Mets manager Jerry Manuel was suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount for “his aggressive arguing and inappropriate contact” with umpire Bill Welke during Thursday’s game against the Phillies.
Manuel will serve his suspension Saturday afternoon against the Pirates.
Bench coach Sandy Alomar, will manage today’s game.
The worst part of this is that Manuel was right and Welke was wrong… it was the third bad call that went against the Mets in that game.
MLB is quick to levy suspensions for something as silly as this, but they don’t have the guts to do anything about a class of umpires that have become so terrible at play calling over the years, and confrontational as well.
I’m glad Manuel went out there and went off on Welke… He deserved it.
Victorino should have been the one that was suspended for intentionally interfering with the play that could have changed the outcome of the game.
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
I have no problem with this, we need more people on this team to show some fire and aggressive attitude.
I’ll take it. Jerry showed he actually gives a crap! Get fired up, baby!!!
Umps Sux.
Jerry Manuel is the man! He doesn’t take crap from nobody and he sometimes looks like hes gonna bite your head off. Plus he’s gangsta!
This is a horrendous decision. I hope Omar is on the phone right now with Selig giving him an earful.
I hope this fires the team up. Jerry absolutely made the right call arguing with the umps that night. Every call he argued he was right, and very obviously so.
To have Jerry then be suspended is absolutely absurd. I hope the Mets go out there and play hard for Jerry today.
The suspension is due to the fact that their caps touched. It was clearly unintentional, but I think baseball wants to avoid managers saying, “I accidentally bumped into him and didn’t mean it.” So the contact is automatic, accident or not. Jerry was correct in arguing, of course (and the league isn’t suspending him for that), but the contact is the issue.
I think Chuck is right here. Jerry was absolutely in the right in arguing the call, and his enthusiasm and ire is definitely what this team needs to see. But when it comes to physical contact, it’s not acceptable.
The baseball field is the umpires’ workspace. When you are at work, I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone bumping into you as they’re yelling at you.
There is no question Manuel had to be suspended. He should argue that call every time hout. He was 100% right and Welke should be disciplined but the league cannot set a precedent when a manager makes contact with an umpire. You can’t have some manager in the future saying “Yes I hit his head but it was by accident!” Policy wise, this has to be the rule. I love Manuel’s passion but he lost control of his head and made contact and thus had to be suspended. That said, I want Manuel out there chewing out umpires for every terrible call (It doesn’t even have to be terrible) as long as puts his hat on backwards to avoid any brim-to-brim action.
The decision was ridiculous. To suspend somebody who makes a big deal about an obvious call, fine, but Jerry was clearly in the right on that argument, and the umps didn’t even overturn the call!
If you make contact with an ump, no matter how terrible the call and no matter how accidental, he must be suspended as a matter of policy. It seems very unjust in this scenario but baseball has to draw the line so future “contact” does not become a debate over “Was it a good call?” and “Did he mean to make contact?” Yes, Jerry was right. Yes, it he hit him by accident. Still, the league has to enforce a strict “no contact” rule in thinking ahead to future altercations.
There have been cases where umpires have initiated contact.
Jerry Manuel should take a cue from Lou Piniella and turn his hat around before getting in an umps face.
Lou has mastered a great idea.
The problem is that ‘Baseball’ doesn’t want the slightest mini-fracas to get out of hand. They’re trying to legislate attitudes and emotions resulting from ineptness by umpires. It may intimidate some but not likely Lou or Jerry.
In a world of pure justice, Welke and his umpiring crew would have not filed a report on an obviously unintentional nudge by Jerry’s hat!!!
Instant replay time for reasons beyond just getting calls wrong. It’s the arguing that ensues that makes people illogically defensive, hence stubbornly idiotic.
I know IR won’t happen, but it should.