Phil Cuzzi's Vision

[Cub42]

Again, with the experience these guys have, to miss that one is perplexing. However, there seems to be many calls that are not one sounders or bangers in the P/O's that have been kicked this year. We all miss them at times, but this is where the top guys are to be showing why they are there

[Dakota]

This post is a bit of a rant, so ignore it if you like.

There are issues with this that MLB and the umpire's union needs to address (IMO).

First, with a call this obviously poor (not just missed... poor - the ball was fair for two easily seen reasons: it hit the players glove in fair territory, and it hit the ground in fair territory) in a playoff game, there needs to be some repercussions for the umpire. A call this bad is poor in general, and in a playoff game, unacceptable.

Second, with the obvious conflict of interest for MLB (they clearly make more money if the Yankees advance than if the Twins advance), there needs to be transparency in how the umpire is disciplined. With a call this poor, there will be (and is) the chatter that it was favoritism.

Third, there needs to be transparency in how umpires are selected for the playoffs, for the same reason as #2, and it needs to be merit-based. Cuzzi has somewhat of a history of poor calls that favor the Yankees. Why was he assigned to this series?

MLB cannot afford to appear to be tolerating incompetent umpires in the playoffs neither can they afford the appearance of impropriety in the officiating.

The pretend commissioner is no help. In responding to the call for instant replay for calls of this kind that resulted from the poor call, he mumbled something about baseball cannot tolerate the delay. With the generally slow pace of MLB, this is obviously baloney. Further, his credibility as a man of integrity is, well, laughable. There are real and good reasons why IR for this kind of call is a bad idea (e.g. play stops with the FOUL call; you can't recreate the continuing action that would have happened, etc.), but for a man of seedy reputation to make such an obviously silly reason for no IR just adds fuel to the speculation that something is amiss.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Dakota

This post is a bit of a rant, so ignore it if you like.

There are issues with this that MLB and the umpire's union needs to address (IMO).

First, with a call this obviously poor (not just missed... poor - the ball was fair for two easily seen reasons: it hit the players glove in fair territory, and it hit the ground in fair territory) in a playoff game, there needs to be some repercussions for the umpire. A call this bad is poor in general, and in a playoff game, unacceptable.

Second, with the obvious conflict of interest for MLB (they clearly make more money if the Yankees advance than if the Twins advance), there needs to be transparency in how the umpire is disciplined. With a call this poor, there will be (and is) the chatter that it was favoritism.

Third, there needs to be transparency in how umpires are selected for the playoffs, for the same reason as #2, and it needs to be merit-based. Cuzzi has somewhat of a history of poor calls that favor the Yankees. Why was he assigned to this series?

MLB cannot afford to appear to be tolerating incompetent umpires in the playoffs neither can they afford the appearance of impropriety in the officiating.

The pretend commissioner is no help. In responding to the call for instant replay for calls of this kind that resulted from the poor call, he mumbled something about baseball cannot tolerate the delay. With the generally slow pace of MLB, this is obviously baloney. Further, his credibility as a man of integrity is, well, laughable. There are real and good reasons why IR for this kind of call is a bad idea (e.g. play stops with the FOUL call; you can't recreate the continuing action that would have happened, etc.), but for a man of seedy reputation to make such an obviously silly reason for no IR just adds fuel to the speculation that something is amiss.

It is one thing to say there needs to be an open process on who gets the playoffs, it is quite another to call the umpire bias. For one if you claim there is not transparency, how in the hell do you know what calls any umpire has made or not made against a particular team? I think at the very least the umpire just saw something else and made a call. Baseball is not a sport where you get many opportunities in this situation to screw a team even if you wanted to. And I doubt this umpire would jeopardize his career to help out a team that beat a team that was expected to lose from jump.

Give me a damn break.

Peace

[Dakota]

There is a difference between "knowing" and "appearance". With Cuzzi's history, there is the appearance of bias. With the pretend commissioner's history, there is the fact of lack of integrity. With the selection process, there is little or no transparency. With the umpire rating/discipline process, there is no transparency. This is not a good combination.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Dakota

There is a difference between "knowing" and "appearance". With Cuzzi's history, there is the appearance of bias. With the pretend commissioner's history, there is the fact of lack of integrity. With the selection process, there is little or no transparency. With the umpire rating/discipline process, there is no transparency. This is not a good combination.

If they gave you transparency what the heck would that change? Absolutely nothing. No one is going to tell you or anyone what and why decisions are made in private meetings. That is not going to happen in any profession. And just because you say there is bias, does not mean there is bias. You have just questioned a guy's integrity without any backing or any evidence other than what appears to be your own bias. Baseball is not a sport were bias means much of anything as far as I am concerned. This was one play in one game. If they Twins did not give up home runs to A-Rod, maybe they would have won the series or not gotten swept. I guess it was bias that told the pitcher (a former Yankee) to throw the ball down the middle of the plate and have it hit into the baggy.

Peace

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

have it hit into the baggy.

Peace

Actually it went over the baggy. The baggy's in play.

Other than that - excellent post.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

If they gave you transparency what the heck would that change? Absolutely nothing. No one is going to tell you or anyone what and why decisions are made in private meetings. That is not going to happen in any profession. And just because you say there is bias, does not mean there is bias. You have just questioned a guy's integrity without any backing or any evidence other than what appears to be your own bias. Baseball is not a sport were bias means much of anything as far as I am concerned. This was one play in one game. If they Twins did not give up home runs to A-Rod, maybe they would have won the series or not gotten swept. I guess it was bias that told the pitcher (a former Yankee) to throw the ball down the middle of the plate and have it hit into the baggy.

Peace

I was not making an argument Cuzzi's call cost the Twins the game; it did not. The Twins managed that all on their own.

Only that Cuzzi's call was SO wrong , SO clearly wrong, and the system is so impervious that it leads to loss of integrity in the mind of the fans.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Any fan out there who thinks an umpire blows a call intentionally or cares who wins or loses a game is an idiot. If that's their "perception," they have serious bias problems of their own.

[Ump153]

Originally Posted by Dakota

This post is a bit of a rant, so ignore it if you like.

There are issues with this that MLB and the umpire's union needs to address (IMO).

First, with a call this obviously poor (not just missed... poor - the ball was fair for two easily seen reasons: it hit the players glove in fair territory, and it hit the ground in fair territory) in a playoff game, there needs to be some repercussions for the umpire. A call this bad is poor in general, and in a playoff game, unacceptable.

Let's get the pitchforks and torches and storm the offices of MLB!!!

But first, let's find out if there is any possibility that the dreadful six man mechanics or positioning had anything to do with this. It was terrible call, no question, but let's find out the reason for it...not the excuse...the reason.

Second, with the obvious conflict of interest for MLB (they clearly make more money if the Yankees advance than if the Twins advance), there needs to be transparency in how the umpire is disciplined. With a call this poor, there will be (and is) the chatter that it was favoritism.

Okay, the black helicopters are back.

Chatter? From whom? Fanboys? Idiot announcers? The "Couch Slouch?" Anyone who believes that MLB would intentionally try to get a specific team in World Series needs a reality check, or a history lesson.

Third, there needs to be transparency in how umpires are selected for the playoffs, for the same reason as #2, and it needs to be merit-based. Cuzzi has somewhat of a history of poor calls that favor the Yankees. Why was he assigned to this series?

The method is transparent among those who matter...team owner, MLB adminstration, managers, players and umpires. Who gives a flying F if you fanboys aren't in the loop?

MLB cannot afford to appear to be tolerating incompetent umpires in the playoffs neither can they afford the appearance of impropriety in the officiating.

That's a serious charge. Let's hear the facts behind it. BTW conspiracy theories, chatter, rumor and fanboy complaints do not constitute facts.

The pretend commissioner is no help. In responding to the call for instant replay for calls of this kind that resulted from the poor call, he mumbled something about baseball cannot tolerate the delay. With the generally slow pace of MLB, this is obviously baloney. Further, his credibility as a man of integrity is, well, laughable. There are real and good reasons why IR for this kind of call is a bad idea (e.g. play stops with the FOUL call; you can't recreate the continuing action that would have happened, etc.), but for a man of seedy reputation to make such an obviously silly reason for no IR just adds fuel to the speculation that something is amiss.

I'm not sure what's "amiss", but apparently what's "a-missing" in your post is common sense and the intellect that God gave a gnat.

[Dakota]

Lets not forget, without the idiot fans, there is no sport. It doesn't matter whether the idiot fans are idiots; it doesn't matter whether their preceptions are rational; it doesn't matter what the facts are if no one except insiders knows the facts; it only matters whether they are willing to spend money to buy tickets.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Lets not forget, without the idiot fans, there is no sport. It doesn't matter whether the idiot fans are idiots; it doesn't matter whether their preceptions are rational; it doesn't matter what the facts are if no one except insiders knows the facts; it only matters whether they are willing to spend money to buy tickets.

I do agree, but that does not mean they know what the hell they are talking about. Customers choose to fly too, but that does not mean they can tell the pilots how to fly and what procedures need to be followed. And transparency is not going to change that fact. And no other league has that kind of transparency that you are asking for. And one of the things that keep the leagues in the news is controversy. That being said, that had nothing to do with this call or anything. Because if they changed the way these things were publicized, people like you would still be critical that they choose this guy over another in the rating process. Would it really matter in the end anyway?

Peace

[Ump Rube]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Because if they changed the way these things were publicized, people like you would still be critical that they choose this guy over another in the rating process. Would it really matter in the end anyway?

In other words...

The Devil you know, beats the Devil you don't. And I like the Devil I got.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I do agree, but that does not mean they know what the hell they are talking about. Customers choose to fly too, but that does not mean they can tell the pilots how to fly and what procedures need to be followed. And transparency is not going to change that fact. And no other league has that kind of transparency that you are asking for. And one of the things that keep the leagues in the news is controversy. That being said, that had nothing to do with this call or anything. Because if they changed the way these things were publicized, people like you would still be critical that they choose this guy over another in the rating process. Would it really matter in the end anyway?

Peace

I agree nothing will end fan complaining, nor would MLB want to end fan complaining. It was stated elsewhere on this board that playoff assignments were on a rotation. If that is true, IMO, that is wrong. A system that selects game officials for the most important games in the season based on "its was his turn" is wrong.

I do not favor IR in MLB, not even the limited IR they have now. I do not suggest anything should have been done to fix the call Cuzzi made. He made it; live with it.

But, if his umpire ratings during the season do not place him in the top 20% of umpires in MLB, he had no business being on that crew to begin with.

Other points made in this thread I also agree with. For example, using a 6 umpire system only for the playoffs... you have an umpire who is working a position for the first, and probably only, time during the season? How is that a good idea?

I have no idea how MLB manages its crews, but if the 6 umpire system has advantages of coverage, they need to do something to fix the "first time in a year" problem in working the position. How about form the playoff crews with 2 weeks remaining in the season and have them work the system for 2 weeks. Fill in the other games with the now idle (I assume) minor league umpires. But to have umpires working a position for the first time in a year in the biggest games of the year makes no sense whatsoever.

[JRutledge]

Dakota,

I agree with most of what you say, but what does that have to do with someone being bias on a single call in a playoff game?

Peace

[Ump153]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Lets not forget, without the idiot fans, there is no sport. It doesn't matter whether the idiot fans are idiots; it doesn't matter whether their preceptions are rational; it doesn't matter what the facts are if no one except insiders knows the facts; it only matters whether they are willing to spend money to buy tickets.

When the day comes that so many fans are of the idiot fanboy variety that believes in the crap you posted, this sport will have too many problems to worry about the selection of umpires.