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Post by pippsheadache on Aug 18, 2019 20:43:58 GMT -5
Also, regarding umpires. I thought the crew that called the Toronto series was damn near unnoticeable. Meaning, they didn't miss many calls, and if so, they handled the communication with the players and managers in such a professional fashion, it satisfied rather than escalated the circumstances. Competence, humility, and civility go a long way. Cuzzi and his crew had rabbit ears and princess-like sensibilities. Communicate clearly and calmly, then enforce consequences as stated. That's all we ask for Rizz. And clearly it is doable. There are plenty of competent umpires. They are usually the ones whose names we rarely hear. It's the ones who are daring you to cross them who cause trouble. That minor league ump who kept glaring into the Yankee dugout was spoiling for a fight, and crew chief Cuzzi was only too happy to escalate things. Competitive athletes in the heat of a game aren't going to meekly back down if you challenge them. It should be one of the principal tenets of umpiring or officiating to defuse tense situations, not take them to the next level. I actually believe the majority of umps do just that, but there is a significant confrontational minority that drives much of this. The last several significant blowups the Yankees had with umps originated with minor league umpires apparently trying to make names for themselves and were then backed up by a hot-headed crew chief. |
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Post by inger on Aug 18, 2019 22:18:26 GMT -5
There’s such a fine balance required to do the job right. It’s human nature to make an error here and there. Then you have the varying personalities of the players and coaches on both teams, not to mention the fact that you’re normally working with at least 4 teams per week, sometimes six with suspended games and such.
The umpire has to control the game, and I believe the ones that do the best are the ones that know how to work with people and to acknowledge their mistakes without doing so in a self demeaning way. Sort of like “A Nod is as Good as a Wink To a Blind Horse”.
“You know Johnny, I understand. That was a close pitch”. A simple statement like that implies that the decision was not easy, and that the next close call might get s longer look... without really saying that.
To that end, some of the delayed and overly demonstrative calls can be about as aggravating to the players as banging on the dugout roof might be go an umpire, so let’s eliminate those, too. Those calls sure make it hard for an umpire to appear humble and willing to admit a call was close...
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