Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Braves and Nats Have Something to Agree With

You would think that the biggest morning discussion point might be the near-combined no-hitter that the Marlins threw out in Seattle last night.  You would be wrong.

The Atlanta Braves were stymied by Max Scherzer for most of the night.  And by the home plate umpire.

But likewise, the Nationals were also all over him about ball and strike calls… believing at one point that Jayson Werth was struck out (looking – well, at least he was) during a plate appearance in which no pitches were actually strikes.

But the best waited until the end… and beyond.  Chase d’Arnaud missed a wide slider by what looked to be a good 10-12 inches.  That was strike three… the end of the game.

Except that Bucknor threw his hands up in the air as if to signal ‘foul ball’ and Braves 3rd base coach Ron Washington managed to get him to believe that initial knee-jerk reaction to d’Anaud’s swing.

Evidence?  Doesn’t matter:  it’s a judgment call that’s not reviewable.

So d’Arnaud got a 4th strike… but was still unable to plate the tying runs.

Why Do We Know These Names?

There are four umpire names that fans can identify – for all of the wrong reasons.  They are:

• Angel Hernandez
• Joe West
• Laz Diaz
• C.B. Bucknor

Last night it was Bucknor behind the plate.  The quotes are loud and pointed about his performance – particularly regarding the game’s last batter:

"“He was so bad, a member of the winning team berated him after the final out.” (Sporting News)“That’s just pure incompetence” (Nationals broadcaster F.P Santangelo, via the Washington Post)“Is CB Bucknor the worst home plate umpire ever?” (Braves fan BigPapaChuck on the Baseball sub-reddit site)“Wow That Was Some Bizarre Umpiring In Nats-Braves” (Deadspin)“Right down the middle for ball 3”  (Chip Carey, on a pitch from last night on Fox Sports South)"

This is not a new phenomenon.  Here is a breakdown of another bad Bucknor day from a game in 2013.  Or a “MLB Needs to Fire C.B. Bucknor” post to Facebook from last July.

Or how about “Braves in tiff with umpire CB Bucknor”?  No, that had nothing to do with last night.  This was one of the rare occasions in which Fredi Gonzalez was ejected from a game in September of 2013.

Just this past weekend, Mariners’ manager Scott Servais was ejected (for the 2nd time ever) by Bucknor after Bucknor threw his hands up to rule a ball foul, then called Seattle batter Leonys Martin out when the Rangers’ Mike Napoli got the ball and tagged first base.

MLB: A Call to Action

Look:  I am on record as being one who will never call for the firing of anyone… managers, coaches, players, or even umpires.  Being out of a job is a real thing, and it effects people in very real ways.

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At the same time, there is more at stake here.  How can players rely on their view of pitch positioning when they have no idea what the man behind them is going to rule?

Did the Braves deserve to win last night?  No – and the reasons for that involve a topic outside the scope of this particular rant.  But they certainly might have, and the reason that could have happened involved an umpire’s call.

But it was more than that.  As the Braves’ broadcasters pointed out, Chase d’Arnaud was swinging at virtually everything becuase he probably thought he had to.

d’Arnaud was in a precarious position:  he’d heard all of the barking about Bucknor all night – from both dugouts.  Yet he had one shot to determine the game’s outcome with 2 outs in the bottom of the night.

In that situation, what else could he do?  He swung… at virtually everything.  Patience was not likely to be rewarded.

BrooksBaseball.net has good charts of ball/strike maps for each game.  Frankly, I believe these charts for last night’s contest are actually a bit kind to Bucknor, but they also do not include swinging strikes (for obvious reasons).

Still, they show a strike zone generally too high and wide (that is:  wide to right-hand hitters; inside to lefties).

Mark Bowman had an interesting chart – while attempting to make a different point:

Changing the Play

But even that doesn’t tell the whole story.

There are reasons we know the names West, Hernandez, Diaz, and Bucknor.  Their calls change the way the game is contested.  That’s a real problem.

For the sake of the game, if MLB wants to keep human umpires (frankly, it’s no longer necessary in this day of QuesTec and Pitch F/X, but it is part of the rich heritage of our sport), then they need to do more to engage these bad umpires in an effort to improve their performance on the field.

Here’s the box score:

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Next: He Chose the Mets, but... closet Braves fan?

In the case of this fearsome foursome forever faithfully spewing fallacious foibles on a nightly basis… how long must we endure, MLB?  You dodged a bullet this time.