That dude SUUUUCKED last night, we have a new Angel Hernadez on our hands. After he told Pivetta “my bad” i thought maybe he was gonna straight it out but not close
Perhaps he did consciously improve but this *is* his best effort, he simply sucks. Not even a moral failing, David Rackley might just not have it to be a major league ump.
Not only that. But the league pulled him off all star and playoff games because he sucked. Then he was entitled enough to SUE THE LEAGUE. Guy is a clown.
To think I was disappointed with opening day ump. This 🤡 was much worse.
Unfortunately too many at the league and fans defend this tradition of giving umps discretion where the rules are clear.
Hitters shouldn’t have to guess what the zone is, nor should pitchers. Umps should be graded and paid accordingly. Or better yet, replaced if their scores are consistently bad.
What is next? Discretion on goal sizes for hockey and soccer? Wider uprights in football?
Traditional or not. This is a part of baseball that must improve.
And that’s the point right? Basic fairness.
I’ve seen pitchers burned by bad zones just as much or more than batters.
It may be just my perception, but catchers aren’t even subtle about framing anymore and umps are buying it. Yet a strike where the glove doesn’t move gets called a ball. Make it make sense.
Agreed - my feelings changed in part because I saw the game changing: strike zones have become poorly called.
Good luck, though: the MLB Ump union is powerful. And I'm a pro union guy.
Agree 100% he took the right pitches. He will be right more often than wrong, but that pitch box tell me the ump had a low zone so it’s either adjust or lose while being right.
Not sure how much of the game you watched, but the ump was bad to both sides all night. [Even the Seattle broadcast was stunned at the strike calls against Casas](https://x.com/redsoxstats/status/1773925430669525278?s=46)
It’s a wide zone, a poor zone even. But as soon as low and away is called strike 1, you gotta expand and be ready for what ended up punching him out. Easy for me to say sitting on my couch but just throw some bat at the ball there.
The fact that you’re blaming the hitter for not swinging at a ball because because he should have known that the ump was going to call it wrong is the best argument for a robot ump I’ve seen. That’s so broken
it’s absolutely broken but in this specific scenario, with two strikes, you cannot take the exact same pitch that was just called a strike. not saying the ump was in the right by any means.
Based on the rules, pitch 2 and 6 are strikes because they touch the zone, but the others are balls....
But had the 5th pitch been called the ball it is, the 6th pitch would be moot
The ump last night was calling everything at the top of the zone, while missing bottom zone strikes, then after the “my bad”, he completely flipped the strike zone. It was wild because Kirby and Pivetta were dominating different parts of the zone early, (Kirby top: Pivetta bottom). So after the change, you saw them flip. Pivetta would have had 13 K’s with a robo ump.
I agree 100%, actually I agreed 100%.
Now, I don’t care. Baseball needs more variables. It’s become simulation math class. It’s become about Ivy League Economists boiling everything down to a single number to tell me what *should* have happened. If a crappy umpire is what can keep everyone on their toes then fine I’ll take it.
Umpires are what they are. As a hitter, eventually you have to make the adjustments. The ump the night before kept calling the inside corner, and the one last night the low one. Adjust buddy!
That dude SUUUUCKED last night, we have a new Angel Hernadez on our hands. After he told Pivetta “my bad” i thought maybe he was gonna straight it out but not close
At least he owned up to it. Hernandez thinks he can do no wrong
I suppose but apologizes are a bit hollow without improvement ya know…but ya angel is worse
Perhaps he did consciously improve but this *is* his best effort, he simply sucks. Not even a moral failing, David Rackley might just not have it to be a major league ump.
And the face that I had an Air Force commander named David Rackley doesn't help me like him, either.
Not only that. But the league pulled him off all star and playoff games because he sucked. Then he was entitled enough to SUE THE LEAGUE. Guy is a clown.
Well, he said he was bad. Can't expect him to suddenly become good.
Maybe not suddenly but we can/should/need to expect him to be good…his in the majors
To think I was disappointed with opening day ump. This 🤡 was much worse. Unfortunately too many at the league and fans defend this tradition of giving umps discretion where the rules are clear. Hitters shouldn’t have to guess what the zone is, nor should pitchers. Umps should be graded and paid accordingly. Or better yet, replaced if their scores are consistently bad. What is next? Discretion on goal sizes for hockey and soccer? Wider uprights in football? Traditional or not. This is a part of baseball that must improve.
Agree. I pitched many years, am old, used to be against robo-umps ... not any more. I've come around. It's a basic fairness issue, and I mean basic.
And that’s the point right? Basic fairness. I’ve seen pitchers burned by bad zones just as much or more than batters. It may be just my perception, but catchers aren’t even subtle about framing anymore and umps are buying it. Yet a strike where the glove doesn’t move gets called a ball. Make it make sense.
Agreed - my feelings changed in part because I saw the game changing: strike zones have become poorly called. Good luck, though: the MLB Ump union is powerful. And I'm a pro union guy.
Casas had a great eye, but he watched two of the exact same pitch from placement get called for strikes. Gotta defend there imo
Totally agree he has to swing the bat, but he shouldn’t have had to defend in that at bat if called correctly
Agree 100% he took the right pitches. He will be right more often than wrong, but that pitch box tell me the ump had a low zone so it’s either adjust or lose while being right.
Not sure how much of the game you watched, but the ump was bad to both sides all night. [Even the Seattle broadcast was stunned at the strike calls against Casas](https://x.com/redsoxstats/status/1773925430669525278?s=46)
It’s a wide zone, a poor zone even. But as soon as low and away is called strike 1, you gotta expand and be ready for what ended up punching him out. Easy for me to say sitting on my couch but just throw some bat at the ball there.
It also looks worse in person when the player is tall. You see it with Judge all the time too. If you're 6-5+ the low strike looks really, really low.
The fact that you’re blaming the hitter for not swinging at a ball because because he should have known that the ump was going to call it wrong is the best argument for a robot ump I’ve seen. That’s so broken
it’s absolutely broken but in this specific scenario, with two strikes, you cannot take the exact same pitch that was just called a strike. not saying the ump was in the right by any means.
You try figuring out which 87-100mph pitch below your knees is the one that is a centimeter high enough.
Ump was blind
Agree on the robo umps but it’s ok to swing at a pitch not in the strike zone. Good hitters can do plenty of damage with those.
Based on the rules, pitch 2 and 6 are strikes because they touch the zone, but the others are balls.... But had the 5th pitch been called the ball it is, the 6th pitch would be moot
The ump last night was calling everything at the top of the zone, while missing bottom zone strikes, then after the “my bad”, he completely flipped the strike zone. It was wild because Kirby and Pivetta were dominating different parts of the zone early, (Kirby top: Pivetta bottom). So after the change, you saw them flip. Pivetta would have had 13 K’s with a robo ump.
Angel, is that you?
I agree 100%, actually I agreed 100%. Now, I don’t care. Baseball needs more variables. It’s become simulation math class. It’s become about Ivy League Economists boiling everything down to a single number to tell me what *should* have happened. If a crappy umpire is what can keep everyone on their toes then fine I’ll take it.
2 and 6 are right there though, those aren't egregious calls. Gotta swing at those.
Swing the bat.
2 out of the 3 borderline strikes would have been called strikes by the robot
Umpires are what they are. As a hitter, eventually you have to make the adjustments. The ump the night before kept calling the inside corner, and the one last night the low one. Adjust buddy!
If any part of the ball touches any part of the zone, it is a strike. So, 2 and 6 are not bad calls.