Brian O'Nora
 

Brian O'Nora, 2B umpire had to leave the Brewers @ Rockies game due to back problems in the second inning. A couple of innings later, there was a replacement umpire. How did they get one so quickly? Do MLB crews travel with 5 man crews with an extra in the pressbox or something?

Do you know who the replacement was? Could potentially be a roving Triple-A umpire - Colorado Springs has a Triple-A team nearby so maybe someone was available in the area.

2B umpire O'Nora leaves with back problem - USATODAY.com

This article says Cory Blaser took over in the fourth.

He's listed on the MLB umpire roster, and he lives in the area according to this.

Maybe Blaser was already slated to join the crew for a few days due to vacation or some other reason.

That's probably it. It kinda sounds like the MLB version of the Little League scenario where a dad comes down from the stands. I imagine the guy was watching the game from his home nearby and lept into action.

How comfortable are MLB umpires with 3-man mechanics. I mean is it something that is so ingrained from minor league experience that it just comes back naturally or do they get rusty?

It sounds like O'Nora has a lumbar disk problem. He might be down a while, especially considering the demands of HP

Listening in on Bob Uecker doing the Brewers @ Rockies. Cory Blaser as PU apparently kicked a call at home calling a Brewer safe. Lots of ejections and very loud crowd booing - remember, he lives just outside of town there. Like is said of substitute players, the ball always has a way of finding you.

Blaser looks really, really young. It doesn't have anything to do w/ the fact that he got it right or wrong, but it's cool to see a young guy in the show. I wouldn't say kicked it...replay shows that he got it wrong, but to say he kicked it...probably not.

I guess Blaser felt he needed to announce he presence with authority but he was too quick with the ejection. It looked a lot like the play in Bull Durham and Crash didn't get tossed until he said the magic word. The players did not speak too favorably of his strike zone either. I dunno, when the throw beats the runner and the tag is not obviously missed, you can do worse than calling the out. The MLB game seemed just a little too fast for Blaser on that play.

You are about as clueless as they come. How many replays did you need to see he missed the call? Too fast for him -- my a$$.

And you would let a player demonstrate by slamming his mask without ejecting him? The ejection of the catcher was a the proper time in ANY level game.

The replay showed the runner was out. There will probably come a time when such plays will be subject to review. There is good and bad in that but the possibility of a review would likely make players less demonstrative in their protests and less likely to be ejected - and there would be a better chance of getting the call right. I imagine hometown Cory is going to catch a lot of crap around town. But you are correct, Iannetta said he should not have shown him up that way and it was all in the heat of the moment.

+1

Screw the replay. There's no way the catcher could know that the call was wrong. The only reason the call was wrong was that the runner's foot was above the plate and not on the plate. F2 had absolutely no way of knowing this -- the reaction was completely over the top and had the runner's foot been on the ground F2's reaction would've been the same *and* wrong.

Jeff Bridges and Jim Carrey arguing... don't join in. Let the trolls beat on each other a bit.

Jeff Daniels?