I thought good eyesight was the main thing an ump had to have???????...

To get the job, yes. To keep it no. Once they get the job they pretty much keep it forever, like a Pope. The only way to get rid of them is an act of God or gambling, I think. Being and Ump is great job security. One of the few that has shown to be recession proof and you can't outsource it.

At this point maybe we should pitch in and get the whole bunch of them seeing eye dogs.....

At least they are blowing them both ways. That call that went against the Yankees and Damon was really bad.

It does add to the many flaws baseball now has...From letting teams spend as much as they want the ever rising salaries that make all prices of operation escalate choking small market owners into yearly failures...The still lingering steroid fiasco..The occassion appearance of Nimbnutz Selig...LOL Now the strike zone has changed to an individual umps preferance..Comon Selig fix this game ....Umps can control a game and are supposed to do so fairly for both teams without prejudice.....But when their wrong judgement decisions can be game changing thats MLBs problem to fix now,today,Mox schenll.. and last but not least Baseball playing almost into frigid November???? As salaries increase they may have to play a 200 game schedule..LOL..National pastime????/ Pastime may be the correct word...

I don't know what everyone is so upset about...I mean all that we ask is that umpires are consistent ...right?? Well they have been consistently HORRIBLE from day 1 of ST thru the post season so far.....LOL

Something needs to be done ASAP. The umpiring has been horrible all season long both behind the plate and in the field. It may boil down to giving the coaches challenges similar to the NFL. I hate to see it come to that but the once "human" side of the game that the purists argue for is now changing games with multiple blown calls and that's NOT good for the game.

Let's see......think the commish will address this issue??? We'll see......

I know your last question about whether the commish will address the umpiring was rhetorical, but I think there is an answer to it. The answer iswhat you think, he will do nothing, and it's because the umpire's union is too powerful. As a lot of people here say, there isn't much accountability for umpires. I know the Questec grading system for umpires is mentioned a lot (at least I've heard it mentioned by announcers), but how come we never hear about umpires who were let go or censured due to it?

I do believe most umpires do a very good job, but those umps that have their own strike zone drive me nuts.

Personally, I like the idea of a challenge system.

I neglected to say about baseball near November...I wouldn't be quite so unhappy if the Rays were one of the teams playing..LOL...But last years fiasco in Philly was really bad decisions on the Commishes part...It could be a very Frigid world series if its Yankermee$ and The Cheesesteak heads...Off seasons getting smaller...

Great post casey. I have been in and around the game for half a century and doubt if all the problems you so accurately described will force me away, but WOW, what a mess!

I have a feeling this will get into a Replay Discussion. I have been for Instant Replay for a while, but it has nothing to do with the "pace of the game". The problem with instant replay is if there was a runner, with two outs, and the third out was made, however the out wasn't really an out, and the runner was going home or to any base and stopped because it was called the third out. So the point is, what would happen in the situation of a runner stopping on the base path because of a third out and the out wasn't an out. What would happen to the runner? Now this is where the MLB needs to make a rule for miss call. Such as all runners move ahead one base, which would be the fairest way, or all runners go back to the last base that they were at.

Let them cross that bridge when it comes up..Right now getting the Umps to re-learn the strike zone and how to position themselves to make a correct call is more important...And to confer with each other when an obvious wrong call was made...And lets go back to actually making a tag ,touch the base on steals double plays and close calls....And watching runners Tag up after a catch...Seems like just the obvious way to play the game and call one is escaping the game.. A strong Union allows incompetance vs Younger maybe with better eyesight..Maybe its time for the Umps union to strike again so good minor League umps can show them how to retire early...I'll bet Stevie Wonder could call a game better..certainly more entertaining..

It's obviously embaressing for the league as a whole, a evidenced by their reaction. They decided to change the crew for the World Series to put in a more experienced crew. What does that really mean? They didn't trust the judgement of the umpires originally picked? Or perhaps that there is a serious flaw in how umpires are chosen for key games? I'm glad they have chosen a more experienced crew. I'm expecting continued poor calls. Maybe that will help to expose the flaw of the system. Strike zones should not influenced by how the catcher is positioned. Asking a professional athlete to change their form because you cannot properly see just somehow seems wrong. What's next, asking a pitcher to change his motion because it's hard to tell if its a balk? Asking a first baseman to stand in a specific position to allow better views from the officials? Telling baserunners to not run into catchers at home because it makes it real hard to determine an out? Like most things in baseball, nothing will change until the public and the media are completely outraged (i.e. the World Series going to the wrong team due to a bad call.) Cheers to blue! You found a way for rival fans to come together. It does add to the drama, as did steroids, but noone wants that kind of drama!!!

Well, the officiating in MLB is certainly one of the few things Rays, Red Sox and Yankee fans will agree on. You have that right.

This was my idea for an instant replay system. It's a modified version of the one in football.

Each team gets 1 challenge per game. If they challenge and win, they get to keep their challenge and challenge another play later in the game if they choose. If they keep winning the challenges, they can keep challenging plays until they lose a challenge.

If they LOSE a challenge on offense, they lose an out. If the play that was challenged had resulted in the third out and is upheld, the team would begin their next offensive half of an inning with 1 out instead of 0 outs.

If a team loses a challenge on defense and there are runners on base, all runners advance one base. If there are no runners on base at the time of the challenge, the offensive team is awarded an extra out. (If you have a better idea for this one, let me know)

The above would keep a team from frivolously using their challenge.

In the 9th inning and in extra innings, any review would have to come from the head umpire. Any close play that would alter the outcome of the game is automatically reviewed.

Now, as for what is eligible to be reviewed. Fair/Foul or Safe/Out plays are eligible to be reviewed. Since balls and strikes are more of a judgment call, I'm not sure if they should be reviewed. If they are, there would need to be some type of standardized strike zone implemented (which should already be in place). I also am leaning towards them not being eligible because it may seriously slow down the game.

I know it would never be implemented, but it's what I would like to see.

Well Ole Bud (the great Commish) says he won't do anything or nothing is in the wind of change...He likes the Human element of the game..Mistakes that cost games is Human? Yes of course it is but it also can be used as a means to fix a game...Show favortism ect....We all know umpires are human,but to allow each to designate their own strike zones other than the rules established one...And to miss a call so badly that its game changing...Shows you what the game is growing under Selig.....

No yankee love from me but to be fair yoda, the Yankees didn't win 103 games only from the Rays.
A lot of other teams including the Redsox lost to the Yankees and aided in them getting the title.
Home field advantage was won at the all-star game.
Carl Crawford helped them win home field advantage by making that great catch....remember.

Crawford should have let it go over the wall so the NL and the Phillies would have had the advantage.