Cuzzi, in perfect position to blow the call
If Major League Baseball has any sense of accountability, they need to tell Phil Cuzzi to take the next few weeks off. Yes Phil, that means no more left field umpiring assignments for the rest of the playoffs — no more making fair or foul calls on plays that happen ten feet away from you.
Seriously, if there has ever been a worse call in the history of baseball, I’d like to see it. It hasn’t been the best of weeks for the men in blue (or black? Why do we call them “blue” when they usually wear black?) — after all, a botched hit-by-a-pitch call Tuesday night gave Minnesota a chance to play in the postseason in the first place and a couple of blown calls at first base by C.B. Bucknor caused a bit of an uproar in Thursday’s Red Sox-Angels opener. Still, Cuzzi’s call stands out as the worst and his reputation for being an idiot come playoff time doesn’t help his case. Too many umpires in the majors think the game is about them. It’s not. If Cuzzi isn’t disciplined, he should pull himself for the rest of the postseason.
Another note on umpiring: If TBS is so set on using this “PitchTRAX”, they need to stop sticking up for the men behind the plate. Either that, or ditch it altogether. The umps are constantly calling pitches strikes that miss the target, yet Chip Caray & co. keep whispering sweet nothings about how great a job they’re doing. Either the umpiring sucks or PitchTRAX is useless. Tell me which, Chip.
Biggest overreaction in the history of the game.
By: Jordan on October 10, 2009
at 2:37 pm
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back Worst call in the history of the game…
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back Worst call in the history of the game…
By: Baseballbriefs.com on October 10, 2009
at 5:36 pm
Very bad call, but that’s baseball and that’s why the playoffs are considered a crapshoot. Plus, the twins had the base loaded nobody in the inning and failed to score “A” run. We shall on Sunday if the yanks can murder glass ass carl pavano.
By: Andrew on October 11, 2009
at 1:55 am
Oh yeah, I’m not out to make excuses for the Twins — they should’ve put it away in the ninth. Still, just a horrible call. I can’t believe Cuzzi is back working today’s game. Should be fun to see Pavano face the Yanks!
By: Jeremy on October 11, 2009
at 12:07 pm
[...] the at-bat and allowing Texas to tack on three more runs. Nice to see the league dealt with last year’s fiasco by supplying us with the best crew of umpires it can possibly run [...]
By: Tiny Tim turns in postseason’s second-best pitching performance « That's what I'm saying, guy… on October 8, 2010
at 12:12 am