Hey TRhit - this one's for you:

In general, the umpiring in this year's postseason has been an embarrassment.

We have seen bad mechanics - lack of hustle, PU's head moving with the pitch, walking/moving into calls (not stopped), stepping on other ump's calls, not knowing the status of the ball, making calls when none is appropriate, pointing batters to 1st on a walk (resulting in a ridiculous and unrequested "he didn't go" from BU) and who knows what else that wasn't caught on camera.

We have also seen bad judgment calls - blown fair/foul, home run/in-play, catch/no-catch, swing/no-swing, tag/no-tag calls. Admittedly, the umps are under a microscope and some of the plays were real whackers, but still...

The top AAA guys are the sharpest I've ever seen. They are hungry, bust-a$$ all the time, and are always trying to get better. I wish they were in there instead.

Dash


I would even take the Baseball heaven umps over the WS umps and the BH umps are not dear to my heart

Ump union needs to swallow some pride and get rid of the rotation system and put in some sort of ability system. Find out who the best umps are in both leagues and let them do it. There will still be missed balls / strikes but overall I'm willing to bet the level of umpiring will get better because the best are doing it.

Using the idea of a rotation goes against what sports are about - competition and the best getting recognized. The Yanks and Phillies are in the World Series because they proved over 162 games and two rounds of playoffs to be the two best teams. Now they are playing each other to see who is the better out of them. Using the ump rotation plan in sports it would be like having the Royals and Pirates in the World Series this year because "It's their turn" or the Raiders and Browns in the Super Bowl because "it's their turn".

Let the best umps do their job and the games will get better.

MLB needs to realize that umpires are more than just a necessary expense and take ownership of their training, selection and compensation both before and after they reach the majors.

NFL officials train annually in addition to working preseason games. MLB umpires report to AZ or FL, work a few games, bullsh!t, take MiLB guys to dinner and discuss union issues. IT's time they spent a week on the bases drilling and learning.

And, the current six man mechanics system needs to be tossed in the garbage. It adds nothing and actually gets in the way.

The current selection process blends merit with a rotation. With about half of all MLB umpires getting post season, the good ones are there too. I don't believe it's a personnel issue as much as management issue. Train 'em, pay the good MiLB guys enough to stick around, and get rid of the deadwood.

There will be accusations that the union is in the way. BS. ML umps have been "ecouraged" to retire early in the past. Management can do it again.

quote:

Using the idea of a rotation goes against what sports are about - competition and the best getting recognized.

Absolutely!