Awesome

I happened to be watching live, and I just started laughing when I saw it was Angel behind the plate

He gonna sue Kinsler now too.....

Saw the video and was totally confused as to what caused him to toss him. I guess he asked something like "are you sure?" to the ball that was way outside.

That is awesome!

He d***ed up a call last night against the Rangers that was luckily reviewable. He was literally right on top of the play and it wasn't even that close. I have no idea how he missed it.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20389152/umpires-ban-together-ian-kinsler-criticism-angel-hernandez


these people think entirely too much of their own value. Fire them all and hire new ones, **** em.

That's just embarrassing. Do they really want to go to bat for one of the two worst umpires in the game who is currently suing the league?

Robots.

This armband thing goes to the root of the problem -> pride and ego are more important than doing the job well. I think the players should respond by wearing wristbands in any game umpired by Angel Hernandez and a few other lousy umpires. This is apparently an allowable display per MLB.

From reading, it seems like the unos are not exactly in lockstep. Some wore white wristbands, some wore black ones and some didn't wear any. I suspect Angel isn't quite the martyr he thinks he is.

I think it goes without saying that Angel isn't nearly as important as he thinks he is. I also love the part of the release about how they protect the integrity of the game. What a crock! If they consider that part of their job then going to bat for Angel Hernandez is the absolute antithesis of that goal.

For umpires that truly care about the integrity of the game and the respect their profession is given, Angel Martinez should be public enemy #1.

I can't think of any worse traits for an umpire than what Angel possesses:

• Thinks he's "bigger than the game" - check
• Wildly inconsistent strike zone - check
• Personal beefs and vendetta's against hitters/pitchers/managers - check
• Anticipates tag outs rather than watching the actual tag - check
• Allows fans to influence out/safe calls at first - check

I'm sure there's more but that's what I came up with off the top of my head. If he was only "blind as a bat" that would be better as it would at least allow some type of consistency with his calls.

Honestly, that press release would indicate the umpires as a whole have a rather inflated view of themselves. Hernandez is just the worst of the bunch.

In reading Angel Hernandez's wikipedia today, it led me to Joe West's, which led me to the 1999 MLB Umpire Mass Resignation. Probably because it occured when I was in college and pretty much only paying attention to sports on campus, I don't remember this at all.

It looks like the Umpires Union vastly overplayed their negotiating position and it killed their union and the owners basically said, "Bye." The one takeaway from the article was that we almost were rid of Joe West forever.

Remember this well. They overplayed their hand to a ridiculous degree. One of the all-time snafu's by a union in organized labor history.

They did get rid of some bad umpires. Problem is they missed a few. I think Angel Hernandez has always had them fearful from a racial discrimination standpoint, and it's the main reason he's kept his job.

DannyDuberstein said:

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For umpires that truly care about the integrity of the game and the respect their profession is given, Angel Martinez should be public enemy #1.

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Cannot stand the delicate flowers MLB umps are.

Please go to computer umps. Please

The amount of Kinsler's fine came out today. A whopping $10,000. His current deal is 5yrs, $85MM. So basically 22% of one day's pay. Hell, the MLB per diem is $100, so he could just suck it up and eat the clubhouse buffet for 100 days.

PatAg said:

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We just don't know their names.

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And that's as it should be. The less they are noticed, generally, the better the quality of their work.

mathguy86 said:

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The amount of Kinsler's fine came out today. A whopping $10,000. His current deal is 5yrs, $85MM. So basically 22% of one day's pay. Hell, the MLB per diem is $100, so he could just suck it up and eat the clubhouse buffet for 100 days.

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Man the way Ausmus was talking I expected another zero on there.

I was too.

Power of the MLBPA. Low fine scale

Kinsler should pay fine.... then announce he is matching the fine with a $10,000 donation to a Detroit area school of the blind

the fine is a donation.