You've Got to be Kidding!

How in the hell can Major League baseball be telling everyone that it grades the umpires on a day-to-day basis and they go and assign an umpire (Eric Cooper) the job of calling balls and strikes in Game 2 of the World Series, when the sumbitch chooses not to call the corners?

Mike Krukow, has created a fantastic book on how umpires call games. He no doubt used one when he was pitching for the Cubs, Phillies, and Giants. If in his scouting report he says the person in charge of calling balls and strikes 'doesn't call the corners' and the games goes by innings one through nine and the umpire doesn't call any corners I would say that's a nightmare for the both the batter and the pitcher. Jake Peavy is a pitcher who relies on being able to pitch to the corner. Take away a part of his game and you put a choke hold on their entire staff for that night's game.

How in the hell can you have someone as visually challenged as Eric Cooper umpire a game in the World Series? "It's the World Series, Nurse Ratched!" The major leagues doesn't get it. They have the review but what you and I see on the video replay say one thing and what those booze hounds in the New York central studios (those grand poobahs of the loyal order of imbibe) see are two different things. And that just proves there's a flaw in the system.

So far no tag plays have been blown by the umps. But assigning an ump to call balls and strikes who doesn't call the corners is inexcusable.

Kevin J. Marquez