Guest Catcher8C Report post Posted October 17, 2005 After watching game four of the NCLS, this came to mind. While it would be close to impossible to 'fix' all 162 games during the regular season for all 30 teams and who-knows-how-many umpires, this theory got me thinking. Would it be that unprecedented or surprising to you guys if, maybe, FOX got in contact with Bud Selig and got him to arrange for the whole thing to be fixed? I don't mean fixed in the sense that "all nine innings are scripted," but maybe it would explain the favoritism shown by both the umpires and the announcers in the NLCS and the blown call in game one of the ALCS. I can almost imagine FOX on the phone with selig: "We're looking at highlighting the Astros as the team to beat as far as the world series goes. Not only are they the underdogs, but they also draw pretty good ratings. As for the American League, go ahead and go with Chicago." Selig tells the umpires; the umpires make "mistakes" that effect the outcome of the games. I don't think this concept is that far fetched right now. The umpiring has been awful in the games I have seen, which included things like: The dropped(?) third strike in the ALCS, Mark Grudzielanek grounding out on a ball that hit his foot while he was in the box and obviously changed direction, Edmonds being thrown out after arguing a strike-call that was a) called a ball for Berkman previously, and b) was high and inside. And oddly enough, the AP and FOX go on about how odd it is that the Cardinals (439 walks allowed during the regular season) couldn't find the strike zone at all late in the game while the Astros (440 allowed) were blowing the ball past the best run-scoring team in baseball. I know this rant is about 75 percent sour grapes, but this stuff is just ridiculous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 If MLB and FOX had their way, the ALCS would have been the Yanks and Red Sox, not Angels and ChiSox. And such things as slumps and pressure exist in baseball and when they catch you, they catch you. It happens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Are you an Angels or Cardinals fan? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Catcher8C Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Cardinals... And I understand that the Cards aren't scoring runs. I just don't think the umpires want them to. And anyone who says that the umpires don't control the offensive flow of the game are misguided, in my opinion. When hitters are looking for a certain pitch or a certain zone and they know that one area or one pitch is going to be a strike even if it shouldn't be, I think it does effect the outcome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Young 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 All professional sports are worked. Only wrestling is real. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Cardinals... And I understand that the Cards aren't scoring runs. I just don't think the umpires want them to. And anyone who says that the umpires don't control the offensive flow of the game are misguided, in my opinion. When hitters are looking for a certain pitch or a certain zone and they know that one area or one pitch is going to be a strike even if it shouldn't be, I think it does effect the outcome. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you KNOW the pitch is going to be a strike, then you are just stupid for watching it go by. It's called a strikezone, you take three innings to figure out where it is and then you adjust to it. Not claim you can't score a damn run cause you don't wanna swing at something that's a strike. Houston doesn't seem to be having a problem. And if MLB had their way, a St. Louis vs the city of Chicago World Series would mean a helluva lot more than a Houston vs Chicago series. St. Louis vs the city of Chicago would be huge. The city of Chicago against the Astros really wouldn't matter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Just John 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 And I understand that the Cards aren't scoring runs. I just don't think the umpires want them to. You know, I thought it was because the Astros had the #1 pitching staff in baseball, but your theory makes more sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 What a stupid, stupid theory. Games are not fixed, and it would be impossible to do so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest I miss Test. Report post Posted October 17, 2005 While I believe that some games have been fixed in recent history... it's stupid to say these MLB playoffs are. Yanks-Sox would be on television, if they were. Or, at least the Yanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 St. Louis vs the city of Chicago would be huge. The city of Chicago against the Astros really wouldn't matter. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Agh! No! Cardinals-White Sox has no relevance whatsoever beyond "as Cub fans weep." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 White Sox-Yankees would at least garner more interest than what we got Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Who the hell would rig a playoff where the Red Sox AND Cubs lose and the Marlins and Yankees advance? Q.E.D. WWE's booking team does not do baseball. However, WWE's production team may do baseball, because I thought I heard some disembodied voice go "World Series 05, you're the worst case scenario." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BruiserKC 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 The officiating all across the board in every sport seems to get worse and worse every year. NFL, college football, college basketball, NBA, baseball...I've always said that if I know the official's names, they're not doing their jobs. It seems as if they want the spotlight, when we pay our hard-earned tickets to see the players...not the officials. With baseball right now the big problem is the inconsistent strike-zone...not so much from game to game but from inning to inning. Pitches that were strikes back in the 1st and 2nd inning become balls in the 7th. And I'm sure the inevitable cry will come, "Baseball needs instant replay." No it doesn't...instant replay has no place in sports since all it has become is a crutch for the officials. Refs need to be held accountable for their work. I understand they're going to miss a call once in a while...but if they miss too many they need to find other work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 You also have the problem of the Roger Clemens Strike Zone, which bleeds over home plate by a few inches, and maybe a few vertically too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 You also have the problem of the Roger Clemens Strike Zone, which bleeds over home plate by a few inches, and maybe a few vertically too. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's actually the Tom Glavine Memorial Strike Zone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Just John 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 I don't understand why stadiums can't have something like ESPN's K-Zone on a monitor for reference. Then the home plate umpire just has to make calls for plays at the plate, while a consistent computer makes the strike calls. I don't know how I would do it exactly, but with all the technology out there, there's no reason to have subjectivity where it isn't necessary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 You mean Questec? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Who's Tom Glavine...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 If a pitcher is throwing strikes, his zone is going to be wider than the guy missing the zone early on. It's baseball, you have to deal with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted October 17, 2005 One of the interesting things in the Wall Street Journal was that all the umps for the Sox ALDS were very pitcher friendly, including one that had the widest strikezone of any ump in the league (like, 70 out of 70) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest I miss Test. Report post Posted October 17, 2005 And I'm sure the inevitable cry will come, "Baseball needs instant replay." No it doesn't...instant replay has no place in sports since all it has become is a crutch for the officials. Refs need to be held accountable for their work. I understand they're going to miss a call once in a while...but if they miss too many they need to find other work. How has instant replay made officials unaccountable for their decisions? In football, the officials still make every call to the best of their ability. It's not like they just give up and have replay solve anything. What's so bad about making sure decisions are correct? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 One of the interesting things in the Wall Street Journal was that all the umps for the Sox ALDS were very pitcher friendly, including one that had the widest strikezone of any ump in the league (like, 70 out of 70) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Looking at the numbers, four of the five umpires had strikeout and walk rates almost exactly the league average. The only exception was Eddings, who appears very pitcher friendly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Niggardly King 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 And I'm sure the inevitable cry will come, "Baseball needs instant replay." No it doesn't...instant replay has no place in sports since all it has become is a crutch for the officials. Refs need to be held accountable for their work. I understand they're going to miss a call once in a while...but if they miss too many they need to find other work. How has instant replay made officials unaccountable for their decisions? In football, the officials still make every call to the best of their ability. It's not like they just give up and have replay solve anything. What's so bad about making sure decisions are correct? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Change no good. Change scary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 The people who would book the Astros vs. White Sox in the World Series are the sort who would book Mabel vs. Savio Vega as a KOTR final. I think sometimes certain games can be rigged. One that stands out to me is the NFC title game with the Rams/Bucs that time. The refs basically screwed the Bucs there, mainly so the world wouldn't have to endure that shitty Shawn King led Tampa team in a Super Bowl. Given the Titans' enjoyment of low scoring snoozers from time to time a game with the Bucs would have been a fiasco. The Rams got in it though and we had, you know, a good game. Is it possible to be a fan of both the Cubs and Cardinals? I'm from Louisville and always watched the Cubs on WGN and all that, but the Cardinals used to have the AAA team here in town. Either way it means I hate the Astros. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustJoe2k5 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 It could happen, but it won't. MLB has everything they can handle with the steroid controversy, fixing the postseason would pretty much turn every fan against them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest I miss Test. Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Game that was obviously fixed: 1998 Buffalo at New England. Both teams were 5-4, but if NE loses, they were basically out of playoff contention due to losing to Buffalo previously, and thus losing all tiebreaks. The score was 21-17 Buffalo. Here's the following series of events. 1) NE catches pass where receiver obviously did not have 2 feet in bounds. Refs call it good. This would have been tolerable. 2) NE gets a pass interference call on a freaking Hail Mary. This was total bullshit. But, still, I wouldn't call a fix on that. 3) NE gets TD, and the Bills leave the field immediately... and NE scores a 2-point conversion to win 25-21. I remember the first thing my friend asked me... wasn't the spread +3 1/2 for Buffalo? Oh yes, that just happened to be the spread! Didn't Buffalo win by 3 earlier in the year? Why yes! And NE winning by 4 just happens to also give them the tiebreak! Too many coincidences there. That was the day I realized that fixes can happen in sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest *KNK* Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Yeah because NFL was just itching to secure a place for New England into the 1998 playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Niggardly King 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2005 Rams/Patriots Super Bowl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Just John 0 Report post Posted October 18, 2005 No way. While I don't believe in fixes of any sort, most of the calls in the AFC championship that year favored Pittsburgh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sass 0 Report post Posted October 18, 2005 Like Bud Selig needs a fixed game scandal on his already glowing resume... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
