I Don't Have Time For Your Vacation

Horrible weekend for the Cubs. I mean, they played poorly, the White Sox played well and the result was the complete 180' of last weekend. The White Sox played well, took advantage of average pitching and hit the ball out of the park. That will help you win. Having the Cubs run themselves out of two innings last night doesn't hurt either.

But last night almost seemed pre-determined. That was the most poorly umpired game I've ever seen. I mean, how many calls did those kids miss?

Lou should have been thrown out for arguing balls and strikes. I suppose. According to the rules. But when two umps absolutely BLOW a call that was CLEARLY a swing, Lou has every right to push the envelope. I mean, that wasn't close. You and I both know it.

Then, this low and outside strike to right-handed Cubs hitters was absurd. Unfortunately, K-Zone was not happening due to how fast Mark Buehrle works a game, but I can think of between 5-10 instances when in a one strike count, that pitch was called a strike, which totally changes the at-bat. The Cubs got the benefit of the doubt a couple of times, but nothing like the Cubs did. The one time K-Zone was utilized on the Sean Gallagher curve ball that wasn't even borderline but a clear strike, was completely missed. And Ronny Cedeno was safe. Noticeably.

Joe Morgan reported that two of the crew-members were on vacation and replaced by minor league umpires. Is this serious?

I mean, Umps work six months a year. They more or less get paid to pay close attention to watching baseball games. They get to travel to the best cities in the country for three hours of work a night. Then, they take vacation and allow amateur umps to decide games?

This is ridiculous. Almost as bad as Phil Mickelson needing a vacation from golfing. But this is pretty bad. I mean, I would love to take my vacation to ump a game. Wouldn't you?

There's no excuse for this. I'm sorry but I don't see the need for umps to need vacation. They have six months of it after the season. I mean, granted, Lou Pinella took a small leave of absence yesterday, but what if managers needed a vacation mid-season? If umps are apparently entitled to time away, why aren't managers and players? What if Jose Reyes just took a week off to hit Vegas? Seriously.

If it's too hard, don't be an ump. Find another job. Just like having a AAA player is a downgrade from a major leaguer, an AAA ump is just the same. They aren't big leaguers and shouldn't be expected to call games like a big leaguer. MLB needs to find a way to keep the game professional at all times. Last night was embarrassing.