(like most of us) Astros' Downs wants umpires held accountable

By C. Trent Rosecrans

Astros infielder Matt Downs vented about the umpires and echoed the thoughts of many fans when he said he wants Major League umpires to be held more accountable for their calls.

"My stats are put in the paper every day, everybody knows if I fail or succeed, and I feel like some kind of action has got to be taken where we realize if a guy's blown a call or not and he's accountable," Downs told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.

Downs was frustrated after he felt a 3-1 pitch from Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz was called a strike by umpire CB Bucknor and he felt it was inside. He then struck out swinging on the next pitch for the second out of the ninth inning in an eventual 11-9 Diamondbacks victory.

"I get tired of umpires going back to the hotel and thinking they did a good job on the night and I have to go back to the hotel on a failure night after I feel like I walked 3-1 instead of punching out 3-2," Downs said. "Some kind of action has to be taken on just a bonehead call like that."

Pitch F/X showed the ball was well inside and even Diamondbacks TV announcer Mark Grace was surprised it was called a strike and said, "Oh my goodness, J.J. got a big break there -- and the Diamondbacks. That pitch looked six inches inside. Holy mackerel."

Story can be found at CBSsports.com