method Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0601/1561810.html NEW YORK -- Just like Curt Schilling, the Atlanta Braves are angry with the computer system used to evaluate umpires. After Sunday's 10-4 loss to the New York Mets, Atlanta pitchers said the Questec Umpire Information System caused plate umpire Lance Barksdale to shrink the strike zone on them. "I wish I was close to the machine, so I could break it,'' said Ray King, who gave up a go-ahead single to Rey Sanchez. "The umps are more worried about the machine than calling the game.'' Eight days earlier in Phoenix, Schilling attacked a Questec camera. The commissioner's office has not determined whether to discipline him. "This system is one of the worst things that has happened in baseball. They are going to feel ramifications because of the system. it's a joke,'' said Darren Holmes, who gave up a three-run homer to Jeromy Burnitz on a 3-1 pitch that capped New York's eight-run sixth inning. "Umpires want to make calls and be themselves, but with this system, they can't,'' Holmes said. "When you have to throw it down the middle, it makes it tougher. ... Anything that is borderline, a strike or a ball, he's going to call it a ball.'' Atlanta had a 4-2 lead going into the sixth inning. "It was unreal,'' Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "They threw a bunch of strikes and they weren't called.'' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I watched that game and not only were the Braves angry for most of the game at the system, they also had a point from what I could see - I wonder if all the rain that day made the system particularly mistake prone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 I watched that game and not only were the Braves angry for most of the game at the system, they also had a point from what I could see - I wonder if all the rain that day made the system particularly mistake prone. Heres another article on Cbs sportsline about the new system... http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/6405656 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clujer420 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 This is just a cop-out excuse IMO. All we ask of umpires is that they call a CONSISTENT game...equal for BOTH teams. If you want to call a high strike, call it...for both teams. If you want to call an inside strike, call it...for both teams. If you want to call a low strike, call it...for both teams. If you want to call an outside strike, call it...for both teams. It is not a difficult concept to adhere too, and those umpires who cannot should not be in the majors. They should be tested on consistency, but that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxfest Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Ariz and Atl did not b**** when Maddux, Glavine, Schilling Johnson got pitches 6 inches off the corner for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxplosion Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Major league umps are major league idiots. They suck. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 this is all about the umpires trying to pass the buck. the whole point of the system is to have balls called balls and strikes called strikes in accordance with the rulebook. how can anyone argue with that? the umpires are just against any type of evaluation, whether it be human or computer. who remembers that game against pedro when the ump was giving him the batter's box lines as a plate. i think he struck out like 16-17 guys. these are the umpires mlb is trying to weed out and i am all for it. schilling should have the same strikezone as the guy he's pitching against. i'm not saying that the system is perfect. i'm sure that there are some bugs that need to be worked out, but the goal of the system is important enough to work through it. so :fyou shilling :fyou umpires wanting the spotlight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I watched that game and not only were the Braves angry for most of the game at the system, they also had a point from what I could see - I wonder if all the rain that day made the system particularly mistake prone. do the teams have any access to the results of the system during the game? from what i understand they don't, but i could be wrong. it's not like the umpire is calling a pitch a strike and then some nerdy looking dude with glasses comes out of the dugout with a notebook computer and tells the ump "sorry, the computer says that's a ball, change the call". guys like schilling, glavine, maddux are just upset they aren't getting every single call over the course of the game. the umpires just say hey don't be pissed at me it's the computer. they know if they can get the players against the system it will only help them. i think i saw a couple games on espn where they show the strike zone outline (three dimensional thing) from what i saw it looked like it did a very good job of showing the flight path of the ball and whether or not it was "really" a strike or not. i'm not sure if that was the questech system or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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