Thursday, October 13, 2005
I don't like to cuss on this blog. You might have noticed that the closest I may come is to use an underscore or some other symbol to obscure the full brunt of the cuss word while still preserving the effect and impact of the word itself. And yet, after witnessing the officiating disgrace in last night's Angels-White Sox game, I have but one way to describe it:
Absolute fucking horseshit.
By now, we've all seen the replay and we all know what happened. Kelvim Escobar threw strike three, A.J. Pierzynski swung at strike three, and Josh Paul caught strike three in the web of his mitt, no trap necessary.
However, the replay of the catch is irrelevant to this argument. As my friend Drew Brown pointed out last night on the Angels postgame radio show, the replay that provides the strongest and most compelling evidence in this controversy was not of the at-bat in question but of the previous at-bat when Aaron Rowand swung at a Strike Three in the dirt and was tagged out by Josh Paul. What this replay proves is that homeplate umpire Doug Eddings had unmistakably called Pierzynski out, regardless of whether the ball was trapped or caught cleanly.
"My interpretation is that's my 'strike three' mechanic when it's a swinging strike," homeplate umpire Doug Eddings said. "If you watch, that's what I do the whole entire game."
Doug, I'm not going to say you're lying but you are flat out wrong.
Rewind about five minutes when, in the bottom of the ninth with 1 out, Aaron Rowand was down in the count 1-2. Rowand swung and missed at the next pitch which was in the dirt and rolled away from catcher Josh Paul. Forgive me for sounding like I am dissecting the Magic Bullet Theory as I recount the body language of Eddings on this play...
1) As Rowand swung, Eddings extended his right arm straight out to his right, indicating that the batter had swung and missed.
2) Upon seeing that the ball was in the dirt and had rolled away from Paul, Eddings paused with his arm still extended and watched for Paul to field the ball.
3) With Eddings watching carefully, Paul picks up the ball and applies the tag to a stationary Rowand. After the tag has been made, Eddings lowers his right arm, closes his fist and pumps it forward, recording the out.
Two separate distinct gestures, a straight arm to indicate the swing, and after the tag, a fist to indicate the out. Watch the replay if you can because it is as plain a call as can be imagined.
Yet one batter later Eddings apparently changed his "mechanic" and, according to him, those same two distinct gestures both indicated only a singular meaning, the third strike.
Get your "mechanic" straight, you spineless worm. The truth here is obvious. Eddings recorded the out and then, under pressure applied by Pierzynski, unrecorded it and began preparations for an explanation that holds less water than a hula hoop.
I don't know what's worse, the reversal of the Out call or the total lack of integrity by the entire umpire crew at the postgame press conference. It's one thing to make a mistake. Of course, we all make them and umpires are as fallible as any of us. While it still would have cost the Angels the game, to hear Eddings admit his error would have at least given me some solace. The fact that the entire umpiring crew claims that, upom visiting the replay, they still stand by Eddings call makes me want to beat the shit out of somebody. Don't hand me a bullshit sandwich and, with a straight face, tell me that it's turkey and Swiss. That's nothing more than proud, ego-driven arrogance and ignorance. There is no room for ego in officiating. They should care more about getting it right than saving face. Is there anything more morally outrageous and intellectually sabotaging than a blatantly arrogant injustice?
If, and that's a big If, there is a silver lining in this controversy, it's got to be the way Mike Scioscia conducted himself and represented the Angels franchise. It was no more than fifteen minutes after the game when Scioscia sat down before reporters at the press conference. I was on the phone with my buddy Scott, ranting and raving like a lunatic with hemorrhoids when I saw that Scioscia was on and quickly turned up the volume. I was ready for a seething, scathing, fire-breathing statement from the Angels' skipper. I guess I forgot who Mike Scioscia was for a second. Despite having just cause to raise a protest against this game, Sciosh said the following:
"That's not why we lost the game...We could have been up 4-0, 5-0 going into the ninth, had we played better defensively and made better use of our opportunities at bat...There's a lot of focus on that play, but we didn't play to a high enough level to win the ballgame. That's the bottom line. You have to play at a high enough level that if there's something -- a call, a bloop, whatever -- you can absorb it."
That, my friends, is what I call class. It's easy to roam the dugout with a stern look and to be gracious when your team wins and loses, but for Mike Scioscia to watch his team positively robbed of a crucial playoff victory by a clueless umpire and still take the high road? It's rare to find such a splendid example of leadership and integrity these days, in sports or in life in general. My entry today is certainly not one. I already respected Mike Scioscia, but now I truly admire him.
I don't know why I was so surprised. His restraint and character is laced in the one-day-at-a-time, even-keeled attitude he preaches to his players all season long. I guess I unconsciously chalked it up to the usual media drivel that constantly pounds into us Steve Finley's possible breakout around every corner and Darin Erstad's so-called "football mentality." Mike Scioscia proved last night that his character and team concept is much more than a saccharin-sweet footnote for broadcasters to break out every time there's a lull in the action. Scioscia is for real. I can only hope that the Angel players' belief in his leadership proves to be equally genuine.
After such a bitter defeat, it will take the resilience, focus, and short-sightedness that Scioscia has tried to instill in order for the Angels to dust themselves off and win this series. They don't need to play for revenge and they don't need to play with a chip on their shoulder; they just need to play Angels baseball. I can think of no one I'd rather have leading the way.
Go Angels.
P.S. Can somebody do us all a favor and wake up Vladimir Guerrero?
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Absolute fucking horseshit.
By now, we've all seen the replay and we all know what happened. Kelvim Escobar threw strike three, A.J. Pierzynski swung at strike three, and Josh Paul caught strike three in the web of his mitt, no trap necessary.
However, the replay of the catch is irrelevant to this argument. As my friend Drew Brown pointed out last night on the Angels postgame radio show, the replay that provides the strongest and most compelling evidence in this controversy was not of the at-bat in question but of the previous at-bat when Aaron Rowand swung at a Strike Three in the dirt and was tagged out by Josh Paul. What this replay proves is that homeplate umpire Doug Eddings had unmistakably called Pierzynski out, regardless of whether the ball was trapped or caught cleanly.
"My interpretation is that's my 'strike three' mechanic when it's a swinging strike," homeplate umpire Doug Eddings said. "If you watch, that's what I do the whole entire game."
Doug, I'm not going to say you're lying but you are flat out wrong.
Rewind about five minutes when, in the bottom of the ninth with 1 out, Aaron Rowand was down in the count 1-2. Rowand swung and missed at the next pitch which was in the dirt and rolled away from catcher Josh Paul. Forgive me for sounding like I am dissecting the Magic Bullet Theory as I recount the body language of Eddings on this play...
1) As Rowand swung, Eddings extended his right arm straight out to his right, indicating that the batter had swung and missed.
2) Upon seeing that the ball was in the dirt and had rolled away from Paul, Eddings paused with his arm still extended and watched for Paul to field the ball.
3) With Eddings watching carefully, Paul picks up the ball and applies the tag to a stationary Rowand. After the tag has been made, Eddings lowers his right arm, closes his fist and pumps it forward, recording the out.
Two separate distinct gestures, a straight arm to indicate the swing, and after the tag, a fist to indicate the out. Watch the replay if you can because it is as plain a call as can be imagined.
Yet one batter later Eddings apparently changed his "mechanic" and, according to him, those same two distinct gestures both indicated only a singular meaning, the third strike.
Get your "mechanic" straight, you spineless worm. The truth here is obvious. Eddings recorded the out and then, under pressure applied by Pierzynski, unrecorded it and began preparations for an explanation that holds less water than a hula hoop.
I don't know what's worse, the reversal of the Out call or the total lack of integrity by the entire umpire crew at the postgame press conference. It's one thing to make a mistake. Of course, we all make them and umpires are as fallible as any of us. While it still would have cost the Angels the game, to hear Eddings admit his error would have at least given me some solace. The fact that the entire umpiring crew claims that, upom visiting the replay, they still stand by Eddings call makes me want to beat the shit out of somebody. Don't hand me a bullshit sandwich and, with a straight face, tell me that it's turkey and Swiss. That's nothing more than proud, ego-driven arrogance and ignorance. There is no room for ego in officiating. They should care more about getting it right than saving face. Is there anything more morally outrageous and intellectually sabotaging than a blatantly arrogant injustice?
If, and that's a big If, there is a silver lining in this controversy, it's got to be the way Mike Scioscia conducted himself and represented the Angels franchise. It was no more than fifteen minutes after the game when Scioscia sat down before reporters at the press conference. I was on the phone with my buddy Scott, ranting and raving like a lunatic with hemorrhoids when I saw that Scioscia was on and quickly turned up the volume. I was ready for a seething, scathing, fire-breathing statement from the Angels' skipper. I guess I forgot who Mike Scioscia was for a second. Despite having just cause to raise a protest against this game, Sciosh said the following:
"That's not why we lost the game...We could have been up 4-0, 5-0 going into the ninth, had we played better defensively and made better use of our opportunities at bat...There's a lot of focus on that play, but we didn't play to a high enough level to win the ballgame. That's the bottom line. You have to play at a high enough level that if there's something -- a call, a bloop, whatever -- you can absorb it."
That, my friends, is what I call class. It's easy to roam the dugout with a stern look and to be gracious when your team wins and loses, but for Mike Scioscia to watch his team positively robbed of a crucial playoff victory by a clueless umpire and still take the high road? It's rare to find such a splendid example of leadership and integrity these days, in sports or in life in general. My entry today is certainly not one. I already respected Mike Scioscia, but now I truly admire him.
I don't know why I was so surprised. His restraint and character is laced in the one-day-at-a-time, even-keeled attitude he preaches to his players all season long. I guess I unconsciously chalked it up to the usual media drivel that constantly pounds into us Steve Finley's possible breakout around every corner and Darin Erstad's so-called "football mentality." Mike Scioscia proved last night that his character and team concept is much more than a saccharin-sweet footnote for broadcasters to break out every time there's a lull in the action. Scioscia is for real. I can only hope that the Angel players' belief in his leadership proves to be equally genuine.
After such a bitter defeat, it will take the resilience, focus, and short-sightedness that Scioscia has tried to instill in order for the Angels to dust themselves off and win this series. They don't need to play for revenge and they don't need to play with a chip on their shoulder; they just need to play Angels baseball. I can think of no one I'd rather have leading the way.
Go Angels.
P.S. Can somebody do us all a favor and wake up Vladimir Guerrero?
# posted by j.h.k. @ 10:10 AM 
