yanks go down!

[gingi79]

Re: yanks go down!

I didn't notice any wide difference in the strike zone between the teams. Just because an umpires strike zone doesn't match up with the pitchtrax or whatever little box TBS puts up, does not mean that he is wrong. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to agree with the calls the umps were making more than where the display box showed the strike zone to be.

I didn't watch on tv, but the online ones are based on a computer generated dynamic specific box for the player based on the plate and his shoulders and knees. When a ball lands literally inches off of square center and it's green (meaning a ball) it's offensive to see.

The Phillies deserved to lose, the Cards got fleeced on more than a couple of calls. Ditto the Brewers who should have won in regular innings. Some people will say it all worked out in the end. Good for them, a rare evening out when the right teams won. That doesn't mean Umpires, the most readily proven flawed and corrupt negative influence in sports shouldn't be replaced by computers

[xpress34]

Re: yanks go down!

How did the Yankees not beat themselves. We had the bases loaded twice with one out and only scored 1 run.

So the Tigers didn't throw the right pitch or tighten up their defense? I'm not saying the Yanks shouldn't have been able to produce, but you're also not giving the Tigers any credit for stepping up when they needed to either.

[xpress34]

Re: yanks go down!

[QUOTE=gingi79;269659]I didn't watch on tv, but the online ones are based on a computer generated dynamic specific box for the player based on the plate and his shoulders and knees. When a ball lands literally inches off of square center and it's green (meaning a ball) it's offensive to see.

The Phillies deserved to lose, the Cards got fleeced on more than a couple of calls. Ditto the Brewers who should have won in regular innings. Some people will say it all worked out in the end. Good for them, a rare evening out when the right teams won. That doesn't mean Umpires, the most readily proven flawed and corrupt negative influence in sports shouldn't be replaced by computers[/QUOTE]

Gingi -

I have to respectfully disagree - or hope you are joking. Yes, their are human flaws in the game and I can't count on both hands how many calls I've replayed on my DVR to see 1st base Umps ringing up a runner whose foot is on the bag while the ball is still a foot from the 1st baseman's glove. But, that is also part of the history and beauty of the game. The Ump is usually listening for the POP of the ball in the mitt, but sometimes the players foot hitting the bag makes the same or similar sound and a human error occurs.

At home, it has always been widely accepted that if a pitcher can repeatedly 'paint' the same spot and it's borderline near the plate, the ump is going to start giving the pitcher the nod on that pitch.

I have watched many guys hit a spot and it's called a ball - the 1st few times in that spot. But as the game goes on and the pitcher keeps hitting that same spot, the ump starts giving the pitcher the benefit of the doubt.

It is also true that bigger name pitchers, veterans, etc usually have an unfair advantage over a rookie and such before the 1st pitch is even thrown.

All that said, there is an old sports adage that rings true with ANY sport when it comes to wins - "If I was lucky and won vs good and lost, I'd rather be lucky than good."

All the best -

Smitty

[godwulf]

Re: yanks go down!

With instant replay now assisting the umpires with "boundary calls", it's only a matter of time before a greater reliance on video and computer is instituted on a wider basis. I'm all for tradition in most things, when it comes to Baseball, but MLB has brought it on themselves, by permitting a lot of lazy, opinionated, half-blind old incompetents to officiate in these games, while making little or no effort to rein them in or correct their deficiencies.

Personally, one of the practices that I find most offensive in the entire sport is that of an umpire calling his strike zone, rather than the one described in the rule book. Giving a "veteran" pitcher a bigger strike zone than a relative rookie comes a close second. So-called "high strikes" are still strikes - so why do they get called balls nearly every time? How many Major League hitters have knees that are six inches off the ground? Quite a few, judging by some umpires' strike calls.

[xpress34]

Re: yanks go down!

GW -

I thought that's what the 'Qwest Tech' (or whatever it's called) system was for that they installed a few years back in about half the MLB stadiums.

It's a camera set up run by MLB that records every pitch and the call made by the umpire and they are scored on their accuracy.

The last I read about it, If an umpire had a game with less than 85% accuracy (as scored by the system vs his calls) he would be written up and possibly fined. If it happened multiple times the umpire could be reprimanded and - like a player - sent down to hone his skills.

Not sure if MLB is still using that system or not - I know the Umpires and their Union didn't like the whole system, so they may have gotten it removed in their CBA.

- Smitty

[legaleagle92481]

Re: yanks go down!

Only six more years of Arod, get excited Yankee fans!

[NEFAN]

Re: yanks go down!

I lost all faith in Umpires the first time I watched a game online at mlb.com, espn.com or braves.com. Watch Pitchtrax on Gamecast on any of these sites and you will see PROOF that strikezones are 100% subjective, wrong 40 times out of 100 and biased towards certain teams. Frankly, when I saw documented proof that the game's outcome is controlled by anything other than the players EVERY GAME, I lost interest in the sport.

I used to laugh at myself, imagining I was like every other fan who thought the refs were biased against my team. It was all part of being a loyal fan and all in jest until I realized....it's true.

I am not sure that pitch tracker is 100% accurate either. Did love seeing the Yankees lose though.

[coxfan]

Re: yanks go down!

I strongly recommend the book "As They See Em" by Bruce Weber. ( Scribner, a division of Simon and Schuster, 2009). It's the best study of umpiring I've ever read. The author is a writer for the New York Times, but he went through umpiring school to prepare for this book. He aso interviewed umpires and MLB players.

Weber discusses the strike zone at much length, including how accurate- or misleading-technical aids may be to viewers. Personally, I think the video strike zones shown to fans do an imperfect job of showing the "depth" dimension of the zone ( whether a breaking pitch falls in.)

While I'm at it, I not infrequently disagree with commentators' view of safe-out calls, when I see the same replay, no matter how emphatic those commentators may be.