The San Diego Padres already have a tough enough time scoring runs as it is. The last thing they need is umpires taking runs away from them. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night thanks to familiar foe Joe West.
The Pads were tied with the D-Backs 1-1 in the top of the 2nd and Eric Patterson led off the inning with a triple. The next batter, catcher Rob Johnson, hit a line drive to right fielder Justin Upton. Patterson got back to the bag quickly to tag up, went home, and beat the throw. It looked like San Diego had a 2-1 lead. But Arizona appealed to see if Patterson left the bag to early and umpire Joe West said he did, reversing the run and turning it into a double play.
Padres manager Bud Black went out to discuss the call, and lip reading shows West told Black that Patterson left before Upton caught the ball. First off, replays on both the Padres and the Diamondbacks telecasts show Patterson did not leave early. Secondly, they both also show that WEST WASN’T EVEN WATCHING THE BAG!!!
Here’s a picture that shows West was watching the right fielder and not the bag:
This jerk called out a player on a play he didn’t even see! Even the Diamondbacks announcers Mark Grace and Daron Sutton admitted Arizona caught a break. And do you think Joe West was willing to admit his mistake or talk to the other umpires on the crew about the call? Of course not — he’s the walking ego Joe West who will throw you out for the simple purpose of flexing his umpiring muscles.
We wrote a little over a week ago that MLB needed to handle him by finally trying to get him fired. After seeing this play, I’m even more fired up for the cause. You need anything San Diego, let me know. I’m willing to send letters, write characters endorsements, whatever you want. It’s time to eliminate this clown from the game.
Just in case you were curious, the Padres ended up losing 6-1. Having a go-ahead run taken away from you probably doesn’t help your morale much.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Matt York
