Ump steps in front of plate to stop warm up pitches, a breakdown

Braves are beating the Padres by three. This is the final out of the top of the ninth inning. Two minutes and five seconds will be put on the clock to run to commercial to warm up. There's Kenley Jansen. He's going to come in for the save. So we go to commercial, and here's the rule. MLB is instituted times of two minutes and five seconds for local broadcasts. As of 2018, the umpire's signal for the final warm-up pitch comes at the 25-second mark, and the pitcher must throw it before the clock hits 20. The batter is also announced at the 20-second mark, and the pitcher must begin his wind-up to throw the first pitch of the inning with five seconds before the clock hits zero. In between innings, from this blimp shot, you can zoom in and see the umpire is on the mound with Kenley checking his fingers for sticky stuff. With the closers, they do that before the inning starts because it's pointless to do it after the inning because the game is over, all right? So now he gets checked for sticky stuff. He throws his warm-up, throws a fastball there, and the umpire says, you get one more. He says, no, I want two more, and he says, no, you only get one more, and he says, no, I'm going to throw two more, and he says, no, no, no, no, no, you're done. You're done. I can't do anything. Turns to the catcher. He says, no, I'm going to throw two more. This one's going to be a curveball. So there you go, and I'm guessing he wants to end his warm-ups on a fastball, so he wanted two more. That's his routine. Ump says, nah, steps in front of Kenley, and he's like, nah, I can't let you throw this. Kenley is looking, what the **** is that? What's going on? What is that? Dude, that's not cool. So he's going to walk up and have a chat with him. Umpire's name is Bill Miller, and you can see him say, Bill, come on, man. Totally uncool. Now the umpire, he turns to him and he says, you have five minutes, and you threw your first pitch with 40 seconds. And I don't know why I think five minutes is just an exaggeration, because he knows the rule. He's got two minutes. Kenley's going to respond to him. He's going to say, but Bill, you never called time. And now Snit comes, OK, OK, Bill, hey, Bill, that's not what matters there. Whenever a closer comes in, enough, and his point is like the pace of play. We got to the ninth inning. The closer's in. You can't rush the closer. It's a very important part of the job, very important inning, and that's kind of his first point. And the ump's going to respond. He's going to say, I know, but, and Kenley's going to say, you can't do that. That's my routine. I'm just doing whatever it is you guys tell me. No way. But you guys stopped him, too. Something like, I know you guys got to check his fingers. I know, I know, but he's got to be able to pitch. Check him after the game. And ump says, it's not us, this is not my rule, I don't know. So it's a pretty valid point. Kenley's like, hey, hey, Manny, Manny, get behind the plate. Now the umpire says, we're not doing it. We're not doing it. Don't you throw a pitch. Pretty fair point by Kenley. If you got to check my fingers on the mound before I throw my warm-ups, then you have to grant me more time when I throw my warm-ups. Seems pretty logical and fair, like call timeout on the two-minute clock and let that run out. If you're interrupting my routine. So he writes down in his little note, did my job today and forced a rule that I don't like. Let's him know that that counts as a mound visit. Does it affect Kenley in the inning? Well, the first pitch, there's the fastball he wanted. Nice curve, that warm-up pitch, 1-1. That darts inside, 2-1. That darts in again, gives him the call. That was off the plate. Nice job. Made up for it. Now he's got the 2-2 to Machado. High fastball. Boom. You're out. Cronenworth up. Outside fastball. Calm down, says Ketch. In play. Dansby's got it. Gathers it. Throws. Two outs. Next batter's Luke Voigt. That's up and in for a ball, and the 1-0 is fouled back. 1-1. Put in play. High. Dansby comes all the way across. Catches it. Let Olsen know. I got those two. So after the game, Kenley's going to go have a little chat with Bill Miller, the umpire, and he's going to go, like, you know, I only threw three pitches, and you see the ump say right there, you threw three pitches, and I think maybe the ump wasn't paying attention. He didn't know fully what was going on, because Kenley's saying, like, I got to be able to throw more than three pitches, you know, and the ump's asking him, he's like, yeah, I was trying to throw a fourth pitch. Fourth pitch. Stop me. And you can see him put his hand on his shoulder, and you see the umpire say, okay, I hear you. I hear you, big man, and then I think that's good. I don't know. I think the umpire's just trying to force a rule that he doesn't make, but the rule is dumb, and there should definitely be an adjustment period. If you get checked on the mound, then that shouldn't count toward the time against you warming up, and that's just common sense.