Manuel and Davidson suspended one game each (video)

Did you miss the battle between Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and home plate umpire Bob Davidson this week? It was pretty great. Manuel got upset that Davidson got in Brian Schneider’s way as he tried to grab strike three in the dirt. Schneider couldn’t get the ball and the dude was safe at first after striking out.

Davidson screamed into the dugout, “you think I wanted to block his ass?”

Not sure exactly what Charlie said back, but he got tossed and didn’t care for it. The video is here:

After the expletive-laden battle was over, MLB decided that both guys should have a seat for a game. You see players and managers get suspended all the time, but umpires? And better yet, they said Davidson’s suspension was for “repeated violations.” Wow, how about that?

From the press release:

Umpire Bob Davidson has received a one-game suspension for his repeated violations of the Office of the Commissioner’s standards for situation handling, Major League Baseball announced today.

Davidson’s suspension is to be served tonight, when his crew will work the Minnesota Twins-Milwaukee Brewers game at Miller Park. A Minor League call-up umpire will fill Davidson’s spot in tonight’s game.

This guy must be one hell of an umpire to not just get fired. If he’s constantly screwing up, couldn’t they just find someone else to judge whether the little white ball went over the plate or not?