Blaming the umpires is a lazy reason, particularly in the playoffs. Similar to whatever, however, there can be exceptions..
The New York Yankees lost Game 2 of the American League Division Series 7-5 due to the fact that the Tampa Bay Rays pitched and hit much better. However, they have a genuine gripe with the strikes and balls judgement from CB Bucknor behind home base..
Bucknor basically extended the strike zone an extra inch or more or three off the outdoors corner for right-handed players. Did a strike call here or there affect the outcome of the video game? The answer is most likely no. And to be fair, the misses out on went both ways, although the missed calls were enhanced as the Yankees routed in the late innings and mounted a comeback..
However if Major League Baseball expects the highest performance from its players come playoff time, the umpires need to be held to the exact same standard..
MLB PLAYOFFS: Four things we discovered from ALDS, NLDS quadrupleheader.
IT DIDNT WORK: Yankees method backfires, Rays punch 4 homers to even ALDS 1-1.
Heres the evidence of a couple of blown calls by Bucknor on Tuesday (thanks to Baseball Savant for the information):.
The first inning set the tone, and credit Bucknor for his consistency throughout the video game..
► Pitch No. 5, an 81.5-mph changeup, appears like it may have caught the corner, but is borderline at finest. Yankees starter Deivi Garcia gets the call to make the count full, although “Ball Four” might have been a true blessing in camouflage — Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena sent out the young right-handers next offering over the right-field fence to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead..
► Tyler Glasnow has actually emerged as one of baseballs top-end starters. And this will not be the last time Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres is on the incorrect end of a Bucknor call. Pitch No. 3, a 98.6-mph fastball, ought to be a ball. Torres set out swinging..
► This is where it gets interesting — or aggravating, depending on ones perspective. Nick Anderson dominated this season, but even he benefited from Bucknors large zone..
Because of his zone control, DJ LeMahieu is one of the best contact players in the video game. With 2 guys on base, and the Yankees down 3 runs, this is a high-leverage situation. LeMahieu knows pitch No. 3 is off the plate, so he doesnt swing. Bucknor does not see it that method, and now theres two outs in the inning..
► Perhaps Bucknors a lot of outright miss out on of the night, at least in hindsight. This is method off the plate to make the count 0-2 instead of 1-1, and Voit whiffs on the next pitch for Andersons 4th strikeout on his method to retiring all 6 batters he faced..
The ninth inning.
Rays reducer Pete Fairbanks could not discover the zone as he tried to liquidate Game 2. Gio Urshela and Torres drew strolls to open the ninth inning. The three-batter-minimum rule, nevertheless, left the Rays exposed — till Bucknor helped bail him out..
► (First of all, Torres needs to have strolled one or two pitches earlier. He had to hold a check-swing on the elevated seventh pitch to take his base.).
► Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is barely hitting at all today, however players at this point in the game know they need to swing at anything close. Whether he would have laid off the second pitch anyway is unknown, but Bucknors calls definitely affected his technique. Sanchez sets out for the third time in the game.
► LeMahieus RBI single made it 7-5, and Aaron Judge grounded out to end the game while representing the consent run. Not before Bucknor might call one last ball (pitch No. 1) a strike..
An ESPN gamers survey from 2010 ranked Bucknor as the worst umpire in the league– ahead of Joe West.
Yankees players would probably agree with that evaluation 10 years later on, and Yankees fans awakened ready for robotic umps..
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca..
Did a strike call here or there affect the outcome of the video game? And this will not be the last time Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres is on the wrong end of a Bucknor call. DJ LeMahieu is one of the best contact players in the video game due to the fact that of his zone control. ► Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is hardly hitting at all right now, but hitters at this point in the game understand they have to swing at anything close. Whether he would have laid off the second pitch anyhow is unidentified, but Bucknors calls definitely impacted his method.
