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Joe West calls two balks on Buehrle in two innings (1 Viewer)

Raider Nation

Raider Nation

Devil's Advocate
:goodposting:

Hawk Harrelson is going ape ####.

"Joe West used to be a good umpire. Now he's a disgrace. He should be suspended."

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Raider Nation said:
:unsure: Hawk Harrelson is going ape ####."Joe West used to be a good umpire. Now he's a disgrace. He should be suspended."
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He should be suspended but I guess this is what happens when you can't get fired. If CB Bucknor can keep his job then I'm sure Joe West can call balks and eject players for his own amusement. What a shame but great job by Tony Pena.
 
igbomb said:
Dr. Awesome said:
Joe West seems to be in the press a bit too much for an umpire this year.
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He needs to promote his country album.Diamond Dreams
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Joe's peers in baseball regard him as one of the finest umpires in Major League Baseball, and now his singing and songwriting, are making him a successful artist, songwriter, and entertainer in the Country Music Industry. Joe West has become a star in two fields of entertainment, Country Music and Major League Baseball.
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shuke said:
tommyGunZ said:
shuke said:
About time they started cracking down on this ####.
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:wub: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :( :lmao:
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I'm serious. The number of uncalled balks and the phantom tag at second on a double play are two of the worst things about the sport.
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I have to back you up. I didn't see the first one but the second looked like a balk to me. I would love for an ump to call safe on just one phantom swipe of second. Though if West did say what Ozzie told reporters, he should be suspended.
 
boubucarow said:
shuke said:
tommyGunZ said:
shuke said:
About time they started cracking down on this ####.
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:yes: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
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I'm serious. The number of uncalled balks and the phantom tag at second on a double play are two of the worst things about the sport.
Click to expand...
I have to back you up. I didn't see the first one but the second looked like a balk to me. I would love for an ump to call safe on just one phantom swipe of second. Though if West did say what Ozzie told reporters, he should be suspended.
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What made it a balk?
 
kind of hard to tell if either are balks based on our angle

and it's very easy to hate Hawk and his Hawkisms

 
Kinetic said:
kind of hard to tell if either are balks based on our angleand it's very easy to hate Hawk and his Hawkisms
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It was clear that the 2nd call was one upping Buehrle. If I remember correctly then when that Indian reached 1st base, he threw over to first 2 times in a row, made his first pitch, then threw to first again. It was a funny move but Joe West didn't like the joke, so he made a bogus call.
 
crewmember said:
Kinetic said:
kind of hard to tell if either are balks based on our angleand it's very easy to hate Hawk and his Hawkisms
Click to expand...
It was clear that the 2nd call was one upping Buehrle. If I remember correctly then when that Indian reached 1st base, he threw over to first 2 times in a row, made his first pitch, then threw to first again. It was a funny move but Joe West didn't like the joke, so he made a bogus call.
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how was it clear again? His front foot does look like it goes forward when he comes down(again, a bad angle)Umps don't like being shown up either, and thats with Buehrle was doing with the lolly gag throw overs.Not saying West isn't a tool, but Buehrle lost his composure, and it cost him.
 
Limp Ditka said:
boubucarow said:
shuke said:
tommyGunZ said:
shuke said:
About time they started cracking down on this ####.
Click to expand...
:( :( :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
Click to expand...
I'm serious. The number of uncalled balks and the phantom tag at second on a double play are two of the worst things about the sport.
Click to expand...
I have to back you up. I didn't see the first one but the second looked like a balk to me. I would love for an ump to call safe on just one phantom swipe of second. Though if West did say what Ozzie told reporters, he should be suspended.
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What made it a balk?
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It is hard to call with any certainty as we won't be able to see the right angle ever. I could easily be wrong but I thought his right leg want to far back and part of it slightly crossed the back of the rubber which is the easy definition of a balk (with the other being needing to step to the base). I have no idea where he stands on the rubber and maybe his leg did not cross it, but at first glance that was my reaction. Plus I think Buehrle is overrated by Sox fan friends of mine and the may have pushed me to believe his leg is where I though it was.
 
Kinetic said:
crewmember said:
Kinetic said:
kind of hard to tell if either are balks based on our angleand it's very easy to hate Hawk and his Hawkisms
Click to expand...
It was clear that the 2nd call was one upping Buehrle. If I remember correctly then when that Indian reached 1st base, he threw over to first 2 times in a row, made his first pitch, then threw to first again. It was a funny move but Joe West didn't like the joke, so he made a bogus call.
Click to expand...
how was it clear again? His front foot does look like it goes forward when he comes down(again, a bad angle)Umps don't like being shown up either, and thats with Buehrle was doing with the lolly gag throw overs.Not saying West isn't a tool, but Buehrle lost his composure, and it cost him.
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His foot can go forward, it just can't cross the 45 degree angle.And Buerhle didn't lose his composure until the 2nd balk was called. He can throw to 1st base all afternoon if he wants to. If Joe West doesn't like it, he can go F himself.You Cub fans are funny. I saw each talking head on BBTN and MLB Network say neither instance was a balk. Yet every Cub fan in here is questioning it.
 
Limp Ditka said:
His foot can go forward, it just can't cross the 45 degree angle.

And Buerhle didn't lose his composure until the 2nd balk was called. He can throw to 1st base all afternoon if he wants to. If Joe West doesn't like it, he can go F himself.

You Cub fans are funny. I saw each talking head on BBTN and MLB Network say neither instance was a balk. Yet every Cub fan in here is questioning it.
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Buerhle was arguing with the umpire after the first Balk was called, this is very uncharacteristic of Buerhle.......hence, lose of composure. And no his foot can't go forward

8.05

If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when --

(a) The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery;

Rule 8.05(a) Comment: If a lefthanded or righthanded pitcher swings his free foot past the back edge of the pitcher’s rubber, he is required to pitch to the batter except to throw to second base on a pick-off-play. (b) The pitcher, while touching his plate, feints a throw to first base and fails to complete the throw;

© The pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base;

Rule 8.05© Comment: Requires the pitcher, while touching his plate, to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base. If a pitcher turns or spins off of his free foot without actually stepping or if he turns his body and throws before stepping, it is a balk.
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It has nothing to do with being a Cub fan.
 
Limp Ditka said:
Kinetic said:
crewmember said:
Kinetic said:
kind of hard to tell if either are balks based on our angleand it's very easy to hate Hawk and his Hawkisms
Click to expand...
It was clear that the 2nd call was one upping Buehrle. If I remember correctly then when that Indian reached 1st base, he threw over to first 2 times in a row, made his first pitch, then threw to first again. It was a funny move but Joe West didn't like the joke, so he made a bogus call.
Click to expand...
how was it clear again? His front foot does look like it goes forward when he comes down(again, a bad angle)Umps don't like being shown up either, and thats with Buehrle was doing with the lolly gag throw overs.Not saying West isn't a tool, but Buehrle lost his composure, and it cost him.
Click to expand...
His foot can go forward, it just can't cross the 45 degree angle.And Buerhle didn't lose his composure until the 2nd balk was called. He can throw to 1st base all afternoon if he wants to. If Joe West doesn't like it, he can go F himself.You Cub fans are funny. I saw each talking head on BBTN and MLB Network say neither instance was a balk. Yet every Cub fan in here is questioning it.
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This.After the first time Buerhle was just looking for an explanation. And hot head Joe came out yelling at him and was actually showing him up, not the other way around.Take into account that none of the experts thought it was a balk, Buehrle has been doing his move for many years without balk calls(including west games), who West is, who Buehrle is, and how West went after Buehrle, wouldn't let ozzie come out and ejected him, and that they threw over to first a few times before the 2nd balk call.To look at all that and then say Joe West was just making a fair call on the 2nd balk, that is really really stretching it.
 
Source: Umpire Joe West to face discipline from MLB. Punishment will be suspension or fine. Umpires union and MLB talking about severity.

about 4 hours ago via web

Jeff Passan

 
MLB plans showdown with umpire Joe West

Earlier this week, Joe West’s personal publicist sent out a mass email offering up his client for interviews.

(Pause, to allow the proper spit-take at the fact that a baseball umpire is self-absorbed enough to keep a P.R. man in his employ. Now, clean up that screen.)

Such emails are not uncommon. With a resistance to the spam boxes in which they ought automatically deposit themselves, the blasts show up every few weeks. West is always promoting something. His country music CD. His line of umpiring gear. And, without fail, himself.

He seems to have forgotten the cardinal rule of umpiring: stay invisible. Anonymity is godliness to baseball’s arbiters, and Joe West is an infidel, an attention whore of Lady Gaga proportions whose proclivity for theatrics shames the umpiring profession.

Mercifully, Major League Baseball has tired of his antics. A source said the league plans to suspend or fine West, one of its most tenured umpires, after he solicited reporters this week to talk about the controversy he created in April when he called the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox “pathetic and embarrassing” because of their long game times.

Between West dredging up a subject MLB was peeved he addressed in public in the first place, and the fallout from his ejections of Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and pitcher Mark Buehrle(notes) on Wednesday, his behavior reached a tipping point for baseball officials. MLB reprimanded West during a phone conversation Thursday and will continue to consult with the World Umpires Assocation – of which West is president – to determine the severity of his punishment.

West carries the reputation as a poor umpire and grudge holder, and so his unceremonious tossing of Guillen and Buehrle surprised no one. West called a balk on Buehrle, whose pickoff move is recognized as one of the game’s best. It was a suspect-at-best call, or par for the course, and he tossed Guillen for protesting. When West flagged Buehrle for another balk – just a flat-out bad call – the pitcher, disgusted, softly flopped his glove on the ground. West ejected him, too.

Following the game, Guillen ranted like Guillen does: F-bombs in triplicate, and a few more words that would have made George Carlin proud. Buehrle’s reaction was far more telling. Rarely outspoken and always measured, Buehrle took to West with an incisive jab that showed what people inside the game think of him.

“I think he’s too worried about promoting his CD,” Buehrle said, “and I think he likes seeing his name in the papers a little bit too much instead of worrying about the rules.”

West’s sense of entitlement grew over a long career. He was a major league umpire at 24 years old. He worked as a crew chief in a World Series. He also was one of the 22 umpires who resigned in 1999 in a failed negotiating tactic, and if that doesn’t humble someone, what can?

Baseball rehired West in 2002, and while the union’s emasculation was palpable, West continued to play up his country-music persona. The sport allowed him to meet celebrities and cultivate his music career, which, based on his voice, lyrics and music, would’ve otherwise sputtered out with Nashville bar patrons introducing him to a variety of rotten vegetables. West returned the favor by acting like a rent-a-cop who wields his badge like he’s Wyatt Earp.

He is a presence in games, and that is the problem. The only place for an umpire is at the bottom of the box score. When one jumps into the game story, he has done one of two things: blown a call or picked a fight with someone. That West specializes in both says everything about him.

Here’s the thing: If West were a good umpire – if he didn’t parlay his three decades in the sport into plum postseason gigs that somebody of his caliber simply does not deserve – much of what he does wouldn’t be as objectionable. Ed Hochuli, the NFL referee whose ripped physique has made him a cult hero, is beloved because he maintains professional excellence alongside his other endeavors. West’s professional negligence makes him all the more a cartoon character.

MLB doesn’t have nearly the perception problem with umpires that the NBA does with its referees. It doesn’t want one, either, and so its move to muzzle West is appropriate. The Yankees and Red Sox do push pace-of-play boundaries; they also provide the greatest rivalry in the sport, and fans who appreciate good baseball are willing to sit through extra time as long as the drama remains. West should’ve apologized and moved on. His targeting of Buehrle – pitchers get called for multiple balks about once a decade – was the vindictive sort of call that cement his reputation.

Undeterred, West’s diarrhea of the mouth continued. He had CDs and gear to sell, a website to push, a brand to promote. Attached to the latest e-mail from his publicist were 11 pictures, just in case one or two weren’t enough. It also included a funny subject line: “The Real Joe West.”

Like everyone doesn’t already see him for what he is.

 
crewmember said:
Source: Umpire Joe West to face discipline from MLB. Punishment will be suspension or fine. Umpires union and MLB talking about severity. about 4 hours ago via web Jeff Passan
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Good. I disagree with the first balk but can't really get steamed about it. That second one was unprofessional and a disgrace to umpires. West is clearly just looking to pimp his name at this point and I won't be sorry to see him fired. He's been around for a long time but seems to be forgetting he's not more important than the game itself.
 
After reading that article I now want this man fired. But it's never going to happen. He's president of the organization that is working to determine his punishment? :rolleyes:

 
Dr. Awesome said:
crewmember said:
Source: Umpire Joe West to face discipline from MLB. Punishment will be suspension or fine. Umpires union and MLB talking about severity. about 4 hours ago via web Jeff Passan
Click to expand...
Good. I disagree with the first balk but can't really get steamed about it. That second one was unprofessional and a disgrace to umpires. West is clearly just looking to pimp his name at this point and I won't be sorry to see him fired. He's been around for a long time but seems to be forgetting he's not more important than the game itself.
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I think the name pimping was just a bonus to West's decision to show Buehrle who's boss. The fat slob needs to go away. Who does he think he is, an NBA ref?
 
Limp Ditka said:
According to this fines, no suspensions, for all involved.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/base....html?eref=sihp

Bud Selig is a joke.
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Always has been and always will be. He will fall into the anals of baseball history as the most inept person to ever be a part of the sport. He has no balls, no dignity and is a epic failure at everything he does. Storoids, the strike, the rediculous home field all-star game and in general letting the players union run wild over the sport. He wants to be remembered for the Baseball Classic but he doesn't even have the forsight to see that it is being played at the wrong time and no one gives a #### about it during Spring Training. I wish Bud would just leave already.
 
boom king said:
Limp Ditka said:
Kinetic said:
Raider Nation said:
:shrug: Hawk Harrelson is going ape ####."Joe West used to be a good umpire. Now he's a disgrace. He should be suspended."
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Watching the game(I'm a Hawk Hater) Hawk always has a problem with the umpsBut these calls were brutal
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How can you hate Hawk Harrelson?
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kinda the same way you hate Ron Santo
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Hawk does have a few corny sayings, some good ones but he played the game and knows the game. I could see why someone who knows the game might be hated by fans of some teams (team) Could someone please remind me why the Cubs fired Steve Stone.
 
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