The umps are making a mockery of baseball. They made a worse call in the Braves/Cards wildcard game, than the replacement refs in the Greenbay NFL game. A fly ball half way out in left field dropped to the ground, and the batter was called out on the "infield fly" rule. Beer bottles and cans were thrown on the field by the fans for 20 minutes. Then right after that the first base ump called a batter out at first base, saying the first baseman was pulled off the base with the throw. The first baseman's foot did get back to the base before the batter got there. And the home plate umps don't know a strike from a ball six inches off the plate. What sense does it make to watch, if the officials decide the outcome of the games with their stupid calls?
Yeah it was pretty bad. That being said umps are only human, and the pressure of a do or die playoff only makes it worse. Perhaps some sort of review would be appropriate, and it should probably be limited to the postseason.
It's like in a fight. Finish your opponent, or let the judges decide. If you are really the better team, the bad calls will be irrelevant.
When watching a game on tv, they show a box that shows if the pitch went through the strike zone, instantly. That eliminates the need for a fallible home plate ump. "Instant replay" shows whether a ball was fair or foul, and if a runner was safe or not, eliminating the need for the other umps too. There's no excuse for bad calls any more. An official in the booth could make the call immediately, without all the other officials having to view it under the "hood", and wasting time.
You do know that they actually caught an NBA ref fixing games, don't you. With the billions of dollars being bet on sports, you really believe that all the officials are beyond reproach? Just two or three bad calls, or non calls, can swing the momentum and ruin a game. Kinda like the Braves/Cards game. I wonder how much those refs were paid off.
That was the point I made. Besides the umps ruining the games, it's boring if it's a pitchers dual, no action. But I used to be a beer man, going up and down the isles selling beer. It is fun to watch dummies spend $60.00 for a six pack, and give me a $20.00 tip. Hey, who am I to deny Americans their favorite pass time?lol
I was selling a beer in the front row next to third base when this happened. [video=youtube;KxEUW3pQX6A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxEUW3pQX6A[/video]
There are a lot of subjectives in a strike zone. For example, every hitter has a different zone depending on his height. Should shorter players have a smaller strike zone? That hardly seems fair. Then there is the safety factor. An umpire will generally give a pitcher 3 or 4 inches off the plate outside because power hitters are diving into the zone so they can pull the ball. I hated that when pitching because I didn't want have to be forced to come inside to get someone out. That's what ended Kirby Puckett's career. It's also hard to find a pitch above the belt called a strike anymore because nobody wants 94 mph fastballs near the head. Iow, I'm willing to live with the way umpires are calling games these days.
A foot off the plate is a strike, and a pitch in the zone is called a ball. I saw that so many times in just a half inning last night, I just quit watching. The umps determine the outcome of the games. What a stupid sport. It's like watching the WWE.
I cannot believe how bad the Nationals blew it. 6 to nothing, then 7 to 5, down to the last pitch twice, and Cardinals score 4 runs and win the game. One of the most painful losses I've ever seen.
Like bean towns collapse last year. Vandeveld's British Open collapse. McElroy's U.S. Open collapse. Bill Buckner. The Chargers collapse last night. And the Cubs 100 year drought. Fans love misery.
I'm not even a Nationals fan, I just like it when underdog teams make it to the series. Growing up it was the Yankees and/or Braves every year and it got real boring, real fast. Then smaller teams started getting in and winning and it made baseball fun again. It would have been cool to have a Detroit Tigers vs Washington Nationals series. It looks like we're headed for another Giants or Cardinals win, teams that have both won within the last 2 years. Boring.
One of those two are going to have to go through Detroit. At least I hope the Tigers finish off the Yucks. Enough chokes already.
If anything, the Nats should have won just so Jason Werth doesn't wind up having mental problems, what with that whole Texas thing as well. If the Cards beat my Giants, I may have to reconsider my opinon of them, till I get over it that is
I card your grandma if she orders a beer. Anyone, and everyone must have a valid picture I.D. with birth date, to get served. NO EXCEPTIONS! I'm not gonna lose my job, or go to jail. Now days, a vendor can also lose their job for over serving, so you only get three beers per game per person from me. Rowdy fans are scrutinized by the cops. And vendors are checked out to see how many they've been serving to the rowdies.
Yanks down 3 games to 0 against the Tigers. Looks like another billion dollar payroll year wasted, unless they can run a 4 game streak. Very happy about that, by the way.
You realize Obama has generated more campaign revenue than anyone else in history, right? He's generated close to a billion dollars. He received more money from Wall Street than anyone in 2008 and outspent McCain at a rate of 8 to 1 towards the end of the campaign. Sorry pal, Democrats don't get to complain about "money" when their candidate is by far the biggest paid shill out there.
There's a difference between getting campaign donations from the majority of voters, and a few billionaires and corporations trying to buy the election. Go Detroit Tigers!
