The Braves held a 3 – 0 lead after 1 inning, but Drew Smyly allowed 5 runs in 5 innings, and the Phillies benefitted from a controversial call in the 9th to salvage a game from the 3 game series.
Ronald Acuna Jr. went 3 – 4 and hit his 4th home run of the season in the 7th, but it was his exit velocity out of the batter’s box that impressed in the 1st. Ronald beat out a routine grounder to shortstop, and it wasn’t really close. (h/t AAR) Ozzie Albies, given a chance to hit off a lefty for a change, made Matt Moore pay with a 2 run homer to right center on the 2nd pitch of the game. A Travis d’Arnaud double, and a Dansby Swanson single concluded the inning’s scoring.
However, the Phillies came all the way back and more, picking up a run in the 2nd, and a Rhys Hoskins solo homer in the 4th to cut the lead to 3 – 2. Didi Gregorius followed Hoskins with a 3 run homer to make it 5 – 3.
The Braves battled back though, as Cristian Pache doubled, and eventually scored on an Acuna sacrifice fly in the Braves half of the inning, then Freddie Freeman‘s solo homer tied it in the 5th. Bryce Harper and Acuna traded homers to bring us to the 9th tied at 6.
Alec Bohm led off the 9th with a double against Will Smith, and moved to 3rd on a groundout. Gregorius lifted a fly ball into short left field, and the Phillies decided to gamble on Marcell Ozuna‘s arm. Ozuna did everything he could to get his momentum going toward the plate, but could only manage a 2-hopper slightly up the baseline. d’Arnaud managed to block the plate, but the call on the field was that Bohm’s left foot got to the plate before the tag. The play was reviewed, and from better angles it appeared that Bohm’s foot in fact came down no closer to the plate than the inside chalk of the left handed batter’s box.
The objective people in New York saw it differently, and the Braves went quietly in their half of the 9th.
Miami comes to town Monday; Ynoa vs. Alcantara scheduled.
Somewhat JC’d from the last thread:
I would just like to point out again that the umpires are not even using the standard of evidence that MLB wants them to be using (at least according to the rules), and MLB just seems to be letting them get away with it…them and MLB’s national broadcast partners, because no announcer on Planet Earth apparently has any idea of the difference between “beyond a shadow of a doubt” and “clear and convincing evidence.”
“Clear and convincing evidence” is supposed to be an easier burden of proof to attain than “beyond a reasonable doubt” (let alone beyond all doubt). To overturn by that standard DOES NOT mean that the replay umpire has to be 100 percent sure that there is zero chance the call on the field could be right. It just means that the call on the field has to be substantially more likely to be wrong than right. If it’s only slightly more likely to be wrong than right or if it’s a tossup or (obviously) if it’s at all more likely to be right than wrong, it stays. Otherwise, the call should be overturned! There will be disagreements at the margins, for sure, but any replay system that talks itself into not overturning that call tonight 100 percent of the time isn’t worth a rat’s hind quarters. There should be no replay umpire that ever sees that play and decides to uphold the ruling on the field. Ever.
“Clear and convincing evidence” is the wording in the actual freaking replay rules! Why then does MLB let the umpires use a substantially greater standard of evidence than is prescribed in the freaking rules?!?!?
I know that the replay booth is not a court of law, but there’s no reason why “clear and convincing evidence” should mean something totally different in this context. Not least of which because the replay system as currently implemented is borderline psychotic.
Did anyone see Eduardo Perez’s analysis of Ozuna’s swing in the pre-game? They were talking about him working to improve his launch angle and his leg kick is now higher than last year and it’s screwing up his timing. If ESPN has noticed it, I sure hope Ozuna and the Braves have too.
Also, seems like time to reverse Smith’s and Minter’s roles. I’d rather have Smith setting up like last year.
I was 100% wrong about somewhat pumping the brakes on Acuna. The kid is Willie Mays, reincarnate.
@3
Chief…this a momentous moment in Braves history, for all of us – pinch me. ‘Somewhat’.
@1 Yeah, I’d love to hear their rationale for why they didn’t think d’Arnaud got the tag down. Or what angle that had that showed that Bohm grabbed the plate. I don’t know if they use legal terms to describe the standard of proof they need, but however you describe it, it’s certainly not “clear and convincing”.
With that said, I’ve been pretty consistent that umpires usually can’t blow games other than consistently manipulating the strike zone throughout the game (like Eric Gregg). Even on that one run, there were so many things the Braves should have done: Will Smith gave up a rocket, and Ozuna made a horrendous throw. Even an average throw would have had Bohm out by a mile.
Our starting pitcher also got rocked. Nate Jones gave up a home run. There were a lot of missed opportunities in this game. I still think that if you score 6 runs, you should win the game.
@4. I didn’t think his Batting Average heretofore warranted such lofty aspirations for him but he appears to be well on his way to making adjustments in his game to fix even that.
If he becomes a .300 hitter, then he’s going to be an all time great on the level of a top 10 all time player, IMO.
In the San Diego/Texas game, the following happened:
-Folty pitched a gem: 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 R
-Melancon recorded his 5th save in as many chances and has not given up a run in his six innings of relief.
Sweet.
@6 What if he hits .299?
@5 I think the reason why the “clear and convincing evidence” standard becomes “beyond a shadow of a doubt” is because the umpiring cartel is protecting their own. Umps don’t want to get overruled remotely after making their best efforts to get it right in real time, so the review booth basically acts as though the call will stand unless ironclad evidence to the contrary is placed on a silver platter.
Basically, the review board up in New York needs to act as though they are an independent arbiter. That will never happen while incentives exist to uphold on-field calls and there are no real consequences to getting the call wrong.
@9, I buy this a lot more than I buy any conspiracy theory about who umpires want to win.
I buy anything more than I buy any conspiracy theory about who umpires want to win.
Worst call in the history of replay, obviously, but couldn’t agree more with Dansby:
“… what happened after they announced that call is the most embarrassing part of the whole night … It’s an embarrassing representation of our city … downright embarrassing and shouldn’t happen again.”
Truth is in the early 1990s we may have had the best ballpark fans in MLB, but thirty years later a huge segment at every game is just entitled trash.
Wanted to mention the briefest of references from the ESPN ensemble mid-game re Acuna, contracts and money.
They obviously felt the need to try and explain, however indirectly, Acuna’s contract. It went something like this…
“Well, you know, some people ask about that contract …what was it again – 85/100 for 8 or 10 years? Some clearly are not happy with that. But ya know he’s only 23 and a wealthy young man, set for life. He can sign a second contract at 30 etc…Ossie too, 7 for 35 or whatever.same thing, smaller scale.
Then came the kissass for their benefactors MLB who have sat silent through all this…’and, ya know, i know people in the game who say its only the agents in baseball who are underpaid. Haw haw.’ And some of those who are Black..(see new blog)…
On a much more cheerful note. Somewhere, mid game, they showed a couple of shots of our dugout celebrating something Ronald had just done and returned from…suddenly it struck me…he has become incredibly good looking…in the Hollywood sense that is…changes he’s made to his hair, some accouterments he now wears, and of course those pounds he’s shed to produce those new numbers…and still that gorgeous smile…don’t be embarrassed, admit it! That’s worth a new contract all on its own.
Truth is in the early 1990s we may have had the best ballpark fans in MLB, but thirty years later a huge segment at every game is just entitled trash.
Oh good gosh, clutch your pearls a little tighter, why don’t you? When booing has not changed the horrible process by which reviews are conducted, I don’t begrudge people for non-violently expressing their displeasure. I’ve never thrown trash on a field and likely never will, but I get why people do it. Plus, the time it takes to clean off the field by people already being paid to be there to do it is about the same amount of time it takes umpires to stare at a computer screen probably watching Looney Tunes instead of watching the angles that clearly showed he was out. Spare me.
@12 Not to make it political, but after years of getting the crap end of the umpiring stick, fans are going to become jaded and entitled. Does that one particular call justify the size of the reaction from the fans? No, but if you take the collection of bad umpiring calls going all the way back to 1991 there’s a pattern of poor umpiring that is enough to drive a segment of the fanbase crazy.
@9 It’s 100% this. The review booth isn’t there to overturn a call that an umpire had a direct and clear view of even if everything unfolded in half a second. The review booth is there to assist the on field crew with calls no one had a good angle on like home runs near the foul pole or a ball that just did land on the foul line. Stuff like that.
Basically, I think the very human umpire union would like to avoid replacing human umpires on the field with cameras that could very easily slip into AI-assisted umpiring calls. If even remote umpiring via cameras could become a thing, would there be any good reason to keep a heavy umpire body on the field of play? lol
Finally, I don’t recall any review booth call that has ever overturned anything meaningful in favor of the Braves. I try to recall one that was overturned in favor of our opponents but can’t think of any.
Well, we did get one blown call go our way.
@14. LOL, color me surprised, the guy who is only about two huffs of paint away from being Mr. Bill can identify with morons who throw trash at a baseball game.
@17, LOL, color me surprised, the guy with the handle DaleMurphy’sMistress has a screw loose. Shocked, I tell ya.
@16 So glad someone linked to that video. Last night after the game ended I thought “well, that was a blown call but nowhere near as bad as that Pirates extra innings game”.
@17 “two huffs of paint away from being Mr. Bill” is a pretty sick burn, but perhaps cool it with the personal attacks?
@ 17 and 18
You guys make a great couple…congrats on keeping it cool.
Keep it light, fellas.
Play nice boys
Agreed @21; loosen up, everybody.
I maybe let out a slight guffaw.
@19 Reminds me of really well written statement I read on this blog regarding the symmetry of baseball and how satisfying it is. Some symmetry can span decades, but generally what goes around comes around even on blown home plate calls.
And thaaaat’s baseball, folks! I’m ready for a hot dog.
Someone has to fight the trolls. And not to sound like a fifth grader, but, well, he started it.
Does anyone have any insights to share about betting on baseball? I feel like I’m doing ok, but what are the secrets? What are the things that a well-rounded fella like ububba knows (he mentioned he had a parlay going yesterday)? Any and all advice is coveted and appreciated.
@27 A friend of my son lost a big parlay yesterday with the Braves loss. The blown call wouldn’t have necessarily resulted in a guaranteed Braves win if it was made correctly, but that dude is waaaaay salty today for good reason after losing out on a $500 win
The Jerry Meals blown call was the first thing that came to my mind to compare with last night’s debacle.
Game thread!
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2021/04/12/marlins-braves-game-1/
Junk replay reviews. It’s not a video game. It’s a game played by humans, don’t try to remove the human element. Baseball got along fine for well over a century using the calls of trained and experienced umpires. The umps were not (and are not) perfect — but apparently the video review system isn’t either.