Here’s the front-page column from yesterday’s baseball finale with LSU. I covered the bad umpire behind the plate:
excellent article, Clay. Nobody likes to blame the officials, but sometimes they need to be blamed. This guy doesn’t belong in the SEC
Clay, tell us how you really feel… 
The guy behind the plate Sunday was a disgrace. Thanks for calling him out.
I don’t doubt that the umpire may have been calling things bad. Even Van Horn said it was both ways. But as we always said in the soccer games my kids lost you will never win a game when you don’t score. Just a fact of life. If you don’t score one run I doubt the refs cost us the game.
Dave’s thought was it was two different strike zones. That was the reference about it being amazing. The strike zone was different for the two teams. Obviously, you did not watch the game or the TV replays.
In baseball the officials are called umpires. Obviously, having an umpire that calls strikes low and outside is going to have an impact on the game, particularly if the zone is inconsistent.
Clay is not usually one to rip people. The fact he eviscerated this guy tells me that it was bad…that and one of the best coaches in the league getting tossed without warning at home in the second inning of the rubber game of a huge series when the other team’s coach complained 10x more in game 1 and didn’t get tossed.
The ump (not ref) may not have solely cost us the game but he had a big impact on it and the outcome.
Lsu made the plays when they had to and we didn’t. Kudos to them. But, ignoring the obvious seems odd to me.
Officials in any sport can have an impact on the outcome of any game. However, the home plate umpire in baseball can “throw a shutout” on his own with an inconsistent strike zone. With a runner on second and two outs, a pitch at the ankles that is called strike three will end the rally. You’re right, you’ve got to score to win, but when an umpire makes a massively bad call in key situation, that in essence will cost a team the opportunity to put runs on the board. Think about it this way: Maddux was a master at pinpointing pitches; he was hard enough to hit. But then when he starts getting the call 5 inches off the plate, he’s impossible to hit. Maddux was tough enough on his own, and LSU is good enough on their own than to have that kind of help.
I made a royal fool of myself Sunday. Some of the umpire’s calls or lack of calls were just atrocious. I sit right behind home plate and have a good view of the strike zone. I cut umpires some slack if they are consistent about their calls for both teams. This umpire made my blood boil and I showed it. One strike from Rhindl cut the heart of the plate went uncalled. I jumped up and let the bozo have it. My granddaughter when to the ballpark with my wife and I. She had not seen her papa that crazy and she kept tugging at my arm and asking me to calm down. I hope there is a way to blacklist umpires.
I don’t get on officials or referees unless they are REALLY bad. This one does not need to be calling in the SEC. If there was ever a man in blue who impacted a game with his balls and strikes calls, it was this guy.
The biggest reason I’ve about quit posting here is because if you don’t toe the line you are attacked and people try to make you look like an idiot for expressing an opinion that’s not 100% positive in their mind. The nonsense about umpire/ref above is a good example. Does that really add anything other than to make me look like a person that’s too stupid to make a point? Of course not. And I used both ump and ref in my comment. But is that important? Not at all. It’s a distraction.
I’ve been extremely hard on the refs/umpires in games I’ve personally attended and even though I’m really embarrassed to say this I’ve been thrown out of ONE game of my twins by the Center. Is that an ok term with the police here? Or do you know what a Center is?
But the most obvious of all comments is what I said above. If you don’t score 1 run, 1 goal or 1 point you will never win. No matter what sport you’re talking about. And to my original point, it’s virtually never the ref/umpire/Center that keeps you from scoring 1 run/goal/point. That’s what’s obvious to me.
Im not saying we don’t deserve better either. That is true too. The statements aren’t mutually exclusive.
The center is the man with the whistle. That’s always what my daughter told me. He’s in charge. He can toss you. Refs, officials, etc. Fine with me. Sometimes they are bad. Most times they are decent and you hardly notice them. When you notice the ump on every pitch, he’s had a bad, awful game. This guy did.
Clay I know you know what a Center is and I hope you know that post wasn’t directed at you.