HP Umpire Joe West ejected Tigers Manager Jim Leyland for Unsportsmanlike-NEC (arguing a warning) in the bottom of the 2nd inning of the Indians-Tigers game. With one out and one on, Tigers batter Gerald Laird hit a 0-1 fastball from Indians pitcher Chris Seddon for a soft ground ball, Seddon arriving at first base as Laird approached. Replays indicate Seddon's attempted tag of Laird's foot did not occur prior to Laird's hand touching the base, producing dissent from the Detroit dugout, from bench player and pitcher Justin Verlander, resulting in a warning issued from West. Replays indicate West's ejection of Leyland concerned this warning, not the safe/out call at first base, the call was irrecusable.* At the time of the ejection, the Indians were leading, 2-1. The Tigers ultimately won the contest, 10-8, in 10 innings.
This is Joe West (22)'s 2nd ejection of 2012.
This is Joe West (22)'s 2nd ejection of 2012.
Joe West now has 6 points in the UEFL (4 Previous + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call = 6).
Crew Chief Joe West now has 5 points in the Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Irrecusable Call = 5).
*After review, Reason for Ejection has been affirmed in a 3-0 decision by the UEFL Appeals Board.
*After review, Reason for Ejection has been affirmed in a 3-0 decision by the UEFL Appeals Board.
This is the 108th ejection of 2012.
This is the 54th Manager ejection of 2012.
This is the Tigers' 9th ejection of 2012, 1st in MLB & 1st in AL Central (DET 9; KC 6; CLE, CWS 5, MIN 4).
This is Jim Leyland's first ejection since May 28 (Bill Welke; QOC = Irrecusable).
This is Joe West's first ejection since April 27 (Joe Girardi; QOC = Correct).
CHALLENGE.
ReplyDeleteLeyland's arguements were clearly connected with the botched call at first base.
In any event, if the call is truly 'irrecusable', it's evidence of a glaring error in Close Call Sports rules.
Actually, I think Leyland's argument is connected to West pointing his finger into the Tigers dugout. If it had been over the call, he'd have been tossed by Holbrook.
ReplyDelete@Anon 11:50: And what precisely would that error be?
ReplyDeleteGorman needs a vacation... ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL.
ReplyDelete@Anon 12:50: You're rather off-topic, aren't you? This page is about Joe West and the Indians-Tigers game.
ReplyDeletehttp://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=23642939&c_id=mlb
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for getting your hard-hitting analysis off task, BAPACop.
ReplyDelete@Anon 5:54: All I was saying is that if you want to talk about Brian Gorman then why not comment on the post that says "Brian Gorman" in big giant letters instead of the one that says "Joe West".
ReplyDeleteThis ruling has been challenged and is under review by the UEFL Appeals Board.
ReplyDeleteJoe evened things up in the 10th by squeezing Chris Perez. What more could you want from an umpire, miss a few things one way and even them up by missing a few things the other way.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely HOF material
@Mundane: A few calls you don't agree with and you start attacking the umpire's integrity? Seriously?
ReplyDelete@BAPACop...am an Indians fan and am not questioning Joe's integrity, but, Dirks should have struck out looking to end the game...instead he walked and Chris Perez promptly gave up a double, a single, and a walk off homer. Perez did implode but the game could have easily been over before it got to that point.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/numlocation_io.php-pitchSel=453198&game=gid_2012_08_05_clemlb_detmlb_1&batterX=92&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=1.gif
@Anon 9:45: Four strikes thrown in that at-bat and only two called correctly. I can see why one could be upset, especially when it should have ended the game.
ReplyDeleteHere is West's plot for the whole game and it is not pretty. Every single missed pitch on the left hand side was thrown by a Tigers pitcher and I am counting 11 or 12 misses just in that location. Joe is one of the better balls-strikes guys in the league but he has struggled a little bit more than usual this season. I go through every Umpires plots every day and just eyeball them without actually figuring out the numbers and Joe has had some really rough games this year
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/zoneplot.php-pitchSel=all&game=gid_2012_08_05_clemlb_detmlb_1&sp_type=1&s_type=7.gif
Ouch...that's a bit one sided if you ask me. If the Indians had a manager who believed in sticking up for his players we may have seen more ejections from this game than we did, given the Indians have now lost 9 in a row and were poised to win today.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with this ejection is Rob Drake. I mean, there's absolutely no need for him to come out and be out making contact with Laird. It's pretty evident that Laird's not being demonstrative; I mean, he's not going crazy, throwing things, or yelling; he sticks his arms out, and presumably wonders why he's been thrown out. And you know what, getting thrown out from over 180 feet away, I think he has that right to hear from Holbrook on what got him tossed. It's enough of this rodeo bumping garbage. Let him have his say; gets out of control, insert West moving up the 1B line.
ReplyDelete@ Anon 10:46
ReplyDeleteI agree. Laird, even though he has past history of ejections, does not strike me as the type to put on an act and pretend to be innocent. He strikes me more as a no-nonsense guy who was legitimately surprised by the ejection.
In the big leagues coaches and players ejected from the dugout are not supposed to go on the field after ejection.... It was not clear to me Laird was in the dugout at the time but running accross the field is not something MLB wants from Laird. Leyland gets an explanation not Laird. Drake is doing his job at attempting to stop Laird from getting suspended. If Laird ran accross and made contact some people would be saying "where are the umpires to stop that from happening."
ReplyDeleteI also think it's pretty clear Leyland is not dipsuting the play with West. He's upset that West is in his dugout. Leyland isn't going to argue a play at 1st for a short time then run to West and dispute the same play. As much of many of you guys don't like Leyland b/c he's old school. Old school managers don't play merry go round asking each umpire about a play.
Joe just get over there and umpire, will ya. Just get over there and umpire, that's all.
ReplyDeleteTypical Joe West causing a problem where none previously existed.
Note to Rob Drake: Unless you want a player's hands on you, then keep your hands off the player.
Note No. 2 to Rob Drake: A person has the right to use reasonable force to prevent or end an unwelcome, harmful or offensive touching of his person.
This crew has issues keeping their hands to themselves. Evidently, they are under the impression that they are post-ejection bouncers, yet none of them appear to have the necessary physical qualifications to perform the work of bouncers. Why is it that every other crew can do business without putting their hands on players, but AllhatnoCowboy Joe's crew can't?
And on the related note of professionalism, (1) someone please tell Drake and Holbrook to run down to Wal-Mart and buy a pack of t-shirts to wear under their uniform shirts. If people can see your man-boob nipples protruding through your uniform shirt, you don't look very professional; and (2) those shirts are way too freaking tight to be sporting guts like that. Either lose 20 lbs or purchase shirts that fit. These guys look like slobs.
ReplyDeleteSome might see this as a personal attack. It is not. If an umpire doesn't respect himself, his position or the game enough to look professional in uniform, no one else is going to respect him either.
man curt looks like your are trying to start a flame war... Is it possible to be critical without namecalling.... If you strive for the umpires to be professional can you set an example by your comments being professional?
ReplyDeletetmac, please allow me to clarify. The only name I used was "slob" ("these guys look like slobs.") I don't think they actually are slobs (as in lazy). I would give Holbrook and Drake high marks for hustle and being in position, so I don't think they are lazy. The way they present themselves in uniform is rather slobbish, though.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm not saying they are too fat. As I stated above, they could look decent in uniform without losing an ounce of weight--just get some clothes that fit and put on undershirts.
No one expects these guys to show up cut like CB Bucknor, but you must admit they wear the uniform a little...uhh..differently than other umpires.
On a positive note, Joe West has set a good example for the rest of the crew in the fitness area. He looks like he has lost 50 pounds since last season. The weight loss has coincided with a decreased number of confrontations. Wonder if there is any correlation.
For whatever reason, working without an undershirt has become the latest fashion trend among the MLB guys. Curt, I think your post is a little over-the-top and pretty juvenile, but I agree with your main point: it looks terrible.
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree with Curt here, although I will point out that West actually lost the weight prior to last season. However, he appears to have gained some back. Also, we had to know something was gonna happen. He wasn't going to go all year with just one ejection!
ReplyDeleteJoe West. Jerk yesterday. Jerk today. Jerk forever.
ReplyDeleteRandazzo had a big zone tonight in the Tigers-Yankees game. Still, it was almost shameful what he let Girardi and Swisher get away with.
ReplyDeleteyou are so correct umpsrule so correct..... Thats how you go 3 years with no ejections..
ReplyDeleteAre u taking about Randazzo going three years? Cuse didn't Randazzo have two last year in the same game Jason veritek and Johnathon papalbon
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of that game, and this could just be an error in the box score, but it looks like instead of allowing Bob Davidson to assume the Crew Chief role following Brian Gorman's absence, MLB yanked Tim Welke from his crew in LA and inserted him on this crew. This could just be nothing, but I thought it was interesting.
ReplyDelete@wwjd Randazzo did not eject anybody in 2008, 2009, or 2010. If I remember correctly though, he was out the entire year due to an injury in 2008.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Gorman absent? Is it performance-related?
ReplyDeleteI doubt it. As you probably know, each MLB Umpire gets 4 weeks off during the season. three with the same time as your crew and one independent. The way that works is a Triple A Umpire will work with a crew for four weeks while each member of that crew gets a week off. ie, Mike Muchlinski just spent the last 4 weeks on Gary Cederstrom's crew. The first week he was in for Culbreth, then the next week Barksdale and so on and so forth. When Gorman's crew did this, the other guys took there weeks off but Gorman elected not to. Tom Hallion, Angel Hernandez and Dale Scott all did the same thing and took there week off at a later date. Since Gorman still has a week off left over, I would assume that is what he is doing this week. He is never someone who has been questioned for bad performance and like I said in another thread, he hasn't missed the playoffs since 2005.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, There are 4 CC's off this week. Along with Gorman, Rapuano (who has been out since June 1), Cousins and Hallion are all missing. As we know Tim Welke made a switch to Gorman's crew making Mike Everitt the CC in Los Angeles. Larry Vanover and Jeff Nelson have also both switched crews to be CC's this week rather than having Brian O'Nora and Ron Kulpa act as CC's. This could possibly be a hint to who is being considered for the next CC's. This is the second time Jeff Nelson has done this with a crew. I think him and Angel Hernandez are the next two in line. Hernandez has been an acting CC for two months now and has done a respectable job and not caused controversey.
Alright, thank you. Personally, I'd like to see Brian O'Nora as a crew chief.
ReplyDeleteAngel Hernandez's on-field demeanor has certainly improved, and I would like to see him get one of the next CC spots.
ReplyDeleteUmpsrule, regarding Randazzo's zone last night, i too thought it was pretty big. He was every fan's dream with the big sticks on those 2 teams. That zone definitely made everybody swing the bat.
ReplyDeleteIve always liked girardi, but really didnt understand his argument. Randazzo was consistent. Verlander tested the outer limit of the zone early on, figured out how far he could go and still get the call, then put it there. The Yankees pitcher didn't. Every hitter adapted to it also, except Swisher. It seemed odd Gerardi would get in Randazzo's face all things considered.
After review, the Original Ruling has been affirmed in a unanimous 3-0 decision by the UEFL Appeals Board. Three Appeals Board members voted to confirm Quality of Correctness.
ReplyDeleteMajority Opinion, tmac:
As for the west EJ, this is pretty clear cut to me. Leyland doesn't want West in his dugout. He is not disputing the call but rather disputing West's authority to attempt to keep the dugout from burning down. So I am confirming that ruling.
Therefore, the Board affirms the Original Ruling.
Confirmed: Jeremy, tmac, Albertaumpire
Upheld: None
Overturned: None
Deferred: None
Abstained: Gil (Posted Original Ruling), BillMueller, RichMSN (owns West), yawetag (owns -cc West)
Quality of Correctness has been affirmed, 3-0.