Video: Hawk Harrelson goes on another anti-umpiring rant
During Saturday's Mariners-White Sox game, Chicago announcer Hawk Harrelson was at it again. After White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana had a borderline pitch called a ball, White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski and manager Robin Ventura got ejected....and Harrelson went into a tirade.
"This is absolutely ridiculous."
"Barrett, Lance Barrett, has been absolutely brutal. Brutal."
"He is absolutely brutal."
"Lance Barrett's just stunk the joint up, that's all he's done."
"He's terrible"
"This is one of those games where the film's going to the American League office just to show how bad he's been"
"Well everything that Blake Beavan has thrown up there that Olivo has caught has been a strike. If he caught it, it was a strike. He's got two different strike zones."
Harrelson had a nice meeting with MLB commissioner Bud Selig and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf back in May after a similar incident, but at least this time, he wasn't screaming and yelling... though his ultimate point remained the same. CBS has a nice breakdown of Barrett's strike zone and the factual basis of Hawk's criticism. (It's hit and miss, with little evidence that Barrett had it out for the White Sox.) We'll see if that May meeting really meant something and there's actual repercussions for Hawk beyond a public slap on the wrist this time because clearly Hawk isn't changing any time soon.
I love that people think its crazy for crew chief umpire (i.e., their manager) to get angry when he's dealing with a raving lunatic, but the same people think its totally understandable - nay, applause-worthy - that the White Sox manager goes nuts.
I am a Sox fan & a giant Hawk fan. Unfortunately, I did not see him go off this time. But I did see the sequence of pitches & the pitches to Adam Dunn that he was called out on were balls. And the batter who was up when AJ & Robin were ejected, should have been called out on strikes. CBS did not cover the game. I know the strike zone. And to get Robin Ventura that upset you know there had to be a real good reason.
The best about this video is WGN picking up what AJ's yelling. Let's also take note of what Stone said about Joyce. Joyce is a hot head who should not have gotten as pissed as he did and only furthered the argument. Stone had some constructive, well thought out criticism.
I would be more supportive of Hawk's tirades if their size and scope wasn't directly related to the negative impact on "his" Chicago White Sox. I've seen many a bad call go in their favor with nary a peep out of him.
Playing peacemaker are you Jim Joyce? Not, oh I don't know, shoving your face into the camera and making everything about you...again? Man I hate that guy.
@Andy A Jewel He also has the loudest, most obnoxious strike call in the game. It'll be a good day when he retires.
