A quick survey of social media and there are a number of stories regarding the strike zone–in particular how wide the strike zone was in a number of games last night. It was clearly evident at Busch Stadium as Joe Maddon was on the top step of the Chicago Cubs dugout yelling at home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi during Game 1 of the NLDS.
“I voiced my opinion a couple times, but apparently it was the same zone for both sides, and I really can’t complain about that,” said Maddon postgame. “The catching was outstanding tonight on both sides. I totally agree with that. Again, that’s just something I really want to stay out of. I mean from the side I voiced my opinion once. It’s really hard to argue with an umpire with all that noise in the ballpark, so lest I had gone out there, I would have gotten kicked out. From the side I saw what you guys kind of saw, but you can report on that as you choose.”
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And while many of the stories are pointing out the TBS pitch tracker has some kinks to be worked out, there are others that are taking the opportunity to blame the strike zone for the St. Louis victory over the Cubs last night.
Overlooked by those individuals, the Cardinals struck out nine times at the plate against Lester–but only two of those were looking. Where a Chris Coghlan became visibly upset and it affected his at-bats, the Cardinals swung the bats to try and adjust–even if it resulted in a few more misses at the expanded zone.
“There are definitely umpires that are better than others, just like there are pitchers that are better than others and hitters that are better than others, but every umpire, like I said, goes out there, and they do the best job they can; and they are the best at their job–nobody’s perfect,” commented Brandon Moss during Saturday’s pregame.
“Even these stupid pitch trackers that they put on the TV, those aren’t right,” he continued. “A lot of times it will show a pitch that’s off on those pitch trackers, and that’s actually a strike, and some that it shows as strikes weren’t. It’s not a perfect science. Every hitter is a different size; every hitter sets up different in the box. Every pitcher puts a different spin on the ball. I mean some of this guy’s curveballs can almost bounce and they cross the strike zone as a strike.”
Bill Welke will be behind the plate for Game 2 as Phil Cuzzi rotates down the line to right field.
photo credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
