Lousy call, lousy game, lousy system: A lousy Braves’ exit
This was a warm and fuzzy moment. The rest of the night stunk. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Why to hate baseball’s newly minted play-in game: Because you can be, as the Braves were over the course of six months, the demonstrably better team and still give a performance that fuses the three-error Brooks Conrad game of October 2010 and the Epic Collapse of September 2011. Because you can go home having sipped from the postseason cup for all of 189 minutes. Because you can put yourself in position to be rooked by those darn replacement umps.
Wait. These aren’t replacements? These are the real umpires? Is this a real sport?
Had Andrelton Simmons’ pop that dropped been allowed to stand, the Braves would have had the bases loaded and one out. When you’re trailing by three runs in the eighth inning, that’s rather different than having men on second and third with two out, which is what they wound up having. But not before the game was halted for 19 minutes as the field was cleared of the cups and bottles that had been flung, with somewhat greater accuracy than the Braves’ infielders displayed this night, by incensed patrons.
Pete Kozma, the St. Louis shortstop, was positioning himself to catch Simmons’ meek fly when he stopped running and chose to leave it to left fielder Matt Holliday. And here we note the incongruity: A shortstop deferred to an outfielder on what left-field umpire Sam Holbrook adjudged an infield fly. It was a horrible call, indefensible at the moment and more ludicrous after further video review, but this is baseball and replay can be applied only to home runs. (The Braves registered an official protest. Summarily denied.)
And thus, in its first manifestation, was baseball’s play-in game rendered a bigger joke that it appeared on paper. A team that won 94 games is gone; a team that won 88 gets to go home and play twice against the National League’s No. 1 seed. One bad performance. One lousy bit of umpiring. Season over.
“You’ve got to judge a team over the 162-game season,” said Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez, classy in bizarre defeat. “Anyone can have one bad call [go against them] or one bad game.”
His team was guilty on the latter charge. The team that made the fewest errors among National League teams offered up three in the span of four innings, leading to four unearned runs. Each was on a throw, each by an infielder. First Chipper Jones, playing his last game. Then Dan Uggla. Then the aforementioned Simmons, a rookie shortstop at the center of nearly everything Friday night.
The errors turned a two-run lead — and Chipper, speaking before the game, had suggested the game’s first run could be the determinant — into a 6-2 deficit after 6 1/2 innings. By then the unbeatable Kris Medlen was gone, having yielded only three hits and two earned runs but about to become a loser as a starting pitcher for the first time since 2010. That left the Braves in comeback mode, and there were moments when they appeared capable of climbing the mountain. But Chipper swung at the first pitch and grounded out in the seventh with two men in scoring position, and Michael Bourn struck out with the bases loaded to close the infamous eighth, and Uggla, representing the tying run, ended the season by grounding to second.
Said Gonzalez: “We didn’t score runs, and we didn’t handle the baseball.”
Said Chipper: “You give a good team extra outs and it ends up lightning.”
To his credit, the man who will play no more faulted himself above all. “Ultimately when we look back on this loss we have to look ourselves in the mirror,” Chipper said. “We put ourselves behind 6-2. Three errors cost us the ballgame, and mine [a fourth-inning throwaway of a cinch double play] was probably the biggest. I’m not willing to say a call cost us the ballgame.”
Because he always been a stand-up guy, you wanted it to end better. Still, in his final at-bat the great Chipper Jones managed to block out the deafening ovation and the applause from the Cardinals’ dugout — he tipped his helmet to the crowd and pointed to the visiting team — and the flashes from camera-phones and remind us why he was so great. He worked the count to 3-2 against the heat-bringing Jason Motte, and finally he put bat on ball (breaking said bat) and legged out an infield hit. Down to his and his team’s final strike, he got a hit.
We’re lucky that, as time does its work, we’ll have our memories of Chipper Jones to keep us warm. And maybe someday we can get past the strange doings on a lousy night in October 2012, when a good team played badly and got unlucky to boot, and thanks to this silly professional “system” it was eliminated. At least in the College World Series they play double elimination.
By Mark Bradley
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516 comments Add your comment
Walt
October 6th, 2012
12:47 am
@ BIG MIKE…. Typical remark from a Georgia BOY. Grow up… 40 year umpire …. right…
mj
October 6th, 2012
12:49 am
you are grasping at straws, big mike. i have seen the infield fly rule called 25 feet into the outfield on several occasions. The reason it is hardly seen routinely made is because the rule is only in effect with less than two outs and with runners on first and second, or with bases loaded. But in that situation, when a fly ball can be caught by an infielder, its an infield fly and the rule says the ump MUST call it. The rules are the rules and the umps must enforce them.
jared
October 6th, 2012
12:49 am
schuerholz needs to go, he’s not a genius, for some reason he gets held in high regards. Read this and you’ll cringe
http://mcantil.com/braves-finally-left-with-nothing-to-show-for-worst-deal-ever/
Walt
October 6th, 2012
12:50 am
@ BIG MIKE…. ypu’re probably a Georgia Bulldog fan too….. Fat, lazy, and stupid to boot…. Go back to your job at Papa Johns.
tasman
October 6th, 2012
12:51 am
Yes, Holbrook should be fired. For at least 4 different reasons, that was the wrong call according to the rules. And the fact that he waited until he saw that the Cardinals shortstop was not going to make the play on it to then make the call is extremely telling about his honesty. Also, Joe Torre should be fired. He does not have the integrity to recuse himself from the appeal when it involved his beloved Cardinals. MLB gave itself a huge black eye thanks to these two men.
mj
October 6th, 2012
12:53 am
chase, just admit you are a Braves fan. There is no conspiracy here. It wasnt the umps that made three errors, it was the Braves.
Wilbo
October 6th, 2012
12:53 am
Hmmmmmmm, let’s see, who was it now…..? Who said that the Braves would continue their October tradition of choking like dogs, and our 3rd baseman, Mr. Playoff Error, would contribute to the defeat with some type of bonehead booboo? Oh, yeah it was ol’ SkinnyWilbo, and by doggies he was just right as rain, wouldn’t he? Lemme answer that for you: Yes he was! Yeah, have to say terrible call, but that game was already lost. Already choked away. Until they can prove they don’t– The Atlanta Braves = October Suck. Lousy chokers.
mj
October 6th, 2012
12:55 am
tasman, state the rule you think was violated.
Mike from STL
October 6th, 2012
12:56 am
I had to come and share my thoughts with the ATL fans. First, the sane ones here realize even if you accept the judgement call of the ump, he called it too late. The ump screwed up. Though there’s also talk the verbalization of his late call is what distracted Kozma (the SS) in the first place. We may never know if that’s true. I’ll also say it’s very true the umps blew calls on both sides, including the late “time out” and even Chipper’s final hit.
That said, I know how I’d feel if the Cards had the better record and were eliminated in one game. Please don’t be upset the team with the worse record prevailed; that’s happened a ton, and we lost the 2004 World Series to the Wild Card Red Sox. That happens.
But many of us are with you 100% the one-game do-or-die format is ludicrous. Football has a one-and-done playoff format. Baseball (and hockey) never have, and shouldn’t now. Obviously I’m happy we’re moving on, but know Cards fans understand your frustration. Many of us think this one-game thing is nonsense, too, despite the fact we benefited.
I wish the Braves the best of luck in 2013. I grew up with WGN and TBS. I couldn’t root for the Scrubs with a clear conscious, but I adopted the Braves during the D. Murphy days as my second team.
And a final note to flintrock70 – please don’t hold contempt for the Cards for chanting after the game. I assure you they weren’t chanting “infield fly”; they were actually chanting “happy flight”. It’s been their rally cry for the last two years to indicate winning before having to fly to another city. Ironically, it was introduced to the team by Rafael Furcal.
extremus
October 6th, 2012
12:56 am
This game was the “perfect storm” that was MLB’s worst-case scenario, one which they probably deluded themselves into thinking wouldn’t ever really happen with their profit-motivated one-game play-in. A game historically defined by series-formatted playoffs, where a #1 pitcher can give up 10 runs, an unknown utility man can become an overnight hero, but nevertheless where one team has to out-play the other across multiple games and situations, was reduced to a single game-elimination for both wild card teams when a second was added “to give more fanbases hope for the postseason”.
And what happened in the inaugural game? A team that finished 6 games ahead of the Cardinals and had beaten them 5 out of 6 times during the regular season was undone by a single bad game and an umpiring call that will live in infamy among Braves fans. Give the Braves a best of 3 or best of 5 and I could live with such a loss given baseball’s unpredictable nature; if the Cardinals still won I’d think at that point they’d earned it. But everyone in St. Louis, despite their celebrating and happiness at getting to the NLDS, knows deep down that the Cardinals just got GIFTED all of that on a silver platter. One lousy game, one awful call that goes your way, and you leapfrog a better team and move on while they go home. And the Braves (not to mention the possibility of seeing Chipper Jones bookend a HOF with World Series championships) and their fans? We all got hosed and we know it. Yeah, there were errors and sloppy play, and you can even add in the terrible call, but a single game has never decided who moves on in baseball’s playoffs and it never SHOULD have to begin with.
One could argue that MLB’s playoff system became an unforgiving crapshoot when wildcard teams and an extra round of playoffs were introduced in 1995 (and the Braves could certainly testify to that). The one-game play-in officially made it a cruel joke for any fanbase that sees a 162-game schedule rendered meaningless by one game. And MLB’s worst fears…not to mention BRAVES FANS’ worst fears…were realized in what I hope will be the LAST wild card play-in game ever played.
Replacement Umpires
October 6th, 2012
12:56 am
A bad call in the 8th inning, but as Chippper correctly stated there is no telling what would have happened had that call not been made. Chipper was in his earlier years a terrible defensive player, but he improved significantly over the years, and it was sad to see this part of his game reared its ugly head. As for uggla I am not surprise by his errors because he panics easily. Simmonds is the one who surprises me most because he has been so good all year, but i believe his first post season game may have caused some butterflies.
Fredi Gonzalez is not without blame, that stupid squeeze play he calls shows that he is no match for most managers in the majors. Not even Bobby would call his favorite play there with the pitcher coming up next and Freddie freeman at third.
Thanks to Chris Medlin, he pitched a hell of a game and should have been a winner.
Walt
October 6th, 2012
12:56 am
Face it….. when all else fails…. blame George Bush
extremus
October 6th, 2012
12:59 am
If this scenario ever plays out in a city like New York, Boston, or Philadelphia at some point under this single game-elimination system (and it inevitably WILL), it will make for a dangerous and potentially lethal situation in the stands and on the field. MLB, get rid of the wild-card play-in game NOW!!!!!
BIG MIKE
October 6th, 2012
1:00 am
@WALT
Who the hell are you to chastise anybody for trashing a trash game. That call and the game of MLB got what it deserved tonight and I fully support it. No one was trying to hit any of the people on the field or I guarantee you, somebody would have been hit. The fans in Atlanta were trying to make a statement….and they did that. They supported this team through 162 games and watched them tie 3 other division winners and flat out beat 2 other division winners being outplayed only by Washington. They were the second best team in MLB and had to play a second-third tier team in one game without mistakes or bad calls in order to get in the playoffs (this is assinine). After watching these idiots throw the ball around the field like little leaguers and swing their bats like they have lead in ‘em when somebody’s in scoring position….basically choke….then an umpire pulls the crap that guy pulled. As far as I’m concerned…load up and fire away Atlanta, you’ve earned it.
Replacement Umpires
October 6th, 2012
1:01 am
I was exciting when we signed Uggla as the right handed pop we were missing, but now I am not so sure. Pitchers in the league knows that he is a fast ball hitter and that he cannot hit a good breaking ball, and therefore he is ineffective, and with his less than stellar defense he is not what the Braves needed.
I'm the Gm
October 6th, 2012
1:02 am
Fredi. Safe
Gone McCann Too expensive too injured
Sign Bourne 270 ave should make him cheaper
Trade for Juston Upton. He will be on the block. Talent outshines his attitude Plenty of prospects to part with
Line up
Bourne
Prado
Heyward
Upton
Freeman
Uggla
Ross an bethancourt when ready
Simmons
This line up 1 thru five great. Young athletic.
Also best defense in league. Great for our young pitcher s. Also Bourne Heyward upton outfield
Best in league
Only uggla could not win gold glove
Pitchers
Hudson stay for 1 yr
New young guns
Medlin
Beachy. Mid season
Minor
#5 pitcher. Mulholm
Keep Tehran
Hanson and other starter s expendable
This will be a very young athletic team that is better than nats an phillies
With all the money coming off books this is very do able within braves budget
Very exciting team. With tons of potential
One game playoff Is BS. Ump cost us game but future is brite. Please let me know what u think
Scoop
October 6th, 2012
1:02 am
“…the umpire shall immediately call the infield fly for the benefit of the runners.” “absolutely,” said Sam Holbrook. Really, Joe?
rooster
October 6th, 2012
1:03 am
Sam Holbrook should not be allowed in any major league ballpark ever again unless he buys a ticket.
This was not a borderline call – fair or foul down the line, safe or out on a close play at first, strike or no strike on a checked swing, etc. This was a gross misapplication of a rule, in a case in which it had no plausible application, by an umpire who had no business applying it.
BravesfaninAugusta
October 6th, 2012
1:04 am
I was at the game and it was rocking…. Chipper’s error changed everything then that stupid infield fly rule which should’ve immediately been overruled…. BUT Braves horrible defense and most importantly lack of timely hitting doomed us. And guess what? It was against mostly RHPs no way would this team beat any lefties anyway in a long series Time to look forward to next year without the distraction of a “final” year Bobby in 2010 then Chipper this year
BIG MIKE
October 6th, 2012
1:04 am
Yeah, give MJ any rule, any rule at all. Yankee boy will straighten you out. But you better hurry it’s way past his bed time.
Darryl Blackberry
October 6th, 2012
1:06 am
Wow, Mark. Why is it that all the mutants come out of the woodwork specifically to comment on your columns?
This was an aberration of a game. No one can be blamed, as it was just “one of those things.” This is exactly why Fredi and the Braves tried like mad to win the division outright, and why winning the wild card is no free ride, no day at the park forevermore. I like the idea of the one-game play-in, but I’m not a fan of the execution, and I certainly wasn’t fond of the result.
Worst game in Braves history. Right? I mean, it has to be, doesn’t it?
Scoop
October 6th, 2012
1:07 am
Wren withdrew the protest? I feel worse about baseball tonight than I did in the 94 strike.
Scoop
October 6th, 2012
1:08 am
Enter your comments here
Replacement Umpires
October 6th, 2012
1:08 am
Fredi’s decision to play Ross proved a good one, and I liked the move from it was announced. He seems to make the decisions based on what he thinks will give the club the best chance to win, and not sticking with the status quo like Bobby use to do. However I still cannot get over that bunt he called with Simmonds, who had gotten a base hit in his first at bat, and with a ground ball or fly ball could have gotten the run in from third.
The Boys of Choketober
October 6th, 2012
1:14 am
Seen this movie before. Nothing changes but a few faces each year. Outcome always the same. They should pay us fans to come to games. We’re the suckers every season…..
Simmons BUNTING with runners on the corners and 1 out and Medlen on deck? Is Fredi on drugs? If not, then he’s the stupidest MF Manager in the history of Major League Baseball…
DawgDad
October 6th, 2012
1:16 am
I was at the game. The two highest paid position players on the team, Chipper and Uggla, led the playoff retreat with devastating errors. Chipper Jones will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He played one game too many. Dan Uggla will NOT be a Hall of Famer. Can only hope he’s played his last game in Atlanta.
The top of the order contributed nothing until it was too late. The rookie shortstop made rookie mistakes. The one major flaw in the team that wasn’t really exposed was the imbalanced lineup, pimarily because St. Louis only carried two left-handed pitchers.
The call – Well, that was the WORST call I’ve seen in 50 years of following MLB, including the Denkinger call (but not inclusive of Eric Gregg, who I absolutely believe was on the take). (1) that was NOT an infield fly according to the rule, and (2) the left field baseline umpire has NO business making that call. That’s not why he’s on the field; he’s there to call the baselines, home runs, and back up for infield umpires drawn out of position. The crew chief is a coward for not overruling him. Joe Torre is also a coward, running for cover under the lame “judgment call” excuse instead of properly correcting the call.
The Atlanta fans deserve major kudos for their reaction to this incident. The players were not targets of the bottle throwing except for a couple of very isolated instances. It was a very spontaneous and most appropriate non-violent demonstration in protest of the blatant corruption of the integrity of the game by the umpires and MLB. After the protest, the fans quickly self-disciplined the rabid few who would not subside and allow the game to continue. After the game fans were very calmly walking back to their cars; no riots, no rampaging whatsoever. If you hear anyone trashing the Atlanta fans they are being extremely disingenuous; it would necessarily be a reflection of their bias or just pure demagoguery.
In the end the oucome was utterly predictable. Key players were either too old, too young, or too fragile (mentally or physically). The big dollar players played poorly, while the kids and reserves (Ross) made the big plays. It is far beyond time for Wren to clean out the slow-pitch softball players and supplement the Heyward-Freeman-Simmons core with more young athletic players.
Wait ’till next year – again.
mj
October 6th, 2012
1:17 am
i will give you that the call was late. i will not give you that the call was incorrect.
bleeson
October 6th, 2012
1:19 am
MJ
How can n ump say that play was ordinary when the ss would have to make an over the shoulder catch that is in no way routine
biff k
October 6th, 2012
1:20 am
every team in this city chokes in every big game. I’ve had enough. I may move back to new jersey next year if I can find a job up there.
Driver 8
October 6th, 2012
1:25 am
Braves lost this one on their own. They lost because they scored 3 runs on 12 hits. They had the tying run up in each of the last three innings and couldn’t get 1 hit! They GAVE the cards 3-4 runs with slapstick errors. They lost because they choked-they always choke.
The infield-fly call was an absolute joke. If it had not been called, would anyone have said, hey, the infield fly rule should have been in effect? Of course not. Under this interpretation, any fly ball hit anywhere in the park with runners on 1st and 2nd is subject to the infield fly rule.
Also ridiculous; all the fake outrage over trashing the field. BFD, plastic bottles and paper cups- WOW, real danger there. Joe Simpson seemed eager to blame all of the fans. What a sanctimonious gasbag. I hope he is done in Atlanta. I never want to hear him again.
If you want 10 playoff teams, shorten the damn season and have real series. You don’t need to play 6 months to decide home field advantage for a 1 game playoff. Hell, why play at all, why not just have coin flip in Selig’s office.
After 94 wins over a 6 month marathon, your reward is a home game against a team that finished 7 games behind you. What’s new though. The Braves were the first tdivision champ to fall to a WC team. The Marlins finished 10 games behind them that year. Total BS
Ironic that after 6 months of 4 hour games, baseball is suddenly in a big hurry to eliminate a playoff team? WTF. This wasn’t a playoff game. This was a play-in game.
bleeson
October 6th, 2012
1:27 am
dang did I shut mj up?
Had Enough
October 6th, 2012
1:28 am
To hell with MLB. To hell with the Braves
Driver 8
October 6th, 2012
1:28 am
Braves lost this one on their own. They lost because they scored 3 runs on 12 hits. They had the tying run up in each of the last three innings and couldn’t get 1 hit! They GAVE the cards 3-4 runs with slapstick errors. They lost because they choked-they always choke.
The infield-fly call was an absolute joke. If it had not been called, would anyone have said, hey, the infield fly rule should have been in effect? Of course not. Under this interpretation, any fly ball hit anywhere in the park with runners on 1st and 2nd is subject to the infield fly rule.
Also ridiculous; all the fake outrage over trashing the field. BFD, plastic bottles and paper cups- WOW, real danger there. Joe Simpson seemed eager to blame all of the fans. What a sanctimonious gasbag. I hope he is done in Atlanta. I never want to hear him again.
If you want 10 playoff teams, shorten the damn season and have real series. You don’t need to play 6 months to decide home field advantage for a 1 game playoff. Hell, why play at all, why not just have coin flip in Selig’s office.
After 94 wins over a 6 month marathon, baseball is suddenly in a hurry? WTF. This wasn’t a playoff game. This was a play-in game.
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:30 am
I hate Joe Simpson!!!! He crapped on Atlanta fans when he should be on our side. He was sure to speak up and down the team’s fans he calls the games for through the season. Why don’t you go work with Boog Schiambi at ESPN!!! CAUSE WE DINT WANT YOU ANYMORE!!!!!!
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:31 am
Enter your comments here
kingdaddy
October 6th, 2012
1:31 am
Sorry, but I love my Bravos…
Worst Umpire call EVER
October 6th, 2012
1:33 am
I was at the game tonight. First and foremost, that was the worst call that I have ever seen in my life.
1. The umpire didn’t signal the call “immediately” as he is supposed to.
2. The defender was not making an “ordinary effort” as the rule requires.
3. The Cardinals rightfully admitted to the truth that they just missed the play.
None of us really knew what happened, which goes to show you just how archaic Baseball is…in Football and Basketball, the refs make announcements about what is going on. In Baseball, well, you just guess unless you know sign language and can read lips from 400 feet away.
Several vendors in the outfield sold out of beer before the eight inning. So no I’m not surprised that all the fans went crazy…they were drunk and the call was just ABSURD!!!!!!!!!
It continues to both amaze and bewilder me why in the year 2012, Baseball refuses instant replay. Just totally embarrassing…get with the times MLB!!! Playoff games are FAR too important to leave up to “judgement calls”, give me a break.
Sam Holbrook’s misplay will go down in history as one of the worst calls ever.
kingdaddy
October 6th, 2012
1:33 am
BTW, I love the Atlanta fans. Every damn one of you who threw stuff on the field, I salute you…
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:34 am
Fire Joe Simpson
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:35 am
Why don’t my other posts appear??????
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:35 am
F U Joe Simpson
kingdaddy
October 6th, 2012
1:35 am
To the fans that threw stuff on the field, I salute you…
brewer fan forever
October 6th, 2012
1:35 am
what a bunch of whiny babies. throwin a bunch of junk on the field. real classy. GO BREWERS
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:36 am
Joe threw our fans under the bus
kingdaddy
October 6th, 2012
1:36 am
I am also having things eaten…
gabugman
October 6th, 2012
1:39 am
Atlanta sports teams – one and done!
Big Will
October 6th, 2012
1:40 am
Fire Joe Simpson. He is not one of us !!!!
kingdaddy
October 6th, 2012
1:40 am
Brewerfan
hope the same refs call your game,lol…
Daryl Clark
October 6th, 2012
1:46 am
One of the Best Damn Baseball Players of all time ! Chipper Jones !
Daryl Clark
October 6th, 2012
1:49 am
Chipper Jones type of player are few and far ………………..n