CB Buckner.....

This is CB Buckner a MLB umpire. I'm sure he's a great guy off the field, but he doesn't deserve to be umpiring in the Major Leagues. First of all he needs to go back to umpiring school to check out what is a ball and what is a strike. This is what happened in today's game against the A's and Angels. He was calling pitches for strikes that were balls for the Angels, but for the A's he would call balls on pitches that should have been strikes. Even the laid back Justin Duschcherer had to ask him where a pitch was and he got a little upset and took off his mask. Suzuki blocked Buckner from coming to the mound right away and Curt Young the A's pitching coach came out to talk to him and Duschcherer apologized for showing him up a little. That should have ended it but no it did not. The bottom of that inning he started expanding the stirke zone even more calling strikes that were nowhere near the plate. Later on in the top of the ninth inning the Angels had first and third. Torii Hunter had singled and Juan Rivera had singled as well and was pinch ran for with Reggie Willits. Howie Kendrick was the next at bat he took a ball and fouled off another pitch for a 1-1 count. The next pitch was on the outside corner of the plate and was a strike, but Buckner called it a ball. The next pitch from Street Kendrick couldn't check his swing and it should have been a strike out for Street, but it wasn't eventually after a few more pitches Kendrick hit a sacrafice fly to tie the game up and eventually on a boneheaded play by the A's infield the Angels scored to take the lead.

Bottom of the Ninth Carlos Gonzalez singles to get on off of Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Ellis walks on 4 straight pitches that were a little low. The next batter is Daric Barton who lays down a sacrafice bunt making it 2nd and third with one out. The Angels intentionally walk Jack Hannahan to load the bases. Rob Bowen pinch hits for Donnie Murphy and Bowen takes a called third strike which was a ball becuase hey were the same exacty location of the 4 straight balls to Mark Ellis. Next batter is Kurt Suzuki he takes the first two pitches for a ball so he has a 2-0 count he gets a fastball on the outside corner that was the same exact pitch as Street threw and was called for a ball instead of a 3-0 count Buckner calls the pitch a strike. So instead of having a 3-0 count it becomes 2-1 and Suzuki fouls off the next pitch making it 2-2 and Suzuki strikes out to end the game on a swinging strike.


Now normally I don't get this upset about an umpire but I felt like I had to do somthing so my goal is to get CB Buckner investigated because from what I've read about him it's not good. There's been a baragge of people calling for his firing and I believe it's time for the baseball too take a real hard long look at Buckner and see if he's involved in any gambling. The game was totally one sided in terms of how he called pitches. The way he called out Carlos Gonzalez where he thought about the pitch and then came to terms that it was a strike where Gonzalez already had gotten ready for the next pitch then you see Buckner emphatically punch him out. This clown needs to be removed from baseball ASAP!