Tonight brings the return of Javy Vazquez. Tyler Kepner has a feature on the Yankee pitcher today in the Times. I always liked rooting for Vazquez and don’t see why that should stop anytime soon.
Meanwhile, in case you hadn’t heard, umpire Joe West took some pointed shots at the Yankees and Red Sox and the operatic length of their games. Joe Girardi and Brian “Forensic Science” Cashman were mum on the topic, but Mariano Rivera was not:
“It’s incredible,” Rivera told The Post. “If he has places to go, let him do something else. What does he want us to do, swing at balls?”
…”He has a job to do. He should do his job,” Rivera said. “We don’t want to play four-hour games, but that’s what it takes. We respect and love the fans and do what we have to do, and that’s play our game.”
You tell'em Mo! Regardless of whether his point is valid, West had no business spouting off to the press. If he really feels strongly about it, he should have called Bud. If a player slammed the ups as vehemently, they'd be fined and/or suspended. Umpires should be held to the same standard. I also think both teams would be in their right to ask that West not officiate at any of their games.
Excellent pernt, Bro.
agree on all counts william.
some good can come from this if it reduces (or better still eliminates) the number of times he umps a yankee game
I lost all respect for Joe West when he allowed Enrico Palazzo to make a mockery of that Angels game
As an umpire, West is one of the only people on the field who have the authority to quell at least some of the delays that make these games drag on. He should avail himself of those tools (denying time outs, calling a ball when pitchers take too long, etc.) and otherwise shut his jowly yap. 3 games into the regular season is not the time to complain.
As a fan, I think Yanks-Sox and Yanks-O’s games are interminably long, but if I was being paid to be there, I’d fall in line right quick. Can any of you imagine complaining to a client that meeting with them run too long? I’m not saying being an ump is the cushiest job in the world, but when your biggest gripe is that your workday with certain teams is a whopping 30-60 minutes longer than it is otherwise, well, that’s not a terrible place to be.
I don't have good feelings, fond fan feelings toward Vazquez. I'm coldly indifferent to him, which might be the worst thing a fan can say about a player.
Being at Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, I went home not wanting to see him throw another pitch in a Yankee uniform. Maybe being there made if worse. I took his failure personally. I resented him. Rationally, I understood the collapse was not his fault. I was angry at the whole team, but those bad feelings quickly subsided. For some reason my irrational distrust and resentment toward Vazquez still linger.
Rationally, I understand he is a good pitcher yet I'm not happy to see him back on the team. I want him to succeed, but I'm not expecting him to. I sincerely hope he proves my feelings wrong. I want to root for him (as I do for the entire team) with pride, admiration, and trust. Sadly, irrationally, and weirdly I don't feel any of those things about Vazquez now.
In Joe West's afterlife, he's stuck behind the plate as a line-up of nine cloned Mike Hargroves is batting against a robo-rubber-armed Steve Trachsel.
Agreed all around re: Joe West. I especially like your [7] Diane, though I did spend a fair amount of time trying to recall a pitcher even slower than Steve Trachsel. Nomar has got to be the pinch hitter though, in case any of the Hargroves get hurt.
[6] I loved me some Vazquez before he was a Yank, while he was a Yank, and after he was a Yank - and now that he's a Yank again. I'm thrilled he's back and I hold nothing about the 2004 ALCS against him.
[8] Good for you. Seriously, I wish I felt the same, I really do. I don't want to doubt him. I would take no satisfaction in his failure or defeat, so I'm not hating on him. I'm not looking to be proven right. I'm hoping to be proven wrong by his success.
Further proof that Mariano Rivera can't open his mouth, lift a finger or basically draw a breath without, in the process, increasing my respect for him.
How sad that one of the most riveting things you can see in sports doesn't wrap up in time for West's (likely prodigious) dinner plans.
= = =
BOSTON, April 9, 2010 (AP) - Major League Umpire Joe West today lashed out at Michael Curtiz, saying he was "Shocked! Shocked!" that the veteran director couldn't bring in Casablanca in under 90 minutes.
"It's a disgrace," West said. "In the very same year, Bob Hope and Sidney Lanfield managed to keep My Favorite Blonde almost half an hour shorter, and I'm sure we can all agree that movie was just as worthy and entertaining."
= = =
Here's wishing Joe a steady diet of crisp, efficient Cleveland-Texas games.
Javy expectations.
14 wins
1 postseason victory
and zero Game 7 postseason grand slams surrendered
I'll love him if he can achieve this
[11] make it a dozen wins. anything after that is gravy.
Reposted from previous thread:
Joe West is a jerk and a shitty ump. You just KNOW he will try to ’speed the game up’ his own way, by calling Strikes and bad pitches.
Sox/Yanks games are battles with many men on base and many runs scored. That is the primary reason they are long.
However, the article mentioned one inning where Posada went to the Mound EIGHT times. That’s NG.
1) I would like to see a rule limiting that. The P and C should be on the same page. Should we limit a C's trips to the mound/inng?
2) Same with stalling to give the BP some time. That should be a managers role. Should we limit other players trips to the mound/inng?
3) I also don’t like batters that step out after every pitch. Should we limit how many times a batter can step out of the box/call time per AB?
3A) While it's already a rule (seldom enforced), it we institute #3, the time the pitcher takes between pitches, needs to be limited.
For me, it is not the length of the game, but the continuity that concerns me.
My snark aside, I see slow play coming from two distinct sources.
One is the horses#it behavior OYF mentioned in [13] -- adjusting gloves, etc.
The other is legitimate gameplay. If my catcher and my pitcher need to work something out, I want them to talk. You can't anticipate every situation in the pregame meeting.
I admit it's possible to carry my logic to an unreasonable degree -- why not give managers unlimited mound visits too? -- but I think the dividing line between players and non-players is sensible enough.
Joe West should simply reserve his pie hole for doing what he appears to do best, eat pie and lots of it. The two words I think of when I hear the name Joe West are not "Slow Game but are rather " Missed Call". If he was as quick to move his feet as he apparently is his mouth he might not be roundly regarded as a joke among fans everywhere.
"If my catcher and my pitcher need to work something out, I want them to talk."
Don't you think this should be worked out BEFORE the game? I mean... EIGHT friggin visits?
[13][16] I agree with you, OYF. In fact, I would make catcher-pitcher conferences during teh inning illegal, or at least greatly reduce them. There is no reason MLB could not introduce a rule along the lines of: once a catcher is positioned in the catcher's box, he may not leave it until an out has been recorded. If he does, a balk will be called.
At the same time, a parallel rule can put in place for batters: they may not leave the box; if they do, a strike will be called.
Further, I would limit the number of manager visits to one (that is, the manager comes out of the dugout and the pitcher must be pulled).
Lastly, I would follow through with Charles Finley's idea of putting a "shot clock" in all stadiums, to encourage enforcement of the rule limiting the time for a pitcher to throw a pitch.
Joe West is a ****.
I have no problem with the length or pace of Yankees-Red Sox games. I appreciate that the games are played with deliberation, and gamesmanship. Players constantly stepping out of the box, and frequent catcher-pitcher discussions can sometimes be tedious -- but I wouldn't want the rules of the game to be changed for the sake of expedience.
[5] I like your take on it, knuckles.
[17] Great, now we're football. Clocks have no place in this game, by design. Like Mo says, if you've got somewhere to be, go. Seriously, I'm trying to keep an open mind about this, but I really don't understand the problem. What harm or bad result is produced by hour-longer games?
[20] Dude, there is already a rule in the books demanding that pitchers deliver the ball in X seconds (15, I think). So clocks are ALREADY part of the game. Just enforce the damn rules.
What harm or foul with games that last an extra hour? My own boredom. I like pitching and hitting and fielding. Not batting glove adjustment, visits to the mounds and timeouts.
MLB rules:
So, unnecessary delays are already legislated against in the rules. Maintaining the pace of the game is already, therefore, built into the rules. I say, follow the rules: speed it up.
Well, there is a timing rule for pitch delivery, of course. But that was intended and has been used by umpires to have something concrete to point to if they think a pitcher is taking too long. But there are no "shot clocks," nor should there be. Something like that would really affect the integrity of the game.
And, Why? Because you're bored? Go watch the NBA then. Again, why is this bad for baseball?
Or better yet, go argue with Jeter:
"You're not going to stop a pitching coach from going out to his pitcher if he's in a jam. You're not going to stop pitching changes. You're going to cut the game by two minutes? I didn't know it was as big a deal."
Cutting commercial times will speed the game up a bit too.