Joe West Thinks It's Remarkably Stupid That Pete Rose Is Still On The Outside Of Baseball

You have to imagine the Mob historically influenced so much baseball over the years. Obviously just a remarkably shady topic to get into with one of the game's biggest purests. But even so interesting to see it register with Joe West and learn that there's plenty of that kinda chatter around the game going back to his debut in the mid 70's.

I think the biggest takeaway here is just how often and easily Joe references the presence of VEGAS throughout the interview. Vegas for the lineup cards. Vegas with the totals and commercial breaks. On it goes, everything pointing back to Vegas. Got a problem with the game? Take it up with Vegas.

Ultimately there's no way this game continues without some kind of robotic umpire integration. Not saying it's tomorrow but that day is coming sooner than later. Maybe the numbers suck now on the accuracy but the ultimate pressure and finances at stake mean they have to strive to get every call right. That's why I know the technology is coming and personally it sucks.

The official Starting 9 take on the situation is that the umpires inherently make the game better. The gamesmanship and craft is simply too great to ignore. By far the most integrated official in any professional sport. There's just so much history and tradition when it comes to the game being police and administered by a group of 4 dudes. That's an awesome part of the game. We want to get it right but not at the expense of just getting rid of the black & blues. No thanks.

Anyways what do you guys think? Robo umpires or do we want to find the next great Joe West?

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