MLB Ejection 172: Andy Fletcher (5; Adrian Gonzalez)

[Lindsay]

2B Umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez for arguing an out call by 1B Umpire Jim Joyce in the top of the 5th inning of the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game. With one out and one on,...

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[Thunderheads]

Wow .... he's got a good angle....just missed it

[iankelleyumpire]

Adrian Gonzalez at the end was just arguing that Joyce was "walking (to home)." He was yelling in the dug out that "If they're going to change positions to make a call like that, they've got to hustle." True, and at the same time, Jim Joyce did have a pretty good angle I thought. 

 

I'm just glad to see that for once a player recognizes something about umpiring. Realizes the rotation, and that we always need to hustle. 

[dumbdumb]

This play has nothing to do with hustle, as in not hustling IMHO. Joyce is there waiting. He either called the play correctly or incorrectly based on positioning (right or wrong) or judgment (right or wrong). It is not fair for a player or manager to confuse hustling with the correctness of the call. Hustling can still get one in the wrong position. Not hustling can also get one in the correct position. These reverse theories do not happen that often thank goodness when it comes to positioning. At :13 Joyce is just sitting there waiting for the play to happen and perfectly ready to move one way or the other as needed. If he does not get in the correct position when reading the play, he just reads the play poorly. If he gets in the correct position, and he misses the call, it is a judgment mistake. Now, if he was still at the 45 foot line or a step or 2 further (still might get the play correct), as many of us have probably seen happen, then yes, he is not hustling provided he did not fall or get hung up for some other reason.

If he missed this call, then he just missed this call IMHO.

[johnnyg08]

I think he just missed it.  

[mstaylor]

The only thing I saw was he was deeper than he usually is built that was his choice not a necessity.<br /><br />Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2<br /><br />

[afaber12]

The only thing I saw was he was deeper than he usually is built that was his choice not a necessity.<br /><br />Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2<br /><br />

 

I think it was the distance from the play that caused the issue. It's been drilled into me, especially when there's a big potential to work games solo, that if you've only got time to take one step to get in position to make a call, then that step should be to improve angle rather than distance (unless of course you can do both at the same time). In almost every discussion about positioning for calls - with the possible exception of balls and strikes - when we say "angle" we're talking about the horizontal angle. In this case I think it was the vertical angle, created by the distance from the play, that was the likely major contributor to calling the out. Had he been a step or two closer to the play, maybe Joyce sees that the runner's hand wasn't tagged as it was coming down to the plate.

 

I mean with all that scrutiny and agro, who'd want to be an umpire. Oh wait, that's right... ME!!!

[johnnyg08]

Fletcher obviously is supporting his partner here as Adrian likely continued to bad mouth him from second base.

I like the EJ there crew protecting the crew.

[Mudder]

Its hard to tell but it didn't look like the U3 (or U2) went out on that, so why did PU rotate to 3B?