ALDS Ump'n: C.B. Bucknor in the Hizzy, "PitchZoneTracker" Ain't

In that at bat I just watched in the 8th Inning of the Rays/Sox Game Two, there were several interesting pitches called strikes by home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor (54) during the Nick Swisher at-bat, which ended in a strike out after starting with a 3-0 count.

After 3-0, there was a nice pitch that caught the outside corner. Then a pitch (see picture) that appeared quite high for what usually passes for a MLB strike, but was called a strike. Now it's 3-2.

Bucknor is known for a generous strike zone and my personal assessment agrees with that. He tends to push the borderline pitches to strike calls. Eventually, he punched Swisher out on a pitch that looked outside, leading to a spirited debate between batter and ump.

The announcing team (which includes Harold Reynolds, thank goodness he's back) noted how a pitcher earns strike calls by hanging around the zone. The ump gets used to calling strikes and continues to do so as the game wears on and the pitches drift.

I would call attention to a few points. First, Swisher did himself no favors by taking a starting step toward first after he hit 3-0. It annoys the umpire (A) and (B) causes your strike zone to lengthen if you're being technical.

And this leads to calls like the 3-1 pitch, which was the one that seemed to be most startingly "up". In fact, it was a brilliant call by Bucknor, calling the zone Swisher offered.

As you can see, the pitch is notched as "high" by the "PitchZoneTracker" dealy, and from where Swisher was standing when the pitch was first thrown, it was right. But Swisher did something interesting as this high pitch crossed the plate...he stood up straight.

The zone is a moving target, the area from the hollow of the knee to something resembling half the distance from the belt to the shoulders...and the plate. As you can see, Swisher stands up and makes this pitch within that zone. A lot of umpires would have given up on the pitch (like Swisher) and make the "ball" call in their heads before it even hit the glove. But Bucknor took his time, watched it in and kept his bearings on the batter. Impressive.

This also leads to a criticism of the "PitchZoneTrackerStrikeZoneGraphic" deal that is gaining favor around the networks. First off, the strike zone is three dimensional, so this 2D square doesn't make much sense. Second, the strike zone is ever-changing based on the stance of the batter as he addresses the ball...but the box seems to be the same size for everyone. Not entirely useful product, but fun to look at.