XM MLB Chat

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Brian Bruney stalked by Umpire Paul Schrieber

John Sterling described the 8th inning in tonight's Yankee-Royals game with Brian Bruney not gesturing at or physically threatening the home plate umpire, but expressing minor displeasure over Schrieber's confirmation that he wasn't throwing strikes.
  • Sterling: "What is this? School?" noting Schrieber leaving home plate and striding out to the mound to scold Brian Bruney. Sterling says this is ridiculous, indicative of a problem with the umpiring system, if he didn't like what Bruney did, throw him out, but this tactic is wrong.
This is physically threatening behavior by the umpire. Why doesn't the umpire respect boundaries? The umpiring system like the Hall of Fame (on whose board he sits), and everything else in baseball operates with the approval of Allen H. "Bud" Selig. No one in a position to address the problem will do so--they won't question Selig about anything except in the gentlest manner--. I've read what the self-described "guardians of the game" have to say about problems like this---nothing. At most, a few puffy sentences, then backing and filling, keeping their eye on their own aspirations, offices to be held, books to be authored, tv and radio shows on which to appear, maybe even the writers' wing of the HOF. Many who read baseball blogs would probably sign up for a job like that in a minute.
  • (Having not seen the game, only listening to the radio, I'm relaying how John Sterling described it. He wasn't melodramatic, didn't try to make Bruney out to be a saint, in fact agreed he wasn't throwing strikes. I'm going by what I heard as Sterling's immediate and unorchestrated reaction. I don't think Suzyn was in the booth at that moment, at least I didn't hear anything from her at the time of the incident. She later mentioned it in the post game show, someone asked Torre a question about it, he answered he didn't know what went on).

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posted by susan at 9/08/2007 10:39:00 PM

2 Comments:

  • I saw it on YES and was immediately upset. They showed everything from the center field camera, so you had a full view of Bruney from behind. He threw a borderline pitch that was called a ball, and sort of lifted both arms in a bit of a shrug. (May also have said something -- that I don't know.) I've seen pitchers do this thousands of times. Usually the announcer will say something like, "uh oh, that's not going to endear him to the umpire..." Anyway, I noticed the gesture but figured it was no big deal. Then from the same camera angle, here comes Paul Schrieber (who everyone bought their ticket to see, of course!) yanking off his mask and storming out to the mound. I've never seen anything like it. He looked like a fool. To then see Jose Molina putting an arm in front of Schrieber as if to hold him back from hitting Bruney was almost laughable...except that it's so maddening. Umpires across baseball are completely out of control: Ridiculous ejections, wildly blown calls, and absolutely foolish behavior has become the norm. Too much power, too much ego, and too much blind support from the dopes who run MLB (Bob Watson's two-game suspension of Joba for NOT EVEN HITTING Youkilis is just one blatant example.)
    By the way, can anyone take Watson seriously as an impartial MLB official after this week's embarrassingly obsequious comments about Drayton McLane in his shameless attempt to land the GM's job in Houston?? Seems to me if someone in baseball's front offices wants to seek employment from one team, they should step down from their position to avoid the clear conflict of interest. But then again, that's the way MLB has operated ever since Milwaukee Bud, the king of all "interest-conflicters," staged his coup and began his illegal occupation of the Commissioner's Office.
    Sorry about going off on tangents, but I think it all relates, illustrating that there is no legitimate commissioner, no legitimate "discipline czar," and no control over power-crazed umpires.

    By Blogger JIK, at 11:55 AM  

  • Thanks very much for filling in the details, jik. I didn't know about the yanking off the mask. Or Molina having to calm the genius down. I'm glad you wrote the items about Bob Watson--truly pathetic, and you're 100% right--no one is home in Baseball. It's just a group of lobbyists taking their cut.

    By Blogger susan, at 12:43 PM  

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