It wasn't a championship game or a potential perfect game, but I blew a call once.  Badly blew it in fact.  Now I am not implying I only made one bad call ever during my time as an umpire.  That would be silly and wrong.  What I am saying is that there was one particular instance where I made a call and as the words came out of my mouth I knew them to be incorrect.

It was so completely surreal for me too.  I was working the bases one night as part of a two man crew and a kid tried to steal third.  I moved into a perfect position where the whole play happened in front of me.  The catcher slid out from behind the batter and made a snap throw down to the base.  The kid stealing slid into the bag and was easily tagged out by the third baseman.  Yet for some reason I have not been able to figure out for the nearly twenty years since this happened I called him safe.  I did it loudly too.

I quickly turned to walk away from the play which was something I learned early on as an ump.  Make the call loud and walk away to reduce the chance there will be a complaint.  Well, this call was so blatantly wrong a complaint was inevitable.  The worst part was the coach I had screwed over was one of my favorite coaches around.  I had worked many of his games and I loved how he treated his players.  He ran out to me and quietly asked, "Jeff what happened there?  He looked out by a mile."

I lifted my head up and made eye contact and simply said, "I fucked up.  He looked out to me too and I have no idea why I called him safe."

Dumbfounded the coach just stared at me for a second.  Then he asked, "What do we do about it?"

I just shook my head and said, "I have no idea."  By this time the home plate ump was out there with us.  I asked him if he had seen the play and he said no.  I turned to the coach and said, "I guess the play stands.  I'm really sorry."

He stared at me for a second and as he turned to go back to the dugout he dropped this on me.  "You are better than this Jeff."

Most of the time I would like to think I was better than that.  On this particular play I wasn't though and like I said above I have no idea why.  My brain just flat out failed me. 

Obviously the events of last night have brought this story back to mind for me and I write this down because I want to hear feedback from both sides of the table.  Personally I would prefer rules be in place to easily reverse such a blatantly missed call.  I think umpires should not be so proud that they cannot accept being caught being wrong. I also feel that since replay exists at a level where the umpire is going to be scrutinized then they should utilize it.

However there is a sizable number of folks who think that such brain failures are a positive part of the game experience.  Tell me why you feel the way you do.  If it is some romantic notion about humanity then tell the story of that romance.  I am genuinely interested because I feel sorry for everyone who was involved in that game last night.  An evening that should have been special for players, coaches and fans turned into a sad affair.

I noticed and a few others have pointed out that the sign hangs a bit too low and is obscured by the outfield wall from many angles. I just wanted everyone to know that I take the blame for that being off and plans are in the works to fix it.

After Wednesday's game I will be taking the sign back to the company who made it so they can trim the top shorter and put new grommets into it.  The plan is that on April 30th when the team returns to play Texas the sign should be easier to see.  The only downside is we will be losing the solid bar of blue across the top, but at least it will not be so obscured.

The banner is complete and it looks great!  There is no way this thing will be missed as it is very large at 10' by 2.5'.  The plan as of now is to carry it when we do our march to the game at noon on Opening Day, so if anyone wants to join us for that it is my understanding that we are meeting at Occidental Park.  Royalcurve can correct me if I am wrong on that.

Between Brett, myself and the other guys I share seats with I think we can get this up at almost every game this season.  It is a high quality vinyl sign so even with it being taken down and stowed every game I still think it should survive the whole season.

As I mentioned before, I will be offering two seats to a game behind the sign to Royalcurve, pdb, okdan and Englishmariner for their work in getting this done.  If Englishmariner cannot make it to Seattle this year we will hook him up some other time.  Between the sign costs and my cost for the seats we fell a little short with our funds so I will cover the difference, but sadly no cash will be going to sexy people from this.

I think that is it.  I for one cannot wait for the damn season to start.  Go M's and GMZ!

So I tried several avenues through my contacts with the Mariners and I was told that permanent placement of the "In Z We Trust" sign will not be allowed.  I begged and tried to sound sad and pitiful but the answer was still no.  They did say it is okay to bring the sign on a per game basis, but because I have a baby due in July I will be going to very few games this year which means I am at a loss.

So what do you all want to do about this?  We have a raised a bunch of money and can produce the sign, but the question becomes how do we get it displayed on a regular basis?  Please use this post as a place to throw out ideas.  The only one that comes to mind would be to keep passing the sign around between LL folks.  I know that the owner of Temple Billiards would be willing to hold the sign at his bar and whoever was to display it on a given day could pick it up pre-game and drop it back after but there are tons of issues with that approach.

I guess I need to apologize because I did not think we would hit this roadblock.

Jeff's note: an excellent fanpost that I've bumped to the front page.

-----

As Mariner fans we have had to read and listen to a great many stories in recent years regarding the effect of team chemistry on performance. My decision to tackle this topic was spurred by this comment and the ensuing discussion in the recent Griffey Poll here on Lookout Landing. Much of what I wrote here is actually from something I put together a couple of years ago, but never finished. It has been updated to be more current. It is also not a short read, so consider yourself warned.

Now I am a person who prefers efficiency in all things, so I will point out right off the bat that my belief is that team chemistry has a negligible effect on team performance at the Major League level. If you care to find out why please continue reading. If you vehemently disagree but have no intention of digesting my argument before responding then I did not write this for you.

Continue reading this post »

So there will be a few of these upcoming, but on Saturday, July 11 there will be a Sounders game and Mariner game on the same day.  The Sounders match against a damn fine Houston Dynamo starts at 1PM.  The Mariners game against Texas that night starts at 7:10PM.  That leaves a good three hours of bar time in between to hang out and bs.

I will most likely be heading to Fuel for pregame festivities for the Sounders, but mostly I am wondering how many LL folks are planning on going to both or either of the games and if you all want to meet up somewhere between the two games.  I am throwing this up to give everyone a chance to do a head count and throw out ideas for where to meet up.

A comment by PositivePaul on Brett's Facebook page last night took me back in time.  Basically Paul said he hopes either Brett or me is able to catch a homer from Griffey this season.

Well, I have caught a good number of homers over the years and the cool part is most of them have been Mariner players.  Tino was my first but I also have an Edgar, Boone, Sexson, Roberto Kelly, Jose Offerman!, Paul Sorrento and Raul Ibanez just to name a few. 

However, I never caught a Griffey homer outside of batting practice.  The reason is a pretty simple one.  My seats in the Kingdome were in the front row in right field.  Griffey hardly ever hit cheapies back in the day.  They went into the second or third deck over my head or they were hit more towards centerfield.  I saw hundreds of homers off his bat over the years, but rarely was I close to one.

There was the one that got away though and oh how painful a memory it is.  It was the next to last game of the 1997 season and Jr. was well on his way to the MVP award.  Most people remember this particular game because Lou brought Randy out of the pen in relief of Omar Olivares to get his 20th win.He became the M's first 20 game winner that day because of it.

It just so happened that Griffey also hit his 56th and final homer of the season on that day.  It was a shallow shot just to left of my seats off of a pitch from Brad Rigby.  I jumped out of my seat and ran over to the spot.  I put my glove up and stretched my 5'9" frame out to the ball waiting for the glorious moment.  Just as the ball was about to hit my mitt I see an arm reach in front of mine and grab the ball at the last second.

I look over and some guy standing about 6'6" is jumping for joy.  I was so pissed I wanted to punch him, but he had a teenage girl with him so I just walked away.  Turns out the asshole turned the whole thing into a fiasco as he asked for the moon from the team and Griffey in return for the ball.

I don't know whatever became of that ball, but I know if I had caught it that I would have kept it just like all of the other balls I have caught over the years.  Ok I did throw the Lenny Webster one at Norm Charlton and I gave the Kelly one to my cousin, but this one would have been a cherished catch.

As time has gone by I have mostly forgotten that day and how upset I was, but now I have to admit that I do in fact want my Griffey homer.  Maybe having a slower bat and weakened muscles will play into my favor this year, who knows.  You are back Jr. and as much as I am not all that pumped about it, hit me a damn ball to rectify what was a very sad day for me 12 years ago.

So it is Friday the 13th.  I happen to work with one of the most superstitious people I have ever met.  He refuses to have his name on any work order that ends in 13.  That is just the tip of the iceberg with this guy, but I will not turn this post into a rant about how strange he is.  Honestly, I'm rather shocked he showed up for work today.

From my perspective superstitions drive me crazy.  However, long ago I came to realize that everyone needs something to get them through the day feeling safe so to each their own.

That having been said, do any of you have any odd superstitions?  Do you know anyone who has some interesting superstitions beyond the run of the mill stuff?

Other topic ideas are Valentine's Day, spring training physicals, 3-day weekends, whether getting a tooth pulled without pain medication is worse than resigning Griffey or not, and the usual Xbox, music, movie, book and weather conversations.

Today is the day that many of us who are season ticket holders must pay the Mariners their money for the right to watch this team in 2009.  My wife is never fond of such a large outlay of cash to start off the year, but I had been doing this for 10 years before I met her so she has always been smart enough to not fight that battle.  Anyone else giving the M's a bunch of money today?

On another note I had a first happen to me yesterday.  I was on a sales call downtown and when I got back to my car my meter had run out and a meter maid was writing me up.  Instead of getting mad I had a friendly chat with her while I awaited my ticket.  She printed a slip out and handed it to me.  I looked down and saw the words "Courtesy Notice" with a $0 next to it.

I asked her why I was not getting a ticket and she said I was the first person to not yell at her in months and that she very much appreciated that.  She then wished me a good day, jumped on her Segway and rolled off.  I was totally caught off guard and was blown away to finally meet a nice meter maid.  Do any of you have stories of being caught off guard like that?

Lastly, one month until in Spring Training for those of you who care.  Anyone heading south to catch some sun and meaningless scrimmages this year?

So I left work early in Magnolia because my wife was talking about how much snow we had at home.  There was snow in Seattle, but not enough to scare me. 

Well, I got home to Burien and holy crap!  There is half a foot of snow stacked up against my front door.

On another note.  If you think Hip-Hop is easy I give you this.  I suggest watching until the end for the true humor of it all.

Well, have at it.  We all seem to have a lot to say about nothing today since there is no baseball news.

Today pdb heads to Ohio through Indiana to see his wife.

NOLA should be nearing the end of her journey from Louisiana to the great Northwest.

Faux has been on the road a lot lately, but I'm not sure if he is back home yet or not.

Who will be traveling for Thanksgiving next week?

A few of the Off-Topic regulars will be traveling to the Renton Highlands tonight for bowling and socializing.

Other topics:

Thank God that Scholarship Poll is over.  I hate seeing the worst in people and that showed it.  Kudos to Dave for staying above the fray and showing what a great person he is.

How the hell did my roll of toilet paper make it out of the plant with no perforation?

So Thingray was finally outed by deapseadv.  Good sleuthing Kermit.

Is the world ending soon now that Coach had a comment go green?

In deference to all the hard work that the regular Off-Topicers have put in I take my virgin swing at this so they may have a day off.

Possible topics for discussion:

People filpped out when this happened.  I had it happen to me when I was an umpire and I think everyone, including Rick Reilly, needs to chill out.  Your thoughts.

I have noticed with the drop in temperature and shorter days that I am losing motivation to finish my latest house project.  Does anyone else lose motivation this time of year?

There has been a lot of talk about influential people who have died this year.  Obscure to many, Gregory McDonald was a big one for me because Fletch is my all time favorite comedy.  What person who has passed this year do you believe deserves more props?

Lastly, I accidentally told the bride during vows on Friday to take the groom as her wedded wife.  Thankfully I was quick on my feet and made a joke of it before moving on.  Anyone else had a public slip of the tongue they would like to share?

Have at it kids.  I will now drive to work and catch up with you all later.

I must admit I have been spoiled over the years.  I have had season tickets in Right Field since 1994 and between Buhner and Ichiro I have seen some solid play over the years.  Not to mention entertaining.

I am excited about Balentien being our new every day Right Fielder.   Not because I think he will be a superstar, but rather because he is not some old stiff just waiting for retirement.  I prefer paying money to watch athletes, not some broken down shell of a slugger. 

Yeah, I know, that is what Jay was at the end, but that man gave Mariner fans plenty of good days to be thankful for.  And if Balentien can even come close to the career that Buhner had we will be very blessed. 

I am very much hoping he can live up to the name Curacoa Crusher because I think that is a damn cool nickname.  Also as a former bartender who has spent time on the neighboring Island of Aruba, I plan on concocting a cocktail with that very name that has a local, as in Curacao home of Balentien, flair to it.  Therefore it  has to have Rum and Curacao of course, but I am asking for ideas on what else I should use.

The plan is to make 12 varieties of drinks this weekend and have my friends test drive them.  I will report back as to what drink has become the official drink of Wladimir Balentien.

Bring on the ideas.

Pretty funny stuff right here.  During the game a PI photographer came down and took a bunch of shots of me and my pals.  He took down our names and went on his merry way. 

I thought nothing of it since this is not the first time this has happened, but low and behold I made it into the paper this time.  They even spelled my name correctly.  I am the one with my mitt out begging for a strikeout on page A6.

You can also see me on slide 24 here.

Here's to Felix getting us win #2 tonight.  I will be in my seats again tonight in Section 108 should anyone want to drop by and say hi.

Hey folks, I have produced a Bumper Sticker for all of you great people here at Lookout Landing. I made 500 of them and they are FREE as a gift for all of the laughs that I get hanging out here.

There is one catch, how to get them into your hands.  What I need you to do if you want one is send me an envelope with a #9 Envelope inside of it that has your address in both the address position and return address position.  Also, make sure it has proper postage because while I made the Stickers on my dime, I am not paying for postage on all of them.  Mailing info is below.

Continue reading this post »

I am officially ready to start drinking.  My question is this, how many do you plan to have tonight?  I do not care about the brand or flavor.  Quantity is the question at hand here.

I expect to crush a 6-pack myself with hopefully two or three shots of whiskey in there somewhere.  That way when I come in and waste my Saturday working tomorrow at least I can do it with a pain in my head and gut that was self inflicted.

"Just be positive and support your team."

"Do you enjoy baseball or just like to complain about it?"

"At least I want the Mariners to challenge for a pennant."

"Adam Jones could end up being a bust, why do you think he is going to be a Hall of Famer?"

"Adam Jones looked terrible in the field last year.  I saw him drop two balls."

"Just go get a free agent to play RF."

"How can you predict whether this team will compete, you haven't even seen them play yet?"

"Stop throwing numbers in my face.  I watch the games real close on TV and I know what I am talking about."

"Pitching in Safeco Field with this defense will make Carlos Silva a better pitcher than in the past."

Anything about Toronto.

Anything out of John McLaren's mouth.

Anything written by Ken Rosenthal.