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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,053 comments Add your comment
Playoffs!!!
October 5th, 2012
9:32 pm
MLB umpire are just not that good. They miss close calls all the time! And this one tonight, wasn’t even close.
since day one
October 5th, 2012
9:32 pm
Sal, YOU are disgraceful and sad. It IS sad that the Fascist nihilist might get back into destroying America.
Cardinal Fan
October 5th, 2012
9:32 pm
Didn’t Torre earn his MVP as a Cardinal? Is there a connnection?
Oren Spiegler, Pennsylvania
October 5th, 2012
9:33 pm
Today, I am embarrassed to admit that I am a lover of professional baseball, and for that, I can “thank” the dozens, if not hundreds of thugs masquerading
as fans that attended the “Wild Card” playoff game involving Atlanta and Saint
Louis at Turner Field on Friday, 5 October.
At the turning point of a thrilling game in the eighth inning, a terrible call
was made by an umpire which could have cost Atlanta the game.
What ensued was a national disgrace: dozens, if not hundreds of attendees,
many no doubt fueled by alcohol, pelted the field with debris, including cans
and bottles, placing the umpires and players in fear for their safety. Whatever
security was in place was unable to quell the disturbance, which continued
for twenty minutes, during which the game was suspended.
Is this what we have come to, that when an umpire, a fallible human being,
makes a mistake, albeit a critical one, outrage and mayhem shall follow? What lesson are the
adults (in age only) who lost their tempers and sacrificed their
dignity providing for impressionable children who watch the games?
I wonder if any of the hooligans believe that the Braves, particularly
superstar third baseman Chipper Jones playing his last game in a stellar
two-decade career, wanted
their season to end (and Jones his career to conclude) with this humiliation, whether any of them considered
a near-riot to be a splendid show of support for the hometown team.
I have traditionally thought of boxing, hockey, and football as blood
sports whose foundation is violence. Must we add “America’s pastime”
to the list?
David
October 5th, 2012
9:33 pm
October 5, 2012
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
Re: Braves vs Cardinals 10/5/12
Dear Commissioner,
My name is David _________. I am 45 years old and have been an avid fan of baseball for 45 years.
As of October 5, 2012, due to the horrible idea of the one game playoff and the horrible call by the officials in tonight’s game I am done with baseball.
Regards, David
Fact Check
October 5th, 2012
9:33 pm
Who is with us? Tune out MLB!
Roscoe P. Coltrane
October 5th, 2012
9:34 pm
It’s called Adversity.
Good Teams overcome it.
Roscoe P. Coltrane
October 5th, 2012
9:34 pm
It’s called Adversity.
Good Teams overcome it.
Ivaloy
October 5th, 2012
9:34 pm
Please fire JOE SIMPSON. He is a very arrogant announcer. what is the deal? Do we have to suffer through him again next year? Please go……
Rob In Fayetteville
October 5th, 2012
9:34 pm
Tommy,
There’s a reason why the Cards are world champs and the Braves are perennial chumps. The Braves keep doing the same thing every year and hope to get a different result, while the Cardinals adjust and do the right thing, playing smart baseball. They never get in their own way. How cool would it be for the Cardinals to repeat as world champs AFTER losing Pujols? I wouldn’t bet against them….
Lamar
October 5th, 2012
9:35 pm
Freddie Mexican Gonzales IS THE WORST MANAGER IN BASEBALL, NO, HE HIS PATHETIC!! Time after time this year, he made CRAZY, YES CRAZY CALLS, (Like the bunt in the 6th) ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! But this was just one of MANY SORRY CALLS THIS YEAR!! IF the braves don’t fire him, THE STANDS SHOULD BE EMPTY, Bobby Cox would have taken the 2011 and 2012 braves to THE PROMISE LAND!! GO BACK TO MEXICO FREDDIE, WHERE IS YOUR GREEN CARD??? I HAD TO QUIT WATCHING THEM THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF HIM!!
Tree rollins
October 5th, 2012
9:35 pm
Dan Uggla – who better than that to make your last stand at the plate? The biggest bust in all of baseball is our last hope. What, we didn’t have a pitcher available to pinch hit??
mpimentel
October 5th, 2012
9:35 pm
Congrats bud selig another stupidity made it by you cost badly to the ones who really cares THE. FANS!…everyting comes against you, a best winning record team are out, and an ump bad call was the highligth tonight. Taht’s beacuase you negative to introduce to the game a replay…f@c# you
THE TRUE
October 5th, 2012
9:35 pm
the umpires deserved one glass bottle throwed by the fans hit in they butt-heads…..
Jake
October 5th, 2012
9:35 pm
Protest upheld. They go back tomorrow and resume play
Mike Jones
October 5th, 2012
9:35 pm
Joining the protest! MLB out!
RoyU
October 5th, 2012
9:36 pm
Medlen deserved much better!!! Ownership and upper management got more than they deserved!!! The Braves team went as far as their overall talent reasonably should have taken them!!! Now they should trade Medlen to a team where his talents might get him to a championship!!! They deserved to lose today but not with the rip-off they encountered by the umpiring nor the subsequent lack of support and lip service that I am certain is forthcoming from MLB top management. Medlin came out too early, Simmons should not have bunted, and this icing on the cake should spell a well deserved managerial doom for Fredi!!! The players tried and fans can ask no more than that from them!!! No “Wait until next year!” It’s going to take much longer than that!!!
jimbeam
October 5th, 2012
9:36 pm
jim holbrook you idiot.
Thank you Chipper Jones!
October 5th, 2012
9:36 pm
Braves protest has been denied. The season is over. And the Chipper Jones Era is officially over. I grew up watching the 90s Braves and Chipper Jones with my pops. Those memories will forever be cherished. Thanks Chipper!
maybe next year
October 5th, 2012
9:36 pm
Not sure if anyone here knows the infield fly rule, but its a ball and infielder can catch, does not matter how deep the ball is. He was clearly underneath the ball calling for it. Doesn’t matter if he can turn a double play. The umpire made the call late that is why it was a bad call.
Headlines is an idiot
October 5th, 2012
9:36 pm
A: if it had been called against the cards you’d have done EXACTLY the same thing…or worse…St Louis isn’t exactly the home of Miss Manners…
B: the umps were idiots and called a really, really bad game – they should be fired – it looks like they had it “in” for the Braves because of the non-calls and the botched calls..if you deny that then you are either bilnd or an obama supporter…
C: the Braves blew it: horrible pitching from the best pitcher in MLB and horrible D…Uggla MUST GO! Sorry folks, but the team had the deer in the headlights look from the first pitch…
THIS is why we ATL pro sports fans HATE the pro sports teams we have…no heart, cannot deal with adversity, unable to battle through it when the chips are down…the other shoe ALWAYS drops in the ATL.
ATL PRO TEAMS = MEDIOCRITY
And YES, the dirty birds will let us down too…
not even a Braves fan
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
The losers tonite……..all the brain dead idiots that trashed the Braves on this blog. Bigger idiots than the fans at the game throwing trash on the field. YOU ARE THE LOSERS!!!!!
i am right
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
BLA BLA BLA, MLB YOU SUCK FOR BAD UMPS! THANKS MLB.CRAP
Braves Fan for 55 yrs
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
Great broadcasting, especially Joe Simpson, too bad it ended in such a terrible call. The play by play for the first time this yr I did NOT mute it. A great job by professionals. My question is why do Braves fans have to put up with the worst regular season play by play announcer in all of baseball, that is chip caray. He is the worst ever and Braves fans deserve better. Now, lets hope the protest is upheld.
Tree rollins
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
4 more years of Uggla – please! And I want him to be our final guy up every game (to help my insomnia problem).
since day one
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
Oren, pound sand, puzzy.
David, I’m with you.
Ken Stallings
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
The phone call that crew chief Jeff Kellogg did take in the Braves dugout was with Joe Torre. Kellogg wanted to get feedback from Torre about how to handle the situation. Apparently, Joe Torre was communicating in that very phone call that he was going to disallow the protest due to the call being under the purview of umpire judgment.
So, Fredi knew at that moment that the protest would be disallowed.
I will give MLB credit. The two umpres at the center of the call, along with Garagiola and Torre at in front of the press fielding questions. That takes courage. No one in MLB is hiding under their desks over this. I think that’s a reflection of Joe Torre.
tonya
October 5th, 2012
9:37 pm
I love the braves but they didnt play a good solid game….. and yes the call sucked but by throwing trash on the field causing a 20 min delay now they bring in mott wonder what would have happen had the fans not thrown crap on the field and let the game play out boggs probaly stays in to face mccann and who know
CA
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
I can’t believe the ignorance of the fans who are saying that throwing things onto the field is a good thing. I saw a few necks turning red as I watched the debris fly. No, I’m not calling georgians rednecks. I have lived her. My kids were born here. Rednecks are everywhere. They were especially present tonight in the form of debris throwing fans, and especially those who condone it.
SenoiaDawgs
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
MLB Out here. It’s a disgrace that in this day and age they don’t get it right.
i am right
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
agreeded 55yrs!
Brave new world
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
9:12 pm just saying “The braves are hexed”
NO, THEY ARE NOT HEXED! They are poorly staffed, poorly run, and too tied to has beens.
NO major league team in their right mind would have kept CJ for 19 years!
Braves fans need to get use to the new reality that players are assets with a limited usefulness, and need to be dumped when their usefulness is over. They are like automobiles; after a certain age they need to be dumped for younger players with more potential (and at a lower cost).
MLB is a business.
atlien052
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
Didn’t see the game so I haven’t seen the questionable call yet, but I do know the infield fly rule. Where the ball lands (unless it lands in foul territory) does not matter in order for the infield fly to be in effect. If an infielder can make a play on the ball with “ordinary” effort, then the infield fly rule is in effect. Doesn’t matter if the infielder is in the infield, 10-feet into the outfield grass, 50-feet in the outfield grass, or 100-feet. Doesn’t even matter if an outfielder catches the ball. It only matters if the infielder can make the catch with ordinary effort. This is a judgement call and therefore would not be allowed in any sport (football, basketball, etc) which uses instant replay, nor should it. Again, I haven’t seen the play so I have no idea whether there was ordinary effort or not.
However, I do have 2 other things to point out:
1. A loss in the playoffs by the Braves is a poetic (if not tragic) way for Chipper to go out. He and the Braves have lost so many times in the playoffs during his career it seems fitting.
2. The behavior of the fans sounds atrocious. If Atlanta fans were really that passionate about the Braves (or any Atlanta team for that matter) then they would actually show up during the season.
Braves Dir.
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
Eric Gregg is officially off the hook.
extremus
October 5th, 2012
9:38 pm
REPORTER: So Mr. Selig, in the very first single-game elimination wildcard playoff in history, the game, it could be argued, was decided by a, shall we say, “controversial” infield fly rule call.
SELIG: That’s the excitement of that extra playoff round; anything can happen.
REPORTER: Some Braves fans may not feel the same way right about now. I mean, this team beat the Cardinals 5 out of 6 times during the regular season and finished like 5 or 6 games ahead of them in the wildcard standings, and rather than play a series format as has always been the case in MLB, a single game determines the outcome, and under these circumstances no less. Do you really think that’s fair?
SELIG: Hey, it makes us more money and deludes more fanbases into thinking they have some semblance of a chance at a championship. What’s not to like? And besides, I’m the Commissioner; I can do whatever I want!
REPORTER: And what of the Braves’ playing the game under protest? Have you decided whether to overturn the umpires’ call and order a replay of the game?
SELIG: No way! In MLB we honor our traditions, and one of the biggest ones is backing the decisions made by our umpires, even if it means cancelling out somebody’s legitimate perfect game like I did Galarraga last season or not giving a team a fair second chance on a blown call, as with the Braves here. Time-honored tradition; it’s what gives baseball that special “charm”.
REPORTER: Um, having a one-game playoff isn’t exactly a MLB tradition…
SELIG: Sure it is! Our biggest tradition is making revenue, and if the game gets hurt along the way, hey, eventually the fans always come back and get over whatever their huff is. They always have and always will, and we just keep the tradition rolling. Ahh, gotta LOVE baseball tradition!
mid wicket
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
Well finally the page is turned on the Braves … now without Chipper as the leader. The core of this young team is fine and with a few shrewd moves by FW we are positioned to be challengers for the foreseeable future. So all in all it’s not the end of the world. the saddest thing is that I don’t like ANY of the NL teams left so I will have to root for the A’s …. always liked the underdog
i am right
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
fire freddi/wren/john s.
catchthecards
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
The Cardinals were the better team tonight, suck it up Atlanta. 4 unearned runs. Easier to blame the umpires than all the boneheaded fielding by the Braves. That was classless display by the fans, bad call or not. Go Cards!
The Truth
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
MLB must at least show some kind of remore for the umpire’s call. At minimum, Sam Holbrooks should be removed from the rest of post season and probably suspended for 50 games in 2013.
King Dawg
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
See you MLB. Not watching another game this year. Umps blow and MLB does nothing about it. Rise up!
Go Braves!!!
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
WORST CALL IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL. ONLY REASON FANS SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THROWING CRAP ON THE FIELD WAS IF THEY RAN OUT OF CRAP TO THROW.
David
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
Having wings fall off your airplane can be described as adversity. Overcome that.
dilly
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
Clutch hitting was absent. Good calls, from the umps was more than absent. Good defensive play was absent. The fans were wrong to throw things on to the field, but I understand their frustration. Some really bad calls by the umps in this game. If Selig had any guts, he would have overruled that call right then and there.He wouldn’t, because he’s too busy thinking up what else he can do to destroy the game of baseball.
Tree rollins
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
What this team needs is more black players – you know it and I do too!!
MLB Got What They Deserved
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
162 games…Tell 2 teams…play one game to move on….Terrible call since the Reggie Jackson hip shot in 1978…Good thing it wasnt Philly or you would have seen the 9 volts flying. Josie Simpson should go work for MLB with that “embarrassment” he talked about. Maybe he can so somewhere else and work
No Soup for you!
October 5th, 2012
9:39 pm
Please tell me when the Braves have done anything in the playoffs! Just just flat out suck! Always lose! Loser’s
Bravesfan54
October 5th, 2012
9:40 pm
Chipper’s fielding, while often great, has been problematical for the last few years. He has made some remarkable plays at the corner, but a high number of his errors this year have cost games, as did this one tonight. Three years ago he had a fielding percentage of .930 – whoa! Then there was his error in Denver a dozen or seasons back when the Braves had a 9-0 lead. Of course that didn’t let in 10 runs, but the Rockies scored a bunch and the Braves eventually lost not only the game, but home-field advantage. I am NOT questioning for an instant his starting, but I am only saying that errors like tonight’s have always been a feature of CJ’s otherwise outstanding, first-ballot, HOF, career. Along with many head-turning fielding gems, Chipper has committed a shilll-load of costly, game changing errors.
F the Umpire
October 5th, 2012
9:40 pm
For years Braves fans were slammed by broadcasters and the national ‘media’ for not selling out early round playoff games. Now we show up in almost record numbers and protest one of the worst calls in playoff history and we’re thugs? F the National League and TBS for letting that umpire get by with this and for slamming the Atlanta fans – if this had happened in NY, the fans would have stormed the field
TossSweep
October 5th, 2012
9:40 pm
The end result of this game was ironic based on the comments made by Chipper back in September 21st. Talk about Karma.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/21/chipper-jones-thinks-the-wild-card-playoff-game-is-stupid/
TBbravesfan.
October 5th, 2012
9:40 pm
don’t like this one game playoff.
Ivaloy
October 5th, 2012
9:41 pm
joe Simpson, ATL Braves equal losers. Joe, go somewhere else, you are an embarrassment to our city and franchise. Very sad….
Go Braves!!!
October 5th, 2012
9:41 pm
Hey catchthecards–go pound sand.
Big Wally
October 5th, 2012
9:41 pm
Uggla and Simpson. Please feel free to leave Atlanta. You won’t be missed.
BOHICA
October 5th, 2012
9:41 pm
BOOOGER (aka Mr. D.A.- LITERALLY)- you okay? I’m worried about you. NOT!!!! STFU DA.
IowaBravesFan
October 5th, 2012
9:41 pm
Tired of people complaining about the fans throwing stuff on field. The ump made the WRONG CALL. I’m honestly surprised no one ran on the field and tried to take that guy out. Especially since folks were drunk. As a fan when you get f#cked over by an official who makes a completely wrong call, not just wrong but a non-reviewable play since MLB is stuck in stone ages, you have every right to be angry and throw garbage at the loser who made the call. I will say they let it go one too long. It delayed the game longer than it should have. Too bad Chip goes out like this, just a shame.
CardsFan
October 5th, 2012
9:41 pm
So long to a great player (Chipper). It’s too bad that the game didn’t represent the best in baseball. Too many errors for the Braves.
Tree rollins
October 5th, 2012
9:42 pm
We don’t need a bunch more of these players chasing the tails wagging down at Hooters!
Dan Uggla's Swing
October 5th, 2012
9:42 pm
Sad end to a good season. Sad to see Chipper end it this way. Braves dont make 3 errors, they probably win the game. The blown call did not cost the game, but who knows what might have been had he gotten it right. I am in shock more than anything at the way this game went, sloppy on both sides, yet somehow only the Braves got charged with errors. I wondered out loud if the ump didnt have money on the Cards to win, why would you make that call that late in the play? Well, I can not do anything about it, and getting mad wont help. I hate the feeling I always seem to have at the end of the Braves seasons, but thats baseball. Good luck to your future endeavors Larry Wayne Jones, Jr. And Bud Selig: Go eff your self, and all the stupid rules you have put in place in the last 15 or so years.
Jerry Willard
October 5th, 2012
9:42 pm
Very classless comments to anyone bashing the braves organization.
It was a dissapointing end to a great season and a bad call from the umps.
Still love this team. Go braves.
Tony LaRussa
October 5th, 2012
9:42 pm
Will some one come pick me up on the median? Im drunk again.
Cardinal Fan
October 5th, 2012
9:42 pm
Jake… in your dreams
bitman
October 5th, 2012
9:43 pm
@Oren Spiegler: Put it where the sun doesn’t shine. I was glad to see Atlanta fans finally show some spunk. That call deserved every bit of that.
BrianSC
October 5th, 2012
9:43 pm
I hope Sam Holbrook doesn’t have any plans to come to Atlanta to hang out or go on vacation. It could be a miserable situation for him.
Joe Simpson and Don Sutton should not feel bad for anything that happened tonight from the fans. I heard Don Sutton say that if the fans didn’t stop and the game had to be forfeited, that the fans would take game out of the hands of the players. No Don, the umpires (Holbrook) took the game out of the hands of the players BEFORE anything happened from the fans in the stands.
It is a shame that MLB won’t have the guts to overturn the ruling on the field in the protest and reset the game to where it was when that happened. The bases should be loaded for the Braves. That would mean they would have to overrule the umpires on the field. They don’t have the guts to do the RIGHT thing. Shameful, MLB.
It is a shame to see Chipper go out like this. He cost the team 3 runs on his error. He said earlier on the way to the game that he knew it was time to retire because he wasn’t nervous. Maybe he should have been.
Uggla and Bourn choked tonight offensively. They were not there when the team needed them. I think Bourn’s value has gone down as the season has gone along. He does not deserve an insane contract. Uggla does not produce for the money he is making.
McCann’s injury and struggles this year hurt this team. Hopefully, he gets all fixed up in the offseason and can return to be the impact player he can be.
David Ross is the man! He is a true leader. He plays with heart and passion. He is a leader on this team. He understands what it takes to win in the major leagues and what it takes to win in the postseason.
Constanza NEEDS to be on this team from the start. He can be a great asset for 162 games.
This team was better when Janish played SS than Simmons. Bring back Janish.
Bottom line…Umpires should not be noticed. When they are, they have done something wrong. This umpiring crew was incapable and played too big of role in the outcome of the game.
1-game playoffs are dumb when your whole sport is based on series. During the season every team’s schedule is based on 3-game series. You play three games then move on. In the postseason, you play 3-game or 7-game series. Then, you decide to pull a 1-game thing out of nowhere. DUMB!!!
I could go on and on.That is enough for now.
Hillbilly D
October 5th, 2012
9:43 pm
When players perform poorly, they get sent to AAA. Why does the same thing never happen with umpires?
Edd
October 5th, 2012
9:43 pm
I remember all the years we were out of the playoffs before the allstar break. To make it interesting to the end of the year is better than 24 other teams, just sayin and remembering the really bad days before the 90’s, thanks Chipper for all the years from Macon Ga. on up, go have a great time with your family and friends, thanks for being someone our children have always looked up to and wanted to be like as a team player, can’t say enough how true Braves fans appreciate you and your time, thanks again !!!!
Hooters!
October 5th, 2012
9:43 pm
Larry can head off to Hooters 24/7 now. He is a loser. Which fits right in with Atlanta: loser fans, loser franchises, loser city, in a state that it is such a loser that it is in the tank for loser Willard M. Rumney.
ha
October 5th, 2012
9:43 pm
he did not have his herpes sore going on his lip so the braves lost. BU BYE AHOLE!
Go Braves!!!
October 5th, 2012
9:44 pm
MLB JUST ANNOUNCED PROTEST WAS DENIED> BIG SHOCK> MLB HAS NO NARDS. MLB CAN GO POUND SAND> NOT GETTING ANY MORE OF MY MONEY. DONE.
since day one
October 5th, 2012
9:44 pm
Scrhew MLB. This is like ‘95
94 strike
Didn’t watch (only time ever) in ‘95…………………..and Braves win WS
Drew
October 5th, 2012
9:44 pm
Classless move by the fans??
I thought it was a great move. Shows that the fans are not as laid back as they often are referred to as. The trash would have happened in any stadium at any team.
andy
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Dave we are lucky to have you.
andy
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Dave we are lucky to have you.
Frito Bandido
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Joe Simpson you are an embarrassment, have never heard an announcer
bad mouth his team fans, I think that the fans that throw all that garbage into the field, did not act properly, but for you to continuous criticising was
to much. Hope we do not have to listen to you next year
It's over now.....
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Way to cover the Umpires, MLB – honesty and integrity be damned. Holbook called the Infield Fly ONLY when he saw no one was going to catch the ball (look at the replays). I can’t say that outcome was rigged but the Cards got help when they badly needed it.
old braves fan
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Fire Freddie! Fire Freddie! Fire Freddie!
When Freddie didn’t have the 3rd base coach go talk to Simmons with 1 out a runner at 1st and 3rd let me know the job is big for him. No excuse. Why wouldn’t you go have a 5 second chat with your rookie ss.
That was probably the weakest job of arguing an important call I’ve ever scene. The ball was more than 220 feet from home plate. He didn’t even go mark the spot in the outfield where the ball landed.
ha
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Edd…someone youir kids looked up to? Have fun with your trailer full of illegitimate rug rats. Hero? what is wrong with this world. What a ahole he is.
since day one
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
MLB……………goodbye after 57 years
Braves Fan
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
hey Rob In fayetville. If you like the cards so much move yo sorry azz to SL cesspool
Ken Stallings
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
My last comment on “the call.”
It was a bad call because had the shortstop tried to foolishly flop on the catch, what would have happened is precisely what DID happen — sufficient space for the runners to advance safely (both doing so standing up — not even an effort, including slow footed David Ross to second). So, there was ZERO need for the call as intended in the rule book. So, it remains a brutally bad call — absolutely not needed, and therefore it will remain immortal for its controversy.
However, the Braves lost this game for two reasons — three throwing errors resulting in four runs scoring when accurate throws would not have allowed them to score.
The second, and perhaps in the final analysis even more critical cause, is leaving 14 runners stranded on base and going hitless in about a dozen chances for hits with runners in scoring position.
atlien052
October 5th, 2012
9:45 pm
Just saw the replay…looked like the right call to me. The umpire in left field did not indicate an infield fly until the Cardinal shortstop stopped under the ball. It sure looks like he could have made the play with ordinary effort had he not ducked out of the way to apparently give way to the outfielder.
Ann Landers called...
October 5th, 2012
9:46 pm
You have to be wound pretty tight to be bent out of shape about plastic bottles being thrown on the field during a sporting event.
smallmouth6
October 5th, 2012
9:46 pm
Eric Gregg will NEVER be off the hook. He just has more company now.
GT50
October 5th, 2012
9:46 pm
Good Bye Chipper !!!
Loved You Man!!
A Class Act from Day 1 until the very last out.
Good Bye Baseball.
My dad took me Ponce de Leon Park as a kid to see the Crackers and teach me the strategy of the game. Baseball stats provided me an intro to math, which led to very good things in life.
My favorite team was the Milwaukee Braves as a kid, when they beat the Yankees. Several years later they moved here to Atlanta. Definitely a kids’ dream scenario.
We saw Tommy Aaron hit the first Home Run at Atlanta Stadium, during the first preseason game in 1965.
We saw the double-header against the Dodgers when Koufax and Drysdale pitched. If my memory serves me correctly, the Braves split the double header.
We listened on the radio when Tony Cloninger, a pitcher, hit 2 Grand Slams against the SF Giants.
We went to almost all of the 1966 home games…and my grades in high school dropped.
I’ve been a lifelong Braves and baseball fan. Went to Fenway Park to watch the first Interleague Games against the Red Sox. Watch the playoffs and World Series, no matter who plays. I’ve got hundreds of other Braves memories, but too many to name off quickly.
Hate the NY Yankees.
Watch at least 100 Braves games a year on TV or live.
It’s been fun, frustrating, but always rewarding and a significant place in my life.
After today’s Wild Card Game, my 62 year old body has new adventures in my future.
The “Infield Fly Rule” call ended my lifelong love of the game. An awful call, particularly during MLB’s first “Play-In Game.”
I’ll start following college and pro football closer in September and October…instead of waiting until Novenber. Maybe check out the autumn leaves in North Georgia. And schedule trips and vacations around other things.
Always an optimist…like any other baseball fan. But now my optimism is focused on the other things I’ve missed in life.
It's over now.....
October 5th, 2012
9:47 pm
@ BrianSC – well put!!!
since day one
October 5th, 2012
9:47 pm
I wish the fans had burned the friggin place down…………………………(honor to McGriff.)
JJ Casuals
October 5th, 2012
9:47 pm
Joe Simpson is a condescending jerk. Always has been.
Fact Check
October 5th, 2012
9:48 pm
Anybody else going to stand up and tune out the MLB Playoffs?
We got a movement going!
bitman
October 5th, 2012
9:48 pm
Hey Fact Check -Do you really think The Bad Station or MLB will even notice our absence?
Gman 84
October 5th, 2012
9:49 pm
Braves save their worst for last…all in all pretty much the norm.
Spot a team 5 runs, pretty hard to win. Bad call aside, they had the tying run at the plate the last 3 innings and couldn’t get a hit. Not much else to say. Hope they don’t break the bank on Bourn. Could’ve done this without him. He disappeared down the stretch.
Kevin Chop
October 5th, 2012
9:49 pm
Amen Drew…I loved the passion by the fans. Call me classless all you want but I would throw everything but the kitchen sink on that field after that call.
older1
October 5th, 2012
9:49 pm
can’t blame the fans at all. you spend all that money to watch a team that can’t play under pressure, Chip i hate you went out this way, but your throw cost this game along with Ugglas and Simmons.The ump should be supended for a year. Atlanta sports fans have endured too many bad calls like forever. I’LL BE PULLING FOR THE NATS NOW, THEY HAVE NEVER WON A TITLE. ps every time their is a sellout game on the line , BRAVES lose.
Ryan's Dad
October 5th, 2012
9:50 pm
The spirit of the rule is to prevent trickery to create a double play. In the spirit of the rule it DOES matter that the ball was very far away from the infield. You can watch thousands of games and see very easy fly balls to the outfield with men on base NOT called “infield fly rule”. It is never done. Could be that it happened tonight because the left field umpire had not had any action in the game before this time.
Ashlee
October 5th, 2012
9:50 pm
braves fans are repugnant…as always, when I was at Turner with a rival teams shirt on earlier this year a drunk BRAVES FAN got right in my face and yelled F… You B…., seriously I am a smaller size woman and this guy thought that was totally okay to do and probably even worse is that no one in his group of male friends did anything about it like even move him away from me! Truly LOW CLASS, REPULSIVE, DISGUSTING FANS, and tonight they put it on display for the whole nation to see. I won’t be visiting turner field again, no question about that, they are done getting any of my $$
Fact Check
October 5th, 2012
9:50 pm
You ar just wrong Atlien052
Erik
October 5th, 2012
9:50 pm
Fredi needed to get tossed to more strongly make his case. That was pathetic.
Kevin Chop
October 5th, 2012
9:50 pm
Joe Simpson can kiss my ass. I hope he never steps foot in a Braves pressbox again.
Big Wally
October 5th, 2012
9:50 pm
Lesson to be learned here is to win the Division to avoid the umpires screwing you in a 1 game series. That means keeping Uggla out of the starting line up. Pinch hitting and spot starting should be his role with Braves from now on.
least of the east
October 5th, 2012
9:51 pm
this was almost as bad as last year. give the playoffs to the Cards 2 yrs in a row. the umpires in the playoffs are supposed to be the better ones. that call was nonsense. I have watched baseball for 50 yrs. and never saw an infield fly like that. but in baseball, they let it go through because Joe Torre said there was no time to do anything anyway.
for this ending, better to finish worst in the league and get #1 overall draft pick. they got 1 extra home game and made fools of themselves.
you knew with Fedi and Frank, it would end up badly. no surprise.
scott brantley
October 5th, 2012
9:51 pm
FU(K THE UMPS! FU(K STL! FU(K UGGLA! DAN’S GOTTA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO NATS!!!!!!!!! SICK AND TIRED OF THE SAME OLD SH!T IN THE POST SEASON!!!!!!!!! FU(K SELIG ALSO!!!!!!!!! THIS ONE AND DONE BS IS BULLSH!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!
baseballer
October 5th, 2012
9:52 pm
who cares, that bunch didn’t deserve being in the playoffs to begin with.