I am still livid over this call and no, I don’t give a shit that awful calls happen in every game and to every team. This is atrocious and what makes it even more infuriating is that MLB will not do anything about it. At least not this year. The umps have been horrible and they were especially bad throughout the Cubs vs. Mariners series this week, but Manny Gonzalez put the cherry on top of a shit sundae with his screw up in a big spot that burned the Cubs on Wednesday.
The Cubs weren’t doing much on offense in the series finale, but down 3-1 they finally had a chance to get back in the game after Seattle’s starter Logan Gilbert departed with two outs and two runners on in the seventh inning. Matt Brash came in out of the Mariners’ bullpen to face left-handed batter Miles Mastrobuoni.
The Cubs right fielder worked a 3-0 count and then took a pitch on the outer third for a strike. Then, this 3-1 pitch from Marsh was called a strike to move the count to 3-2.
Mastrobuoni was eventually retired on a ground out to the right side of the infield.
Give me challenges on balls and strikes or give me robot umpires because this shit is ridiculous.
The Cubs lost 5-2, as Cody Bellinger hit his first home run at Wrigley Field with his new team in the ninth inning.
Right-handed reliever Julian Merryweather won a bullpen role with his great performance in spring training, but he hasn’t been doing his job so far in the regular season. The right-hander came in to pitch the eighth inning when it was still a 3-1 ballgame, but Merryweather allowed two home runs. He pitched two innings in relief on Tuesday night and allowed one earned run on two hits.
Merryweather’s Cubs debut was one to forget, as he was charged with five earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers after giving up five hits and walking two hitters. Merryweather doesn’t have any minor league options left, but just like the team felt comfortable putting Rowan Wick on waivers, they shouldn’t be concerned about losing Merryweather. They liked him, but you can’t give guys who don’t have a track record of success too much leeway.
One of the home runs that Merryweather allowed was to left-handed hitter Jarred Kelenic, who hit one of the longest home runs I have ever seen live on TV at Wrigley Field. This one went nearly 500 feet to center field.
Kelenic got every bit of that and the mammoth home run capped off his amazing series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 23-year-old outfielder went 5-for-9, with 3 home runs, a double and two walks.
One of the biggest stories of the 2022 season was how home runs dropped across the league because MLB changed the way the baseballs were being stored. The weather has been warmer so far in 2023 and of course there is now a pitch clock that may be forcing pitchers to not have the ability to go max effort on every pitch.
Or did MLB bring back the juiced balls?
I guess we’ll continue to follow the home run numbers this season and compare different factors because the game definitely changed a year ago when certain batted balls weren’t going out of the ballpark like they used to.
It’s not juiced balls. It’s climate change. Ask Al Gore. He’ll tell you.
I am in favor of the automated strike zone. However, I watched the Marlins, Phillies game the other night, and was astounded at how good the home plate umpire was. He got every close pitch right. So I guess it can be done, rare as it is.
The home plate umpire squeezed the strike zone on Wesneski in his second start. There were several pitches on the edge of the strike zone that were called balls. It makes a big difference pitching with a 3-1 count versus 2-2. It changes the entire at bat. The umpire continues to stand behind the catcher but call balls and strikes based on the call from AI relayed to him instantly.
Kelenic is mediocre. Cant hit any breaking balls
I’m not mad anymore, so thank you for this lol