Should Umpires be Fined

[Guest Vern Gagne]

With the Umpires being especially bad this season, I got too thinking should MLB fine Umpires for poor conduct and not following the correct strike zone. The rule book says the strike zone is from the chest to the knees. It seems like most umpires call a wide strike zone, instead of a high strike zone. This goes against the rules, and since MLB is in charge of the Umpires they have every right to punish Umpires who don't follow the strike zone.

 

Another reason Umpires should be fined is the behavior some Umps show when a Manager is out arguing. I always thought the Umpire was supposed to uphold the game, yelling at someone doesn't seem like it's upholding the game very well. An example of this behavior was last week, when a manager asked the Umpire why the game was being delayed. The Ump didn't quitely explain the situation. Oh, no he started yelling at the manager who was in dugout and wasn't even yelling back, he was ejected for asking a question. Than we have the Gagne Incident, which was maybe the worst call ever.

 

Players, Coaches, Managers, and even Owners and Front Office peopl get fined for comments and poor misconduct. Why shouldn't the Umpires?

[Guest alkeiper]

The Umpires have their own union and any rule instituted to fine umpires would have to go through them. In any case, I think hiring/firing umpires based on performance instead of fining them is a better policy. If an umpire sucks, why let them continue umpiring in the first place?

[Guest DrTom]

With the umpires basically being under the control of the Commissioner's Office now, the idea is that lousy umpires will get moved aside for better ones. The dugout incident (involving Art Howe and Kerwin Danley, who is a SHITTY umpire) was a travesty. An umpire should NEVER go looking for a fight. Managers will argue about calls, be confrontational, and all that, but the umpire isn't supposed to go to the dugout picking an argument.

 

The original Umpires' Union was dissolved after their aborted strike, if I remember my History Of Baseball's Shoddy Labor Relations correctly, and I'm not sure if their new CBA allows for fines. It bloody well should; maybe then, pieces of shit like Danley would at least try to have some respect for the game and his position in it.

[Guest Some Guy]

I think the umps are doig a bad job as well as dictator Bob Watson. The Gagne situation was a travesty of justice. Why teh fuck would gagne hit a guy to put the tying run on base after he just gave up a HR? It makes no sense and the umpire should be fined for being a fucking moron. Also Umpires issuing warnigns for apparent reason is getting on my nerves. It kills the pitchers, they're afraid to pitch inside for fear that they might hit someone and get tossed.

 

Onto Watson: Derek Lowe retaliates for Manny being intenionally hit by Scott Erickson (I think Ericson decided to hit Manny rather than IBB him). So Lowe hits Gary Mathews Jr. leading off the next inning, Mathews has a little hissy fit and then like a moron with his team down 7-0 he decides to try to steal second, the pitch is fouled and on his way back to first Lowe said something to him about running when you're down by 7 is stupid, Mathews charges the mound and a brawl ensues. So who gets suspended adn who doesn't? If you said Derek Lowe for 5 games and just a fine for the guy who CHARGED THE MOUND! Then you;d be right. This is the dumbest shit I've ever seen. Frank Castillo also has been suspended twice this year for sticking up for his players whole the original aggressor got off with a fine. What are they saying? It's ok to start a fight but if the otehr team decides to fight back they get in trouble? What kind of convoluted logic is that?

[Guest MaxPower27]

Amen, Some Guy.

 

The scary thing is that Manny is going to snap one of these times, and I wouldn't want to be on the mound when Manny Ramirez is pissed off and coming after me.

 

The whole Orioles fiasco is bullshit. The "Unwritten Rules" of the game. Hit one of our players, we hit one of yours, life goes on. Erickson should be getting suspended, after all, he did DRILL Manny in the back. In the back! There is no excuse as to why the League should allow Manny to be a target for the AL pitchers.

[Guest alkeiper]

he did DRILL Manny in the back. In the back!

 

That's actually the best place to take a pitch.

[Guest MaxPower27]

Yeah, but it also shows that you're pretty much intentionally hitting the guy. That's against the rules, but Erickson got nothing.

[Guest Some Guy]

Ericson hit Manny on purpose and Gary Mathews charged the mound and neither got suspended. Hmmmmmmmmm......

 

teh Devil Rays hit Hillenbrand and Nomar on purpose teh day after Shea hit the pinch GS off them and Nomar doubled to start the rally, Frank Castillo responds by hitting a Ray and he gets suspended and the Ray's pitcher doesn't. Is it because Tampa and Baltimore suck that they don't get punished accordingly?

I'm really sick and tired of these shitty teams pickig figts with the Red Sox, Tampa has done it for a few years, Baltimore this year, Texas this weekend it's fucking stupid. John Burkett hit the first two batters of the game on Friday and then gave up 6 runs or so in the inning, so Chan Ho Park comes out and hits Rey Sanchez in the elbow causing him to miss the next game. Why the fuck would any pitcher hit the first two guys in the game on purpose?

The nest night Derek Lowe has a Perfect Game going through 3 innings, he stumbles during his delivery and hits A-Rod, so the Texas pitcher hits Shea to lead off the next inning. Once again why the fuck would a guy throwing a perfect game intentionally hit a batter especially on the same day he was suspended?

Yet Park and the other Texas pitcher don't get punished. Where is the consistency in punishment? There is none. Maybe Watson is using the Red Sox as an example, of what I'm not sure possibly playing hard and protecting your teammates. Oh yeah and the kicker is Watson never even called Grady Little for teh Red Sox side of the story but he did call Baltimore's manager. What a load of shit this is.