Joe West Continues To Go South
"I never called a balk in my life. I didn't understand the rule." -Former MLB Umpire Ron Luciano
One of the first things I do prior to a Sox game is check out who the umpires are. If I see the names of Joe West or Phil Cuzzi, I cringe. Yesterday, was no exception.
Here's what galls me about Joe West, who was responsible for the early showers taken by Ozzie Guillen and Mark Buehrle yesterday: He thinks people come to see him umpire. Seriously. He has never understood in the over thirty years he's been on the field that the best umpires are seen and not heard and do not dictate the outcome of games nor should they ever show up a player or manager.
When the Umpires all quit in 2000, I never dreamed that West would actually be one of the umpires asked back. He was one of those guys that you thought was confrontation, too much of a hot dog to be asked back. But not only did he get to come back, he was elected President of the union in 2009.
What kind of an example does he set for the younger umpires? First of all, West is an average umpire at best and second, he is confrontational, which sports officials should never, ever be. Because they are officials. They enforce the rules but should not be enforcers. They should never follow a player back to the dugout or take steps toward a player or manager. They should always walk away instead of engage someone. That's how it was done for years before the new breed of aggressive umpire took over.
West is the poster child for that aggressive umpire. And if the union takes his act as an example, we're just getting started with player vs. umpire wars.
Yeah, okay, maybe Ozzie should have gotten tossed. I think he was trying to do that anyway. Buehrle on the other hand has no record of being a problem and West tossing him, let alone his interpretation of what a balk is are both questionable. I almost think West, who thinks the game is too slow, called the balks just to get Buehrle to quit throwing to first even though Buehrle is one of the quickest workers in baseball.
The bottom line is, baseball needs to root out umpires who think fans come to see them. Joe West would be first on my list.
One of the first things I do prior to a Sox game is check out who the umpires are. If I see the names of Joe West or Phil Cuzzi, I cringe. Yesterday, was no exception.
Here's what galls me about Joe West, who was responsible for the early showers taken by Ozzie Guillen and Mark Buehrle yesterday: He thinks people come to see him umpire. Seriously. He has never understood in the over thirty years he's been on the field that the best umpires are seen and not heard and do not dictate the outcome of games nor should they ever show up a player or manager.
When the Umpires all quit in 2000, I never dreamed that West would actually be one of the umpires asked back. He was one of those guys that you thought was confrontation, too much of a hot dog to be asked back. But not only did he get to come back, he was elected President of the union in 2009.
What kind of an example does he set for the younger umpires? First of all, West is an average umpire at best and second, he is confrontational, which sports officials should never, ever be. Because they are officials. They enforce the rules but should not be enforcers. They should never follow a player back to the dugout or take steps toward a player or manager. They should always walk away instead of engage someone. That's how it was done for years before the new breed of aggressive umpire took over.
West is the poster child for that aggressive umpire. And if the union takes his act as an example, we're just getting started with player vs. umpire wars.
Yeah, okay, maybe Ozzie should have gotten tossed. I think he was trying to do that anyway. Buehrle on the other hand has no record of being a problem and West tossing him, let alone his interpretation of what a balk is are both questionable. I almost think West, who thinks the game is too slow, called the balks just to get Buehrle to quit throwing to first even though Buehrle is one of the quickest workers in baseball.
The bottom line is, baseball needs to root out umpires who think fans come to see them. Joe West would be first on my list.
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