Whilst masticating on , Paige Miller (1:2613/313)
wrote to Alan Hess:
AH>> Richie "Loudmouth" Phillips had another press conference before 
AH>> the game, in which he spouted his usual rhetoric about the 
AH>> integrity of the umpires and the respect they deserve.  Then, 
AH>> Barnett and Garcia go out and demonstrate exactly why the umpires 
AH>> have no integrity, and don't deserve respect.  Fire them all! 
PM> You confuse split-second judgment with integrity. I think the two 
I'm not talking about Garcia's blown calls.  He flat-out screwed up by 
watching the outfielder rather than the ball and stands, and there was NO way 
the home run call would be reversed in Yankee Stadium in front of those fans. 
 Umpires have survival instincts like everyone else.  However, it is 
difficult to respect someone who has the most simple umpiring assignment in 
baseball (call balls fair or foul, and watch for fan interference), and 
completely botches it.  Then, after seeing how badly he blew the call, he 
still tries to cover his butt by claiming Tarasco wouldn't have caught the 
ball, even though he was standing flat-footed ready to catch it.  It wasn't 
even a difficult play.
PM> are far removed from one another and screwing up at one does not 
PM> imply anything about the other. Split-second judgment leads to 
PM> occasional errors with absolutely no implication about integrity. 
The lack of integrity is Barnett's, for his Leslie Nielsen dance on Alomar.  
That was NOT his normal strike three call - he intentionally showed up 
Alomar, and played to the Yankee crowd.
PM> Unless you are going to claim that any mistake is evidence of lack of 
PM> integrity, and that would be an interesting statement for you to make.
No, I don't claim that at all.
PM> Now, as far as the respect issue, that's entirely up to you, but 
PM> it almost sounds as if you are bringing up the spitting incident...which 
is 
PM> entirely unrelated. I don't care what bad call was made, you are free to 
The spitting incident should be unrelated (and I don't believe it's related 
to Garcia's muff), but Barnett's actions indicate vigilante justice from him 
because of the incident.
PM> You mention Richie Phillips. I do not like the man nor do I like the 
PM> methods he uses. One thing that he has pushed forward on behalf of the 
PM> umpires is that post-season (and All-Star game) assignments are not based 
PM> upon merit but rather are based upon a rotation system. In other words, 
you 
PM> get a postseason assignment because it is your turn, not because you are 
PM> one of the top umpires -- and this is in the contract with the umpires 
PM> association now. This is different than the NBA, NFL and NHL, where 
PM> post-season assignment go to the top officials only. And thus there is no 
PM> incentive for umpires to improve -- that plus the tenure issue that you 
PM> have mentioned in other posts. It would seem to me that if an umpire knew 
PM> he needed to be rated highly to advance, that would put additional 
pressure 
PM> on the umpire to DEFUSE situations, not inflame them. You would get a 
much 
PM> higher rating by staying out of trouble. Perhaps major league baseball 
PM> (when it has a true commissioner) will push this issue with the umpires 
I hope so, but I doubt it will happen.  The umpires seem to like getting 
their share of celebrity, when their job is to be as unobstrusive aas 
possible.  The best games are those in which nobody notices the umpires.
PM> association. Incidentally, a few years ago, the Yankees lost a postseason 
PM> game because of a blown call, and Steinbrenner wanted to MLB to change 
this 
PM> policy. I wonder what George thinks of the latest blown call?
He'll probably give the kid a college scholarship, and a front office job.  
:-)  
--- MsgedSQ/2 3.35
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