Other than the fact that they were coming off a game in which their bullpen had to throw 11 2/3 innings, less than 24 hours previously.
Are you arguing for the idea that Miley should have started today’s game and gone as long as possible on short rest, as opposed to Woodruff, who pitched a solid 5.1?
I’m arguing that expecting a gassed bullpen to pitch 7-8 innings probably wasn’t a great idea (but given what they have going on with their starters, maybe there weren’t any better ideas).
Woodruff (who might have been the only Milwaukee reliever who didn’t pitch last night) did reasonably well (8 Ks, but 5 hits and 3 runs in 5 1/3), but Soria (pitching for the third consecutive day) got touched for two hits and two runs.
So did you see this play? Umpire Joe West ruled fan interference, and replay could not overturn, so Altuve was called out. (Replay also could not confirm.)
I don’t think the fan reached into the field of play, therefore it couldn’t have been fan interference. Should have been a 2-run homer for Altuve.
Don’t just look at whether or not there’s a downside; what’s the upside? We’re talking about one batter here, one out of 27.
The downside is that Counsell looks like a fucking idiot. The Brewers have an elite bullpen, and on some level, his team has to know that they’re being misused and wasted. If you’re a veteran player, especially if you’ve been on a championship winning team like Moustakas and Cain, or even if you’re a vet like Braun, that shit’s gotta start gnawing away at you. I don’t care how much they respect their manager and whatever they’ve accomplished. They’re one game away from watching the World Series on TV.
Red Sox-Dodgers, ugh…
Dodgers, Braves, Rockies, Brewers… No matter who won the NL I predict a sweep by Sox or 'Stros. Same if Yankees or Indians made it.
Well, so much for that. (sigh)
Reddick’s catch just now to end the top of the 9th — a great one! Let’s hope it’s a game saver for an Astros B-9 comeback!
Benintendi - amazing game ending catch.
DAMN
The Killer Bees strike again!
I too don’t think the fan reached out into the field of play. I think it should have been a home run. The fan inadvertently did his job by knocking Betts’s glove.
There’s no ledge on that wall. The guys were pressed up against the wall with their hands in front of their bodies. They may not have reached out so that, say, their elbows broke the plane of the wall, but it’s very likely that their hands were partially or completely over the field. That’s enough for interference. Absent a better camera angle which clearly showed that they kept their hands entirely in the stands, the call had to be upheld.
Better wording: there was no evidence to definitively overturn the call made on the field.
Joe West’s call made on the field was a rushed decision.
And now Troy Caldwell (2018) may be the new Steve Bartman (2003), or Jeffrey Maier (1996). Sporting News, Troy Caldwell: “I promise you I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Sure looks like Mookie is catching that ball if the fan doesn’t interfere. And it’s hard to tell if he’s right up against the wall, it’s likely his glove was in the field of play. ESPN’s Eduardo Perez this morning agreed with the call. I think it was the right call.
Ok, I’m done with Cardiac Crag Kimbrel now. He just flat out does not have it. Can’t trust him in a 1 run game.
I agree, it was very close either way. On TV I was pretty sure it was way over the line, but looking at photos in the paper, I’m not nearly so sure-- Betts’ shoulder is on the inside of the wall, and he’s reaching pretty straight up, while the fans are right up against the outside of the wall and reaching pretty much straight forward.
In other news, the Sox have kept up their streak of getting at least one run every game on a non-batted ball (I was really pulling for that walk in the 7th), but the ratio is declining, down to 5 out of 27 for the series.
Still, I wonder how many times in the modern era has a team gotten all their runs (more than zero) in one game without a batted ball in play. And how many of them ever won the game?
I don’t want to see Kimbrel again this postseason. And it’s time to retire the show they put on at Fenway when he comes in. They play a video of highlights behind a veil of flames on the main video board. The rest of the video boards (even the smaller ones which normally just show in-game stats) play fire videos. He comes in to Ted Nugent’s Stranglehold. I was at game 1 of the ALDS and it was all very exciting until he immediately gave up a home run to Aaron Judge in a game that was already much closer than it should have been. He has been even worse since. I’ll take my chances with Heath Hembree or even Joe Kelly.
That’s fan interference. The fans were reaching over the wall; you can go on Google right now and find shots from a variety of angles and it’s pretty clear they;'re reaching over the fence.
It isn’t where the ball is going, it’s where the ball is, and it (and Betts’s glove) was still in the field of play.
I’ll tell you this; the fans were standing right there. If they WEREN’T reaching out to get the ball, they are the first fans in the modern history of baseball who didn’t reach out in that situation.
Ok, some clarification. If Betts had caught it, but his glove had been slightly over the wall into the stands, would it have been an out or a home run? Players can reach as far as they can into the stands to catch a foul ball, and if they do it’s an out. What rule applies to balls over a wall or barrier in fair territory? If the ball passes over the wall into the stands, is it a home run regardless of if it is caught or not? I haven’t tried to sort through the rules to find out.
It would be an out. You can see highlights of home runs being robbed somewhat regularly throughout any season. Many of these involve the players glove (and more) going beyond the barrier.
Here’s video of easily the most famous one from last season.