BASEBALL Schilling beans machine; officials not pleased

Whether its the Questec operator or the ump, there's a problem with strike zones at certain stadiums.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Major league baseball's disciplinarian is looking into Curt Schilling's destruction of a camera used to evaluate umpires.
The Arizona pitcher smashed part of the Questec Umpire Evaluation System last Saturday night during a loss to San Diego and said umpires have told him they are changing their strike zones to match the evaluations of the machine.
"I'm investigating it in the fullest," Bob Watson, baseball's vice president of on-field operations, said Tuesday night. "I haven't finished my investigation yet."
Watson won't complete his inquiry until Thursday at the earliest.
"All I'll say at this point is they're better off investigating the Questec system instead of Curt Schilling," players' association lawyer Gene Orza said.
Umps' gripe
Larry Gibson, a lawyer for the World Umpires Association, said that umpires had complained about the operators of the system in Phoenix this year. Gibson said a former Triple-A umpire ran the system during Arizona home games last year, but that different people were operating Questec this year at Bank One Ballpark.
Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office, said the change in operators wasn't significant, that only a working knowledge of baseball and computers was necessary.
"If you are a baseball fan and subscribe to AOL, you can operate the system," Alderson said. "It's not about the system. It's not about the umpires -- the umpires have never been more accurate and more consistent about the strike zone and the rule book than they are today."
"What this is about is about is Curt Schilling wanting pitches that are balls, called strikes. If that's what he wants, he should go to the rules committee. Otherwise, he should stop whining and go about his business."
Gibson said the strike zone fluctuates, depending on the stadium.
"Umpires are changing their strike zones to accommodate what they believe to be the Questec strike zone," Gibson said. "Umpires have told me they are passing along to each other what the Questec strike zone is from ballpark to ballpark."
Questec is being used at 13 of the 30 major league ballparks this year. The WUA has filed a grievance, claiming the computer is inaccurate and its results change depending on the operator. Hearings are scheduled for July 7, 21, 22 and 31, according to Gibson.
Schilling could not be contacted before Arizona's game at San Francisco on Tuesday night.
"It's unfair it's only in some ballparks, and umpires say they call the game differently in those ballparks," Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "It should be in all or none. When umpires openly admit they call the game differently using Questec, it leads to inconsistency. Obviously, Curt has a personal interest in this. He's trying to make a living out there, and it makes a difference in the strike zone. I can sympathize with his passion."
Schilling is 3-3 with a 3.36 in nine starts this season, with a 1.96 ERA in three road starts and a 4.39 ERA in Phoenix.
"I don't think he should be disciplined for breaking the machine," San Francisco pitcher Kirk Rueter said. "They have been disciplined for things I don't think they should before, and I'm sure they will again."