Sam Donnellon: Out of his league

SCOTT BARRY will be the second-base umpire and Greg Gibson will be checking checked swings at third when the Phillies resume their thrilling series with the second-division Houston Astros tonight at Citizens Bank Park.

For fans unable to take their eyes off the two after the events of the last 2 nights, be forewarned: This might be one of the last chances to see the two together on the same field. That's because when he's not ejecting major league stars for the first or second time in their careers, Barry spends most of his time umpiring minor league games.

Gibson? He spends his off hours hiding behind a rule that really doesn't seem to exist, or at least operates more as a guideline.

Six days after handing Washington star Ryan Zimmerman his first career ejection during a game against the Cubs, Barry threw out Ryan Howard in the 14th inning for tossing his bat following a second awful checked-swing reversal from third base.

When Howard rolled his head after the first, Barry took a step toward him and leered back. It seemed like goading to me. Incensed after the second, Howard marched toward Barry as players, coaches and even Gibson attempted to impede his momentum.

"I've never seen him upset like that," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said after the Astros beat the Phillies, 4-2, in 16 innings. "I've seen him mad, but never like that."

Two nights, two controversies for the Big Piece, whose ejection came the night after Gibson blew a base-line tag call, compounded it with what Manuel described as the most liberal interpretation of what a base line is, then hid behind his crew chief as the media sought clarification afterward.

Howard's ejection, so late in a game in which both teams had depleted their benches, forced the Phillies to play Roy Oswalt in leftfield and Raul Ibanez at first. Oswalt actually caught the only ball hit to him, and Ibanez made a nice diving play to beat Michael Bourn to the bag. But his muff of a doubleplay relay allowed Houston's fourth run to score and, well, it's awful that an umpire's quick thumb forced all that in the first place.

Fearing a suspension, Manuel didn't want to start trouble afterward, especially after getting ejected himself the night before over Gibson's game-deciding call. "I don't want to get caught up criticizing them," Manuel said. "I don't think that's going to do us any good."

I'm not trying to start trouble, either, but if I'm Ryan Madson and I take the hill tonight, I wouldn't try to pick anyone off at second.

It's not fair, the Phillies with two Ryans and Houston with none.

Barry's happy thumb, which began early and continued often last night, rung up Howard on two body bends that sure didn't look like swings.

But that's hardly the point. Yes, Gibson has never seen an ankle-high pitch he didn't like and yes, Barry seems to have his thumb up as the ball leaves the pitcher's hand.

But the problem is not their incompetency. It's their obstinacy.

A decade ago, Major League Baseball put a big lasso over an umpires union that had empowered itself to dictate games, which stepped all over the game. And for a while it worked. Umpires convened regularly on close plays, walked away from conflicts rather than toward them, and took a considerable level of guff from the participants before issuing ultimatums and ejections.

But that spirit of collegiality has noticeably eroded over the last two seasons, maybe three. There are still good umpires all over the place, the crew that just went through being a good example.

But guys who act insecure, who lack accountability-well, Gibson and Barry over the last 2 days harken to those bad, old days.

And that's not good. For anyone.

Send e-mail to donnels@phillynews.com.

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