With the recent rash of controversial calls is it time for umpires to be held accountable?
BOSTON – John Farrell sounds fed up, and clearly he is not worried about any possible repercussions.
Time and again this season, the Toronto Blue Jays manager has bitten his tongue when close calls have gone against his team, offering up diplomatic answers that have shifted blame away from the umpires.
But the out call at home plate that sealed Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox seems to have been a final straw for Farrell, who in a calm, measured and perhaps calculated way took a stand Wednesday afternoon.
"I don’t know that I’m necessarily in favour of instant replay, but I’d just like for calls to be made right," he said in the visitors’ dugout at Fenway Park. "I will say this: In general, umpires do a very good job, they have one shot at it, and that’s in real time. Now they’re also held in a regard that at times they’re unapproachable. We have to answer to the replay that is on TV, the players have to answer to the replay that’s on TV, I think there needs to be an even playing field when those decisions come into play, and they don’t have to answer to that.
"That’s the one issue that I think we in uniform and on the field have a problem with."
A request for comment Wednesday by sportsnet.ca on was turned down by crew chief Jerry Layne, and Brian Knight, who made the call at home Tuesday, declined to speak after the game, as well. That is within their rights, as umpires tend to address media on rule interpretations but not judgment calls.
Farrell feels there needs to be a level of accountability on that front.
"Absolutely, because what’s at stake here is the current roster position for players, jobs are at stake and we have to answer for those," said Farrell. "Their decisions inside the game have as much impact as anyone else’s decision, and I think that needs to be leveled out. …
"Everybody in uniform has to answer to every one of (the media’s) questions. Why does that not hold true for the umpires?"
Managers and players rarely criticize umpires for fear of reprisals down the road (they’re known to stick up for one another), but Farrell’s comments come in a time of rising tensions between players, coaches, managers and the men in black.
There have been an abnormally high number of ejections in recent days – including Farrell and reliever Jon Rauch on Saturday – along with a handful of controversial calls, including two games decided by walk-off balks.
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, ejected for the second time in nine days Tuesday night, told reporters in Anaheim on Wednesday that all sides "have to work harder to eliminate the tension" and added all the bad feelings "usually cause blow-ups."
Part of that is the rigours of the season starting to build up, along with a heat that can leave tempers short, but a significant contributor to the toxic mix is the easy access to replay in clubhouses, which means within seconds of a close call players can review it and often become more infuriated.
"If you’re mad at a strike or an out at first or whatever it might be, you get over it if there’s no replay," said Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, who feels umpires are often caught between a rock and a hard place. "But you come in here, you look at the call and see that it may be wrong and it just fuels that anger a little bit. …
"You look back and have that sense of ‘I told you so.’"
Still, few are willing to publicly call for more replays to avoid alienating umpires, who have understandable worries about the erosion of their authority. Replay is currently used only for boundary home run calls, but there is talk of expanding it to fair and foul calls, too.
One idea floating around is to give each team the right to challenge one call per game. That would have been handy for the Blue Jays on Tuesday, yet there will be much resistance to that.
The reality is everyone has access to replay but the umpires, who end up hearing about their mistakes from fans, teams and their own bosses. Or as Hill puts it: "You look at it from their side of it and it’s like someone is always there to prove them wrong."
"The advances in technology and the fact that we can go in and watch the replay on TV, that’s where some of the on-field arguments come from," Farrell added. "Technology is not slowing down in that clubhouse and yet it’s not caught up on the field.
"I still think it’s a game based around the human element and I think it should stay that way, but I think there’s a need for their response and what went into their decision making because we’re all held to that standard."
It’s not the best solution, but at least it’s a start.
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Some of the more notable incidents between Blue Jays and umpires this season:
On April 9 in Anaheim, the potential go-ahead run was called back on a runner interference call made by Bob Davidson, and the Blue Jays ended up losing 6-5 in 14 innings.
On April 15 in Boston, what was initially ruled a three-run home run and appeared to be at minimum an Adam Lind ground-rule double into the right-field corner at Fenway Park, was eventually called a foul ball. Lind ended up grounding out but the Blue Jays won 7-6.
On April 23 in Toronto, Travis Snider laid down a sacrifice bunt that he appeared to beat out at first base. Instead he was called out by first base umpire Mike Everitt, leaving runners on second and third, and Blue Jays ended up falling 6-4 to the Rays.
On July 2 in Toronto, both manager John Farrell and reliever Jon Rauch were ejected by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez after arguing balls and strikes. Marquez also approached Farrell aggressively, perhaps even bumping him, to set up a cap-to-cap argument.
On July 5 in Boston, Edwin Encarnacion is called out at home for the final out of a 3-2 loss to the Red Sox even though replay shows he wasn’t tagged before his right leg caught the plate after he slid into catcher Jason Varitek’s blocking leg. Manager John Farrell also felt umpire Brian Knight wasn’t in the right spot to make the call. "If you look at his position, he was standing behind Jason Varitek," said Farrell. "He was not in position to make the call as it unfolded so when Edwin did a great job of sliding around his blocking of the plate, he couldn’t see if he eluded the tag or not. He should have been at angle to see where the contact should have been made and yet he was off towards the angle of the on-deck circle on the Red Sox side."
