Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.Looking Forward ...
Major League Baseball is fortunate the Angels' Game 1 win over the Red Sox was never in doubt after Torii Hunter's gargantuan fifth-inning blast. Hunter's home run and John Lackey's stellar pitching made it a moot point, but the umpiring was beyond brutal.
MLB Playoffs: Manny Isn't Being Manny | Hunter Smashes Sox
Rockies Top Phils, Even Series | SI.com: Yanks' Fake Controversy
Rockies Top Phils, Even Series | SI.com: Yanks' Fake Controversy
First base umpire C.B. Bucknor was at the center of the storm, blowing two calls -- one in the fourth inning and one in the sixth -- that replays showed were clear outs for the Red Sox. The Angels also took exception to one of Bucknor's calls in the fifth, and while it's easy to make a target of an umpire who has been voted the worst in the league by the players on multiple occasions, the entire crew was poor on Thursday night.
Crew chief and home plate umpire Joe West called interference on catcher Jeff Mathis in the third inning. It was difficult to see where he interfered on replays. Boston reliever Takashi Saito limited the damage in a potentially disastrous seventh inning with 5-2-5 double play, only the video on that play showed third base umpire Greg Gibson incorrectly ruled that Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell made the tag on the back end of that two-fer.
Shoddy umpiring is becoming more and more of an issue, particularly in the postseason where blown calls are magnified. Last year's World Series, for example, had its share of questionable calls by the men in blue. Those questionable calls open MLB up to criticism and second-guessing. How does an umpire with Bucknor's reputation end up on a playoff crew anyway? Why isn't instant replay expanded, at least in the postseason, beyond boundary calls?
Baseball isn't the NBA, where the Tim Donaghy scandal was a mere backdrop for near-constant complaining about officiating quality and deafeningly whispered conspiracy theories. But after watching Game 1, it doesn't seem that far off.
Bucknor's gaffes won't be replayed ad nauseum Friday morning, but only because they didn't affect the outcome. You get the feeling we won't make it through the postseason without a blown call that is.
| In Their Own Words |
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| "Probably Del Taco. They don't support MLB, do they? They just support the Angels? Yeah, it was Del Taco." -- Red Sox manager Terry Francona on what caused him to miss the pregame ceremonies. Francona was left queasy, but managed the game. |
| By the Numbers |
Career postseason hits by Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba. He is one hit shy of the Colorado franchise record, currently held by Kazuo Matsui. -- Ed Price |
| More From FanHouse |
| Fletcher: Hollywood Ending Krasovic: Halos Go 'Nuts' Price: Rockies Resilient Piliere: Scouting Notes |
Buried in the celebration of the Dodgers' thrilling bottom-of-the-ninth victory was an unorthodox move by manager Joe Torre that ended up paying off.
Torre, who has established that he is going to go with a do-or-die mentality with his pitching staff, brought in closer Jonathan Broxton in the eighth inning of a game the Dodgers were losing, 2-1. You just don't see that. Ever.
The reason was that Cardinals had the heart of the order -- Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Ryan Ludwick, all right-handed hitters -- coming up. In order to keep the game at a one-run deficit, Torre went with his best right-handed reliever, regardless of the the fact that "closers" are only supposed to pitch in the ninth inning with a lead.
Bill James would be proud.
-- Jeff Fletcher
Scout's Eye View ...
Essentially, there seems to be a hole in Manny Ramirez's offensive game that wasn't there before, and the Cardinals appear to be pitching to it over and over again. What consistently made Manny one of the most potent hitters over the last decade was his ability to cover and punish the good fastball inside, and also his ability to stay back long enough to drive the pitch away.
He no longer appears to have the incredible bat speed to pull that off. He now needs to sit on or cheat on the fastball inside and open up his front side earlier. By doing so, he is unable to stay on his back leg long enough to drive the outside pitch with any authority. More specifically, by opening up a little earlier to hit the fastball inside, he leaves only his arms and hands to hit off-speed pitches on the outer part of the zone.
-- Frankie Piliere (Full Scouting Notebook)
Friday's Tale of the Tape ...
Twins (Nick Blackburn) at Yankees (A.J. Burnett), 6:07 PM ET: Blackburn finished really strong (2-0, 1.65 ERA with 18 strikeouts to one walk in his last four starts). He faced the Yankees in the Bronx once this year, working 7 2/3 innings and allowing six hits and four earned runs. Mark Teixeira absolutely owns him (6-for-6 with a walk, double, home run and five RBI). Burnett also finished with four solid starts (2-0, 1.88 ERA, 28 strikeouts) and is a much better pitcher at home. In two outings against the Twins this year, he allowed a whopping 23 baserunners in 13 innings, but only four of them crossed the plate (2.77 ERA, but a horrible 1.77 WHIP). Current Twins hitters have a collective .648 OPS against Burnett in their career, but Joe Mauer has had good success.Red Sox (Josh Beckett) at Angels (Jered Weaver), 6:07 PM ET: Beckett has been measurably worse on the road this season and Angel Stadium was no exception -- he made one start there, and allowed eight hits and four runs in six innings, taking the loss. Howie Kendrick, Chone Figgins, Torii Hunter and Maicer Izturis hit him well, but Bobby Abreu (.708 OPS), Vladimir Guerrero (.242 AVG) and Juan Rivera (.311 OPS) do not. Weaver is nearly two runs better at home (2.90 home ERA to 4.78 on the road) and he owned the Red Sox in 2009, working 13 2/3 innings and allowing just one earned run (0.66). Over the course of his career, though, David Ortiz (1.117 OPS), Kevin Youkilis (.964), J.D. Drew (.918) and Victor Martinez (.958) have hit him very well.
-- Matt Snyder
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-09-2009 @ 7:13AM
Jim said...
First, let me say I hate yhe Red Sox AND Angels, but anyone who watched this game last night until 1:30 here in the East, one thing was perfectly clear. C.B. Buckner would have been fired years ago as an umpire were he not black. Too miss a close call at first is human. Too miss the calls he made is completley unaceptable and I have been saying this for years about this umpire. You think last night was bad? Wait until he's behind the plate calling balls and strikes. Worst Ball and Strike umpire in baseball BY FAR! Last nights game makes you wonder if he has a hidden agenda. Both runners were out by at least THREE feet and Stevie Wonder could have seen this. Might he have money on the series? After a full season of baseball they can do no better than this for a playoff series? Again, I hate to say this but if he was white, would he still be in MLB?? Then there is Joe,I am the show,West behind the plate. He always thinks people are there to see him. His catcher interference call last night was unbelieveable. The Boston batter said nothing, Francona said nothing and numerous replays showed no contact. He umps, do your jobs and stay out of sight. PLEASE!!
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10-09-2009 @ 9:22AM
TheMcEntyres said...
Isn't it samazing how Red Sox Fans cry and whine about the UMPs when and if they lose.It's sicking how nobody complain about the umps who blew 2 calls against the Rockies in Game 1.But anything close to those calls,Boston is crying.They wouldn't say a thing about the Umps if they had won.Poor old Mile'nMike in the morning are crying about not having the pleasure of slobbing over the Phils or Boston.I love it.
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10-09-2009 @ 9:32AM
dcs99999 said...
First of all "McEntyres", you are an idiot!
There were three calls that should of been outs. Those calls completely changed the game. That is three outs which is an inning in baseball! If baseball can not get these easy calls then maybe it isn't worth watching.
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10-09-2009 @ 11:11AM
tonytiger18 said...
What game were you watching?
There were two horrible calls against the Sox,but, it didn't have any effect on the score.
There were two horrible calls in favor of the Sox.
One call, catcher's inteference -no effect on the game. The play at third base-- the Angel runner was safe, close and a difficult call but he was safe. That cost the Angels an out and at least one run.
The horrible calls didn't hurt the Red Sox, but, it did hurt the Angels.
Fortunately, the outcome wasn't changed because of the poor calls.
Stop crying with excuses Red Sox fans.
10-09-2009 @ 7:50PM
nancyob35 said...
If you don't watch baseball, you might spend the time working on your grammar. What in the world does 'should of' mean?
10-09-2009 @ 12:00PM
jim said...
Typical Red Sox Crybabies..always an excuse if they lose. It gets old, someone should give them the baby bottle award for biggest cry babies. We in Cleveland sent them Victor 'Crybaby' Martinez...good riddance you fit right in cry baby.
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10-09-2009 @ 3:39PM
BOB said...
HEY PUNK!!!!!! ..... HOW'S YOUR TEAM DOING IN THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR? I DON'T SEE THEM ANYWHERE. ONE GAME IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD! GO RED SOX !!!
P.S. THANKS FOR VICTOR
10-09-2009 @ 8:34PM
Kaka said...
Wow...bitter,bitter, bitter !
10-09-2009 @ 12:19PM
THE HAWK said...
ESPN loves the Red Sox and encourage their viewers to do the same. So when things don't go the Red Sox's way everyone starts whining. All of the Sox crybabies come out, 'It's the umps fault', 'The umpire was Black so he's incompetent', 'The umpire is unethical, he's betting on the game'. Any excuse. Blame the umpires when the truth is BOSTON SUX!
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10-09-2009 @ 3:46PM
BOB said...
HEY SQUAWK !!! HOW'S YOUR TEAM DOING?
TRUTH IS THE UMPS STUNK AND YOU KNOW IT. THAT IS IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL. ESPN RECOGNIZES A GREAT TEAM WHEN THEY SEE ONE.
10-09-2009 @ 6:00PM
Ali said...
The umpiring was terrible. Beyond awful. When the crew was named in the afternoon, we all knew what was coming. That being said, it wasn't the umpires that threw the game.....What lost the game was the lack of hitting on the Sox part. Lackey pitched a gem and totally shut out the Sox. I haven't heard too many real fans blame the umpiring on the loss. I'm a huge Sox fan, but I'm not stupid enough to think that 4 hits are anywhere near enough, to win a game, let alone a playoff game.
10-09-2009 @ 12:24PM
RACENDIRT said...
It doesn't matter what team was playing. There were more than two bad calls and we don't know if it affected the outcome. You should expect an occasional bad call but, come on, these are the playoffs. Teams worked extra hard to get there so umps need to work a little harder. One player was out by four feet and that ump deemed him safe.
There were several outside pitches called strikes and they replayed them. It's crucial to get the calls right...or at least most of them. It was unacceptable and these umps should be called out on them.
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10-09-2009 @ 12:45PM
George said...
I don't particularly care for either the Sawx or the Halos, but CB Bucknor is one of the worst guys out there working the game. He has a huge chip on his shoulder, and on top of the fact that he routinely blows calls and has a different strike zone depending on what side of the bed he woke up on, he also constantly baits players and managers into confrontations. I wonder how some of the other umps, who for the most part are fair and do the best they can, feel about getting lumped in with a guy like Bucknor. Angel Hernandez is pretty bad as well, but he seems to have gotten a little better in recent years (he was as bad at baiting players and managers as Bucknor).
Johnson brings up a good point: what in the HELL is CB Bucknor doing working a playoff game? If it's based off on-field performance, Bucknor shouldn't be able to get a sniff of the playoffs, and yet there he is. How do they pick playoff crews?
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10-09-2009 @ 1:05PM
syankee15 said...
I'm a yankee fan, but the Red Sox got screwed on two easy calls at first base. Why do they let these incompentent umps do these playoff games. Bad calls change the entire game, they might not seem relevent at the time but they change what guys come to bat in certain situations later in the game.
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10-09-2009 @ 1:43PM
ptcards said...
you think last nights game was bad, wait antill that jerk is behind the plate tonight, someone might get tossed tonight, horrible calls both ways. almost every close base call was wrong! bucknor and weat should NOT even be doing the playoffs. they are 2 of the worst in the A.L.
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10-09-2009 @ 2:25PM
waaaaazuuuuup said...
when the call against the redsox where called the angels still had that 3-0 lead. the redsox had many chances to score but they did not. men on 1st and 2nd.. men on 2nd and 3rd. those horrible calls on both sides didnt change the game whatsoever.... the redsox just didnt have it for that game... you redsox fans cant ever keep it real when you lose.. it is always someones fault when you lose..remember 1 thing. you dont have the team you had in 04 and 07.. all the reasons for those ws wins are gone.. the redsox have been playing poorly in the second half of the regular season and they are bringing it into the post. the angels got the bad calls in that game aswell but redsox fans cant seem to point that out.. if you had won you would have been talking smack like the redsox fans do every year.. but you guys teams been losing now the smack has turned to whinning... im a yankee fan if they lose they lose.. but they have a better chance this year than your redsox.. fans that dont keep it real suck..stop living in 04 and 07 this is 2009.
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10-09-2009 @ 3:52PM
BOB said...
THE YANKMEES SUCK!!!!!!! I WOULD ROOT FOR A TEAM FROM IRAQ BEFORE THE YANKMEES
10-09-2009 @ 5:05PM
waaaaazuuuuup said...
HEY BOB--- spoken like a true redsox fan...lololol.. you see what i mean about redsox fans? the envy you have towards the yankees . lololol
10-09-2009 @ 11:27PM
waaaaazuuuuup said...
HEY BOOB I MEAN BOB---did you get kicked out of the redsox nation yet? i always looking for your next stupid comment.. the sucky yankees just won again.. did you buy your ticket to iraq? if the boston redsox are outed in this first round ill bet i wont see any comments from you till next year... or maybe im wrong? i think you would still be saying this one sucks and that one sucks.. your an idiot. redsox team is to classy to have an idiot fan like you makeing them look bad
10-09-2009 @ 2:27PM
boilerhyde said...
So one game where you say the umpiring was terrible therefore deems there to be shoddy umpiring in the playoffs. Interesting conclusion. No one says the Bucknor calls weren't incorrect but as you said "replays showed". Its nice to have those slo-motion replays that get replayed 15 times to check a call huh? That doesnt mean IR should be expanded -- its a human element in a game live with it. Not to mentioned expanding IR in playoff games and now you have games lastint 5+ hours -- good by TV ratings. BTW, the catcher's interfernce you said was a blown call? When Scioscia came out to argue the catcher verfifed that West made the correct call. And how about Mike Lowell and Alex Gonzalez not take lazy approaches to their jobs -- do that and you prevent the ump from having to make a call like that.
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