Can anyone explain how Lugo got ejected? Or why Angel Hernandez still has a job?

I dunno, vi. I was listening on the radio and fell asleep @ 12:30 or so so I never found out.

Or why Angel Hernandez still has a job?

He's in an airtight union position. Bullet-proof.

Last year it was the term "avulsion." Now we get "fatigue." Annoying.

Anyone else get a blank page when clicking on the link?

#2, you were merciful to yourself. I foolishly stayed up to 1 am, and the instant I saw "In play, run(s)" against Timlin I turned off the comp and went to bed. Had a hot dream with a cute chubby chick tho, so the night wasn't a total loss.

#1 - I didn't watch the game but supposedly Lugo checked a swing and on the appeal to third base Hernandez called it a strike. Lugo yelled 'check check!' and that was enough for the ejection.

Supposedly they have some history:

It should be noted that Lugo and Hernandez also had a run-in on April 25, 2007 at Baltimore, when Lugo asked for time before Daniel Cabrera delivered a pitch, only to have the ump ignore him. Cabrera’s pitch was called a strike and Hernandez encouraged the pitcher to continue to work, even as Lugo attempted to gain an explanation, leading to another called strike.

seems like a real cool guy that Angel Hernandez

Supposedly it was an argument about a check swing, but I think it was a Mariners hitter who was ruled not to have swung. Lugo was thrown out while in the field. And he hits righty, so Hernandez wouldn't have been appealed to on a swing of Lugo's if it was carryover from a previous inning.

#1 - I didn't watch the game but supposedly Lugo checked a swing and on the appeal to third base Hernandez called it a strike. Lugo yelled 'check check!' and that was enough for the ejection.

According to MLB.com, Raul Ibanez checked his swing. Lugo was at SS, asking for the call on the checked swing. That's why I don't get it.

... after checking the rules ...

According to a comment on Rule 9.02(c)...

The manager or the catcher may request the plate umpire to ask his partner for help on a half swing when the plate umpire calls the pitch a ball, but not when the pitch is called a strike.

...and from 9.02(a)...

Players leaving their position in the field or on base, or managers or coaches leaving the bench or coaches box, to argue on BALLS AND STRIKES will not be permitted. They should be warned if they start for the plate to protest the call. If they continue, they will be ejected from the game.

So let's say Lugo asked for a call on the checked swing, and Hernandez didn't - because Lugo is neither the manager nor the catcher. Then let's say Lugo took exception to this and left his position to argue it. It still seems like a flimsy ejection: Lugo didn't leave to argue balls and strikes; rather, he left for a clarification on 9.02(c). Nor did he start for the plate. (EDIT: That last part is quibbling.)

That said, I don't know what happened on the field. Maybe Lugo was arguing balls and strikes. Arguing them with the third-base umpire makes so little sense to me as to seem implausible.

oh, whoops. Um, well at least I got Lugo's name right...

From ProJo:

Believing that Ibanez had committed and swung through, the Sox asked home-plate umpire Eric Cooper to check with third-base umpire Angel Hernandez. Hernandez signaled "safe" with his arms, indicating Ibanez had held up and the pitch was a ball.

Lugo had been shouting "Check! Check!" from his shortstop position, indicating he wanted help from Hernandez on the pitch. After Hernandez ruled that Ibanez had held up, Lugo said the umpire was staring at him. When Lugo asked what he was staring at, Hernandez ejected him.

I'm pretty comfortable in saying Angel Hernandez is a horse's arse.

Even CBS Sportsline has harsh words for Hernandez in their writeup:

Francona and shortstop Julio Lugo were ejected in the fifth, each for the first time this season. Lugo said he only shouted "Check!" and looked at third-base umpire Angel Hernandez while Hernandez ruled in favor of Seattle's Raul Ibanez on an appeal of a check swing. Francona came out to separate his player from the smirking, gum-chomping umpire -- then got tossed, too, while pointing and index finger at Hernandez.

Hernandez is an a$$, yes. However, he doesn't have to give time to the hitter and can direct the pitcher to pitch.

Or maybe Lugo looked like Bobby Cox for a moment.

Angel Hernandez is awful, but everyone knows that.

Hernandez is an a$$, yes. However, he doesn't have to give time to the hitter and can direct the pitcher to pitch.

That's fine. That's also not relevant to the game in question.

Maybe Hernandez just gets itchy around wife-beaters.

Am I the only one who read that headline as "Shoulder fatigue and dice at K-Mart"?

Maybe Hernandez just gets itchy around wife-beaters.

He could certainly wear another type of T-shirt. I mean, geez.