Ejections: Dan Bellino (1)

2B Umpire Dan Bellino ejected Cubs Manager Mike Quade for arguing an out call in the top of the 9th inning of the Cubs-Diamondbacks game. With no out and one on, Cubs baserunner Marlon Byrd was forced out at 2B on a bunt by batter Geovany Soto. Diamondbacks pitcher J.J. Putz to shortstop Stephen Drew. Replays indicate Drew was able to keep his foot on the base with secure possession of the ball, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the contest was tied, 3-3. The Cubs ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

This is Dan Bellino (93)'s first ejection of 2011.
Dan Bellino now has 4 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4).
Dan Bellino is owned as a Secondary Umpire by sachmet, who is now tied for 7th place in the UEFL with 3 points.

This is the 21st ejection of 2011.
This is the 11th Manager ejection of 2011.


Wrap: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_30_chnmlb_arimlb_1&mode=wrap
Video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14339805

Ejections: Gerry Davis (1)

2B Umpire Gerry Davis ejected Mariners left fielder Milton Bradley for arguing an out call made by 1B Umpire Todd Tichenor in the top of the 3rd inning of the Mariners-Red Sox game. With one out and two on, Mariners batter Miguel Olivo was called out at first base by Tichenor, third baseman Kevin Youkilis to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Replays indicate Olivo clearly touched first base prior to Gonzalez catching the throw, the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Mariners were leading, 1-0. The Mariners ultimately won the contest, 2-0.

This is Gerry Davis (12)'s first ejection of 2011.
Gerry Davis now has 0 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + -2 Incorrect Call [Crewmate] = 0).
Gerry Davis is owned as a Primary Umpire by jeruhmed, who is now in 12th place in the UEFL with 0 points.

Gerry Davis is owned as a Primary Umpire by spence1222, who is now in 12th place in the UEFL with 0 points.

*Jeruhmed will not rule on the Quality of Correctness of any call or ejection by Gerry Davis or Brian O'Nora.

This is the 20th ejection of 2011.
This is the 8th player ejection of 2011.
Prior to his ejection, Milton Bradley was 1-2 in the contest.

Wrap: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_30_seamlb_bosmlb_1&mode=wrap

Video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14327199

Ejections: Marvin Hudson (1, 2)

HP Umpire Marvin Hudson ejected Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez and Manager Fredi Gonzalez for arguing a strike three call in the bottom of the 9th inning of the Cardinals-Braves game. With one out and none on, Braves batter Alex Gonzalez took a 3-2 fastball from Cardinals pitcher Fernando Salas for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located at the knees and over the inside corner of home plate, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Cardinals were leading, 3-2. The Cardinals ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Marvin Hudson (51)'s first and second ejection of 2011.
Marvin Hudson now has 8 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 8).
Marvin Hudson is owned as a Secondary Umpire by mtn335, who is now in 2nd place in the UEFL with 6 points.

This is the 18th and 19th ejection of 2011.
This is the 10th Manager ejection of 2011.
This is the 7th player ejection of 2011.

Wrap: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_30_slnmlb_atlmlb_1&mode=wrap
Video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14317973 (12:10 mark)

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

*Note: Brooks Baseball is promoting a Sabermetrics seminar hosted by those at the Jimmy Fund with all the money collected going to cancer research, the link to the seminar can be found here.

Discussions: Missing Melvin Mora

Last night's game in Arizona provided today's discussion point. Anonymous wrote to us:

Discussion maybe? http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14305847

Similar to the Randy Marsh call on Brandon Inge in the one game Twins v. Tigers playoff in 2009. Probably blew that game for the Tigers.

Interesting one here, you might remember Gorman blowing one of these in the ALCS last year when it hit Swisher's foot and he didn't call it. Molina went wild and almost got heaved. Anyways, might be interesting one.

The pitch was certainly inside to Mora, and certainly was not an obvious HBP in real time. HP Umpire Gorman ruled Mora was not HBP and not entitled to first base. (If possible) After only watching the realtime play, what is your call? Does it change after watching the slow motion, zoomed in replay? Unfortunately for Mora's Diamondbacks, after leading 2-0 at the time of this play, the Cubs scored four unanswered, to win the contest, 4-2.

Ejections: Tom Hallion (1)

HP Umpire Tom Hallion ejected Rays right fielder Matt Joyce arguing a strike three call in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Angels-Rays game. With none out and none on, Joyce took a 2-2 slider from Angels pitcher Ervin Santana for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located above the knees and over the inside corner of home plate, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Angels were leading, 5-4. The Angels ultimately won the contest, 8-5.

This is Tom Hallion (20)'s first ejection of 2011.
Tom Hallion now has 4 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4.)
Tom Hallion is owned as a primary Umpire by zcr57, who is now tied for 2nd place in the UEFL with 4 points.

This is the 17th ejection of 2011.
This is the 6th player ejection of 2011.
Prior to his ejection, Joyce was 1-3 in the contest.

Wrap: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_29_anamlb_tbamlb_1&mode=wrap

Video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14298933

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

Discussions: Stroll of Livan

There was some action in the nation's capital last night. Anonymous wrote to us this morning:

Did anyone see the sacrifice bunt laid down by Livan Hernandez last night? I think he should've been out for interference.

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14254959

During the actual play, HP Umpire Brian Runge signaled no interference had occurred and Jerry Hairston scored on a sacrifice bunt by Hernandez. What do you think?

Video: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14254959

Discussions: Marvin Hudson, 3B @ WSH

Earlier today, Dan posted the following message.

Wasn't sure where to post this, but I figured some people might be interested. Just a suggestion, but maybe here on the new site we can have a section to post and discuss plays like this that don't result in an ejection, but are still notable plays.

Marvin Hudson made an awful call in the Mets/Nationals game tonight. Jose Reyes was sliding into third base on a triple, and Hudson called him out, because he said Reyes came off the base. Replays clearly showed that his hand was in contact with the base the whole time. And I'm honestly not sure how Hudson could have missed it, since he was standing right there, and had a perfect view.

A big argument ensued. You had Reyes, third base coach Chip Hale, and manager Terry Collins yelling at Hudson. Collins accidentally bumped Hudson when he came out to argue, which I imagine he'll be hearing from the league about. Reyes threw down his helmet, and was screaming in Hudson's face, before he restrained by Hale. But shockingly, Hudson didn't eject anyone.

Here is video of the play with multiple replays showing the tag and the hand never leaving the base: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14233471

I was amazed that Reyes and/or Collins didn't get run there. Is it because Hudson had an idea in his head that he might have screwed up, so he was going to allow more? Or is he just known for being a lot more tolerant than most umpires? If that had been a West, or a Davidson, you know those two would have been gone in a heartbeat, bad call or not.

Anyway, thought this was an interesting turn of events, and I found the fact that Hudson didn't eject anyone to be more fascinating than the call itself, which was a pretty cut and dry terrible call.

Answer: YES! With the new blogger system, we're going to get the opportunity to label (tag) our posts. Whether the tag is "ejections," "umpire odds & ends," or otherwise, all posts to the UEFL will be labeled/tagged. Furthermore, all labels will be sortable on the right column; you'll also have the chance to search this blog. "Discussion" posts will be just as Dan described, notable plays that don't result in an ejection, but also don't come with the same rules implications that Umpire Odds & Ends or Case Plays do. The "close calls" where the only question is your run of the mill safe/out, fair/foul, etc. will make appearances here.

If you have a play/video you would like to submit for discussion, just post a reply to ANY existing UEFL post or page. This post is therefore the first UEFL "Discussion." Enjoy.

- Looks like we also have a close tag play in Detroit (Derryl Cousins, HP) and a hit by pitch in Anaheim that wasn't (Jeff Kellogg, 1B).

Ejections: Todd Tichenor (1)

HP Umpire Todd Tichenor ejected White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen for arguing a strike three call in the top of the 1st inning of the White Sox-Yankees game. With two out and one on, White Sox batter Paul Konerko took a 2-2 fastball from Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located knee high and over the inner half of home plate, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the contest was tied, 0-0. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 3-1.

This is Todd Tichenor (97)'s first ejection of 2011.
Todd Tichenor now has 4 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4).
Todd Tichenor is owned as a Secondary Umpire by Scumpire, who is now tied for 5th place in the UEFL with 3 points.

This is the 16th ejection of 2011.
This is the 9th Manager ejection of 2011.
This is Guillen's 26th career ejection.

Wrap: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_27_chamlb_nyamlb_1

Video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14216897

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

Umpire Odds & Ends: Shattered Hip Lawsuit Award

For the second time in a week, an MLB level umpire has prevailed in a lawsuit.

Former baseball umpire wins settlement for faulty hip replacement
BRIDGEPORT-- Former Major League Baseball umpire Mark Hirschbeck, whose career ended when his artificial hip shattered, agreed Monday to settle a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the maker of the hip replacement. The settlement, with Wright Medical Technology of Arlington, Tenn., was reached before Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis as the case was about to go to trial.

By agreement, the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. However, Hirschbeck's lawyers, Edward Gavin and Joel Faxon, had initially offered to settle the case with Wright for $3 million.

Officials for Wright did not immediately return calls for comment.

The 50-year-old Hirschbeck, who lives in Ansonia, said he was happy with the settlement.

News: http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Former-baseball-umpire-wins-settlement-for-faulty-1351965.php

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okGtYOaBx-U (Mark Hirschbeck's Story, from 2009)

Related Post: Umpire Odds & Ends: Wilson Lawsuit Award

UEFL Points: Case Plays

In addition to tracking and analyzing umpire ejections, the UEFL is dedicate to objectively considering all interesting baseball plays, with great regard for the rules and spirit of the game. Accordingly, the UEFL has introduced the Case Play into the League. A Case Play is an "on the record" version of Umpire Odds & Ends: It can give you, as a UEFL league participant, points to supplement your umpire ejection points total, and it allows all of us to review rules from time to time while discussing interesting plays that may result in a game.

Before we post our first Case Play of the season, we'd like to give everyone a chance to review the premise of the Case Play and its relevant place in the UEFL Rulebook, Rule 4.f. Just like "Odds & Ends," Case Plays may be posted spontaneously, and unlike "Odds & Ends," they come with points implications (you can only gain points by participating, you will never lose points as the result of an incorrect response) and generally speaking, Case Plays are more cerebrally involved than are Odds & Ends.

So before we post our first Case Play (in the next few days), we invite you to consult the UEFL Rulebook for further information and for a few Case Play scenarios (with "answers"). UEFL Rule 4.f, regarding Case Plays, has been reproduced below as well (sans the example scenarios and "answers").

f. Case Plays and rules applications

            i. From time to time, Case Plays may be posted to the UEFL. A Case Play is a part rules analysis, part rules application, and does have bearing on the distribution of points. Sporadically and unannounced, a Case Play posted to the UEFL will present one scenario that might play out on the field, with the possibility of multiple questions within the Case Play. The question will be posed to all UEFL members regarding the correct rules application for the specific scenario posed. UEFL members will have 48 hours (2 days) from the time of the Case Play's post to answer the question (and all of its parts, if applicable).

            ii. The following elements must accompany all Case Play responses to receive credit for the correct response:

                - Relevant MLB Rule(s); no NCAA or NFHS references shall be credited

                - All relevant results of the play after applying said rule(s)

                - Any other criteria requested by the "Case Play: _" post.

            iii. All Case Play posts shall be titled in the form of, "Case Play: _," and shall         remain open to UEFL members for no less than 48 hours (2 days) so that adequate time is given for UEFL members to provide their answers in the form of a comment/reply to the "Case Play: __" post.

                § All users must clearly convey their identity relative to their username/identifier so that they may be credited with points, if applicable. This is the responsibility of the user replying to the Case Play post.
                § In the interest of fairness, all Case Play responses will remain in moderation (screened or invisible) until the ~48 hour submission period is closed.

            iv. All Case Play posts shall clearly specify their points value/worth.

            v. All appropriate parts of the scenario shall clearly specify their points value/worth, if applicable.

Ejections: Brian Knight (2)

HP Umpire Brian Knight ejected Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur arguing a strike three call in the top of the 8th inning of the Royals-Rangers game. With none out and none on, Francoeur took a 2-2 fastball from Rangers pitcher Brett Tomko for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located thigh high and several inches off the inside corner of home plate, the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Rangers were leading, 8-5. The Rangers ultimately won the contest, 8-7.

This is Brian Knight (91)'s second ejection of 2011.
Brian Knight now has 2 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (4 Previous + 2 MLB + -4 Incorrect Call = 2).

This is the 15th ejection of 2011.
This is the 5th player ejection of 2011.
Prior to his ejection, Francoeur was 1-3 in the contest.

Wrap: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_24_kcamlb_texmlb_1

Video: SOON

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball