in the game. The catcher can be replaced, but loosing a pitcher could have bigger ramifications to the bullpen. I'm sure Varitek knew as soon as he turned around that he would be toast, but it worked. After that outburst somebody had to go..... Varitek decided it would be him.

He would NOT have to say "you" following what he said to warrant an ejection. I'm not putting up with that kind of a display from any player or coach at any level of baseball. How rude to say that in public, much less in front of a ballpark full of fans, many of whom are little children. Doesn't anybody believe in common decency anymore? Religous beliefs or no religious beliefs, it makes no difference, you don't say that.

I don't disagree Steve and obviously I'm not, nor will I ever be an MLB umpire, but I'd have to guess that there's not too many ejections going on regarding that type of stuff. MLB could certainly expect more in terms of conduct from their employees though.

I just checked the archive of that game...Hermida threw his bat up in the air kinda behind him, never looked at Tichenor and did not appear to say anything. Then Tichenor pointed to that bat and, took off his mask and said something. Then, Hermida said something and got tossed. That one seems a little over the top to me but, oh well. Tichenor has proved his awesomeness to me sufficiently to get the benefit of the doubt.

For those of you with MLBtv, the innings are off on the replay and the audio is WAY off.

When it's time to go ... it's time to go go go go.

Nobody should have to put up with people getting in their face cussing and yelling, not umpires, not short order cooks, not used cars salesman. Why do we baby these over paid crybabies that have ruined baseball. Yes it is about the game, play ball and shut the *beep* up.

Posted Prior to Peter Gammons
 

More and more umpires are showing up on video replays. Those highlights often cut away as the broadcasters continue to "dig up some dirt" on the umpire. It appears that the powers that be do not want to stamp out these meaningless confrontations, thus MLB stinks in this regard.

Varitek is not a good catcher in general, and what he did was completely idiotic, which is only slightly less idiotic than what Beckett did.

My guess is that Varitek probably thought that Beckett was going to get dumped and he figured he had a chance of taking Beckett's place.

It looked like it worked. What about what Varitek did was idiotic?

Are you a Yankees fan?:D

I'm sorry, but what you know about baseball could fit on the head of a tack...
That pitch was worthy of a strike...MLB to Connie Mack all the way down to little league....

Beckett was not showing up anybody, but showing frustration at the expense of an umpire who should have called a strike...Varitek protected his pitcher....
Watch it 4 or 10 times til you get what baseball is all about

It isn't much, but it sure looks like it to me.

Pulled pitch, just outside. What's smaller than a tack? I'll send it your way.

Aw, did your widdle Wed Sox get a ball called on them? Waaaaaaaah.

Look here...Brian knows plenty about baseball. I would put his baseball knowledge up against anyone else on this forum.

Varitek is a tool, and deserved to get run. So the umpire maybe missed a pitch? What, you've never missed a pitch? Get real. When you turn around to argue with the umpire, you are showing him up. If you don't know that, then there is plenty of room on the head of that tack.

Beckett is lucky he didn't get run for screaming the obscenity, which was most certainly personal for the umpire. But that doesn't excuse Varitek's actions, protecting his pitcher or not. He can't stay in the game.

Probably your strike zone

Good one!

Easy
 

Far from a sox fan...
Seems to me being the 7th inning, and Beckett's reaction, he missed more than one pitch during the game...

Varitek gets run plain and simple for his actions...but don't back Brian when he calls him a poor catcher...I only answered this cause it pisses me off when people send out generalities like this.

Oh yeah, and I never slice...

You're basing your idea of how Tichenor's zone was by the player's reactions? I guess that's all we need to hear.:rolleyes:

Hey when Beckett starts throwing perfect games everytime out and Varitek hits 1000 and throws out every steal attempt then and only then will they come up to the perfection level of the officials. I believe they officiate at about the 97% perfection rate or higher.

It was a ball, because thats what is was called, period.

Varitek, and Francona couldn't accept that. GOOD BYE.

I think your the one thats needs to figure out what baseball is all about, because you certainaly have'nt grasped this concept yet.

And I am a Sox fan too.

Brian did not say that Varitek was a poor catcher. He said he "is not a good in catcher general," which is a correct statement. Varitek is a rather average catcher, as major league catchers go.

I'll take State The Obvious for $200 Alex....

Fan Cam
 

10) Boston invested in pitching, not the dumbest position in baseball
9) Varitek is a solid gold glove candidate {Mauer, Pudge, Molina and Varitek}
8) Boston never had to deal with "manny" issues on offense, until now
7) Varitek's stats are better than most of the fantasy league catchers
6) Boston did not go out and sign the best catcher not under contract
5) Varitek may catch the most valuable pitches in baseball
4) Boston happy with Varitek's offense,
Jason Varitek - Boston Red Sox - News - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
3) Varitek prefers 1B, but 1B Youkilis will not squat behind the plate
2) Boston's Tim Wakefield will make anyone look average
1) Varitek does everthing except mop the floor and turn off the lights

missed the sarcasm

Here is the opening answer
 

"Nigel for $200, the answer is: 'The poster of the most clueless statement about an MLB umpire's zone in this thread.'"

When I get to the major leagues, I'll make sure I call that a ball.

I don't brag about the size of my strike zone. I'm sure it's smaller than some and larger than others. But I do my damnest to get every pitch in the zone -- I try not to miss a strike without making them up as I go along.

Good for you Rich! I love spending 3 hours at the ballpark

From a slightly biased point of view,
 

okay, since Tich is a family friend as has been as long as I can remember, I am a little biased. My old man and him used to work Juco ball together, and Tich lives down the street. IMO, all 4 ejections looked EXTREMELY valid. probably restating a bunch of other opinions, but
EJ 1- catcher, or any other player for that matter, jumps up in my face screaming, yelling, gesturing etc.,:eek:must have had onions for dinner.:eek: hes gone.
EJ 2- coach comes out to defend, obviously lost his temper, he was given a longer leash, hes gone too.
EJ 3- Varitek pulled the pitch in. no doubt about it. might have at least issued beckett a warning, but the instant varitek turns around, buhbye now.
EJ 4- Francona gets in my face, gone.
All four looked extremely legit, and I would back him on them in a heartbeat, as would most of you, and especially if you were working the game with him. Hands down, regardless of missed calls, the ejections were warranted. way to go tich

How can you criticize the strike zone of someone you've never met and have never seen work?

And for someone that knows everything about baseball, you need to spend a lot more hours there too.

Another obvious statement by me, thank you.

Video Replay
 

On the Beckett highlight real, Tichenor is calling those 3rd strikes inside a pretty good zone. Appears Beckett is the one under pressure to perform. Listen to the announcers complain about a previous Beckett pitch that Tichenor may have missed earlier in the game.

On the Mauer vs Beckett video, Varitek frames a low 0-1 ball {at 1:20} and the next 0-2 outside pitch is called a strike {at 1.26} that may have been ball 3. Joe Mauer didn't react the way Beckett did. Difficult to tell how many times a bad call may have happened {waiting for Strike Zone data}, but there is not enough evidence to point the finger at Tichenor's zone.

Redmon tossed for running toward the umpire.
Gardenhire doesn't need an explanation. Defending his player is a BS excuse.
Beckett should have been tossed/warned for his actions.
Varitek had to go. Besides, he already had two homers.
Francona doesn't need an explanation. Defending his player is a BS excuse.

Authority Figure
 

In summary, 1) both catchers and managers were tossed.
2) the safe/out and ball/strike call belongs to the umpire.
3) video evidence does not support the actions of the players
4) players should not be allowed to demonstrate after every close call
5) instant replays, quirky rules and player/managers are sucking up time
6) announcers sadly defend the player/manager actions on the field
7) playing ball and not arguing the call is good for baseball
8) the pressure on umpires is on display and will soon have more effect on the game
9) reflection of unhealthy respect for authority common in American society

Bravo!

First off, who ever had respect for P Gammons??? Old liver lips has been spewing that stuff for years.

Can't tell if the play at home was right/wrong. Redmond is a good guy. Mike looked like he was flabbergasted as to why he was ejected. Gardenhire was an automatic.

As it has been already said, Varitek just protected his pitcher and kept him from being ejected. Francona came out to badger the ump since the Twins had problems with him earlier. Francona spit on him after being ejected. Hopefully he will get several days off for that.

Where did you hear of this? I haven't been able to find documentation of this anywhere. Why isn't it a story anywhere?

At 29 secs into the video Francona spits between his teeth and Tichenor points at his lower chest/torso. Just because it isn't a news story, doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

I didn't see it, that's all. Francona is a notorious spitter. He's always spitting. I'll look again closer this time.

At 29 seconds, the video cheerfully skips ahead a few frames to the part where Tichenor is pointing to himself. MLB videos are some of the poorest quality videos that I see on my computer, and have caused me to wrongly judge quite a few plays lately.

Maybe you are watching too many "other" videos on your computer and that is hurting your vision? :)

It doesn't seem to skip when I view it. I guess we will see if/when he gets suspended.

I highly doubt if he gets suspended, as the only one mentioning it seems to be, uh...you.:) MLB videos never play right on my computer. You Tube plays smooth as silk. Those are pretty much the "other" videos to which I was referring.:)

Well ...
 

Good to see that Tich is still up despite ESPN.

As many of us know on here...cleaning house doesn't make you a bad umpire...in fact, many times it makes us better. Part of the gig I guess.

I never thought what he did was wrong, but I did feel concern for him because MLB baseball is a buissness and I feared that some buissness man might make a decision that might affect him. There have been some great AAA that have lost their shot based on one situation that many of us would say they handled well, but MLB didn't agree. Glad to see that this time they did.

yep, solid points. years ago there was one person in charge of all umpring...I think it's a bit different now...not to say that it couldn't happend...but it's nice to see him still working up in the show.

This has nothing to do with Varitek's abilities as a catcher. He attempted to protect his pitcher (from an obvious ejection possibility) and it worked. Hell, I would have probably tried to tossed both of em' :) Beckett for the loud obscenity and Varitek for turning around to argue balls and strikes..... but hey that's why Tichenor is the pro and that’s why he got it right!

It actually has everything to do with Varitek's abilities as a catcher.

...and saying "it worked" and then getting ejected is like getting your hand chopped off in the lawnmower and then cheering because the lawnmower is now working.

It worked because Beckett stayed in the game. That's all that mattered to the Sox.

Yes, that is all that mattered.

What kind of effect do you think the pressure on umpires is going to have on baseball? The men in blue have been slandered for centuries. It is a part of tradition that isn't going to affect change today's game in any noticable way.