Is anyone else sick and tired ...

[Kevin Finnerty]

Is anyone else sick and tired of watching Tim McLelland mail it in? Can't he step aside and allow someone who isn't bored with umpiring have a shot? It doesn't even matter anymore. He kicks calls and strolls around like the game's an annoyance to him.

[mrm21711]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Is anyone else sick and tired of watching Tim McLelland mail it in? Can't he step aside and allow someone who isn't bored with umpiring have a shot? It doesn't even matter anymore. He kicks calls and strolls around like the game's an annoyance to him.

What happened?

[kylejt]

Since he stopped working from a knee (injury), he's been like Lerch behind the plate. Just awful. And that's a shame, because he used to be one of the best.

But you can't fire these guys, and no one has the balls to tell him he can't work any more, I guess. Pity.

[mbyron]

Has he missed calls? Been out of position? What's the problem?

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Has he missed calls? Been out of position? What's the problem?

Yup. Padres vs. Rockies, 2007 one game playoff. Game ending play at the plate.

Plus, announcers have come to hate him because his calls are now so dreadfully slow. They don't know if it's a ball or a strike.

I know some MLB umpire lovers think that these guys have earned the right to do whatever they want to do on the field. Not me. I think they should be the standard bearer of what umpires should be. The best of the best.

[johnnyg08]

Would it have made a difference if he sold the heck out of it and still "got it wrong" in the eyes of the other side?

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

Would it have made a difference if he sold the heck out of it and still "got it wrong" in the eyes of the other side?

Speaking as a Padres fan: Absolutely.

It's one thing to miss a close call (who hasn't done that). But quite another to just stand there like you're in a fog. It just looks bad.

[mbyron]

Oh right. MLB should hire and fire umpires based on fans' and announcers' opinions.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Oh right. MLB should hire and fire umpires based on fans' and announcers' opinions.

Well, maybe.

MLB is in the entertainment business, like it or not. It's a show. If part of that show isn't working, you may want to rethink it.

In a pure sense MLB would be evaluating umpires, and have the best product on the field every year. Obviously that doesn't happen. These guys have become like line workers at a GM plant. Complacent.

Look, I get why these guys don't want to leave these gigs. The money is FINALLY worth it, and they've got nothing else to fall back on. They're not like NFL officials, who actually have other jobs. This is all they know. They've given up a good hunk of their lives to get there, and don't want that paycheck to end. I get it. There just should be a better way, as these guys hang around far too long.

[mbyron]

Yeah, it's the show. MLB isn't hiring flashy, attractive umpires. They're hiring guys who get it right virtually every time.

You have found a case where (you claim) McClelland missed a call 2 years ago. I submit that this rate of errors is within league tolerances.

McClelland is still top-rated by players and managers, for whatever that's worth.

[Kevin Finnerty]

You're in a tough fight defending this guy. He has become an embarrassment to the profession. Just look at him whenever he is on the field. His posturing is as lazy and unprofessional as you will ever see. And that fog that Kyle referred to: he's in it virtually all the time.

He only kicked two calls in last night's game, but it's not completely about that. It's about being and appearing diligent and professional, if not merely awake. If he got most of his calls right like you claim, it would be a somewhat different story, but he doesn't do that either.

When he got stuck in the wrong spot on that season-ending call that he blew against the Padres, he told Tim Tschida afterward, "I didn't really see it, but he must have been safe."

It's disappointing that a vocation that I care so deeply about is being represented at the highest level of competition by someone so lazy and disinterested. Give it up and let a true pro take over. It's the big leagues.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

You're in a tough fight defending this guy.

I'm not defending him. I don't know enough to do that. I'm rejecting the argument that it's time for him to go because the fans and the media don't like his mechanics.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by kylejt

Since he stopped working from a knee (injury), he's been like Lerch behind the plate. Just awful. And that's a shame, because he used to be one of the best.

But you can't fire these guys, and no one has the balls to tell him he can't work any more, I guess. Pity.

And, honestly Kyle, the comparison with Lurch is a little unfair. Lurch regularly showed more quickness and interest than McClelland. Nice try.

[johnnyg08]

If his ratings/game performance is indeed that bad, wouldn't they phase him out? He misses them just like every-other-umpire...to blame the Padres loss on one play alone is ridiculous. If a person really wanted to argue a point, one could argue that they shouldn't have put themselves in a position for a one game playoff, then to put themselves in a position where seemingly "one call" ended their season.

Pick a game that the Padres lost (any one of the probably more than 50 that they lost that year). Man, if Peavy wouldn't have hung that slider...

Also, I don't personally know any major league umpire...so I don't have ties to any of them so I'm not sniffing anybody's anything.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

Would it have made a difference if he sold the heck out of it and still "got it wrong" in the eyes of the other side?

He got it wrong in the eyes of everyone who has eyes. Hey, I'll let it go when I'm over it, and clearly no Padres fan is over it yet.

Originally Posted by mbyron

I'm not defending him. I don't know enough to do that. I'm rejecting the argument that it's time for him to go because the fans and the media don't like his mechanics.

You are right, he should go because he really blows.

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

If his ratings/game performance is indeed that bad, wouldn't they phase him out? He misses them just like every-other-umpire...to blame the Padres loss on one play alone is ridiculous. If a person really wanted to argue a point, one could argue that they shouldn't have put themselves in a position for a one game playoff, then to put themselves in a position where seemingly "one call" ended their season.

Pick a game that the Padres lost (any one of the probably more than 50 that they lost that year). Man, if Peavy wouldn't have hung that slider...

The bottom line is that Holliday still hasn't touched home plate, and that was indeed the game breaking call. All that talk about how they shouldn't have been in that situation is irrelevant, and is no excuse for missing what was such an obvious call. McClelland acted as if he was tired of the game and just wanted it over, so he called the guy safe. That may not be the case, but it is the image he projects when he makes his "relaxed" (read: weak looking) calls.