tim mcclelland
 

i was watching game 1 with tim behind the plate. Does he even sell any calls anymore? his strike hammer looked rather lazy and i don't think he's even vocalizing his strike calls and his strike 3 ringup looked pretty lazy too...it must be nice to have earned the credibility he has to get away with his stuff...

and OT, why is Jeff Kellogg not working this postseason? i didn't see him on the Div Series roster and he's not on the LCS rosters, considering he worked a WS last year (and even a late series game on the plate), did he just have a bad year? And does anyone know what the mechanic is called that Kellogg uses to ring up batters? i think it looks cool, sweeping your right hand across and punching to the left...

Um, did you happen to check out his "skills" this evening?

Yow!

tonight
 

First off, I'm not sold on all these video cameras Fox is using.

Second, Tim needed a couple more steps to get into a great position to see the tag. Was he wrong? Maybe, but see the post above.

Third, on the play at 3B, IMO two bad things happened.
A. he got straightlined by Posada when he steeped off 3B. There was little chance he could see the 2nd tag from where he was. Should he have moved further? Maybe, but at least he had the guts to call what he saw and assumed something happened that he didn't see.
B. The problem with his call on the whole play may be something all of us can learn from. Since I am not God, I cannot go into Tim's mind to find out what he was thinking. But I would almost be willing to bet that he assumed a certain normal call he has called hundreds of time was going on. Instead, there was a call that happens, what, once in a career?

The teaching point is that you can never assume what will happen at a play, you have to try and keep your mind focused on what is going on in front of your eyes.

I know a lot of us veterans will at times assume something like this: We think this pitch will be off the plate, so we mentally call the pitch a ball. But, then the pitch hits the corner, but we assumed it was a ball, so we ball it anyway.

How many times will anyone see that call in their career on the MLB level? Once, maybe. It was a weird play, and I'll bet you dollars to donuts he either didn't see Posada get tagged, or he made a mental mistake in assuming only R2 would vacate 3B when R3 returned.

Great play by the F2, he was on the ball, and U3 missed it.

BTW, the conversation with Sicosia and Jerry Lane was enlightening too, but I wish Fox had not broadcast it. That kind of inside baseball needs to be left on the field, and Lane was dead on right to let the Anaheim F2 he needed to give a look.

The later commentary by McCarver about it was nuts, some of the most stupid stuff I ever heard him say. "Yeah, F2 is thinking about what the HP umpire said, so he ends up misplaying a ball for a passed ball. Right.

Comments?

An umpire like Tim McClelland, somnambulating through his job, no longer able to interest himself, makes being an umpire more difficult for everyone.

I was under the impression that these games were important. So getting the calls right is critical. So why is McClelland out there?

Wow!

I just read J.K.'s defense of McClelland's latest butchery. Admirable loyalty to a once-great umpire.

I can't wait to hear the others.

McClelland's performance tonight was horrid. His decision not to get into position to have the best view of plays was inexcusable. He is not that old. He is not infirm. He needs to decide to work like he used to or seek an evaluator's job and leave ML umpiring to those willing to work hard.

AGAIN, we agree!

SI.Com Article on Post Season Umpiring......
 

"I thought Cano was on the base," said McClelland, a longtime veteran and one of baseball's most respected umpires.

He said the second replay showed that Cano was off the base when he was tagged.

"I did not see that for whatever reason," he said. "I'm just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can."

The Angels did get a break in the fourth when Swisher was called out for leaving third base too soon on Johnny Damon's fly to center field. Swisher was called out on an appeal, resulting in an inning-ending double play -- though replays appeared to show Swisher did not leave early.

"In my heart, I thought he left too soon," McClelland said. "But the replay showed that he didn't."

There was another disputed call in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, when first base ump Laz Diaz ruled Torii Hunter out on his sixth-inning bunt. Angels manager Mike Scioscia argued that first baseman Mark Teixeira's foot came off the bag when he stretched for Sabathia's throw.

Missed calls and shaky umpiring have been an embarrassment for Major League Baseball throughout this postseason.

Entire article is at:

Umpires miss more calls in Game 4 - MLB - SI.com

Please do not put your thoughts in my post, Kevin.
 

Ah,

Kevin, you misunderstand. It was an explanation, not a defense. I use this site as way to become a better umpire and teacher of umpires, not a forum to bash people. I am not sold on the tag at 3B that he was wrong, camera angles can lie.

Obviously he kicked the play at 3B, and it was awful he got himself straightlined on the play. He can defend himself in the media, I don't need to.

Must be an Angels fan b/c the call at 1B was right. He held the base long enough for the call. He doesn't have to maintain contact with the base throughout the entire play. Just have secure possession of the ball while touching the base, which he did. Laz's call was right and a good call.

Just another McCarver reporter writing things which he has no idea about.

Camera angles can lie? That's absolutely incredible, JK. Yours is a defense against perhaps the worst call we have ever seen in a high-profile game.

And this is not bashing. Bashing is senseless and baseless attacking. It originally referred to beating a person because they were gay. That's senseless. This is sensible and worthy and simple criticism of an outrageous mistake by a highly paid professional. And it was made due to laziness, just like his other mistake in this same game, or his giving a playoff game to the Rockies two years back.

An indefensible mistake. Even McClelland can't offer a defense or an excuse.

More, not so flattering comments and opinions from NBC.COM......
 

Article - Atrocious umpiring not a factor as Yanks stomp Angels:

"Had the game remained close, then the umpires would have faced their greatest scrutiny yet. Tim McClelland, widely revered as the game's best, horribly botched two plays at third, making it obvious in the process that he wasn't even paying attention to the game in front of him."

NBC Sports - Baseball - Circling the Bases

Which Call is the worst ever?
 

Kevin,

I am confused. Are you saying that camera angles are always perfect to get the best view of any play? Are you just so mad about the two calls missed at 3B you can't see the forest from the trees?

I did not see all the replays in the game on the appeal at 3B, but unless there was one I did not see, unless you have a perfect angle on the play, it's not a done deal he missed it. Having said that, it looks like Fox did find the magic angle to show he missed it. If he kicked it, bad for him.

Maybe it is another reason why the the plate umpire should have the tag at 3B to begin with.

Look, when I went to school, Tim was one the instructors I had. He's a great guy, IMO. If I was going to defend him I would. But I am not trying to defend him or the call. I saw the play at 3B totally live, he blew that up like Hiroshima. He got straightlined by the runner going back to 3B. No excuse for that.

But doggone it, camera angles do lie at times, and you are saying stuff I am not saying. Step away from the keyboard and take a deep breath will you?

No. In a four, or six man crew, U3 should be able to line up the the catch and tag. Tim failed to do so, didn't see the tag up, and guessed. The BIG problem was that he called what he didn't see. In that case, you always give the benifit of the doubt to the runner. ALWAYS.

You've got to be 100% sure to make that call. THAT was the big mistake.

...that's the sad part right there.