Daniel Cabrera ejection commentary

[Umpire in Chief]

I will admit I'm an O's fan (yes there are more than 2 teams in the AL east)and watch as many of the games as I can. Maybe I'm just being more of a fan than an umpire in this case, but I disagreed with the ejection of Daniel Cabrera. That being said it's a judgement call and if Chad Fairchild felt it was intentional then he made the correct call. Other than the HR in the previous AB we don't know any of the other things that were going on/being said on the field.

Whether Chad Fairchild was justified in his ejection is not the point of my post. The commentary from the announcers during and after the game was really disturbing.

What got me fired up was the post-game show on MASN called O's Extra. The host of the show, Jim Hunter, went on for a minute or so about how Chad is "only a AAA umpire" and "he got caught up in the environment at Yankee Stadium" and how he's not ready to handle these situations at the major league level he went on to assure fans that when somebody gets back from vacation he will go back to AAA.

Then they started demanding ejections if in this afternoon's game there are any O's batters hit, instantly assuming they are retaliatory.

That was frustrating for me to hear. They don't just go pull any Joe Six Pack out to cover for an umpire who is away. There is a meritocracy in place. Chad Fairchild had earned the right to call that game. Just like Chad's AAA slot may be filled by an amateur umpire in the area where his crew is working.

Even though I didn't necessarily agree with the judgement which was made, I was infuriated by the comments of these announcers.

We can agree or disagree with any call, as fans or umpires, but the announcers are out there perpetuating this ill will towards umpires and sports officials as a whole.

Next time you get berated on a field by an ignorant fan thank an announcer who on a daily basis pounds into fans minds that umpires are idiots and that they continuously get calls wrong setting the stage for our failure in the minds of fans, parents, coaches and players. This continues in a downward spiral and I believe is one of the reasons violence towards officials continues to grow.

[Kyle_Stevens]

Fine post, sir. As for the ejection, I saw it on ESPN and only heard what they had to say. My only thought would be Fairchild might have heard more than we know.

When it comes to announcers, you are right on the money. Most announcers have a great knowledge of baseball and players; however, when it comes to rules and umpiring they don't have the first clue, (i.e. mechanics).

I also have heard a lot of 'they are replacement umpires'. Good grief, where do they think the MLB guys come from? The guys that are 'fill in' are probably the next guys that will be permanently moved up. On other forums there is a lot of talk of Rob Drake and his recent ejections. He is a 'fill in' and has been for several years now and he also works more games than the 'regulars'.

Bottom line, they wouldn't be there if they weren't competent. Commentators on the other hand, most of them, call the game from a fans stand point.

[Umpire in Chief]

Well the announcers got their EJ Wednesday. I didn't see the game but read about it tonight. Then Cabrera was suspended for 6 games? There must have been something more to it than what it seemed fot that harsh of a punishment.