The White Sox got a gift from the Angels and the umpires last night it its 2-1 win. The first give came in the form of an unearned run in the first, when Jared Washburn's throwing error put Scott Posednik on second. Two outs later, he scored.
The second came from home plate umpire Doug Eddings ruled that the third strike against AJ Pierzynski hit the dirt. Angels C Josh Paul (a former Sox player, BTW) thought he caught it clean and rolled the ball back to the mound as he and his teammates walked off. After swinging and missing, AJ took a step toward the dugout, looking back at Paul. He saw that Paul's glove was coming up from the dirt, so he reacted and ran to first. Home plate ump Doug Eddings ruled him safe, after which a long argument ensued. Eddings asked 3B ump Ed Rapuano for help and Rapuano didn't overrule him, so the call stood. Pablo Ozuna ran for AJ, stole second and scored on Joe Crede's 0-2 shot into the left field corner to win.
Replay showed clearly that Paul caught the ball clean, but the tip of his glove was on the ground when he did. That's why AJ ran. He saw the glove in the dirt and ran just to be sure. The home plate ump, as close as he is, has the worst angle on that play because the catcher blocks his view. AJ is a lefty, so the third base ump is the appeal ump on that play, although the second base ump has a view as well.
The Angels complained that Eddings signaled that he was out. AJ said he never heard him say he was out. He wouldn't hear him say out because on an obvious swing-and-miss strike, no verbal signal is given. You just extend the arm as a visual signal. Some umps have a different signal for strike three, but it's still non-verbal and not very demonstrative in an obvious swing-and-miss situation. That's what Eddings did.
There is no question that the umps blew the call - Paul caught the ball clean and they didn't see it - but the Angels have nobody to blame for the loss but themselves. Catchers are taught to tag the batter if there's any doubt. Paul didn't do that. By the time AJ ran, nobody had the ball anymore, so it was too late to throw him out. Even still, that just opened the door for the Sox. They still had a chance to get Crede out and the Angels didn't do that either.
I'm probably one of the few guys who feels bad for the ump who blew the call, but I used to be an ump too (not at that level, of course). He probably didn't sleep well last night after seeing the replays and probably isn't real excited about spending the next several days in Anaheim.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I'm a Sox fan so I might be a bit biased but I thought the whole game was poorly called. It seemed the strike zone moved in and out during different innings. Also did you see Eddings "ring up" the check swing strike out a few innings earlier. I believe it was Crede. You could read his lips saying "get help". The whole thing reminded me of Naked Gun were the umpire is more interested in dancing for the crowd than getting the call right. (IMHO, the funniest baseball scene in a movie).
Is there an offical signal for third strike and out vs third strike? It looked like Eddings closed fist should be the offical out/inning over signal.
Oh well after 88 years of nothing one gift, I'll take
Umps have some flexibility with their strike/out signals. Some raise their fists in front of them, some do something of a punching motion. Some have different ones for different situations. It's left to personal style, as long as there's no confusion.
Check out this photo and you might not be so concvinced that it didn't hit the dirt. I was sure he caught it until I saw this.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/cs-051014soxcubicle,1,7992283.column?coll=cs-whitesox-headlines
Post a Comment