Joe West says the Sox and Yankees are "pathetic and embarrassing"

[yeszir]

Sensationalist title, but whatever.

 

His comments were about the slow pace of play.

 

 

"They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace," said West, the chief of the umpiring crew working the three-game series, according to the report. "They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest?

 

"It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play," he said, according to the report.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5066650

[yeszir]

Curt Schilling's take on the whole thing:

 

The reason the games are slow is very clear, and one not many will print -- TV. Ad revenue has gotten to the point that TV is allowed to dictate pace of game, not the game itself

 

Never one to mince words.

[BigPapiEnFuego]

Joe West's double chin is pathetic and embarrassing.

 

 

But Curt Schilling is right. But that's not the only problem. These are 2 teams with great pitch working lineups. That adds more time. Plus there seems to be more arguments over calls on plays, deliberately wasting time by catchers and others to give relief pitchers more time, and other things.

[yankees228]

If Major League Baseball wants to speed up the pace of the games, which they've been trying to do for awhile now, they have to do more than just encourage the teams to play quicker. There are some things that can't be changed, which are mentioned by BPEF above me. However, there is one very simple change MLB could make.

 

Batters attempt to control the pace of the game by stepping out, and pitcher's attempt to control the pace of the game by varying their set times. The Yankees and Red Sox's batters, especially, try to do this. MLB, very easily could make two simple rule changes. For each pitch, once the batter steps in the box, he cannot call time. Additionally, once the pitcher holds his set for a certain amount of time, the umpire will call time. This is the best way, in my opinion, to take any kind of pace advantage away from both teams.

 

MLB has some problems, and while some are very difficult to correct, others are easier to correct (ex. pace of game and poor umpiring). I can't take their complaints seriously if they are unwilling to take the necessary steps to better the sport.

[jacksonianmarch]

Joe West's strike zone is an embarrassment as well

[yankees228]

Joe West's strike zone is an embarrassment as well

 

Ask Robbie Cano about his interference calls.

[TedWilliams101]

i don't even see why it's a problem for Red Sox - Yankee games. They are absolute cash cows and I rarely ever see people complain about the lengths of the game. If anything, the longer lengths of the games just adds to the epicness (new word!) and separates them from other games.

[BoSox21]

The only thing I think they should do to shorten games is limit the amount of times the catcher can visit the pitcher on the mound per inning. Besides that, what are you gonna do? Tell two teams who pride themselves on working the count and wearing out pitchers to stop doing that? f*** Joe West. He's probably just mad cause he keeps missing his reservation at Sizzler.

[Dojji]

Hitters need to stay in the batter's box until they have an actual, physical reason not to be there. All the time hitters spend digging in, taking their practice swings and getting the mojo on, and then stepping out of the box if the stars aren't perfectly aligned -- that is the biggest ways games inflate -- often the pitcher is ready to throw waaaaaay before the hitter is ready to hit.

[yankees228]

Hitters need to stay in the batter's box until they have an actual' date=' physical reason not to be there. All the time hitters spend digging in, taking their practice swings and getting the mojo on, and then stepping out of the box if the stars aren't perfectly aligned -- that is the biggest ways games inflate -- often the pitcher is ready to throw waaaaaay before the hitter is ready to hit.[/quote']

 

But if they don't outlaw it, I don't blame hitters for doing it. It's a way to control the pace of the game, trying to make the pitcher work on his time. The Yankees' hitters do this all the time, and I fully support it, as there are no current rules against it.

[Dojji]

Hey, I rooted for Nomar Garciaparra, so you don't see me disagreeing with you, but if you want to shorten the game you need to get rid of that stuff. It's not all on the pitcher.

[yankees228]

Hey' date=' I rooted for Nomar Garciaparra, so you don't see me disagreeing with you, but if you want to shorten the game you need to get rid of that stuff. It's not all on the pitcher.[/quote']

 

For what it's worth, I don't think Nomar did it to try and control the pace, but more because it was just his routine. I'm talking more about the random time out calls that you see from someone like Jeter.

 

Anyway, I'm not sure if you read my initial post in the thread, but we're in agreement.

[italstallianion]

Curt Schilling's take on the whole thing:

 

 

 

Never one to mince words.

 

 

 

While Curt Schilling will never be accused of being too quiet about his opinion, he is right a lot of the time. He has a f***** point here.

[Red Foreman]

Sensationalist title, but whatever.

 

His comments were about the slow pace of play.

 

 

 

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5066650

 

 

You know what is embarrassing Joe? Umpires that look like this:

 

http://blog.nj.com/mets_main/2008/08/large_metsbucs.jpg

[WhiskeyBreath]

Joe West's double chin is pathetic and embarrassing.

 

 

Came in here to say this.

[Dojji]

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0guhghF5ze1JP/610x.jpg

 

Just retire already.

[BoSox21]

the day Joe West retires, he can give his shirt to some team in need of a new rain tarp

[italstallianion]

Even with all of this, West is still only 2nd on the list of umpires that I hate the most.

[Dojji]

Who's first?

[msubulldogs21]

Who's first?

 

CB Bucknor would be the obvious choice.

[yankees228]

Got to be either C.B. Bucknor or Angel Hernandez.

[italstallianion]

Got to be either C.B. Bucknor or Angel Hernandez.

 

 

 

Neither. I forgot his name, but he's a really tall dude that takes forever to signal ball or strike. He was the umpire in the pine tar incident game. Something like Tim McCollough. I'm way too drunk to remember names now.

[yankees228]

Neither. I forgot his name' date=' but he's a really tall dude that takes forever to signal ball or strike. He was the umpire in the pine tar incident game. Something like Tim McCollough. I'm way too drunk to remember names now.[/quote']

 

Yeah, Tim McClelland. You and all Padres' fans.

[Dipre]

West needs to know his role, shut his mouth, and go on a diet.

[italstallianion]

Yeah' date=' Tim McClelland. You and all Padres' fans.[/quote']

 

 

 

There you go. He is by far the umpire that I hate the most. I hate him more than I hate Sean Avery, and that's a lot.

[suns]

Yeah' date=' Tim McClelland. You and all Padres' fans.[/quote']

 

What does the padres have to do with the pine tar game?

[Dipre]

What does the padres have to do with the pine tar game?

 

Dude.......

[SCM33]

So West is complaining he has to work an extra 45 minutes during redsox games? Tell you what MLB, hire me.....at starting umpire salary, train me.....and I promise I will never bitch about the pace of a baseball game.

 

Memo to Joe West, you are just a f***ing umpire, dont try to be bigger than a Redsox Yankees game. You dont like the pace of the game? Then quit.

[suns]

Dude.......

 

Nevermind, I found out.

[TedWilliams101]

So West is complaining he has to work an extra 45 minutes during redsox games? Tell you what MLB, hire me.....at starting umpire salary, train me.....and I promise I will never bitch about the pace of a baseball game.

 

Memo to Joe West, you are just a f***ing umpire, dont try to be bigger than a Redsox Yankees game. You dont like the pace of the game? Then quit.

 

He was probably just upset that the game delayed him 45 minutes from getting to eat his box of cannolis. Dude should be more concerned with his weight than the length of baseball games. God forbid he is to be somewhat active an extra 45 minutes once in a while.