MLB umpires vs Ian Kinsler

[Deberg_1990]

Apparently they are butthurt over comments Kinsler made to Angel Hernandez.....Really? This is where they draw a line? Seems petty to me. Suck it up buttercups.



Thoughts?


Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus didn't notice the white armbands worn by two umpires on Saturday, nor did he know there was a league-wide union protest prompted by comments from Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler.

But when he found out after the game, he was furious, summoning reporters back into his office to call out the Major League umpires for what he called a "petty" display.

"To single out one player as a union is completely uncalled for," Ausmus said.

Kinsler was less angry but no more apologetic. "I hope they wear the white wristbands for the remainder of their careers. I don't care," he said after the game.

The controversy stemmed from Kinsler's comments Tuesday in Texas when he said veteran umpire Angel Hernandez "needs to find another job" and just "go away." Hernandez had ejected Kinsler and Ausmus one day earlier for arguing balls and strikes.

The World Umpires Association, which announced the protest just before the start of the Tigers' game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, said Kinsler had "publicly and harshly impugned the character and integrity" of Hernandez.

The union also criticized the MLB Commissioner's office for its "lenient" discipline of Kinsler, which included an undisclosed fine but no suspension.


Ausmus said Kinsler's punishment was anything but lenient.

"It's the biggest fine I've ever seen Major League Baseball give a player," he said. "So I don't want to hear that he's not being punished. I'm not going to put a number on (the fine). It's the biggest I've ever seen."

Second base umpire Bill Miller, the crew chief, stood only feet away from Kinsler for most of the game while wearing the white band on his left arm.

Third base umpire Tim Tichenor also wore the white band; umpires Adam Hamari and Chris Segal did not.

After the game, Miller told a pool reporter that the gesture was "in support of Major League umpires" but that specific questions about the protest would have to be directed to the union attorney.

"(Kinsler) is not the focus of the situation," Miller said. "That's just part of the puzzle. We've have had several instances where umpires have been called out or challenged. Ejections seem to be up, and we just feel like we need to band together and let people know that we are human beings."

Ausmus said that, in his experience, umpires can give as good as they can take, and he's "shocked" by their sudden sensitivity.

"I've been a part of many arguments, and there are many things said both ways, player to umpire and umpire to player," "Ausmus said. "To act like anyone's innocent in a particular argument is not only unfounded, it's a lie.


"The one great thing about Major League umpires -- and I've experienced this as a player and a manager -- is if you get in an argument with an umpire, they're very good at putting it behind them. Which makes this even more remarkable that this would linger and become an issue."

Ausmus said he thought the union's focus on one player could also backfire.

"There's now a giant spotlight on Ian Kinsler," he said. "Any missed call on Ian Kinsler, everyone's going to know about it. It's really going to put more pressure on the umpires to get the calls right when Ian Kinsler is involved."

In fact, Kinsler said he's noticed that he's getting a better strike zone since he made his comments. Otherwise, he said, "the white wristband protest has no effect on me.

"They can feel how they can feel and I can feel how I want to feel. I said what I felt and what I thought. If they take offense to that, then that's their problem."

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ss...n_kinsler.html

[Bufkin]

The crybabies were wearing them tonight at Kauffman. Just **** them all and start counting balls, strikes, and outs with a flawless electronic system. Put them all out of work for good.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Umpires are NFL refs. They overvalue their importance.