It's now reached a point where you just expect these clowns to make a mistake or do something completely unjustifeid in a game. Either punching out a guy (Seth Smith) with just TWO (count'em-----two) strikes on him, to giving a player 4 strikes another time (Puig), or missing an obviously safe batter by calling him out when it wasn't even close, somebody needs to do something about them. I expect nothing from JoTo, who ostensibly is in charge of them, and I expect only blind, droning support from iconic BB announcers, but Selig and/or whoever have to tighten up on these clowns soon. It's only a metter of time before their incompetency costs a team a playoff game, or WS game, or even the whole ball of wax. It's not like anything is ever overturned...there is just too many bad ones out there now to leave it in their hands without recourse.
The part that REALLY gets me is this: The stadiums cannot show replays of close plays to 'protect' the umpires. So fucking ridiculous. If I'm at the stadium, and there's a close call, I'm not allowed to see the replay because the umpires might be wrong and held accountable? Ridiculous. NBA arenas show all the replays so people can see if it was a flop, a charge, out of bounds, a foul, etc. Everything. They can't do that at a baseball stadium? We deserve to know if the call is right, but no...we have to protect those hacks from getting shown up.
I don't know if the umpires are worse now than they used to be, or if technology is just so prevalent in exposing their imperfections. I tend to lean towards the later. The irony is that the exact thing exposing the umpires' bad calls, is the thing that can save them. I think MLB needs to take a serious look at using technology to help umpires make calls.
Umpires need more fines and suspensions and they should be public. Players have their fines and bans public, but they continue to protect umpires
They need to protect the game. Use the strike zone multiple camera system to show an instant green rectangle indicating photographic 3D strike evidence within milliseconds and let the home plate ump make the call. It would have to be within milliseconds to protect his fragile ego but still we need truth more than protecting their fool egos.
The strike zone isn't a static thing like it is on tV and that little box. Notice it never takes into account the batters height? Fuckin stupid. SVS had a much larger zone than Nick Punto.
Anything but more instant replay. They put it in football and half the time I don't know what the refs are looking at. To fix the game in reality, they have to bust the union. At this time it almost impossible for an umpire to lose his job and they show every bit of complacency that is stereotyped with union employees. Much like players tend to step up their game in a contract year, the umpires will too if their jobs are on the line. As for jumbotron replays, I don't understand the ban. I can't even argue umpire ego because anyone knows if the call goes against the home team, the fans boo. It has nothing to do with the call so just let the fans see it.
Maybe the home team doesn't want the home fans to freak out and throw shit on the field and get a forfeit. I saw it happen along time ago at Dodger Stadium. It was ball night, the fans got a real baseball and they ended up on the field because of a really bad call.
