I don't have any specific incident in mind, or any specific data to point to here.

It does seem to me, though, that the strike zone has been a moving target so far this year. The rent-a-cop mentality of old seems to be creeping back onto the field, too, with umpires asserting themselves and not just their judgment calls into the game.

Is this just because my contact prescription is over a year old, and my big screen HDTV still exists only in my fantasies? Or is it really real? Anyone have any insight, anecdotes, or data to share on specific umpires or umps in general?

If so, ici. If not, poubelle.

My nomination for worst sports officiating call ever goes back to the 1987 World Series between the Cardinals and Royals where Don Denkinger blew a call at first base and turned the Series in KC's favor.

I have many a time this season been hunched over my tv w/ DVR remote in hand screaming, "how the f did they miss that'?! My wife no longer watches games with me...

My biggest problem is the perpetual chip they have on their collective shoulders.

When Manny got ejected on Sunday, he argued the call and started to walk away. The ump followed him to continue the argument and then threw him out. When an ump does that he should be fired before the next pitch is thrown if not sooner. There's no excuse for them to continue the argument after the player walks away.

Exactly my feelings. A large percentage of them have adopted the C.B. Bucknor attitude, and that's simply unacceptable. I can live with a bad call now and then, but they've been coming in bunches this year all across baseball, and the umpires have developed this temper on top of it. This is the worst it's been since the Richie Phillips era.

Yeah. I was at that game about 10 rows behind the incident. Manny was pretty over the top, but the ump certainly continued it after Manny started walking away.

The "last word" mentality seems overly present in these situations. IMO, the players should always be allowed to have the last word. They are, after all, the ones with the complaint.

When will umps be subject to ejection?

But hey, at least there's no pass interference in baseball...

what is Manny, or any player, hoping to accomplish by arguing a call?

does he think the ump's suddenly going to say "ya know, you're right... that wasn't a strike... let me change that for you."

yes, umpires do miss a few close pitches every game...... but I don't see any umpire calling strikes on pitches that are a foot high or a foot outside.
if he called it a strike, it was probably too close to take, especially with 2 strikes.
swing the bat.

for every umpire with a "rent-a-cop" attitude, there are 10 players with a "you can't call that on me, don't you know who I am?" sense of entitlement.

Manny is one of the best i have ever seen as far as judging a strike zone, I think he may have wanted to bring some attention to the ump and his poor calls.

It's also got to be a spur of the moment, or immediate reaction type thing. You're up there as a hitter with overwhelming desire to get a hit. The ump calls one that you know is wrong, and you go off. These guys are only human, and if we as fans go nuts over bad calls, what are they supposed to do when they think an ump is screwing with their livelihood? And, I agree about Manny. If he doesn't swing at a marginal pitch, it should be called a ball, as was the case with Ted Williams. :-)