MVN: Matschulat: Umpiring Gaffes Punctuate Rangers’ Latest Defeat (Video)

Sufferin’ saccharin!...Isaac Sprague got more of the plate than Torii Hunter did!

What do you even begin to say about such an flagrant exhibition of umpiring incompetence? Seriously, what do you say? And how does home plate umpire Dale Scott even conceivably begin to rule that Torii Hunter safely touched home plate on his first attempt to evade Gerald Laird’s tag?

How do you screw up a call that badly?

And then if you’re Laird, how do you allow your emotions to override your responsibility to hold the runner in check at second base and enable Mike Napoli to swipe third base during a still-live play?

“It was more than a tough call,” [manager Ron] Washington said. “Dale Scott can’t miss those types of calls. He said that Torii Hunter got a finger on home plate as he slid past the first time. A finger. That’s what made me just walk away.”