I'm not trying to spam here, but I don't see a link to your E-mail. so scott, check out my blog. -- http://sshitmen.blogspot.com

On the other hand, I can hear Jayson Stark's head exploding in my left ear and Tony LaRussa hyperventalating in my right.

It's a loss. The Sox took a game into the ninth with a softball league defense. They'll be back on Friday, healthy and ready to go.

(depressed Mets fan here)

1.) Johan Santana,
2.) bullpen,
3.) halfway productive pitching by Carlos Silva,

not managing and experience.

The ball was inside and he did not even lean over the plate. Check out the link left for the Cheat's blog, as he outlines the past history between the umpiring crew and Guillen. For them to run Crede, in a tie game in the 9th, when the White Sox were out of infielders was really reactionary and should be looked at by the league.

In regards to my bias, I'm not pretending that I don't have a rooting interest in the White SOx, but point to any of my analysis of the team and show me where I'm off-track and I will consider your point. I think it's been pretty right on so far.

Running Crede might have been over the line (I have no idea what he might have said in addition to throwing his bat in anger, and seeing Guillen react to Magglio Ordonez I can certainly believe that the umps might not like him), but the call on the play itself was correct. The rule's pretty clear: the pitch was a ball, Crede made no effort to avoid the pitch (and arguably made an effort to get hit by it). Instead of the HBP, it was called a ball.

What happens every day in baseball is that guys stand there like a statue, making no attempt to get out of the way of a pitch, and "take one for the team." They often rotate their shoulder away from the ball, ostensibly an attempt to get out of the way but in reality projecting their shoulder out another inch or two toward the plate. It's never called. I wish it would be, but it isn't, with complete consistency. The unwritten rule, which apparently trumps the written rule, is that if you just let the ball hit you, without going out of your way to make contact, they'll let you have your base. I suppose the justification is that the umps don't want to get into the murky areas of judging batters' motives, whether they were too surprised by the pitch to move in time or were just not "making an effort" to get out of the way. I can understand that.

What Crede did was completely different. He didn't merely allow the contact, he CREATED the contact by reaching down a good six inches with his elbow to get in the path of the ball. (This utter lack of batter fear is an occupational hazard for a soft tosser like Duchscherer; Randy Johnson never has to deal with this kind of annoyance.) That pitch simply would not have hit Crede if he had't reached down for it. Whereas standing there to take your lumps is utterly routine, going well out of your way to create contact is a exceedingly uncommon. It's crossing the line, and it's just not something the umps can let go.

You say, as Crede did, that Crede didn't lean over the plate. What has that got to do with anything? No one said he leaned over the plate. The ump called it a ball, not a strike. The relevant point is that he created a HBP on a pitch that wasn't going to hit him.

And do you seriously think (as your comment implies) the umps should be taking the Sox' depleted bench into consideration...well, I don't know what to say. Crede did a big-time bat fling while screaming directly at the ump, and you think he shouldn't expect to get thrown out? That it indicates prejudice by the ump to get thrown out there? You really think another set of umps would have sat still for that? Of course the umps should not punish Guillen's team for past disagreements, but letting Ozzie intimidate them out of making calls against his team would be equally unprofessional and reprehensible.

By the way, as a kid, I happened to be watching the game, ah, 37 years ago? ouch! when Hunter Wendelstadt's dad made the famous call during Drysdale's streak. Drysdale's scoreless streak was up to around 50 IP, the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead in the top of the 9th, but the Giants had the bases loaded with no outs. Drysdale hit Dick Dietz with a pitch (exactly the kind of stand-there-while-rotating-the-shoulder play you see all the time) but Harry W. called him back. (Of course the Giants still had the bases loaded with no outs, but managed not to score.) Now THAT infuriated me, and I've always considered Drysdale's record illegitimate as a consequence. That call, then as now, was never ever made, and obviously the ump was affected by the scoreless streak. He made a different call than he would have otherwise, the textbook definition of "special treatment."

In Dietz's case, it was a routine act that drew an exceptional call. That's wrong. In Crede's case, it was an exceptional act that drew an exceptional call. That's entirely appropriate.

In Scott's Big Book of Good Umpiring, if an umpiring crew blows a call the night before which potentially or actually cost a team a game, the crew is aware of this and if another call is a question in their mind, they consider this. More importantly, they would understand that tensions are high because of the mistake(s) the night before and would not have a short leash in running a player. Hunter should have let Crede off on his frustration, especially considering the depleted situation they were in . This is the human element of baseball and I this is the biggest f-up the crew made during a bad series by them.