Oh, don’t say that!
Hawkins upset after receiving fine | MLB.com: News
LaTroy Hawkins, as if he didn’t have enough problems with the shingles, was fined last week — an undisclosed amount but enough that he thought it was too much — for saying that Mike Everitt “wanted” the Cubs to win a late July game. Everitt had ejected Hawkins for — say it with me — arguing balls and strikes. In point of fact, according to the Pitch F/X data, Everitt made a clear mistake on only one pitch Hawkins threw — an outside pitch he called a strike. However, three borderline high pitches, any of which could have been called a strike, were called balls. Hawkins works up in the zone.
Baseball is — understandably — very sensitive to any accusation that its umpires might not be neutral. Personally, I’m surprised that they didn’t suspend Hawkins. In other words, he should shut up and take his medicine. Obviously, if Everitt had decided who would win the game, that would be a huge scandal, but there’s really no evidence of that. Tempers run high.
