From Boswell's chat today:
HOME PLATE UMP Boz, I was at the game on Friday -- sitting in the section right below you, actually -- and wonder what your take was on Alfonzo Marquez's strike zone. I saw at various points that Zimmerman, Kurt Suzuki and McCatty were having what looked to be animated discussions with Marquez and everyone around me was getting more and more upset with what seemed to be a shrinking strke zone, but the reality is that we were in the upper deck and had no clue what the zone was. I suppose I could go back and watch the game, but I have no stomach for it. So, did the crowd have a legit beef with the ump? I'm not trying to find excuses for a horribly blown lead, but is it true as some folks were saying as we left the stadium that Storen really should have had a strike three called to end the game before the final unraveling?
– Permalink
THOMAS BOSWELL : I've watched the 9th three times. First, the TBS strike-zone camera is a friggin' useless disgrace. Everybody in baseball knows it is inaccurate and a joke. One exec, in the middle of the series, said, "The umps don't mind the TBS box because it is so awful. They might not like the PitchFX (or MLB-Gameday) box to be shown on TV because IT'S ACTUALLY CORRECT. So, ignore the TBS box. It's off-center. I just used common sense. I didn't think the Nats got squeezed. But when Gio came off after the 5th, he was screaming at Marquez about strikes. That's not a good idea for your teammates for the rest of the game. He kn ows he's out (with 100+ pitches). But the other guys still have to deal with it. The only way Gio got the shaft is if the strike zone got moved to high-and-outside before Game Five. He battled. Much better than Game One. But I don't think the ump got him. They erase the MLB-Gameday pitch-by-pitch after the game is over __at least I don't know how to recapture it. I wish I could see those pitch tracks because they are very useful. So, it's possible Marquez had a poor noight. But I don't think so.
– October 15, 2012 11:42 AM
1986, GAME 6 That's what the Nats meltdown reminded me of, one pitch away then it all fell apart. Fai