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What a horrific call in Chicago

#1 - October 13, 2005 @ 11:25 AM EST

Pawtucket Red Sox

211 Posts

We'll never know what would have happend, the White Sox very well may have won the game in extra innings, but the moron behind the plate never let it get that far. Regardless if you think the ball hit the ground, the ump signaled out, and then changed his mind because Pierzynsky ran to first. It's alot like when there's a pitch that questionably hits a batter and there's no reaction from the ump other an calling a ball. But once the runner head towards 1st, the ump makes the HBP signal and points to first. Almost like he's thinking, "oh, well he's going to 1st, he must have got hit". This is up there will the Phantom Tag. I actually lost sleep over this last night. Are you kidding me?

#2 - October 13, 2005 @ 11:44 AM EST

heisenbergsRat

Pawtucket Red Sox

154 Posts

A truly classic bad call. But in all fairness, one that was almost impossible to make from behind the catcher. The real injustice occurred when the rest of the crew backed him up. I gotta think that their only rational thought was, "Let's take advantage of Burleigh's super-crisp game and get the hell outta here and down to Joe's for a few frosties." :lol: Again, in all fairness, who woulda thunk that it was a pivotal call. At least 2/3 of the time, the next batter flies or strikes or grounds out and the inning is over.

#3 - October 13, 2005 @ 12:36 PM EST

nyys

Pawtucket Red Sox

211 Posts

I wonder if that was something that could have been protested? Not whether it hit the ground or not (can't protest judgement calls), but the fact that the 'out' signal was made. Good point about the next batter usually making an out, I think that may be a reason Soscia didn't stay out there longer. His pitcher was cruising, no reason to think he wouldn't dispatch Creede quickly. Oh, and shame on Escobar for giving such a fat pitch on an 0-2 count. Shame it ended that way, it was turning out to be a true fall classic.

#4 - October 13, 2005 @ 2:51 PM EST

Titoschew

Pawtucket Red Sox

168 Posts

Shoot i turned the game off in the top of the 9th.....The White Sox blow I can't even watch their boring brand at all....That ump had his head up his ass he called the guy out and the ball never bounced....But leave it to Johnny on the Spot Pierzinski ( whom I can't stand ) to force the issue and dumb ass changes his call.... Now of course had fatass Gold Glove Molina been in the game would the ump have shown him more respect????? Would he have tagged him???? The worst part is the Head of the Umps saying the ball changed direction/ bounced in non CYA legalese....Lame Lame Lame....This is the second time the White Sox caught breaks form the homeplate ump....JDs phantom check swing and punch out without help from first or third????? I thought after last year the umps could get together and get the call right??? We can all thank Ritchie Phillips for dramatically killing most of the good umps..and forcing morons into the pro ranks

#5 - October 15, 2005 @ 7:26 AM EST

rothosen

Pawtucket Red Sox

120 Posts

I think everyone has overlooked the most obvious aspect of "the call." He didn't see the ball hit the ground. Everyone involved admitted that an umpire behind the catcher is not in position to actually SEE the ball skip, or not skip, into the glove. So why did he make the call he did? Easy, as with umpires all through the league he had two choices on how to make the call. 1. Anticipate what you expect the outcome to be. If a ball is headed towards the ground there is a good chance it will hit the ground. Usually though, we see these anticipated calls with plays at first base or steals at second. 2. React to the actions of the player involved. This is a little more rare, but 1999 comes to mind. The second baseman swipes at the runner and then throws immediately to first. Must have got the runner, right? In this case we got to see an umpire combine those two possibilities. He first rings up the batter because he expected the ball to be caught, and then he changed his mind on whether it actually had been caught when he saw the actions of the runner. His BS about that being his strike machanics is absolute crap. When the idiot tried to stretch a triple into an inside the park home run and was caught at the plate you saw the same mechanics. Either that was also his out call or the runner sliding into home was only guilty of strike three and was never actually called out at all. I actually was glad to see a gaff like this. Perhaps finally baseball will get their collective heads out of the dark ages and give us a little technology to assist the umpires. We let them wear glasses, don't we?

#6 - October 18, 2005 @ 10:32 PM EST

seantoo

Portland Sea Dog

95 Posts

Also the media loves to point out how the Umps NOW get together to make a call when the one who should have seen it, did not do his job or could not see it clearly, Dale and several others will say it over and over again that we should now thank them. Wha Wha WHAT!!!! We should thank them for doing what they should have been doing all along but have not becuase they were arrogant SOB's? Oh......