Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Major League Baseball games played Monday, August 27, 2007: A partial slate of 10 games played Monday produced three ejections.

In Philadelphia, where the Phillies hosted the New York Mets, first base umpire Joe West ejected Phillies manager Charlie Manuel in the bottom of the 1st inning for arguing that the leadoff hitter for the Phillies made it to first base on a ground ball before the throw reached the Mets first baseman. West had called the batter out, although televised replays showed that the batter was safe. Although the box score does not reflect this next ejection, reliable press accounts report that home plate umpire CB Bucknor ejected Mets third baseman David Wright in the top of the 9th inning after Wright complained about Bucknor's strike zone from the dugout. The Phillies won the game 9-2. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Philadelphia Inquirer; The Philadelphia Daily News; The New York Times; The New York Daily News (here and here); The New York Post; and The Associated Press. You can view related photos here and here.

And in Seattle, where the Mariners hosted the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, third base umpire Jerry Meals ejected Mariners manager John McLaren in the bottom of the 1st inning for arguing over a third strike recorded on Mariners leadoff batter Ichiro Suzuki on a swing that had foul-tipped the pitch, after which the ball hit the dirt before ending up in the Angels catcher's glove. Had a foul tip that touched the ground before being caught by the catcher been correctly called, Ichiro's at bat would have continued. The Angels won the game 6-0. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Seattle Times; The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (here and here); The Orange County Register; The Los Angeles Times; The Los Angeles Daily News; and The Associated Press. You can view a related photo at this link.

Credit umpire Joe West with an ejection, his seventh of the season; credit umpire CB Bucknor with an ejection, his second of the season; credit umpire Jerry Meals with an ejection, his second of the season; and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

David Wright had every right to complain about CB Bucknor's strike zone, he was called out twice on strikes, once on a pitch that was high out of the strike zone, and once on a pitch that was very far outside the strike zone. At least he commented that he waited until the 9th inning to bark enough to get thrown out so the Mets wouldn't have to put in a new third basemen.