Ya, Mariotti makes his living out of manufacturing controversy. They've got paper to fill and its easy to cry and moan about an umps "blown call." Then whenever the fans dog him by email, he insults us further by insisting that fans should ignore him and watch the team.
Really, no body I know reads him. He's just the loudest of the squeaky wheels that make up the chicago baseball sports rags.
I'm thinking all this caviling will only hurt the Angels. Umps didn't do anything wrong and the Angels crying about the ump's "mechanics" (hand signals) is completely laughable. The catcher admits he never heard AJ "called out." But the manager and others insist he motioned a strike--funny thing is no way the catcher (a former Sox player) could see the motion. He assumed the call--and you know what happens if you assume.
Hey Mariotti, na na na na, na na na na, Sox win one, u lose.
I really havn't read or heard what the Angel fans or their media are saying. I agree with you that the catcher should not be assuming anything.
The people, mainly media, who are saying that the umpire needs to call out that the ball was not caught are stupid. Are they saying that if a runner misses the bag while running the bases the umpire should call that out too when he sees it?