Have we been screwed over by the umps more than the average team?

[davearm]

A few is one thing. Of course, the flip side of that is that you expect to get a few breaks from the umpires as well. The Orioles have not merely been having "a few" calls go against them lately. It's been ridiculous. The Tejada play was closer and I can live with that one being called wrong because it was legitimately a very difficult call. The Roberts play was not that close. When I said he was "past the bag" I was exaggerating slightly, but his foot was down on the bag and he was in the process of taking the next step by the time the ball was caught. Plus, it was far from the only call that went against the Orioles that day, that week, or that month. At some point anyone is going to cry uncle.

The O's get their share of breaks from the umpires. Of course the close ones that go the O's way are quickly forgotten on OriolesHangout, while 5 page pity party threads are spawned on BluejaysHangout, MarinersHangout, RangersHangout, etc. etc.

Eventually, every Hangout accumulates enough selectively chosen anecdotal evidence to have their own conspiracy theory thread, and nobody's denied the opportunity to claim that the umps obviously must have it in for their team.

The 600# gorilla in all of this is that anyone who buys into any of this hooey is being paranoid and frankly, a little wacky.

[davearm]

Dave:

The thing that makes the bolded part of your quote harder to live with is the asymmetrical distribution of the blown calls...almost always bunching up in the zones marked as "favoring the Yankee$ over whomever" or "favoring the Red $ox over whomever".

This asymmetry of results suggests something other than mere incompetence as a cause...

"Asymmetrical distribution of the blown calls?"

Oh brother.

The umpires don't have some sort of collective agenda to screw the O's, Mark.

[Chollie Eckman]

The umpires get a little intimidated in Yankee Stadium. It's human nature to favor the home team. Unfortunately with a scrappy team like the O's every close call that goes against us is magnified.

What makes it worse is that you've invested a few hours of your time watching the game(on YES no less and listening to Michael Kay's fawning over Derek and Friends) and the umps pull blah like that over and over again and the Yankee players act like they actually made a great play when they didn't.

It's wrong and it's distasteful.

[markakis4pres]

"Asymmetrical distribution of the blown calls?"

Oh brother.

The umpires don't have some sort of collective agenda to screw the O's, Mark.

You cant honestly say that the O's have not been ripped off and cheated of calls this year. The calls these umps are calling are so blatantly obvious you dont know how they screwed up the calls.

[Mackus]

You cant honestly say that the O's have not been ripped off and cheated of calls this year. The calls these umps are calling are so blatantly obvious you dont know how they screwed up the calls.

I can honestly say that the O's haven't been screwed any more than they've benefitted from blown calls. The catch is that people almost always forget the gift calls while not being able to drop the blown calls.

[markakis4pres]

I can honestly say that the O's haven't been screwed any more than they've benefitted from blown calls. The catch is that people almost always forget the gift calls while not being able to drop the blown calls.

We have gotten calls but they werent as obvious as our blown ones. I know that every team is going to get close calls where they could go either way. Im talking about the calls that are so obvious that you cant believe the ump can be so blind in making the call.

[Mackus]

We have gotten calls but they werent as obvious as our blown ones. I know that every team is going to get close calls where they could go either way. Im talking about the calls that are so obvious that you cant believe the ump can be so blind in making the call.

Like calling Carl Crawford out and Melvin Mora safe two innings later against TB two weeks ago?

[ElToro75]

The umpires get a little intimidated in Yankee Stadium. It's human nature to favor the home team. Unfortunately with a scrappy team like the O's every close call that goes against us is magnified.

What makes it worse is that you've invested a few hours of your time watching the game(on YES no less and listening to Michael Kay's fawning over Derek and Friends) and the umps pull blah like that over and over again and the Yankee players act like they actually made a great play when they didn't.

It's wrong and it's distasteful.

I doubt all umpires get intimidated @ Yankee Stadium. Maybe the rookie umpires would, just like a rookie ball player would, but to the veteran umpires I'm sure it's old hat to them calling a game in front of 50,000 screaming fans or 10,000 yawning ones.

I do sympathize with you on having to watch YES though.

[markakis4pres]

Like calling Carl Crawford out and Melvin Mora safe two innings later against TB two weeks ago?

What about the calls that whent against Chris Gomez and Brian Roberts. Or the one where Melvin was safe at home. There is alot more than went the other teams way.

[Mackus]

What about the calls that whent against Chris Gomez and Brian Roberts. Or the one where Melvin was safe at home. There is alot more than went the other teams way.

There almost certainly is not. You (and almost all Oriole fans, myself included) simply remember the bad beats better than the wins, just like in poker.

[davearm]

You cant honestly say that the O's have not been ripped off and cheated of calls this year. The calls these umps are calling are so blatantly obvious you dont know how they screwed up the calls.

Every team gets cheated of calls.

The idea that this phenomenon has adversely affected the O's more than an average team this year, just by virtue of bad luck, is highly suspect.

The idea that it's not just bad luck, but the result of a conscious, collective effort on the part of the umpires to produce what was called an "asymmetrical distribution of blown calls" that favor some teams but give the O's the shaft, is comically absurd.

Take off the tin foil hats already, folks.

[Mad Mark]

"Asymmetrical distribution of the blown calls?"

Oh brother.

The umpires don't have some sort of collective agenda to screw the O's, Mark.

Dave:

Note the "over whomever" part of my quote. I'm pretty sure this is an across-the-board occurrence. And no, I don't believe the Trilateral Commission runs the world!

[davearm]

Dave:

Note the "over whomever" part of my quote. I'm pretty sure this is an across-the-board occurrence. And no, I don't believe the Trilateral Commission runs the world!

The umpires don't have some sort of collective agenda to help out the Yanks or Sox, either.

[Mad Mark]

The umpires don't have some sort of collective agenda to help out the Yanks or Sox, either.

But Dave...it walks like a duck! It talks like a duck! It's got feathers!

You telling me it's Nessie?!?

[Spoonless]

What about Mother's Day, when Brian went home with the ball, and they called the runner out? You don't remember that one because all you remember is them pulling Guthrie and the bullpen blowing the game.

As for the Yankees players celebrating after the play, what do you want ARod to do? They're in a pennant race, and catching up to the Red Sox. ARod charged in, and got the call. With how some people are saying how close it was, don't you thing that in the heat of the moment, ARod thought his throw beat the runner, as the umpire signaled?