Wendlestadt vs Gardenhire
 

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | MIN@DET: Gardenhire is ejected for arguing with ump - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

Hunter won.

Someone remind me, hasn't he dumped Gardenhire before?

Gardenhire is going to have to start getting tickets for Twins games. He only gets to watch about 3-4 games a week from the dugout. :D

He seems to go quite often.

I was just trying to remember a doosy he had with Wendlestadt last year or the year before.

Only 5 this year? seems like more
 

DETROIT (AP)—Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected from the game against the Detroit Tigers in the top of the second inning Friday night.

Gardenhire, who was yelling from the dugout, was thrown out by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt with the Twins down 6-1.

Gardenhire came out to argue that Minnesota’s third baseman tagged Curtis Granderson(notes) on a rundown play between home and third in the previous half inning. Third base umpire Brian Knight ruled that Harris did not tag Granderson, who scored. Minnesota didn’t get an out on the play.

It was the 46th ejection of Gardenhire’s career and his fifth this season.

The Twins went on to score three runs in the inning to make it 6-4.

You might think he is trying to catch Cox

No, he's straight. :-)

Twins had some tough breaks last night...they gave up 10 runs, they didn't deserve to win...but they couldn't catch a break last night...Gardy pretty much had to get dumped at some point to stick up for his team.

Is Hunter a big guy? He seemed to be working really high last night...I guess I haven't seen a game w/ him on the dish in a long time.

Just curious ....

Hunter must have had a last minute adjustment to his mask, with all that white tape on there.

on this play did anyone else think that he should have been on the 1BLE?

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | MIN@DET: Gardenhire is ejected for arguing with ump - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

If you are referring to the 5th inning play at the plate, then no. If he would have been 1BLX, he would have been blocked by the runner's body and wouldn't have seen the play. I think he was in the right spot to see the foot hit the plate before the tag actually got applied.

If 1BLX, he might have called the runner out instead of safe b/c the tag would have disappeared by the runner's body. Good call and good position. IMO.

Those announcers need to get back on their feet and let Gardenhire get back to work. Geeeze

Hunter invites Gardy to Umpire School. This is out of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Written by Joe Christensen

DETROIT - Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has drawn 46 ejections. Usually he speaks with restraint afterward, but after getting tossed for the fifth time this season in Friday night's 10-8 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park, he didn't hold back.

And neither did plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in his response.

Gardenhire said Wendelstedt punctuated his second-inning ejection by asking, "How do you like that?"

"That's the second time I've run into this, with this guy," Gardenhire said. "He's got an attitude. At home a few years back he said, 'You're just out here for showtime.' He's got a smart mouth, and tonight was ridiculous, really.

"A lot of calls [were] no good. He had a bad night. He didn't probably think so because he's god, as umpires go. ... I was really disappointed. There was no reason for me to get thrown out of that game."

Wendelstedt said Gardenhire's comments were unfair. He said he warned Gardenhire about the complaints coming from the Twins bench the first two innings and that Gardenhire finally "ejected himself" when he confronted him on the field.

"Basically for a manager that has been around for so long, you would think he would understand the way baseball operates that a warning is a warning," Wendelstedt said.

First, the Twins were upset because they were sure third baseman Brendan Harris tagged Curtis Granderson on a rundown, as the Tigers scored six runs against Anthony Swarzak (3-5) in the first inning.

In an postgame interview with FSN, Granderson admitted he felt Harris tag his foot but continued running because no one called him out.

Gardenhire said Granderson was out, but the Twins considered that a tough call. The Twins were also convinced Tigers starter Armando Galarraga (6-10) was balking with quick-pitch deliveries.

"I would challenge [Gardenhire] to sit down and watch the replays," Wendelstedt said. "Because he was wrong. ... I'm going to invite him to my umpire school. If he wants to learn what a balk is, he can come down in January to umpire school and we'll teach him."

Though Gardenhire had been ejected, the Twins felt the umpires missed three calls on the same play in the fifth inning. Alex Avila hit a two-run double down the first-base line.

The Twins thought the ball was foul, they thought fans interfered with the ball in foul territory, and they thought Carlos Guillen was out at the plate.

Wendelstedt said the umpiring crew reviewed video replays for nearly an hour after the game.

"Best-case scenario, the only questionable call of the whole night that he might have is whether the fan might have touched the foul ball down the line, which we couldn't see on the tape," Wendelstedt said. "Everything else, we were 100 percent. And then when I get my ball-and-strike disk, I'll bet I'm 97-99 percent, and we'll look at that tomorrow."

Gardenhire realized he'd probably get fined, or even suspended, by the commissioner's office for his comments.

"Calls are calls," he said. "Sometimes they go your way. I just get real disappointed when an umpire has an attitude like that and thinks he's a big shot and throws you out and feels good about it.

"That's too bad. Too bad. It doesn't have to be that way, shouldn't have to be that way, but I'll get fined, and he'll be fine. He'll be fine."

Oh, yeah, right. Wendelstedt is the one with the bad attitude. Gardenhire, take a look in the mirror! You're the tool they forgot to put back in the shed!

I don't understand how the umpire is supposed to sit there and simply get abused while the coach/manager goes ballistic on him...I don't think we should escalate a situation, but to say that an umpire has an attitude simply because you run out in front of 40,000 people and mock his crew is simply insane.

Is it possible that, in addition to Gardenhire being a jerk, Wendlestadt is one also?

Im not saying he did or did not make the right call.... Im just saying the throw from right field, I think he should have been on the 1BLE.. he would have a good look. JMO

Yes, that is possible. I don't know either of them though.

Not in this instance.

Gardenhire has made it fairly obvious that he is a jerk.

But, he seems to have a particular problem with Wendlestadt...just wondering.

For instance, Earl Weaver was...well , Insane and a jerk.

That did not mean Luciano was not a buffoon and a jerk, though.

Earl had a problem with umpires, period.

Gardenshire has a problem not being an assh0le.

I said Gardenhire is a jerk and Earl was insane.

You totally ignored my point, though.

:D
That's a good comeback since it was probably true.

No I didn't. I addressed it.

Ron Luciano was many things, and possibly a buffoon was one of them. That's because he loved his job and wanted it to be fun. But he was most certainly not a jerk. He was a very nice human being with a big heart and a childlike quality which I find very admirable.

Ty Cobb was a jerk. Ron Luciano was not.

Gardenhire vs. Wendelstedt
 

Bottom line although this is "the show" as professional umpires hunter needs to be a better man than this. In a class room in the offseason away from cameras you could make the comment hunter made in refernece to inviting gardenhire to umpire camp-- not during the season in front of media. In my opinion, nothing wrong with the ejection, but bad move by hunter sinking that low afterwards good luck in the playoffs if u get an assignment.

He'll get one.

Gardenshire is an effin' moron, and MLB umpire are tired of being silent punching bags. Jeter lying about Foster was the last straw for many of them. Foster honored the "code" and didn't engage Jeter and ended up looking like the villain. Several of the veterans have decided to push back, lightly, until MLB draws a line.

Gardenhire needs some kind of training. Umpire camp, USMC Boot Camp, whatever...;)

Yes, Hunter will most definitely get a playoff assignment. If he doesn't, it won't be because of this.

Agreed. MLB umpires have been using smart@ss comebacks forever--look at the Haller vs. Weaver video. I suspect when a manager comes out he knows this all too well. Going to the media and repeating what gets said like you're sooo shocked a major league umpire would disrespect you is a rat move in my book.

Umpmazza,

I'm fairly sure that we're expected to be at 3blx for throws coming in from right field, for the exact reason that we expect a swipe tag. This position lets you see daylight or tag, while 1blx gets you blocked by the runner too often.

What is the recommended spot for throws from left field? 1BLX? I assume?

Sometimes plays at the plate don't happen the way you expect. What I do for plays at home is to stay at or near the point of the plate, read where the throw is coming from, where it's going, and where the catcher is going to be when he catches it. Then I move to the appropriate position.

If you see the catcher setting up to block the plate, go to 1BLX. If you read a swipe tag developing, move to 3BLX.

Thanks for the pointers....that's pretty much what I do...Mostly by instinct, I guess...I don't recall being specifically trained on that aspect of my plate work...thanks again....