Is MLB Catching on to Joe West?

Managers like Joe Maddon won't be double-teamed anymore
by umpires Angel Hernandez, center, and Joe West.

It doesn't go far enough, but Major League Baseball has at last taken a little action against Joe West and Angel Hernandez, the two worst umpires in the game. To start the second half of the season, the two are no longer on the same crew.

It's far short of the firing both have long deserved, but at least their incompetence will be watered down some by working with three other umpires.

Besides the fact that West and Hernandez have an endless capacity for making bad calls, they both seem to revel in the power their position gives them. Photos of the two double-teaming to argue with managers are all over the web.

Once the screaming starts, they are too stubborn to walk away to defuse the situation. They'd rather get in someone's face and then toss the "offender" out. Just ask Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers who was ejected after his manager had pulled him for a new pitcher. Some lip readers say he said "horrible" to an ump on his way off the field. Touchy, touchy.

The old saying goes that the best umpires are the ones you don't notice. Joe West and his former running buddy Hernandez make too much news. Let's hope 2011 is the end of the line for both.

Give the Ump a Break

Brian Knight appears to have made a
good call, but  was criticized anyway.

I haven't been reticent to criticize the state of umpiring, especially as practiced by Joe West, Angel Hernandez and Phil Cuzzi (and boy does this trio need practice). But even when umpires make a seemingly good call they get bashed sometimes.

Such is the case with the final out in last night's game between the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. C. Trent Rosecrans at cbssports.com used his space this morning to write about how a blown call ended the game.

The play in question happened with runners and first and second and two out in the ninth and the Jays trailing by a run. A base hit to short left was scooped up by Sox left-fielder Darnell McDonald who fired a strike to catcher Jason Varitek. Varitek had the plate blocked perfectly. Edwin Encarnacion slid in hard and was tagged and then called out by Brian Knight, the home-plate arbiter.

You'd think that would end the discussion. But on replays, Encarnacion's right leg sneaks past Varitek's shin guard. The problem is that no replay angle shows for sure whether his foot touched the plate or passed over it.

I understand the Blue Jays arguing about it. But media, and even bloggers, should try to be objective when calling out umps or players. Most who commented on Rosecrans' post said they couldn't tell if the runner was safe.

Sometimes even the men in blue need a break. Or at least a fair shake.