Ejections: Derryl Cousins (1)

2B Umpire Derryl Cousins ejected Cubs Manager Mike Quade for arguing a non-interference call in the bottom of the 5th inning of the Cubs-Cardinals game. With three on and one out, Cardinals batter David Freese hit a ground ball to Cubs second basemen Darwin Barney to shortstop Starlin Castro, Cardinals R1 Matt Holiday was forced out at second as he slid into Castro. Cardinals R3 Jon Jay and R2 Albert Pujols scored. Replays indicate that Holiday deliberately interfered with Castro to break up a double play in violation of MLB Rule 7.09, the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the contest was tied, 5-5. The Cardinals ultimately won the contest, 13-5.

This is Derryl Cousins (13)'s first ejection of 2011.
Derryl Cousins now has -2 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + -4 Incorrect Call = -2)
Derryl Cousins was not drafted in 2011.
*Quality of Correctness was challenged and confirmed ("Incorrect" ==> "Incorrect").

This is the 134th ejection of 2011.
This is the 65th Manager ejection of 2011.
This is Mike Quade's fourth ejection of 2011.

Wrap: Cubs at Cardinals 7/30/11
Video: Quade tossed by Cousins

Ejections: Marvin Hudson (4)

1B Umpire Marvin Hudson ejected Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar for arguing an out call in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Rangers-Blue Jays game. With none out and none on, Escobar hit a 1-1 fastball from Rangers pitcher Derek Holland for a ground ball to second baseman Ian Kinsler to first baseman Michael Young. Replays indicate Young momentarily had possession of the ball in the glove while in contact with first base, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Rangers were leading, 2-0. The Rangers ultimately won the contest, 3-0.

This is Marvin Hudson (51)'s fourth ejection of 2011.
Marvin Hudson now has 10 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (6 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Ccorrect Call = 10)
Marvin Hudson is owned as a Secondary Umpire by mtn335, who is now in 4th place in the UEFL with 20 points.

This is the 133rd ejection of 2011.
This is the 61st player ejection of 2011.
Prior to his ejection, Escobar was 0-3 in the contest.

Wrap: Rangers at Blue Jays 7/30/11 Wrap
Video: Hudson Runs Escobar
Video (2): Escobar Ejected Over Out Call

Ejections: Scott Barry (1)

HP Umpire Scott Barry ejected Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco for throwing at Royals batter Billy Butler in the top of the 4th inning of the Royals-Indians game. With one out and none on, Butler took a 0-0 fastball for a ball. In the previous at bat, Royals batter Melky Cabrera hit a grand slam off Carrasco. Replays indicate the pitch was thrown directly above Butler's head, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Royals were leading, 7-0. The Royals ultimately won the contest, 12-0.

This is Scott Barry (87)'s first ejection of 2011.
Scott Barry now has 4 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4)
Scott Barry was not drafted in 2011.
*The call is correct under UEFL Rule 6.b.ii.e.

This is the 132nd ejection of 2011.
This is the 60th player ejection of 2011.
Prior to his ejection, Carrasco allowed 7 ER in 3.1 IP.

Wrap: Royals at Indians 7/29/11
Video: Carracsco Ejected for Throwing at Butler

Ejections: Jerry Layne (4)

1B Umpire Jerry Layne ejected Tigers Manager Jim Leyland for arguing a foul ball call made by HP Umpire Brian Knight in bottom of the 3rd inning of the Angels-Tigers game. With one out and one on, Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson attempted to avoid a 3-2 sinker from Angels pitcher Joel Pineiro. Replays indicate the ball first struck Jackson's left hand, the call was incorrect.* The call is now incorrect.** At the time of the ejection, the Angels were leading, 3-1. The Angels ultimately won the contest, 12-7.

This is Jerry Layne (24)'s fourth ejection of 2011.
Jerry Layne now has 5 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (2 Previous + 2 MLB + -2 Incorrect Call [Crewmate] = 2)
Jerry Layne is owned as a Primary Umpire by 15_and_done, who is now tied for 23rd place in the UEFL with 6 points.
Jerry Layne is owned as a Secondary Umpire by KTurner14, who is now tied for 32nd place in the UEFL with 2 points.
*This play does not invoke Rule 6.05(f), which states that a batter is out when he attempts to hit a third strike and the ball touches him.

**Quality of Correctness was challenged and confirmed ("Incorrect" ==> "Incorrect").

This is the 131st ejection of 2011.
This is the 64th Manager ejection of 2011.
This is Jim Leyland's fourth ejection of 2011.
This is Jim Leyland's 60th career ejection.

Wrap: Angels @ Tigers 7/28/11
Video: Leyland is ejected for the second time in three days

Umpire Odds & Ends: No Hit 3

Baseball and the UEFL saw a no hitter for the third time this season (the first no hitter was by Francisco Liriano, Bruce Dreckman umpiring and the second no hitter by Justin Verlander, Jerry Meals umpiring) today, July 27, when Ted Barrett (65) umpired the plate for Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana's first career no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians scored an unearned run in the first after an error, stolen base, and a wild pitch, but Santana completed his no hitter with one walk and ten strike outs. Santana threw 105 pitches, 76 for strikes, but only 54 were callable pitches.

Here is a quick look at the statistics of how Ted Barrett called Ervin Santana's no hitter.

Total Pitches: 105
Callable Pitches: 54
Balls: 29
Called Strikes: 25

Correct Called Balls: 27
Incorrect Called Balls (Called balls within the strike zone): 2
Correct Ball %: 93.1%

Correct Called Strikes: 25
Incorrect Called Strikes (Called strikes outside the strike zone): 0 (2 were in the borderline range-->correct)
Correct Strike %: 100%

Correct % of Called Pitches: 96.3%

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

Ejections: Jerry Meals (2, 3)

HP Umpire Jerry Meals ejected Braves center fielder Nate McLouth and Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez for arguing a strike call in bottom of the 9th inning of the Pirates-Braves game. With none out and none on, McLouth took a 1-1 splitter from Pirates pitcher Jose Veras for a called strike two. Replays indicate the pitch was at the hollow of the knees and over the plate, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the contest was tied, 3-3. The Braves ultimately won the contest, 4-3, in 19 innings.

These are Jerry Meals (41)'s second and third ejections of 2011.
Jerry Meals now has 12 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (4 Previous + 2*[2 MLB + 2 Correct Call] = 12)
Jerry Meals was not drafted in 2011.

These are the 129th and 130th ejections of 2011.
This is the 63rd Manager ejection of 2011.
This is the 59th player ejection of 2011.
This is Fredi Gonzalez's second ejection of 2011.
Prior to his ejection, McLouth was 0-3 in the contest.

Wrap: Pirates @ Braves 7/26/11
Video: Meals Tosses McLouth, Gonzalez in the 9th

Related Video: Braves win on walk-off safe call by Jerry Meals*
Related Video (2): Meals discusses his controversial call*

*It has been reported that Umpire Jerry Meals' family is receiving threatening phone calls and inappropriate contacts as a result of this controversial call. It has been reported that several websites have posted Meals' home telephone number, mailing address, e-mail address, and other personal information. The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League in no uncertain terms condemns any person or website which endorses or participates in the distribution of personal phone numbers, addresses, or otherwise advocates threatening or inappropriately contacting or communicating with any umpire, player, coach, or any other personnel. If you encounter such inappropriate activity, including the publication of personal information with incendiary overtones and believe a criminal or credible threat has taken place, contact Major League Baseball.

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

Ejections: Jim Wolf (1)

HP Umpire Jim Wolf ejected Tigers Manager Jim Leyland for arguing balls and strikes in the bottom of the 5th inning of the Tigers-White Sox game. With two out and two on, White Sox batter Alex Rios hit a 0-1 fastball for a pop up from Tigers pitcher Chance Ruffin for a pop out to second basemen Carlos Guillen. Replays indicate all pitches called during the final at bat of the bottom of the 5th inning were ruled correctly, the call was correct.*^ At the time of the ejection, the White Sox were leading, 4-2. The White Sox ultimately won the contest, 6-3.

This is Jim Wolf (28)'s first ejection of 2011.
Jim Wolf now has 4 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4).
Jim is owned as a Secondary Umpire by IWU_Titan, who is now tied for 35th place in the UEFL with 1 point.
*This ejection is Eligible for a Balls/Strikes Exemption under Rule 6.e.iv.
^Quality of Correctness was challenged and confirmed ("Correct" ==> "Correct").

This is the 128th ejection of 2011.
This is the 62nd Manager ejection of 2011.
This is Jim Leyland's third ejection of 2011.

Wrap: Tigers at White Sox Wrap 7/25/11
Video: Leyland is tossed by Wolf for arguing balls and strikes

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

Ejections: Sam Holbrook (2)

HP Umpire Sam Holbrook ejected Giants Bench Coach Ron Wotus for arguing a ball one call in the top of the 4th inning of the Brewers-Giants game. With one out and none on, Brewers batter Richie Weeks took a 0-1 fastball from Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong for a ball. Replays indicate the pitch was thigh high, but off the outside corner of the plate, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Brewers were leading, 1-0. The Giants ultimately won the contest, 4-2.

This is Sam Holbrook (34)'s second ejection of 2011.
Sam Holbrook now has 8 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (4 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 8).
Sam Holbrook is owned as a Secondary Umpire by HIGHSCHOOLUMP, who is now tied for 15th place in the UEFL with 10 points.

This is the 127th ejection of 2011.
This is Ron Wotus' first ejection of 2011.
This is Sam Holbrook's first ejection with Joe West's crew.

Wrap: Brewers at Giants Wrap 7/23/11
Video: Holbrook Ejects Wotus

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

Polls: Ejection Rate

A quiet week: Umpire fantasy or simply par for the course? Since Ejections: Chad Fairchild (3, 4), Ejections: Eric Cooper (1) & Ejections: Mike Muchlinski (3) last Sunday, we haven't seen any ejections at the MLB level. *EDIT: No sooner did we post this poll, we noticed a late ejection addition in last night's A's-Yankees contest. The ejection of A's Batting Coach Gerald Perry by HP Umpire Marty Foster was not listed in the box score as of 5am this morning... it since has been added and our write-up will follow shortly.* That makes 32 33 ejections since July 1 (remember the news outlets' predictions for July ejections topping 70? The UEFL still stands by our prediction in the 42 range). Still, a week without ejections allows us to visit discussions and put out a case play. It also coincides nicely with the end of our most recent poll regarding your All-Star Umpiring Crews. This week, we'll ask about your own personal ejection rate.

Previous Poll (All-Star Umpiring Crew) Results: Our previous poll, Polls: All-Star Umpires, asked who you would place on your personal All-Star crew. Combining your votes on the blog and on our Facebook page, we see a mix of popular umpires making appearances. Based solely on vote count, here is the UEFL All-Star Umpiring Crew as decided by you (Total Votes: 333):

• HP: Jim Joyce -cc - 45% - Joyce has a good reputation as honorable & decent around these parts; that surely helped him secure the top spot.
• 1B: Jim Wolf - 42% - Wolf has surely grown popular through his work ethic, calm demeanor, and dedication to the job.
• 2B: Tim McClelland - 35% - The reliable veteran, McClelland has persisted in baseball as a quiet umpire who simply goes to work and gets the job done.
• 3B: Ted Barrett - 26% - The personable Barrett is admired and revered for his conduct and attitude on the field; he is often seen as a peacemaker.
• LF: Tim Tschida - 25% - Tschida has been there, done that throughout his career, and maintains his respect through the present day.
• RF: Dale Scott - 25% - Scott, like Joyce, had a late surge of voting contribute to his placement on this crew; perhaps his real-life All-Star performance reminded some voters of his ability. 

Also receiving votes, and named as alternates, were: HP: Jeff Nelson (21%), 1B: Alfonso Marquez (21%), 2B: Gerry Davis (20%), 3B: Dan Iassogna (19%), LF: Mark Wegner (18%), RF: Tom Hallion (18%). Second alternates were: HP: John Hirschbeck (16%), 1B: Ed Hickox (15%), 2B: Joe West (15%), 3B: Brian O'Nora (15%), LF: Angel Hernandez (12%), RF: Dana DeMuth (11%)

Current Poll: In your best estimation, what is your personal ejection rate? Open for discussion: is there a trend to eject more/less in a certain level of ball? Is there a trend to eject more/less during a certain part of one's umpiring career?

When you umpire, what is your average ejection rate?

Ejections: Marty Foster (5)

HP Umpire Marty Foster ejected A's Batting Coach Gerald Perry for arguing a strike two call in top of the 4th inning of the A's-Yankees game. With none out and one on, A's batter Josh Willingham took a 1-1 fastball for strike two from Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes. Replays indicate the pitch was located below the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and top of uniform pants and over home plate, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Yankees were leading, 14-5. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 17-7.

This is Marty Foster (60)'s fifth ejection of 2011.
Marty Foster now has 20 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (16 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 20).
Marty Foster was not drafted in 2011.

This is the 126th ejection of 2011.
This ejection was not originally listed in the box score, but was added shortly before Saturday's A's-Yankees game.
This is Gerald Perry's first ejection of 2011 and first ejection since being re-hired in June as Batting Coach for the A's.

Wrap: A's at Yankees 7/22/11
Video: N/A

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball