WORST CALL I'VE EVER SEEN

[Ando]

That is Wayne Edwards at his X-rated finest!

Nice rant, Wayne. Agree with most of what you said. Hernandez is the worst, bar none.

I went to the Cub game today. Didn't catch the name of the HP ump, but he is a young guy and did a fine job. I even caught myself saying to myself that he did a nice job with the zone and it was refreshing to see from young ump.

As luck would have it, he's probably an ump called up from AAA to spell one of the full-timers on vacation.

[knuckleheads]

I damned near pissed myself with happiness when MLB refused to rehire Eric Gregg after he stupidly resigned in a labor dispute.

Still sore about the 1997 Livan Hernandez NLCS game, Wayne?

Without a doubt, that was the worst game ever called. However, I thought it was fitting retribution for YEARS of Maddux and Glavine getting balls called strikes that were 9 inches off the plate on the outside and 4 inches off the plate on the inside. I so enjoyed the collective crying from Braves fans after that game.

For those who don't remember, http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lets-con ... 1997-nlcs/

If you notice in the embedded videos, the catcher's right knee was set up barely in the strike zone on the outside corner (to left-handed hitters), then he was catching the ball outside his left knee.

My favorite quote, from Jim Salisbury, Philly beat writer, "The big umpire from West Philadelphia had a strike zone so wide he could have slept in it."

[Edwards Kings]

I damned near pissed myself with happiness when MLB refused to rehire Eric Gregg after he stupidly resigned in a labor dispute.

Still sore about the 1997 Livan Hernandez NLCS game, Wayne?

Yes...yes I am!

But that does not detract from the fact the fat bastard was horrible umpire.

And of course you nailed it. Greg Maddux won 355 games (including at least 15 wins in 18 of 19 consecutive years) and Tom Glavine won 305 (including 1,500 career walks while winning 20+ games FIVE years!) only because the umpires loved them so much and expanded the strike zone for them and them alone! Otherwise they were just middle of the road talent suitable only for long-relief!

[knuckleheads]

And of course you nailed it. Greg Maddux won 355 games (including at least 15 wins in 18 of 19 consecutive years) and Tom Glavine won 305 (including 1,500 career walks while winning 20+ games FIVE years!) only because the umpires loved them so much and expanded the strike zone for them and them alone! Otherwise they were just middle of the road talent suitable only for long-relief!

Greg Maddux is one of the 10 best pitchers of all time, with or without the helpful umpiring. Glavine on the other hand, might have looked a bit more like Mike Mussina or Any Pettite in career numbers without the favorable calls. Glavine was the Pippen to Maddux's Jordan.

[Edwards Kings]

I agree that Maddux is one of the best pitchers of all time and that Glavine was not as good.

But Glavine was great, make no mistake about it. Sure, you can have a lucky year, but to win 300+ games? To win 20+ games five years? No matter how you slice it or dice it, Glavine was special. A real competitor. However, if you want to class him with Moose or Andy, OK. Those guys were/are pretty special too.

And as as to Glavine, I was mainly poking fun at the concept of the expanded strike zone for a guy who is 12th all-time in career bases-on-balls allowed.

[Midfield Thinkers]

I saw Glavine his rookie year in a trip to Atlanta for a doubleheader (why don't they do more of those?) where there was lightning all around one game as I remember. He faced San Diego and Tony Gwynn against a lineup where no one was hitting over .260 in June(?). His first time thru the order he used his fastball which actually overpowered the hitters. Then the second time around they battered him pretty good and he lost the game. I think that game taught him not to try to be a power pitcher but to use the curve and off-speed to get guys out.

[knuckleheads]

However, if you want to class him with Moose or Andy, OK. Those guys were/are pretty special too.

Pretty good, but probably not hall of famers.

And as as to Glavine, I was mainly poking fun at the concept of the expanded strike zone for a guy who is 12th all-time in career bases-on-balls allowed.

That actually speaks to Glavine's competitiveness. He had the reputation of starting poorly in the early innings of games, especially the first inning. What was actually happening was Glavine was throwing balls and umpires were calling balls. Rather than give in and throw pitches in the strike zone, Glavine was establishing his own strike zone. He would continue to throw pitches in the exact same spot off the plate until the umpire would relent and start calling Glavine's pitches strikes.

Needless to say, it annoyed the hell out of me. But I respected Glavine's tenacity, which may have been his best asset as a pitcher. Career Whip 1.314. That's Jaime Garcia bad. Career ERA 3.54. Without all the help over the years would likely have been more like 3.75 and maybe would have cost him 40+ wins, and that might have cost him the Hall of Fame.

[Navel Lint]

And as as to Glavine, I was mainly poking fun at the concept of the expanded strike zone for a guy who is 12th all-time in career bases-on-balls allowed.

Needless to say, it annoyed the hell out of me. But I respected Glavine's tenacity, which may have been his best asset as a pitcher. Career Whip 1.314. That's Jaime Garcia bad. Career ERA 3.54. Without all the help over the years would likely have been more like 3.75 and maybe would have cost him 40+ wins, and that might have cost him the Hall of Fame.

New item to add to my baseball myth checklist....

Babe Ruth called his shot in '32
Danny Kaye once played for Lou Gehrig during his streak
Goat curse on the Cubs
Barry Bonds hit 73 HR's in one season (oh wait, that actually did happen )
Tom Glavine won 305 games because he had his own personal strike zone from the umpires

[Greg Ambrosius]

Okay, Jerry Meals blew another obvious call last night during the Red Sox-Rays game. Again, it's a perfect reason why MLB should consider putting a 5th umpire in the replay booth and make the right call in about 30 seconds. Tennis can do this in 5 seconds and make sure every call is correct on the playing surface, why can't Major League Baseball do the same thing? This was a BIG call in a BIG game with first place in the AL East at stake. It was a 2-1 game in the bottom of the eighth inning and the game should have been tied 2-2. This was a TERRIBLE call that resulted in several minutes of bitching, John Farrell getting thrown out of the game and the umpire admitting after the game that he got the call wrong. With instant replay, the right call could have been made in less than 30 seconds and a good ballgame likely would have gone into extra innings, where it should have gone.

I don't think there's any question that all of the major leagues will eventually use instant replay very soon to get calls right. The technology is there and it's so easy without drawing out the call with more commercial breaks like the NFL does. Just put a trained umpire up in the booth and have him look at all available instant replays within 1 minute and get the right call down to the field. It's as easy as that. And again, it would SAVE time because now we don't have to watch the John McEnroe tirades by the managers because they'll know that eventually the correct call will be made.

This is too obvious. MLB HAS to go to replay on these type of calls. Everyone is human, even the umpires, and for calls at home plate, on the bases, line calls, home run calls, instant replay can make the game better. Now let's do it Bud. Turn your attention to making the game on the field better, not just catching the PED users.

[whale4evr]

The technology is there and it's so easy without drawing out the call with more commercial breaks like the NFL does.

Wait, pitch it as a new revenue stream for MLB. Extra commercial time. These damn innings last too long; 20 minutes of valuable network air time with no advertising? "This replay review brought to you by . . ." The owners will be all over it!