[It is all Chris all the time today. He also fired off this cool breakdown of BJ's breakdown.]
Ejections are always somewhat controversial and people’s reaction tend to fall into two broad camps:
- They are the self indulgent tantrums of spoiled athletes which hurt the team’s chance to win, or
- They are evidence of a player’s passion spilling over and show that he is invested in the team.
Generally I would say I am in the latter camp. This is particularly true for someone like Upton who can sometimes give off bad body language which suggests he isn’t as invested in the team’s fortunes as he could be (I’ve never decided if this is fair or not but the perception is certainly there).
Last night’s meltdown perhaps went on a touch long and will likely cost B.J. a couple of games which isn’t ideal, but given the inconsistency of the strike zone calls coupled with the inexplicably overturned play at 1st, I’d suggest Upton’s blow-up echoed what the majority of the team were feeling. The call in question is the red triangle 5 inches off the inside (left) of the plate (strike two is the red triangle 5 inches off the bottom half of the plate on the right):
Graphic courtesy of BrooksBaseball.net
It’s only one game of course and in truth the Rays were a touch fortunate to win on Tuesday but it’s always frustrating when the officials have a big impact on the game. The crew do need credit though for at least conceding that they blew the Fuld call at 1st.
So what do we make of Upton so far this year? His contact rate is currently at a career high (87.9%) but as with last year he is chasing way too much out of the zone (24.3%). The fact that he correctly laid off two outside pitches last night and was punished is therefore annoyingly ironic. His swinging strike percentage is down to 8.7% though and his BABIP hovers below his career rate of .332 at .304 suggesting he has been a little unlucky to date and might gain a small bump in stats in the future if his luck levels out.
His line so far – .248/.342/.758 – is almost exactly in line with his career averages though with four home runs already his power numbers could end up higher on the year. It looks like we will get another solid season from B.J. this year and if last night’s outburst gets him fired up to push harder then I for one am all for it.
As a final point to throw out there, on his recent podcast with Buster Olney, Bill Simmons suggested that moving Upton this year is inevitable and it is just a matter of time before he leaves. The rumours seem to persist that he could be moved regardless of the standings in the summer. Would people be sad to see Upton leave?
Upton frustrates me like most others because it just seems like there’s SO much potential that he will never live up to. That being said, I was 100% rooting for him last night to go crazy, and just like Joe when he gets a fine, I feel like this will be the happiest $500+ ever spent. The suspension will suck a little though.
I’m just still so completely amazed that there’s no transparency standards with these blind umps. Has the question ever been answered to how they can change the rules of the game on the fly without repurcussions?! Again, if the first base call can be reversed, then WHY DIDNT JIMENEZ GET A PERFECT GAME LAST YEAR!?
I’ve always said that BJ could surpass Crawford if he could get his head screwed on straight (and gain about 20 pounds). He’s got the arm, got the fielding range, and (potential) hitting power. I hope he can have a breakout year and help the Rays into another playoff push as a parting gift to the Rays fan that have had a love-hate-WTF relationship with him.
I am not sure anyone has ever encapsulated the entire Bossman experience better than “Love-Hate-WTF.” In fact, part of Upton’s charm is that he can hit all three of those extremes on a single play.
I saw that AB. Two pitches were called strikes, one way inside, one way outside. I can’t remember seeing an ump screw up two calls that badly, and effectively stretch the width of the plate that much. I pride myself as a rational man, but if I were BJ, I’d have been thrown out too.
I am quite certain every fan base feels this way from time-to-time so, it probably evens out. But, in my experience, the Rays get ridden harder by weak umps than any franchise. I have no explanation either because it is a trend that seems to have transcended managers, owners, players, uniform changes, team name changes. It just always seems to go down like this. But, I think that is probably the homer in me feeling harmed.
Fan base, shman base. I’m not in love with the Rays (all rumors aside, we’re just good friends). But I never say two strike calls that bad like that in the same at bat, one way inside and one way outside. I’ve seen umps that skew calls to one side of the plate or the other. I’ve seen umps that call one side of the plate accurately but expand the other side. But I’ve never seen an ump so dramatically expand the size of the plate all of a sudden.
BJ may have a history of going off on umpires, and of course I don’t know whether he said something that crossed one of those imaginary lines you’re not supposed to cross. But my guess is that 98% of MLB hitters would have gotten themselves tossed out of the game under those same circumstances.
This might be the first time BJ has shown some fire and it sucks its the right amount but too late. Speculation has BJ being traded whether we are making a push or not. He has never lived up to the Star-studded talent levels he posesses. As one commentor pointed out, this guy could far surpass anything Carl Crawford ever did in a Rays uniform. Be it laziness, complacency or just a lack of understanding what he truly has, this is a gift I fear we will never get to witness.
Now to the blown call(s). How Joe West and Angel Hernandez are even allowed to officiate is beyond me. Now Chad Fairchild (must of been feeling left out) opens the strike zone to an estimated 3 plate diameter! Wow, really? 5 inches inside, then 5 outside and they are both “called” strikes!? Now this same crew (crew #7 per the MLB Umpire website) blows another call in Boston. Now I am no Red Sox fan in fact I hate them as any Rays fan should, but I am a fan of the game. This crew, they are an embarassment to this game I love.
In BJ’s defense, I don’t think anyone could ever live up to the expectations we heaped on him. In the end, I think BJ is maxing out his talent. He is always going to be a very good outfielder, a pretty good hitter, a fast runner, and a streaky power hitter. That has the makings of a nice career but, on body structure alone, he was never going to be CC.
As for the umps, it’s no secret how they keep their gig. They are in the union. That makes it next to impossible to fire them. Especially someone with as much seniority as Cowboy Joe West.