Umpire: Yanks, Red Sox are 'pathetic, embarrassing'

[madinmaryland]

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/176610-umpire-blasts-pathetic-yankees-red-sox?xid=cnnbin&hpt=Sbin

Umpire Joe West blasted the Yankees and Red Sox just before Wednesday's game, accusing the two clubs of being "pathetic and embarrassing" in dragging the pace of games and refusing to work with umpires. The two teams, notorious for the slow tempo of their games, were denied some timeouts in the batter's box by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez during Tuesday night's 6-4 Yankees victory. "They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace," said West, chief of the umpiring crew that worked the three-game series in Boston. He was the home plate umpire Sunday. "They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest? "It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play."

:popcorn:

[JonLP24]

1. It is true

I believe the Yankees led the league last year in games they played in that takes the longest to end. Rod Sox were in the top 5 as well. I remember Rick Reilly(who is usually a jerk) mentioning this.

[joeybee12]

2. Hey Joe West! Gonna be umping any games soon at Fenway or New York?

Wow, you'll feel the love!

[madinmaryland]

4. Well, this truly is an East Coast Bias by major League Baseball. Upton is right

when it come to coverage of MLB.

The Northeast Media spends all it's time ****ing itself about those two teams. And why, joey, does every Skankee/Wankee game take nearly four hours?

The two satans of baseball - Boston and New York.

[JonLP24]

3. Curt Shilling should quit or be fired

He is blaming the umps by suggesting if they want to speed up the game to call more strikes.

[hughee99]

5. On the one hand, it's true.

In addition to working deep into counts and seemingly endless pitching changes, they step out too much, and the pitchers look in forever. I'd like to see umpires do what they can to move the pace along, and there are rules in place to move play along that are not often enforced.

On the other hand, this should be something the league addresses, not the umpires. Impartial officials should not be publicly commenting on this sort of stuff.

[madinmaryland]

6. Good point, hugh. It really is an issue that the league need to address.

Unfortunately, the league would rather sacrifice the integrity of the game for a few extra advertisement dollars. Yes, the belief outside of the NY-Boston area, is that the games are slowed down for teh extra revenue dollars which go to the wealthiest and only the wealthiest of teams.

$adly, there appear$ to be no intere$t in ending thi$ by the league. Thank Bud $elig for thi$.

[JonLP24]

7. Wasn't it like this before Selig took over?

Meaning there was no "shot clock" and games took as long as necessary. I also want to say there was no drug testing or salary cap when Selig took over so those things weren't Selig creations either. Yet he gets all the heat and I'm sure there were players taking steroids in the 80's. If it's the playoff format, well I like the playoff formant the way it is. I will concede the All*Star game matters idea is rather silly but it is the most interesting All*Star game in all of professional sports and baseball is ranks towards the last to me in interest level of the major professional sports leagues as well as the 2 most popular NCAA sports. He's also made changes like bringing in drug testing(that is the strictest of all US professional leagues) that wasn't in place when he took over. I'm open minded to this so feel free to convince me otherwise.

[madinmaryland]

8. Well, Jon, think about this..

Bart Giamatti died mysteriously within a year after Pete Rose died, and then after Faye Vincent followed up with Mr. Giamatti's policies he got his ass canned and was replaces by $elig. Giamatti and Vincent were forced out, lest they fuck up the aristocracy of the east coast control of the game by Steibrenner and Yawkee families.

Adding: :tinfoilhat:

[Ter]

9. "After Pete Rose died"

?

[Captain Hilts]

10. YES! Their games average something like 45 minutes longer than regular games. Preening. nt

[El Supremo]

11. It can't be for TV revenue. Those 8:00 games aren't over before people go to bed.

I'm in bed too and I'm 2 hours earlier than the east coast! (yes I'm old, Condem)

I did stay up to see the end of the game that started at 7:00.

[Zech Marquis The 2nd]

12. while he does have a point..

i hate it when MLB umpires start acting like THEY are the main attractions to the games...and this one loud mouth is acting like a fool! Do your job fat man and call balls and strikes--I do NOT want you to be the reason why I watch baseball !!!

[Bluzmann57]

13. Joe West is a crappy umpire

But in this case, he's at least somewhat correct. They really need to speed up the games.

[Iggo]

16. Exactly.

Just 'cause he's crappy, doesn't mean he's wrong.

[bluedigger]

14. Hey Joe!

We love you LONG TIME in New York and Boston!:evilgrin:

[Earth Bound Misfit]

15. After last year's "pathetic, embarrassing" postseason performance by MLB Umpires

perhaps West should STFU.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=4581598

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/sports/baseball/30umps.html?_r=1

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2009/10/politi_umpire_who_blew_call_in.html

[joeybee12]

17. Good point...they were horrific in virtually every series...n/t