[snackdaddy]

They have to get rid of the umpires that can't call balls and strikes accurately. Nobody is going to be perfect but they have numbers on which umps are the most accurate. The guys who are worse shouldn't get a turn behind the plate. Now that might cause some umps to intentionally screw up....few want to wear the gear and get 100 mph fastballs to the head. So the umpires who do work the plate should get extra pay per game.

It really does affect the outcome of the game IMHO. It can run up pitch counts or make them lower. That has an unseen affect. It can cause hitters to expand the zone. Some of them are terrible back there. But they are so inconsistent. I don't know if some call more strikes balls or more ball strikes, but either way there's no making up for it. And that old axiom, "as long as they're consistent both sides know" is bullshit. If a batter knows the strike zone (Votto, Santana) they know the actual strike zone, not umpire Z's strikes zone. Because I find many of those bad ones have a moving zone throughout the game.

Maybe they ought to put a guy behind the mound like little league.

I can live with calls out of that pitch tracker if the umpire's consistent. Part of a pitcher's and batters strategy is learning the ump's zone. If he's consistent they can work with it. What will really frustrate both pitcher and hitter is when its ball one inning and a strike later. Or vice versa. I thought the ump last night was inconsistent.

Maybe I'm being a homer but I thought that inconsistency hurt the Dodgers more than the Astros. Maybe the Astro hitters adjusted better? In any case, when your ace starter and ace closer can't get it done there's nothing you can say.

[Hacksaw]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was frazzled by the HP Ump last night. The little box isn't the problem, the ump is. Every other game I found the ump's to be fairly accurate.
That mic'd up chump ump must have been busy listening to himself or something. Just crap.

Now the pitchers of both teams are complaining about the balls being different, more slick. A slippery ball won't give the ball the same amount of movement. This to me would be a huge disadvantage to the pitcher. It would also level the playing field if one team has a superior staff. In this case I think the Dodgers do.
You just shouldn't have theses types of inconsistencies.

I guess all the luck in Houston yesterday was assigned to the Asstros and not the Texans.
Neither result was a good one for LA.

[dieterbrock]

The home plate ump was just brutal last night. Reminded me of Eric Gregg continually giving Livan Hernandez pitches that were a foot outside in the World Series in 1997. That was the worst ever. If you think I'm exaggerating, watch this:

They need to go to automated balls/strikes. They have the technology - they might as well use it. It will also speed the game up which they could use.

Holy smokes, that was awful
They do have the technology. Set the strike zone, like that K zone box.
Heck, they could always do the old wiffle ball trick, put a folding chair behind home plate and if you take a pitch and it hits the chair, its a strike

[aeneas1]

i like to consider myself a mlb purist, but it's time, past time, to get rid of home plate umpires, they're a worthless lot... not too long ago it was common to hear booth guys say "yeah, so and so is known for his low strike zone", i mean what the phuk is that, they've wised up in recent years, don't hear it much any more, for good reason, but the problem still persists even tho the comments may be fewer... also, nothing ruins a game like like a hpu injecting himself into the mix, getting even with a batter because he had the temerity to question a bad call, getting in the face of players, phuk them, get them off the field.

in other news, i'm finding it hard to think "world series" while watching this series, the astros are still burned into my memory banks as an nl team, just feels like two nl teams are facing off, more like a nlcs than a ws...

[PARAM]

I can live with calls out of that pitch tracker if the umpire's consistent. Part of a pitcher's and batters strategy is learning the ump's zone. If he's consistent they can work with it. What will really frustrate both pitcher and hitter is when its ball one inning and a strike later. Or vice versa. I thought the ump last night was inconsistent.

Maybe I'm being a homer but I thought that inconsistency hurt the Dodgers more than the Astros. Maybe the Astro hitters adjusted better? In any case, when your ace starter and ace closer can't get it done there's nothing you can say.

The strike zone and check swings are the biggest issue with umpires. Like all the players say, 'if you're watching for the pitch, you can't tell if I checked my swing or not'. What bothered me most about the strike zone this postseason was the calls Judge was subjected to. He's 6'7" and his knees are almost as high as Altuve's neck, yet they called umpteen strikes on balls below his knees. Christ the kid had a hard enough time striking out on actual strikes but they compounded his problems. There's an old saying, "don't take the bat out of my hands" and unfortunately it happens far too much. When it happens in crucial games or plate appearances it's even worse.

[dieterbrock]

The strike zone and check swings are the biggest issue with umpires. Like all the players say, 'if you're watching for the pitch, you can't tell if I checked my swing or not'. What bothered me most about the strike zone this postseason was the calls Judge was subjected to. He's 6'7" and his knees are almost as high as Altuve's neck, yet they called umpteen strikes on balls below his knees. Christ the kid had a hard enough time striking out on actual strikes but they compounded his problems. There's an old saying, "don't take the bat out of my hands" and unfortunately it happens far too much. When it happens in crucial games or plate appearances it's even worse.

Verlander and Keuchel are tough enough pitchers as it is. And both pitch to the bottom of the zone. It was really painful to see them consistently get the low strike which was clearly low, and at the same time that pitch was called a ball. Like you said, Judge has such a huge K zone as it is, if you expand it, it makes it almost impossible.

[dieterbrock]

i like to consider myself a mlb purist, but it's time, past time, to get rid of home plate umpires, they're a worthless lot... not too long ago it was common to hear booth guys say "yeah, so and so is known for his low strike zone", i mean what the phuk is that, they've wised up in recent years, don't hear it much any more, for good reason, but the problem still persists even tho the comments may be fewer... also, nothing ruins a game like like a hpu injecting himself into the mix, getting even with a batter because he had the temerity to question a bad call, getting in the face of players, phuk them, get them off the field.

in other news, i'm finding it hard to think "world series" while watching this series, the astros are still burned into my memory banks as an nl team, just feels like two nl teams are facing off, more like a nlcs than a ws...

I agree across the board.
And as much as I want to be a "purist", I've watched the intentional walk turn in to an instant send, cant block the plate, cant take out the 2nd baseman on a dp and the whole instant replay bit being part of the game. Combine that with the shift and the game doesnt look a whole lot like it did "back in the day"
I'd be ok with the strike zone being completley called by the "K zone" box and you could leave the ump back there for aesthetics

[snackdaddy]

Verlander and Keuchel are tough enough pitchers as it is. And both pitch to the bottom of the zone. It was really painful to see them consistently get the low strike which was clearly low, and at the same time that pitch was called a ball. Like you said, Judge has such a huge K zone as it is, if you expand it, it makes it almost impossible.

Maybe its just the homer in me but at times it sure looked the the home plate ump was looking for strikes when the Dodgers were up. That one on Kike Hernandez was horrible.

[dieterbrock]

Maybe its just the homer in me but at times it sure looked the the home plate ump was looking for strikes when the Dodgers were up. That one on Kike Hernandez was horrible.

Well call me a homer too. How else an you explain how they couldnt hit on the road but kill it at home..

[snackdaddy]

Well call me a homer too. How else an you explain how they couldnt hit on the road but kill it at home..

Throw in the Hurricane Harvey thing and conspiracy theorists will tell you Houston is meant to win it all. A feel good story for an underdog in a city ravaged by nature.

Kinda reminds me of the 2001 superbowl. After 9/11 the country needed the underdog, who also happened to be called the Patriots, to win in exciting fashion.