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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Ejection 021: Tim Timmons (1)

HP Umpire Tim Timmons ejected Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly for arguing a strike call in the top of the 5th inning of the Dodgers-Cubs game. With two out and two on, Dodgers batter Bobby Abreu took a 1-1 slider from Cubs pitcher Chris Volstad for a called second strike. Replays indicate both the called first strike and called second strike were located below the hollow of the knee (pz values of 1.611, 1.387; sz_bot value of 1.79), the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the Dodgers were leading, 5-0. The Dodgers ultimately won the contest, 5-1.

This is Tim Timmons (95)'s first ejection of 2012.
Tim Timmons now has -2 points in the UEFL (0 Previous + 2 MLB + -4 Incorrect Call = -2).
Crew Chief Jeff Kellogg now has 0 point in the Crew Division (0 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 0).
*After review, Quality of Correctness has been affirmed 5-1 by the UEFL Appeals Board.

UEFL Standings Update

This is the 21st ejection of 2012.
This is the 7th player ejection of 2012.
This is Ted Lilly's first ejection of 2012 & third career ejection (2007 [Jim Wolf], '09 [Bob Davidson]).
This is the second consecutive day in which Jeff Kellogg's crew has had an incorrect Balls/Strikes ejection.

Wrap: Dodgers at Cubs 5/5/12
Video: Dodgers bench erupts in laughter as Timmons ejects Lilly for questioning strike zone from dugout
Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball
*Note: Brooks Baseball is promoting a Sabermetrics seminar hosted by those at the Jimmy Fund with all the money collected going to cancer research, the link to the seminar can be found here.

UEFL Video

31 comments:

  1. Saw this one on the Dodgers feed. The bench was cracking up like crazy - Kershaw, Billingsley, Loney, even batting coach Dave Hansen, they were all laughing when Lilly got heaved. Good thing Joey Crawford wasn't out there.

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  2. Wait, isn't Chris Capuano pitching for Los Angeles? Welcome back to Chicago, Ted Lilly. Now go get ejected from the dugout.

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  3. That is, why is it a good thing Crawford wasn't there?

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  4. Oh, I get it. Joey Crawford, the NBA ref who T'd up and ejected Tim Duncan for laughing on the Spurs bench. Nice.

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  5. Seems a bit of stretch to say that the bench burst into laughter but whatever.

    Almost sounds like Timmons yelled "Shut up" about two seconds into the video. I thought that was considered poor form.

    Love how Steve Lyons is saying that Mattingly is arguing that Timmons has thrown out a player he might need to use later in the game. Yes, there's no question Mattingly was going to pinch-hit Lilly for Matt Kemp. Maybe that's why Lyons sounded amused, he realized he was way off base.

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  6. Why doesn't MLB.com even show us the pitch right before the ejection?

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  7. According to Lilly, after Timmons told him to be quiet, he made a hand gesture that the pitch was low and that's when he was thrown out. I have a feeling that is why the bench was cracking up. Because Lilly was told to shut up and he did but made a hand gesture and got thrown out anyways.

    Very quick trigger by Timmons. This is more the Timmons we saw from two years ago and not last year. He has just got to let this one go IMO.

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  8. Lilly was also ejected from a game in 2009 by Bob Davidson when he wasn't pitching. He must be one of those pitchers like David Price who yells at Umpires constantly when he is not pitching.

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  9. Thin skinned, arrogant rabbit-ears umpire. Perhaps if Mr. Timmons would focus his attention on the field, instead of the dugout, he might not blow the call.

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  10. This is similar to the Holbrook ejection the other night. Both times, the umpires warned the bench players to stop arguing balls and strikes. Both times they got it right by throwing the guys out in my opinion. If Timmons had just ripped his mask off and heaved Lilly, I would think differently, but seeing as he warned him twice verbally, he deserved this one.

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  11. Thanks for putting up the video.

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. This ejection bothers me more than it should.

    Yelling 'SHUTUP' that loud is just unprofessional. I mean, there is no doubt that the umpire is the field general here. This is MLB; you don't make it to the show by being shoddy. Don't lower yourself to that level. Warn em, fine. Heave em, fine. Yelling shutup like that just gives the media more fuel to make umpires look bad.

    The same was true with the Holbrook ejection where he yelled "Get the hell outta here"

    In both instances the ejection was most likely warranted, however the handling of the situation makes the umpires look like hotheads -- an image that doesn't need further reinforcement.

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  14. And if Lilly knew he might be needed, why was he popping off? Let the guys who aren't going to be needed in the game pop off if they want to. Another rocket scientist whiner and complainer hoping to pop off all day and have people feel sorry for him when an umpire calls his bluff. Totally ignorant for a player who could be used at some point in the game.

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  15. Ted Lilly is a starter... No way he was playing today. I think his next start is vs San Francisco this upcoming week.

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  16. The only thing worse than a pitcher who isn't going to play running his mouth are people who throw out the term "rabbit ears" without understanding what it really means. If an umpire can hear that nonsense from the plate, it isn't "rabbit ears." It's not like Timmons was sticking his head in the dugout, after all.

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  17. This year more than any other year, I am strongly disagreeing with the numbers displayed by this brooks pitch fx system. I watched this pitch in the game feed, that is not low. That is a strike at every level. I can promise you that the system that is used by the major league guys do not show that pitch as a ball. I think this brooks system is more accurate when it shows a strike that the umpire called a ball. But this is twice in the past week that we have seen the pitch fx show something that completely contradicts my naked eye opinion. Timmons got this pitch right. I don't care what that websites says.

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  18. All I know is Rule 9.04, ejections for unsportsmanlike conduct or language.

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  19. Is making a gesture that the pitch was low from the dugout unsportsmanlike conduct? I feel like Timmons could have just let this one go. There is no reason for him to be staring into the dugout.

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  20. Gesturing is not unsportsmanlike conduct.....it's arguing balls and strikes. Nothing more, nothing less. A MLB Umpire is charged with controlling the game. When you warn a dugout, that means stop. Making a hand gesture pushes the envelope. Obviously Lilly doesn't believe Mattingly is capable of defending his players so he took it upon himself. His ejection shows members of both teams what will and what will not be accepted, at least with Timmons. This makes Timmons job easier in the future while the umpires that turn away from this type of situation will continue to be screamed at, gestured at, and mocked. Nice job.

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  21. Would it be acceptable for a player to scream SHUTUP at an umpire? If that happened, every one of you apologists would be posting how the umpire would be justified in tossing the player.

    Why is it that there is no penalty for an umpire himself acting in such an unprofessional and UNSPORTSMANLIKE manner? What say the apologists? Did you find Timmons' outburst to be acceptable, or is sportsmanlike conduct a one-way street?

    If Little Timmy Timmons can't keep his emotions under control and exercise some self-discipline, he needs to just go away and stop embarrassing the profession.

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  22. RichMSN, the only thing more annoying than the two things you cited are your repeated attempts to define for the rest of us what the slang term "rabbit ears" means.

    Many of us learned that term not from players and managers, but from wise, level-headed old school supervisors who repeatedly counseled us against trying to police garden variety bellyaching from the bench.

    The whole concept of rabbit ears is based on the premise that the umpire can hear the crap from his position, not that he's literally sticking his head in the dugout to hear it. The term is a metaphor, as rabbits have ears that are disproportionately large as compared to the rest of their body. Now, imagine an umpire standing at HP with a really big rabbit ear extending from the side of his head into the dugout. You see, the umpire's body is at HP, but the metaphorical rabbit ear extends into the dugout.

    This is what is meant by the term rabbit ears. Wasting time worrying about what some pine-rider is saying instead of concentrating on the game and keeping things moving.

    Hopefully this explanation, while too long, will help you correct your misunderstanding of this term.

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  23. @ Anon 6:12

    I'm not an umpire, so I can't claim the expertise many commenters here can, but I would like to think Timmons could have handled this situation in a much more calm and controlled manner. Maybe he shouldn't have waited for Lilly to get him that upset before he tossed him. Regardless, there was no real need to yell angrily towards the dugout. He should have just calmly removed his mask and quietly dismissed Lilly from the proceedings. That's what he should have done in my opinion, anyway.

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  24. Anon 6:12

    What you are asking for is a kinder, gentler place :(. Baseball's been this way forever and will continue. I've been known to run someone that would not be needed in a game to prove a point that "enough is enough". The managers knew it, the coaches knew it and the players knew it. That's baseball and normally not known to the casual fan.

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  25. Check the little dismissive hand-flick at 1:15. Totally unprofessional.

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  26. Chris Conroy just threw out Freddi Gonzalez for arguing warnings. Third ejection in four days at Wrigley Field. This one will be a corrct call though.

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  27. I completely disagree with your use of rabbit ears, Mr. Anonymous. I'm not a professional umpire and do not work in professional parks, but where I work HS and college games loud comments from the dugouts can be heard behind the dugouts and in the stands and can incite crowds. I'm not going to stand at the plate and have players arguing balls and strikes.

    That said, I'm happy to let the occasional comment go. When it becomes repeated, loud, personal, and/or profane, I'm going to deal with it. And of course what's the first thing a coach/manager going to say? Rabbit ears. Nonsense -- if it's to the point where I have to (as unpleasant as it is) address it, it's long past the point where the coach/manager may have a point about the length of my ears.

    If I have to deal with it and the coach has nothing to say but "rabbit ears" rather than taking care of the problem, that manager is of no use to me and may as well get ejected. Maybe his replacement will take care of it.

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  28. Challange after watching the replay the pitch sure looks like a strike and the in game pitch track has it as a strike

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  29. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  30. After review, the original Quality of Correctness of "Incorrect" has been confirmed in a 5-1 decision by the UEFL Appeals Board. Four Appeals Board members elected to Confirm, one elected to Uphold and one elected to Overturn the original ruling.

    The Board made reference to the pitch f/x system and data prescribed by UEFL Rule 6-2-b-2, known as the Miller Rule, finding that with overwhelming evidence, this pitch was located below the lower bound of the strike zone by 4.836 inches.

    Confirmed: Jeremy, tmac, BillMueller, RichMSN
    Upheld: yawetag
    Overturned: Albertaumpire
    Deferred: None
    Abstained: Gil (Posted original QOC of "Incorrect")

    Quality of Correctness has been confirmed, 5-1.

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