Who is Phil Cuzzi?

Phil Cuzzi is an umpire that should have been fired years ago. Read this. The way Tony and Jim were ejected, the game should have been played under protest. You don't eject a guy late in the game with a full count and runners on! Even an Astros fan I know said this!

Phil Cuzzi's horrible call to toss Roy Halladay out of Monday's game not only spoiled the Doc's shot at a team record 22 wins, but it also exposed the poor state of umpiring that exists in the majors.

I'd like to thank Phil Cuzzi for only one thing: The level of ineptness that he displayed in the opening game of the Blue Jays final homestand reminded me that umpires, after all, are only human.

But that's about the nicest thing that I can come to say about Mr. Cuzzi. We should hope that we are as bad as at our jobs yet are still allowed to show up for work the next day.

Working behind the plate of what was turning out to be a classic pitchers' duel between Toronto's Roy Halladay and Tampa Bay's Rob Bell, his night began by issuing warnings to both teams that there would be zero tolerance if the pitchers decided to settle some old scores.

Apparently, the Rays and Jays have some history of ill will, but neither team can remember if they've had a problem with each other.

Sure, Rays' outfielder Carl Crawford yipped off in the press a couple of weeks ago questioning the Blue Jays' heart as a team. If there was going to be retaliation, I'm quite sure that the Toronto response would have come then. Or maybe the fact that Tampa Bay pitchers had hit 12 Blue Jays while Toronto returned the favour only four times raised a red flag with someone in the commissioner's office.

And there's also been whisperings that Cuzzi was looking to settle a score with the Blue Jays after Carlos Delgado dressed him down in the press following a June 14th loss to the Cubs. Delgado had been called out on strikes, with the game on the line, on a pitch almost a foot off the plate. Delgado stated that "a major league umpire should not miss a call like that" and it was the "worst call I've seen in a long, long time" and that Cuzzi's strike calling skills were "amateurish."

And Cuzzi was also behind the plate on May 8, 2002 when the Blue Jays lost to Seattle 5-4 in 10 innings when he ruled Ichiro safe on a play at the plate despite television replays that showed he was clearly out. So the Blue Jays do have a history with this umpire.

Somewhere, Joe Brinkman is smiling because he's no longer Public Enemy No. 1 among Toronto baseball fans.

If warnings were issued pre-game, then why was Carlos Tosca allowed to manage the rest of the game? The rulebook clearly states that if a pitcher is ejected following a warning, then his manager is also ejected. I guess Cuzzi only has the Coles notes version of the rules.

I realize this seems drastic after the fact, but if I had been in Tosca's shoes, I would have pulled my team off the field and forfeited the game. Clearly, they weren't getting a fair shake, so why not back your best player, as a team, and say, "enough is enough." At least Halladay's ERA wouldn't have been inflated by the extra earned runs that Dan Reichert allowed to score while Doc was steaming in the clubhouse.

By the way, full marks to Halladay for keeping his temper in check. Anyone else and the Gatorade cooler, bats and other assorted equipment would have littered the field. But as Doc has shown in this Cy Young season, his level of maturity is unparalleled in this game or any other.

In the end, I guess it really doesn't matter. With the quality of umpiring becoming worse by the season - and it's not just Cuzzi, just watch highlights showing missed calls on a nightly basis - the Lords of the Game have to sit down and find a solution to this problem. Fans pay good money to see great pitchers like Roy Halladay exhibit their exceptional skills. Last night, all they got to see was an umpire devoid of common sense or feel for this great game.

Perhaps Cuzzi should trade in his umpiring blues for a red nose and big, floppy shoes. After Monday night's fiasco, he's now a lot closer to a clown than a major league umpire.

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 13th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.

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