I used to umpire as a hobby and got as far as American Legion ball and had training with major league umpires. When it comes to calling the Infield Fly Rule, the first thing is to not make the call until the ball reaches it height for that reason- in case it's drifting too far into the outfield. The ump caled it too soon. That was very clearly not a proper call.
Uh, did you watch the play? He called it about a half second before it dropped. Too late. Basically, the instant the SS got under the ball finally, it was near him, he called it, ss moved, braves got screwed. Terrible terrible call. Also glad for the fan reaction. I know it's not the "right" thing to do, but fuck it.
I've always liked the Braves..... but I think they would have lost that game regardless. Sidenote: wtf is up with teams popping the bubbly after winning a wildcard game? There is only one time when it is acceptable, in my opinion, to break out the Champagne. If you win the whole fuckin thing, you can shower yourself in booze.
No kidding. It's almost like taking your parents' car out for a spin before you've actually gotten your license. Kinda fun, but rather illegitimate to say the least. Oh, and a simple, 1-game playoff following a 162-game season? Really MLB??
technically though it was the right call. It was a routine play for Kozma to make, he just didn't make. From talking to MLB umps in the past, the infield fly rule is one of the least understood and gets confusing because of it's name. According to them, an infield fly COULD be called on a ball at the warning track, if it's hit high enough.
Sure, one might say that. That said, the Braves were tied for the 4th best record in all of baseball. Sometimes, it sucks being in a tough division. For some strange reason, that reminds me of the Seahawks hosting the Saints (and beating them, I might add), while also having a losing record.
That's the ups and downs of the playoffs. Doesn't matter how many games you won during the regular season, just ask the Seattle Sonics of the 90s.
Sure, then let's just let the bottom level NBA playoff teams duke it out in 1-game series. Neat story.
Well, unfortunately that's just how the MLB is set up. NFL isn't much different. They have division winners and wild cards. I understand why the NFL has a shorter playoff, but I don't really understand why baseball does. If anything, they have the longest season so their playoffs probably shouldn't be one-gamers.
