# MLB: August 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796 "2010-08-01T15:34:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/41 "2010-08-06T12:21:21Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I bet Fox is just overwhelmed with joy knowing there is a good chance they’ll be showing the Reds, Rangers, Padres, and Rays during the playoffs. I’m assuming you’re being facetious? 😛 Anyway, whomever is carrying the World Series is going to be _thrilled_ with the feel-good story of 2010… **The Cincinnati Reds** , wire to wire baby! ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/42 "2010-08-06T17:19:23Z")
And the worst umpire in the history of baseball, Bob Fucking Davidson, pulls a victory away from the Marlins and hands it to the Phillies on an absolutely inexplicable foul ball call just feet in front of him. [http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content\_id=10660809&topic\_id=11493214](http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10660809&topic_id=11493214) Why MLB ever let this useless jerk get his job back is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/43 "2010-08-06T17:24:16Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > And the worst umpire in the history of baseball, Bob Fucking Davidson, pulls a victory away from the Marlins and hands it to the Phillies on an absolutely inexplicable foul ball call just feet in front of him. > > [http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content\_id=10660809&topic\_id=11493214](http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10660809&topic_id=11493214) > > Why MLB ever let this useless jerk get his job back is beyond me. Yeah, i saw that last night. Awful, awful call, on what should have been a walk-off double. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/44 "2010-08-06T17:45:05Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > And the worst umpire in the history of baseball, Bob Fucking Davidson, pulls a victory away from the Marlins and hands it to the Phillies on an absolutely inexplicable foul ball call just feet in front of him. Jesus. The announcer asks how he missed it. Well, on replay, it’s really obvious why; he made the call before the play was finished. Had he watched the ball until it dropped beyond the bag the call would have been very easy, but he starts to make the call before the ball even gets to the bag. He’s a terrible ump, by MLB standards. I, too, have no idea why he’s still in the majors. What’s amazing is that Davidson refuses to admit he might have been wrong, even after watching the replay. “It doesn’t matter what happens when it passes me,” he said. Yes, Bob, but the ball was NEVER foul until after it passed you. It was fair when it landed in front of third and fair when it landed past it. It was fair. Davidson has always been a terrible ump, maybe even a cheating ump, but now he’s 58, too. Why don’t they make umps retire early? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/45 "2010-08-06T17:48:35Z")
You know, I was just looking at the replay you linked to, and I think the ump might have been right. Check out the first bounce the ball takes at :30 - :32. What do you guys think? It’s close, but if that’s what the Ump was looking at it’s not quite so terrible a call. Edit: not to say that he isn’t terrible or that I know what I am talking about ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/46 "2010-08-06T17:53:32Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > You know, I was just looking at the replay you linked to, and I think the ump might have been right. Check out the first bounce the ball takes at :30 - :32. What do you guys think? It’s close, but if that’s what the Ump was looking at it’s not quite so terrible a call. I think you might be under a misapprehension about the foul ball rule. The ball can cross the foul line when it’s inside the bag, but if it comes back inside the field of play before passing the bag, it’s still a fair ball. The ball clearly bounced back inside the baseline, flew over the bag, and then bounced in the field of play right in front of the umpire. Fair ball. As **RickJay** said, he made the call before the play was over. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/47 "2010-08-06T17:56:56Z")
I dunno - the camera shot that’s almost right down the baseline makes it look like the ball hit the ground foul just a few feet from home plate, then bounced _just_ fair long enough to pass over 3rd base, before drifting foul again. If it did indeed hit the ground foul, then it _was_ foul, but I do realize that, on camera, line drives do sometimes appear to bounce when they never actually touch the ground (I’ve seen second basemen snag balls that, to me, looked like they bounced once in the middle of the infield, but were really line drives). So I wonder if perhaps Davidson saw the same thing I saw there. ETA: Erm, **mhendo** posted while I was still typing. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/48 "2010-08-06T17:58:45Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I dunno - the camera shot that’s almost right down the baseline makes it look like the ball hit the ground foul just a few feet from home plate, then bounced _just_ fair long enough to pass over 3rd base, before drifting foul again. If it did indeed hit the ground foul, then it _was_ foul, Incorrect. A ball can go into foul territory, then come back into fair territory inside the bag and still be a fair ball. Edit: Erm, **Mister Rik** edited while i was still typing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/49 "2010-08-06T18:19:57Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I think you might be under a misapprehension about the foul ball rule. > > The ball can cross the foul line when it’s inside the bag, but if it comes back inside the field of play before passing the bag, it’s still a fair ball. You are correct, I was. **Mister Rik** and I were on the same page though. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/50 "2010-08-06T18:30:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > > [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > > > And the worst umpire in the history of baseball, Bob Fucking Davidson, pulls a victory away from the Marlins and hands it to the Phillies on an absolutely inexplicable foul ball call just feet in front of him. > > Jesus. > > The announcer asks how he missed it. Well, on replay, it’s really obvious why; he made the call before the play was finished. Had he watched the ball until it dropped beyond the bag the call would have been very easy, but he starts to make the call before the ball even gets to the bag. > > He’s a terrible ump, by MLB standards. I, too, have no idea why he’s still in the majors. > > What’s amazing is that Davidson refuses to admit he might have been wrong, even after watching the replay. “It doesn’t matter what happens when it passes me,” he said. Yes, Bob, but the ball was NEVER foul until after it passed you. It was fair when it landed in front of third and fair when it landed past it. It was fair. > > Davidson has always been a terrible ump, maybe even a cheating ump, but now he’s 58, too. Why don’t they make umps retire early? Davidson’s also the umpire who missed Kelly Gruber’s tag of Deion Sanders in Game 3 of the 92 World Series; what should have been the third out of a triple play. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/51 "2010-08-06T18:58:24Z")
> [@KennerTheGreat](#): > > Davidson’s also the umpire who missed Kelly Gruber’s tag of Deion Sanders in Game 3 of the 92 World Series; what should have been the third out of a triple play. He also made a mockery of the first World Baseball Classic by blatantly cheating in favor of the USA. He called a ball that hit the foul pole 15 feet off the ground a ground rule double against Mexico, and reversed a correct call on a sacrifice fly that would have given Japan a lead over the USA. MLB somehow decided to give him his job back after this debacle. After he resigned in the mass clusterfuck by the umpires union in 1999, he appeared as a semi-regular on a Denver sports talk radio show. He revealed himself to be an unabashedly rascist xenophobe. They pulled him from the air pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/52 "2010-08-07T04:33:17Z")
w00t! Mariners’ bats woke up tonight to beat Zack Greinke and the Royals, 7-1 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/53 "2010-08-07T06:26:41Z")
Orioles are 4-0 under Buck Showalter, with two walk-offs in the last two nights. Let’s Go O’s! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/54 "2010-08-07T17:21:16Z")
Six-foot, 235 lb Travis Snider is batting _leadoff_ today against Tampa. EDIT: And he drew a walk, and Escobar just doubled him home. Cito must know something. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/55 "2010-08-07T17:46:03Z")
JP Arencibia cracks a two-run shot on the first pitch he sees! ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/56 "2010-08-07T18:44:01Z")
6 home-runs in the first 4 innings. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/57 "2010-08-07T20:29:55Z")
Rangers beat the A’s last night 5 -1 and extend their ALW lead to 9 1/2 games. Hopefully, with Harden pitching tonight, they’ll do equally as well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/58 "2010-08-07T21:14:32Z")
> [@KennerTheGreat](#): > > JP Arencibia cracks a two-run shot on the first pitch he sees! And then slumps, hitting just a double and a single, but then recovers to hit another home run. Jays with 8 homers, not quite reaching the record of ten, which they set in 1987. And I bet Cito Gaston will bench Arencibia tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/59 "2010-08-08T04:00:41Z")
Congrats to Arencibia on the best maiden outing in MLB history. 4-5, 2 HRs and 11 total bases. And looks like Carlos Delgado is a Red Sock, which really sucks. EDIT: And Berkman drills a liner off of A-Rod’s shin, taking him out for the game today. Keep that up, Yankee fans will chase Berkman back to Texas. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796/60 "2010-08-08T04:11:11Z")
Padres came back from 5-0 down against Arizona tonight, tying it up with two solo homers in the top of the ninth. But then they lost it on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the inning. That’s two losses in a row to the crappy D-Backs. At least the Giants lost, so San Diego’s lead remains at 1 game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-august-2010/548796.md?page=4)