WTF Just Happened at 3rd NY vs LAA

[jkumpire]

Originally Posted by David B

I can see your points, but watching it on ESPN this morning, the bottomline is that he called something that he did not see. They even showed his eyes and he was 1)way too close to the play, (did not hustle at all), and 2) he was looking at the catch and never looked at the runner.

His comment was what was horrible, when he said "I thought in my heart that he left early, but according to the replay I was wrong"

Even amateur umpires are and should be taught, only call what you "see", not what you thought you saw especially on a play like this.

Umpires looking really bad this fall in postseason, they just showed the play at second also on the pickoff and he was out by a foot. Again the umpire was too close to the play. I know they are the MLB's best and I am not, but mechanics are the key no matter what level.

And of course, the "replay idiots" are having a big time with this as we know there is no way replay will ever work in baseball.

But based on what I'm hearing, it might be forced into implementation, and that is sad.

Thanks
David

Here is Tim's quote: 2009 ALCS: Three umpire errors in Game 4 point to the need to expand instant replay -- MLB Playoffs - ESPN

McClelland, however, did not see what everyone else in the park and watching on TV saw.

"I thought Cano was on the base," McClelland said. "I was waiting for two players to be on the base, and then there was never the situation where both of them were on the base at the same time. When [Napoli] tagged Cano, I thought Cano was on the base, and when [Napoli] tagged Posada out, I thought Posada was out.

"[The replay] showed that Cano was off the bag when he was tagged. I did not see that for whatever reason. So obviously there were two missed calls. Obviously or not obviously, but there were two missed calls. And I'm just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can."

He didn't see it because he assumed something was going to happen and it didn't. And he didn't do the things he should of to see the play because of it. That is a veteran umpire making a mental error.

So IMO, the instant replay expansion stuff is not a good idea. To err is human, no matter how much $$$ you get paid.

[Kevin Finnerty]

To err is human. So is to be lazy and uninspired, even though you command an astronomical salary. It's inexcusable.

McClelland should have one word at the front of his mind: pension.

[Umpmazza]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

To err is human. So is to be lazy and uninspired, even though you command an astronomical salary. It's inexcusable.

McClelland should have one word at the front of his mind: pension.

Why do you think he is lazy and uninspired? just cause he cant move as well as some of the younger guys? I wouldn't say he doesn't want to be there.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by Umpmazza

Why do you think he is lazy and uninspired? just cause he cant move as well as some of the younger guys? I wouldn't say he doesn't want to be there.

He has 400,000 reasons to be there every year.

It's not about "moving well." How well do you need to move to be in position on that fly ball? While that ball's in the air, my 81-year-old father can move 30 feet. How about taking a step TO SEE THE BAG AND THE TAG OF CANO?!? The guy's 6'7''; a half a step might have done it!

It's laziness and lack of interest. These games are important.

I-N-E-X-C-U-S-A-B-L-E

[Umpmazza]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

He has 400,000 reasons to be there every year.

It's not about "moving well." How well do you need to move to be in position on that fly ball? While that ball's in the air, my 81-year-old father can move 30 feet. How about taking a step TO SEE THE BAG AND THE TAG OF CANO?!? The guy's 6'7''; a half a step might have done it!

It's laziness and lack of interest. These games are important.

I-N-E-X-C-U-S-A-B-L-E

I will not disagree with you on some things...:LOL But I still dont think he is not interested... maybe slow...

[Kevin Finnerty]

...

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Umpmazza

Why do you think he is lazy and uninspired? just cause he cant move as well as some of the younger guys? I wouldn't say he doesn't want to be there.

Yes, that's exactly it. He doesn't move. The job requires it. Until MLB can replace guys with younger umpires who do the job, this will continue to happen. I loved watching Bruce Froemming, but he should've been moved out 15 years or more before he retired.

It's time being a ML umpire isn't treated as a lifetime appointment. Hire people who have educations and other careers they can fall back on and stop giving the chosen few jobs for life.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Yes, that's exactly it. He doesn't move. The job requires it. Until MLB can replace guys with younger umpires who do the job, this will continue to happen. I loved watching Bruce Froemming, but he should've been moved out 15 years or more before he retired.

It's time being a ML umpire isn't treated as a lifetime appointment. Hire people who have educations and other careers they can fall back on and stop giving the chosen few jobs for life.

I completely agree. They eliminate a lot of qualified people because they only give people jobs that have nothing to lose once they get there.

Peace

[Eastshire]

It's not that he missed it that bothers me. It's that he missed it because he was out of position that bothers me.

Almost every blown call I see made by an MLB ump is due to poor mechanics or positioning. He was out of position and couldn't even see the bag or the tag, so he had to guess and he guessed wrong.

Same deal with the foul ball call in the earlier series. The ump was moving and not on the line to begin with.

If they actually put the effort into proper mechanics, we wouldn't see this rash of blown calls.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

It's not that he missed it that bothers me. It's that he missed it because he was out of position that bothers me.

Almost every blown call I see made by an MLB ump is due to poor mechanics or positioning. He was out of position and couldn't even see the bag or the tag, so he had to guess and he guessed wrong.

Same deal with the foul ball call in the earlier series. The ump was moving and not on the line to begin with.

If they actually put the effort into proper mechanics, we wouldn't see this rash of blown calls.

To be fair, you can't stand on the line in the outfield. You have to start a few feet fair or you'd be screened by U3 and not be able to see the plate.

That said, not sure how he missed it.

[JR12]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

To err is human. So is to be lazy and uninspired, even though you command an astronomical salary. It's inexcusable.

McClelland should have one word at the front of his mind: pension.

yup, Kevin. As a good friend of mine says "No more tension, I'll take my pension"

[rulesmaven]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

"I thought Cano was on the base," McClelland said. "I was waiting for two players to be on the base, and then there was never the situation where both of them were on the base at the same time. When [Napoli] tagged Cano, I thought Cano was on the base, and when [Napoli] tagged Posada out, I thought Posada was out.

This quote is actually a bit off. McClelland actually called "Posada" by his first name during the quote twice -- using "Jorge." He didn't ever refer to the Angels by name, though -- using pronouns.

This really struck me when I saw the replay of the press conference. I'm wondering what you guys think about this. I've never umpired baseball. I understand that baseball tends to have different conventions from other sports, and that given names are frequently used on the field between players, managers and umpires. You really wouldn't hear this in other sports, where officials would tend to use numbers or positions or simply "the defender" or something like that describe a play.

I found McClelland's use of the names during his press conference to indicate a level of informality. I'm sure his use of names for yankees but not angels was coincidence, but it's something for the conspiracy theories. I don't care for it, but again I understand baseball is unique in its conventions in this regard.

[kylejt]

I'm sure this has something to do with Jorge being a catcher.

[scarolinablue]

Terrible hustle and positioning on the tag play on Swisher. Way, way too close to make that call. I can't believe he upheld the appeal. He was absolutely out of position.

On the double tag at third, I do believe he got straightlined a bit, but I still don't think it was that hard of a call. It was a heckuva a play by Napoli to recognize he could get two outs.

And please, don't offer excuses as to why you missed it. You missed it, and should just leave it at that. Doing otherwise cuts your credibility. Methinks he's lost enough of his at this point. Nice career, maybe it's time to open up a spot for the Drakes and Gucciones of the world.