All Umpires Suck

[Docwaukee]

I get that they're not perfect, but I am so tired of the lack of accountability and recourse.  

they impact every game in the wrong way.  

as a fan, I can honestly say that it detracts from my enjoyment of the game.  

[Blarg]

Before that stupid rectangle was imprinted on the screen you had no idea if a pitch was a strike or a ball. 

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Before that stupid rectangle was imprinted on the screen you had no idea if a pitch was a strike or a ball. 

Completely agree.  

[Docwaukee]

11 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Before that stupid rectangle was imprinted on the screen you had no idea if a pitch was a strike or a ball. 

Ignorance is bliss?  

we should get rid of electricity so it will make it that much more difficult for fans to see what actually happens.  

f this new tech stuff 

[krAbs]

58 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Before that stupid rectangle was imprinted on the screen you had no idea if a pitch was a strike or a ball. 

I'm going to keep doubling down on my conspiracy theory here. I think mlb is sick of the umpire union, and put those boxes up to make them look like shit and put pressure on them to let them automate more calls.

[kevinb]

I’ve said it plenty. But we have the technology to get the calls right we should use it. 

[Stradling]

If we are going to have the strike zone box can we at least have the one that MLB uses to “evaluate”umps?   

[Glen]

7 hours ago, krAbs said:

I'm going to keep doubling down on my conspiracy theory here. I think mlb is sick of the umpire union, and put those boxes up to make them look like shit and put pressure on them to let them automate more calls.

Is this a 20-year plan?

[Kevin]

9 hours ago, Blarg said:

Before that stupid rectangle was imprinted on the screen you had no idea if a pitch was a strike or a ball. 

I think we could judge without the box.

 

 

[Angel Oracle]

Nightmare crew:

Country Bumpkin West, Eddings, Diaz, and Hernandez 

[Taylor]

The current umpiring system is obsolete.

The home plate ump should have an opener.

[arch stanton]

Even if umps continue to call balls and strikes, is that spot behind the catcher the optimum place to set up? May they'd have better luck letting the 2B ump call the balls and strikes and let the plate guy be there to see there's a foul tip or a HBP or whatever. I just wonder if they couldn't do something better than squat in a place where they are literally blocked from half the plate

[floplag]

Umps have always blown calls, were just more acutely aware of every single one than we used to be.
That having been said though, the real issue to me is as other have mentioned, a complete lack of accountability. 
That combined with the general Cartman "respect my authoritah" attitude and its become an unhealthy dysfunctional relationship. 

[Angel Oracle]

Country Bumpkin West is the one who really blossomed the authoritarian attitudes.

[Blarg]

10 minutes ago, floplag said:

That combined with the general Cartman "respect my authoritah" attitude and its become an unhealthy dysfunctional relationship. 

Flop, maybe you don't realize that the umpires are given the only decision making on balls or strikes. That is an unbendable position and can't be argued. Managers and player yelp bacause they want the zone corrected but in the end they have zero say and it has to be that way to have any accountability. 

Imagine the chaos if an umpire changes his ruling on a borderline pitch. And  ball four inches outside the plate traveling 95 mph is a borderline call. The player can still get wood on the ball, they just choose to leave it to umpires to make the call in their favor. But it isn't going to happen every time. When the finger points it's a strike and thumbs up is out and no one can contest because it was agreed in the rulebook that the umpire will have that responsibility to make those calls. 

In the rulebook. No where do the fans, players or managers get to override those calls. 

[Taylor]

I kind of get how umpires feel. I'm a proofreader, so my work only gets noticed when I miss something. The 99.9% of things I don't miss get overlooked.

However, I hope I'm not as douchey as umps when one of my misses gets pointed out. I also don't get paid six figures.

[floplag]

39 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Flop, maybe you don't realize that the umpires are given the only decision making on balls or strikes. That is an unbendable position and can't be argued. Managers and player yelp bacause they want the zone corrected but in the end they have zero say and it has to be that way to have any accountability. 

Imagine the chaos if an umpire changes his ruling on a borderline pitch. And  ball four inches outside the plate traveling 95 mph is a borderline call. The player can still get wood on the ball, they just choose to leave it to umpires to make the call in their favor. But it isn't going to happen every time. When the finger points it's a strike and thumbs up is out and no one can contest because it was agreed in the rulebook that the umpire will have that responsibility to make those calls. 

In the rulebook. No where do the fans, players or managers get to override those calls. 

No im quite clear on that point, as i have said here many times its absurd that there is no challenge to that one thing.  If an ump can make a mistake on a ball in play its a given that he can on a ball or strike.  

Whether or not the player can get wood on it isnt the point.  Players set up all kinds of ways inside over the plate away knowing they are giving up certain things to maximize others and if the pitcher can hit that spot he will get him, but that really isn the issue.  If the ball is a strike where it crosses the plate it doesnt matter if he can hit it or not, as you say in the rulebook thus and so is a strike.  But then we all know the strike zone varies night to night ump to ump and none of them are calling it by the book or we would see a crap ton more high strikes at the letters that dont get called at all today. 

No call should be above challenge in my view, none.  Its absurd to assume that the ump is infallible.  

And if challenged it shouldnt become some petty childish war over it as it so often does, thats just ridiculous.  

[Tank]

12 minutes ago, Taylor said:

I kind of get how umpires feel. I'm a proofreader, so my work only gets noticed when I miss something. The 99.9% of things I don't miss get overlooked.

However, I hope I'm not as douchey as umps when one of my misses gets pointed out. I also don't get paid six figures.

i just hope and pray you don't become the doug eddings of the trader joe's weekly mailer world.

[m0nkey]

The problem I would have with an electronic strike zone is that there would be a lot of unhittable pitches called strikes that barely catch the edge of the zone on the front side of home plate before going out of the zone.  

[Mark PT]

2 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Even if umps continue to call balls and strikes, is that spot behind the catcher the optimum place to set up? May they'd have better luck letting the 2B ump call the balls and strikes and let the plate guy be there to see there's a foul tip or a HBP or whatever. I just wonder if they couldn't do something better than squat in a place where they are literally blocked from half the plate

Impossible to see high and low and follow left to right from behind the pitcher with accuracy. This whole problem is only one of talent. Eliminate the old boys club at Umpire development and actually take the guys with the talent and this problem is over. Also stop employing guys over a certain age and leave it to younger umpires. 

[Mark PT]

1 hour ago, floplag said:

No im quite clear on that point, as i have said here many times its absurd that there is no challenge to that one thing.  If an ump can make a mistake on a ball in play its a given that he can on a ball or strike.  

Whether or not the player can get wood on it isnt the point.  Players set up all kinds of ways inside over the plate away knowing they are giving up certain things to maximize others and if the pitcher can hit that spot he will get him, but that really isn the issue.  If the ball is a strike where it crosses the plate it doesnt matter if he can hit it or not, as you say in the rulebook thus and so is a strike.  But then we all know the strike zone varies night to night ump to ump and none of them are calling it by the book or we would see a crap ton more high strikes at the letters that dont get called at all today. 

No call should be above challenge in my view, none.  Its absurd to assume that the ump is infallible.  

And if challenged it shouldnt become some petty childish war over it as it so often does, thats just ridiculous.  

I see your point and it is valid but I do disagree. A major criticism of baseball is that it is too slow. Taking time out to judge a strike/ball, which most people judge is a non-factor would slow the game down to a intolerable level (this refers to average fans). Also I am of the opinion that this is a human game. Dont robotize it too much.

[Mark PT]

2 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Country Bumpkin West is the one who really blossomed the authoritarian attitudes.

It was the era he developed in. Wendelstedt, Brinkman, Freming, Kaiser. These were all no tolerant umpires and that is the way the game was umpired back then. 

[Mark PT]

3 hours ago, Taylor said:

The current umpiring system is obsolete.

The home plate ump should have an opener.

How would you improve it?

 

[arch stanton]

11 minutes ago, Mark PT said:

Impossible to see high and low and follow left to right from behind the pitcher with accuracy. This whole problem is only one of talent. Eliminate the old boys club at Umpire development and actually take the guys with the talent and this problem is over. Also stop employing guys over a certain age and leave it to younger umpires. 

How is it better from behind the catcher? You can’t see both sides of the plate 

[Taylor]

1 minute ago, Mark PT said:

How would you improve it?

By adding an opener. Duh.