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| Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia questions the umpires on a Houston Astros pitching change in the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Houston. |
NEW YORK (AP)
-- Major League Baseball suspended umpire Fieldin Culbreth for two
games on Friday because he was in charge of the crew that allowed Astros
manager Bo Porter to improperly switch relievers in the middle of an
inning.
Culbreth and the rest of his crew -
Brian O'Nora, Bill Welke and Adrian Johnson - were also fined an
undisclosed amount, after MLB admitted its umps goofed for the second
straight day.
"The rule covering pitching changes was not applied correctly by the umpiring crew," MLB said in a statement.
The
problem in Houston came a day after Angel Hernandez and his crew in
Cleveland failed to reverse a clear-cut home run after looking at a
video review. MLB executive vice president Joe Torre said the umpires
made an "improper call."
Hernandez was booed when the umpires were introduced Friday night before the Washington Nationals hosted the Chicago Cubs.
It's
recently been a rough run for umps. Crew chief Tom Hallion was fined
earlier this month after getting into a verbal spat with Tampa Bay
pitcher David Price.
The latest trouble
occurred in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. And while baseball
does have video replay for some hard-to-tell calls - and has talked for a
couple of years about expanding its scope - there was no mistaking what
umpires saw.
With two outs and the Astros
ahead 5-3, Houston reliever Wesley Wright came in from the bullpen and
threw several warmup pitches from the mound. Porter, a first-year
manager, then ran onto the field to stop him and brought in another
reliever, Hector Ambriz.
Angels manager Mike
Scioscia argued, correctly contending Wright was required to pitch to at
least one batter. But the umpires permitted Ambriz to stay in and
Scioscia put the game under protest - it became moot when the Angels
rallied to win 6-5.
Scioscia wasn't surprised by MLB's stern ruling.
"One
thing I have found is that in the course of, especially with Joe Torre
and Major League Baseball, that I think there is accountability that is
there," he said Friday in Chicago, "that might not always show it's face
but I know behind the scenes is there and this is one example."
Pinch-hitter Luis Jimenez was on deck when Wright entered. Once Ambriz took over, Scott Cousins came up as a pinch-hitter.
On Friday, Porter was upset that he caused the problem.
"Personally,
I want to apologize to their whole crew for putting them in that
position," he said. "It's unfortunate for the game of baseball."
Culbreth provided little clarification after the game.
"Well, the only thing I can tell you is that all matters concerning protests are handled through the league office," he said.
Porter
said he spoke with Culbreth after the game and apologized to him when
he realized he was wrong. But he still wanted to make a public apology.
"There
are some repercussions, and again as I sit here today, it's more that I
feel sorry for the crew chief and the crew for having to wear what it
is that happened last night," Porter said.
Wright,
one of the pitchers involved in the fiasco, thinks it's unfortunate
that Culbreth was suspended. He said when it happened; he figured he was
going to have to stay in to face a batter.
"When
they told me I was out of the game I was just kind of like: `Maybe I
don't understand the rule,'" he said. "It was just one of those weird
situations."
A day earlier, a mistake in Cleveland caused a lot of commotion.
Adam
Rosales and the Athletics were certain he'd hit a game-tying home run
in the ninth inning against the Indians. Three umpires went to a video
review and instead upheld the original call on the field that the ball
didn't clear the left-field wall.
Oakland manager Bob Melvin was ejected and was later contacted by MLB officials.
The
mistake drew attention all over the majors. Pittsburgh manager Clint
Hurdle said he'd never before seen an obvious miss despite replay.
"This is the first one where there definitely is a line drawn where you go, `Wow,'" he said.
