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I've watched enough Mariner games to know that the umps LOVE to slap the Mariners down just when they're getting close to competing, if the team they're fighting is a "perennial contender" like the Yankees.
Remember the study I did during the Mariners' losing slide in 2009 using the Brooks data? It may be that umping doesn't change the scoreboard ON AVERAGE...but the fix is in when the games count.
Though I would agree that it's less blatant here than in the NFL or any soccer league that has ever existed...there's a reason I think soccer is stupid and unwatchable. There's a reason I stopped watching football after 2005. There's a reason I don't watch the NBA.