Lost in the dramatic finish of yesterday’s Tigers game was another instance of Joe West being Joe West.
In the second inning, Gerald Laird was called out at first base. Close play. I was in the stands and couldn’t see a replay so I have no idea if it was a good call or not. Doesn’t matter, really. Laird, of course, thought it was a bad call. But he went back to the dugout without much of a fuss.
Once in the dugout, however, he complained about the call. According to this writeup, it was not in any sort of a demonstrative way and not towards the field. Just in general. Then he was ejected by first base umpire Sam Holbrook, who was apparently watching him all the way back. That brought Jim Leyland out of the dugout to argue with West, who was working the plate. He was tossed too.
Why the umps were paying any attention to what went on in the dugout after the call is a mystery. Just officiate the game, will ya? If someone acts up on the field, fine, toss them, but the only reason to care about what is said or done in the dugout is umpire ego.
And it’s not meaningless here. Laird was catching the day game after a night game, resting Alex Avila, who is one of the more overworked catchers in the game. But because Holbrook had his ego bruised, a key player from a playoff contender lost one of his rare days off and had to catch nearly four hours on a hot day.
But hey, I guess the umps showed Gerald Laird, right?
(thanks to Allison for the link)