A note

[Chef]

This may get me banned, suspended.......whatever.

Doesn't matter much to me.

The people who are bashing the umpire today, have obviously never umpired in any sport in their life.

If you knew anything about Tichenor, you would know that he is married and has 2 young boys, which he sees only for a day at a time very very rarely.

If you knew anything about Tichenor, you would know that he was analyzed (without him knowing) during his first MLB game behind the plate. Out of every pitch thrown, he missed 2 ball/strike pitches. 2 out of over 280.

If you knew anything about Tichenor, you would know that he went to umpiring academy in Florida right out of JUCO, and that when he comes back home during the winter, he substitute teaches at a local grade school.

If you knew anything about Tichenor, you would know that his dad died of cancer at a very early age, and that there is a Fred Tichenor Memorial Softball Tournament that is played every year out here.

If you knew anything about Tichenor, you would know that when he was on the bench playing JUCO baseball, when an ump didn't show up, he would be the first in line to strap on the gear and go.

But......none of you know anything about him.

But I tell you what......if you want it, i'll gladly im you his cell phone number, his personal address where his wife and two young boys are, and you by God give him the riot act, tell him what a horrible umpire he is, how much he sucks, anything that a lot of you gutless, spineless bastards don't have the nerve to tell him, instead ripping him a new one on an anonymous message board.

[Killick]

Probably would have been better to post this where the (supposed) offense was occurring, Chef. I had no idea what this was about, until I went looking for it.

And, not for nuthin, Tich probably doesn't give a shit... umps have to be used to this sort of speculation by the time they make the bigs.

EDIT: But I'm pretty sure he'd mind you giving out his cell  number to a bunch of whack-jobs on sj.com. 

[Moderator1]

Hey chef,
If he's a professional umpire, he's heard a lot worse.  I'm sure you're taking this way harder than he is, too.
He's an ump. They get ripped. Grow up and deal with it.
No one was attacking him personally.

[Chef]

Hey chef,
If he's a professional umpire, he's heard a lot worse.  I'm sure you're taking this way harder than he is, too.
He's an ump. They get ripped. Grow up and deal with it.
No one was attacking him personally.

Yep.

[imjustagirl]

I don't have Killick's drive. What the hell is going on here?

[Moderator1]

Yep what?
Aren't you an umpire? How do you handle it when people tell you that you suck?

[Inky_Wretch]

I don't have Killick's drive. What the hell is going on here?

Ump tossed both catchers and managers in Twins-Red Sox game today.

Ump in question is getting ripped, partly because he's only 32. Ump is, it seems, a friend of Chef.

[imjustagirl]

Yeah, of all the things on this site, this seems like a weird one to go all "Jack Nicholson in The Shining" about.

[PeteyPirate]

Which eye is Tichenor's good one?

[Bubbler]

Chef ... relax.

One of my best friends is an umpire, got as far as AAA before health issues forced him to retire. He recovered and now does collegiate umpiring.

For the first time in both of our careers, we crossed paths a few weeks ago for a series. It was cool, culmination of childhood dreams, etc. The SID knew about it and playfully teased me about it throughout the weekend. No big deal, I took it in stride.

In the second game of the series, he was working first base, and there was a bang-bang play against the team I cover and he called the runner out. Wrongly. I was sitting next to the conference umpire supervisor and he was not happy with the call. Neither was the coach I cover ... and they got into a face-to-face spat.

Later, I called my friend to tease him, but he wasn't a happy camper. He thought he got the call right, but I could tell from knowing him that he didn't believe it. He was beside himself, especially after the conference supervisor read him the riot act after the game.

I told him not to sweat it. The call didn't affect the game and he shouldn't beat himself up. I re-affirmed what he already knew, he has a public job and has to take public criticism.

I guess that's what I'm saying to you, Chef. Your buddy is in a public job, people are going to take shots at him, right or wrong. Don't take it personally, it's part of the territory.

[TheSportsPredictor]

I'm not sure if Chef thinks all those things make the ump immune to criticism, or the fact that the ump is Chef's friend. Cuz if the ump fucked up, he fucked up, he takes criticism, and everyone moves on in a day.

Let me list my qualifications to criticize:

... my parents are really nice.

... I'm serving in my brother's wedding in a couple weeks.

... my grandfather died of leukemia.

... I got a great job evaluation last time around.

[zeke12]

Which eye is Tichenor's good one?

AP News Alert: Todd Tichenor has just ejected FirstDownPirates. And his children. And his children's children.

[playthrough]

anything that a lot of you gutless, spineless bastards don't have the nerve to tell him, instead ripping him a new one on an anonymous message board.

Zzzzzzzz.

C'mon man. You didn't register on this site this morning.

[Flying Headbutt]

If he had one more eye he'd be a cyclops!



(That's my favorite)

[DirtyDeeds]

I'm not sure if Chef thinks all those things make the ump immune to criticism, or the fact that the ump is Chef's friend. Cuz if the ump fucked up, he fucked up, he takes criticism, and everyone moves on in a day.

I don't know anything about this situation, and I sure don't mean to pile on, but this is what I was thinking.

[BYH]

That this doesn't end with "...and it really hurts where my right foot used to be" is the greatest disappointment I've ever experienced.

[forever_town]

That this doesn't end with "...and it really hurts where my right foot used to be" is the greatest disappointment I've ever experienced.

Obviously, this isn't BYH's wife posting here.

[2muchcoffeeman]

That this doesn't end with "...and it really hurts where my right foot used to be" is the greatest disappointment I've ever experienced.

That's taking into account a lot of disappointment.

[shotglass]

I'm not sure if Chef thinks all those things make the ump immune to criticism, or the fact that the ump is Chef's friend. Cuz if the ump fucked up, he fucked up, he takes criticism, and everyone moves on in a day.

Let me list my qualifications to criticize:

... my parents are really nice.

... I'm serving in my brother's wedding in a couple weeks.

... my grandfather died of leukemia.

... I got a great job evaluation last time around.

Well, nobody's going to sue you for being over-sensitive. I'm sure Chef hopes he can reciprocate some day.

Playing the ass doesn't mean one has a handle on the situation.

[forever_town]

Turning serious, speaking as a Cal Ripken level umpire, getting yelled at is part of the territory. Hearing it from coaches and players is part of the game, much as we might sometimes wish it weren't. If the coaches or managers try to argue balls and strikes, your friend has to throw any of them out of the game.

If the coach or manager goes up to him after the game and abuses him, he can (and should) notify his supervisor. Depending how the league works, the league can take it from there.

As for whether or not we make bad calls, I can only go from my experience. If I think I blew a call, I feel sick about it. I don't sweat it if the coach disagrees with me if I've made the right call or the right interpretation. I'm probably my own worst critic as an umpire. Hopefully, so is Tichenor.

[buckweaver]

As someone who was a certified umpire for five years, I think I'm pretty fair to my fellow officials.

That said, I'm with TSP on this one: If he fucked up, he fucked up. He's a professional. Criticism is part of the game, and if he deserves it, so be it.

Chef ... drink a beer, forget about this. You're way overboard on this one.

[zeke12]

Today, Todd Tichenor heard his cell phone ringing, but it was someone else's phone. He checked his anyway. TLIA.

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc

[imjustagirl]

Todd Tichenor has a garden in his backyard, but rabbits keep wreaking havoc. TLIA.

[Inky_Wretch]

TLIA?

WTF? SHABO!