Ejections 003, 004, 005: Gary Darling (1, 2, 3)

HP Umpire Gary Darling ejected Indians Manager Manny Acta and pitcher Jeanmar Gomez for throwing at, and third basemen Jack Hannahan for fighting in the bottom of the 3rd inning of the Indians-Royals game. With none out and none on, Royals batter Mike Moustakas took a 1-0 sinker for a hit by pitch. Replays indicate that the previous 0-0 pitch and the 1-0 pitch were inside and belt high. Gomez was immediately ejected by Darling, and both benches subsequently cleared for the second time in the game.^ Replays indicate Hannahan quickly left his third base position. The calls were irrecusable.* At the time of the ejections, the Indians were leading, 5-0. The Indians ultimately won the contest, 11-9, in ten innings.

These are Gary Darling (37)'s first, second, and third ejections of 2012.
Gary Darling now has 6 points in the UEFL (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call = 6).*
Crew Chief Gary Darling now has 3 points in the UEFL's Crew division.^^
*These calls are irrecusable under new UEFL Rule 6-2-b(5).
^^Under UEFL Rule 3-3, crew chiefs are awarded one point for each non-incorrect ejection. Irrecusable ejections are non-incorrect ejections.
`Longballs receives two points for prop prediction: fighting, for the wager of April 13 (closest to 4/14/12)

UEFL Standings Update
1) 6 points: TheGunsofHochuli
1) 6 points: millerump18
3) 5 points: JRD
4) 3 points: BillMueller, JohnShulockFan, Jeremy, nkcaump, Turducken, UmpAtty
10) 2 points: BONZ_kansascity, cyclone 14, hitit2me, Longballs, Spence1222

These are the 3rd, 4th, and 5th ejections of 2012.
This is the 3rd Manager ejection of 2012.
These are the 1st and 2nd player ejections of 2012.
This is Manny Acta's first ejection of 2012.
This is Jeanmar Gomez's first ejection of 2012.
This is Jack Hannahan's first ejection of 2012.
Prior to his ejection, Gomez's line was 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER.
Prior to his ejection, Hannahan was 0 for 1, with a walk.
^Benches previously cleared in the top of the 3rd inning when Indians batter Shin-Soo Choo was hit by a pitch.

Wrap: Indians at Royals 4/14/12
Video: Choo hit by pitch, benches clear in the top of the third
Video: Tempers flare in third as benches clear for a second time

Umpire Odds & Ends: Batter's Box Bafflement

For Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, something didn't feel right about the right handed batter's box at U.S. Cellular Field as he dug in for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning of the Tigers-White Sox game: Cabrera sensed that he was being shortchanged, that the batter's box was too small.

Talk about Friday the 13th oddities, umpires Adrian Johnson and Gary Cederstrom mulled it over with Cabrera before summoning the Chicago grounds crew to measure the box, which confirmed an erroneous (too small) box had been drawn. As the grounds crew erased, redressed and redrew the batter's and catcher's box housing—this time to correct specifications—umpires and players stood by as South-side Chicago was treated to a seven-minute batter's box delay.

As specified by Diagram No. 2 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball (OBR), each batter's box shall be four feet wide and six feet in length. The nearest edge of each box shall be located six inches laterally from the parallel edges of the 17" home plate, while each box shall be centered longitudinally at the junctions which form the plate's two obtuse, 135 degree angles. The catcher's box runs 43" wide and has a center that correlates and coincides with the center of home plate itself. The catcher's box shall have an end point exactly eight feet behind the lowest triangular point of home plate that contains the plate's lower right angle.

Chalk up an incorrect QOC for the grounds crew and a winning attempt by Cabrera. After the delay, the White Sox defeated the Tigers, 5-2.

Video: Umpires Delay Game to Fix Batter's Box

Ejection 002: Larry Vanover (1)

HP Umpire Larry Vanover ejected Mets Manager Terry Collins for arguing a ball in the top of the 7th inning of the Nationals-Mets game. With one out and one on, Nationals batter Danny Espinosa took a 3-1 changeup from Mets pitcher Manny Acosta for a ball. Replays indicate the 3-1 pitch from Acosta was below the bottom of the knees and inside. There were no incorrect callable pitches during the at bat, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Nationals were leading, 1-0. The Nationals ultimately won the contest, 4-0.

This is Larry Vanover (27)'s first ejection of 2012.

Larry Vanover now has 4 points in the UEFL (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4).

Crew Chief Brian Gorman now has 1 point in the UEFL's Crew division.
*After review, the Appeals Board has confirmed Quality of Correctness, 5-1-0 ("Correct" ==> "Correct")
*The Appeals Board's historical decisions may be consulted via the UEFL Portal.

UEFL Standings Update
1) 3 pts: JohnShulockFan
1) 3 pts: TheGunsofHochuli

1) 3 pts: Jeremy (Commish)

4) 2 pts: BONZ_kansascity
4) 2 pts: cyclone14
4) 2 pts: hitit2me
4) 2 pts: JRD
4) 2 pts: Spence1222 

This is the 2nd ejection of 2012.
This is the 2nd Manager ejection of 2012.
This is Terry Collin's first ejection of 2012.

Wrap: Nationals at Mets 4/11/12

Video: Recap of Nats-NYM (Ejection at 1:45)

Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball

VizWiz Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Interactive Analysis

Let your Umpire Ejection Fantasy League preparations begin! Billed as "data visualization done right," VizWiz has put together a series of interactive visualizations based on the UEFL's Historical Data feature.

Here's a quick summary:

The Ejections Summary gives a quick overview of:

The spread of ejections across innings – not surprisingly most ejections occur towards the end of the game

How umpires perform as a whole at the different segments of the game – they’re correct more often at the end of the game as well, leading directly to more ejections

The top 5 reasons for ejections – arguing balls and strikes is an automatic ejections, so there’s no surprise it’s #1

The 2nd sheet, Who to Argue With & When, helps you isolate the specific time when you are most likely to benefit (or not) from an argument.  In particular, I like the bar chart on the bottom right.  This chart tells you the best umpire and time to get ejected if you want to turn the game from a losing position into a winning outcome.

The last sheet, Which Umpires Eject the Most, is a simple list of the umpires most likely to eject someone and the managers most likely to get ejected.  Click on any manager or umpire to see who they get in the most arguments with.

UEFL'er Andy Kriebel, an Atlanta resident for a significant portion of Bobby Cox's Braves tenure and familiar with his status as the all-time leading Manager in ejections, was curious to discover which skipper could possibly fill the ejection void left in the wake of Cox's retirement.

Enter the VizWiz analysis of UEFL data. Kriebel most recently commented on Ejection 001: Mike DiMuro (1), noting that Giants skipper Bruce Bochy is the No. 1 ejected manager for reason of Safe/Out calls, while only one ejection for Safe/Out by the HP Umpire has taken a team from a losing position to a win (Bochy's Giants were losing to Arizona, 7-6 on Sunday and eventually lost by that same score).

He also added a tab to the analysis: "Umpire & Team Relationships," which once and for all confirms which umpires have been most ejectively active with certain teams: For instance, Gary Darling has had the most ejections with the Giants since 2008 (four heave-hos), while Bob Davidson has led the Red Sox race with four ejections of his own. As for the Joe West-White Sox "feud," both West and Timmons are tied for the 2008-present ejections lead with three apiece.

In short, visit VizWiz today for data visualization done right.

VizWiz Link: Let your Umpire Ejection Fantasy League preparations begin!

Ejection 001: Mike DiMuro (1)

HP Umpire Mike DiMuro ejected Giants Manager Bruce Bochy for arguing a safe call in the bottom of the 7th inning of the Giants-Diamondbacks game. With one out and three on, Diamondbacks batter Chris Young hit a 0-0 slider from Giants pitcher Sergio Romo to third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who threw onto catcher Buster Posey for an attempted force out of Diamondbacks runner R3 Aaron Hill. Replays indicate Posey failed to tag home plate after fielding Sandoval's throw, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Diamondbacks were leading, 7-6. The Diamondbacks ultimately won the contest, 7-6.

This is Mike DiMuro (16)'s first ejection of 2012.
Mike DiMuro now has 4 points in the UEFL (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4).
Crew Chief Jim Joyce now has 1 point in the UEFL's Crew division.

UEFL Standings Update
1) 3 pts: JohnShulockFan*
1) 3 pts: TheGunsofHochuli*
3) 2 pts: BONZ_kansascity^
3) 2 pts: cyclone14^
3) 2 pts: hitit2me^
3) 2 pts: JRD^
3) 2 pts: Spence1222^

*JohnShulockFan & TheGunsofHochuli own Mike DiMuro as a Secondary Umpire
^Denotes UEFL'ers who correctly predicted the first ejection of the 2012 season would occur on April 8, 2012.

This is the 1st ejection of 2012.
This is the 1st Manager ejection of 2012.
This is Bruce Bochy's first ejection of 2012.

Wrap: Giants at Diamondbacks, 3/25/12
Video: Hill scores on error charged to Posey, Diamondbacks take lead (Arizona feed)
Video: Bochy ejected for arguing the call (San Francisco Feed)

Instant Replay's 2012 MLB Debut

MLB Instant replay made its 2012 debut in Tampa Bay and Detroit on Saturday as two boundary calls with home run potential were overturned.

Umpire Joe West explains his ruling to Rays manager
Joe Maddon as crew-mates Rob Drake (L), Sam Holbrook
(facing camera) & Andy Fletcher look on.

At Tropicana Field, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria hit a Clay Rapada pitch to right field for an apparent home run as a fan wearing a Yankees jersey—along with a Rays hat and undershirt—leaned over to catch the descending fly ball as it approached the definitive yellow line atop the spectators' railing as Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher did his best Tony Tarasco impression, pointing up at the offending fan and pleading his case for Jeffrey Maier-style spectator interference.

Initially ruled a home run by RF Umpire Rich Garcia 1B Umpire Andy Fletcher, crew chief Joe West elected to overturn the call on the field after consulting instant replay: replay angles conclusively demonstrated the fan made contact with the ball as it was below the boundary and within the field of play: West's decision was correct.

MLB Umpire Brothers Open Hirschbeck's Sports Bar & Grille

MLB Umpire brothers Mark and John Hirschbeck have opened a sports bar in Shelton, Connecticut. The Hirschbecks were the first brothers in MLB history to umpire at the same time; since then, brothers Bill and Tim Welke have joined the familial co-worker ranks, serving on the same umpiring crew until two years ago.

Mark Hirschbeck was forced into retirement in 2003 after his artificial hip shattered during a Diamondbacks-Rockies game. The younger Hirschbeck sued manufacturer Wright Medical Technology and settled for $3 million.

As first reported by the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League last month, John Hirschbeck was placed on MLB's umpiring disabled list this offseason after missing the entire 2008 season due to back surgery and the final two months of the 2009 season due to cancer treatment and surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer appears to have returned and Hirschbeck is once again fighting the illness.

"John recently went through chemotherapy so this opening means a lot to me and him," said Mark Hirschbeck during the Hirschbeck's Sports Bar & Grille opening ceremony: "I wish he was here right now to be a part of this." Indications suggest a John Hirschbeck retirement following the 2012 season if the illness has not been controlled by season's end while Hirschbeck may vow to return in 2013 if treatment is successful, though the decision has not yet been finalized.

Source: 2012 MLB Umpire Crews

The 2012 MLB Umpire Crews are now available and accessible via the UEFL Portal, thanks to a source.

Not yet officially released, this unofficial news break will provide UEFL members the opportunity to complete the draft process with their Crew Chief selections based on the 2012 start-of-season crews. As such, the UEFL Crew Draft deadline has been solidified as 10:05 AM Pacific Time, April 7.

The following is the umpiring crew list for the 2012 MLB regular season:

Crew	Crew Chief	Umpire 2	Umpire 3	Umpire 4
Crew A	12 Gerry Davis	10 Phil Cuzzi	1 Bruce Dreckman*	53 Greg Gibson
Crew B	32 Dana DeMuth	44 Kerwin Danley	88 Doug Eddings	39 Paul Nauert
Crew C	36 Tim McClelland	65 Ted Barrett	18 Brian Runge	51 Marvin Hudson
Crew D	66 Jim Joyce**	77 Jim Reynolds	16 Mike DiMuro	92 James Hoye
Crew E	3 Tim Welke	63 Laz Diaz	57 Mike Everitt	43 Paul Schrieber
Crew F	5 Dale Scott	14 Bill Miller	58 Dan Iassogna	54 C. B. Bucknor
Crew G	22 Joe West	49 Sam Holbrook	30 Andy Fletcher	34 Rob Drake
Crew H	37 Gary Darling	41 Jerry Meals	50 Paul Emmel	87 Scott Barry
Crew I	4 Tim Tschida	52 Jeff Nelson	45 Bill Welke	68 Chris Guccione
Crew J	13 Derryl Cousins	46 Ron Kulpa	28 Jim Wolf	AAA Fill-in
Crew K	38 Gary Cederstrom	25 Fieldin Culbreth	80 Lance Barksdale	23 Adrian Johnson
Crew L	24 Jerry Layne	61 Bob Davidson	21 Hunter Wendlestedt	2 Dan Bellino
Crew M	9 Brian Gorman	27 Larry Vanover	11 Tony Randazzo	97 Todd Tichenor
Crew N	8 Jeff Kellogg	56 Eric Cooper	60 Marty Foster	95 Tim Timmons
Crew O	20 Tom Hallion	72 Brian O'Nora	7 Alfonso Márquez	75 Chad Fairchild
Crew P	33 Mike Winters	47 Wally Bell	35 Mark Wegner	91 Brian Knight
Crew Q	19 Ed Rapuano	55 Angel Hernandez	6 Mark Carlson	15 Ed Hickox

*Medical leave until May / ** Interim Crew Chief status while John Hirschbeck is on the Disabled List.

Nonetheless and from top to bottom, the annual changes to the MLB Umpire Crew list generate excitement as the season begins. Among the most notable features of the 2012 MLB Umpire Crew list are:

    » The separation of Joe West (22; Crew Chief) and Angel Hernandez (55; Crew Chief: Ed Rapuano [19])
    » The absence of John Hirschbeck (MLB 17; DL) and Bruce Dreckman (MLB 1; Medical)
            » Vic Carapazza is expected to replace Dreckman until his return no sooner than May

    » MLB number changes: Dan Bellino (93-to-2), Mark Carlson (48-to-6), Bob Davidson (6-to-61)

            » AAA number change: David Rackley (76-to-86)

    » The promotion of Jim Joyce (66) to Interim Crew Chief necessitated by Hirschbeck's movement to the DL

            » Joyce's Crew: Mike DiMuro (16), Jim Reynolds (77), James Hoye (92)

    » The dissolution of the Opening Series umpires sent to Tokyo, Japan

            » Crew Chief Tom Hallion (20), Jeff Nelson (45), Marvin Hudson (51), Dan Bellino (2)

For more information and to access the 2012 MLB Umpire Crews, visit the Umpire Roster / Stats page on the UEFL Portal.

UEFL Draft 2012: Primary and Secondary Results

The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Draft has now concluded, with all Primary and Secondary phases officially complete: To review results of the draft, visit the Member Roster / Results page on the UEFL Portal.

18 UEFL members have not submitted secondary draft selections. Because of the public nature of the secondary draft, if you are affected, you may still submit secondary draft selections at this time, though all submissions must be received prior to the close of the Crew Chief round; accordingly, the Crew Chief round (for all members) closes April 7 at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.

If you have any questions or to submit secondary or crew chief selections, either e-mail the UEFL Commissioner or reply to this post.

The following are the results of the Live Secondary Draft:

UEFL Draft 2012: Live Secondary Draft

Welcome to the 2012 UEFL Live Draft for Secondary Umpires. The draft began at 2:00 p.m. with the first picks finalized by 2:05 p.m. and in accordance with UEFL Rule 1-4, which specifies terms of the UEFL draft process. The draft concluded at 3:40 p.m..

Draft Order and Results: Click here to access the member roster and draft order list. Results will also be posted to the Member Roster page on the UEFL Portal.