The Angels, who have had three of their last four postseason runs spoiled by the Red Sox, took a big step towards getting the Rally Monkey off their backs with a 5-0 victory in Thursday's ALDS Game 1.
Boston had plenty of reason to gripe after the game. Torii Hunter should have been rung up on strikes before walking to lead the bases in the third. First-base ump C.B. Bucknor missed Kevin Youkilis' obvious tag on Howie Kendrick to extend the fourth inning. Bucknor had an even worse call in the sixth, when Youkilis had to jump off first base to make a catch. He clearly came right back down on the bag, yet Bucknor called the runner safe anyway.
That none of those plays came in innings in which the Angels scored means there won't be any long-term controversy here. Still, those extra pitches Lester was forced to throw added up. Vladimir Guerrero should have been the first out of the fourth, not the last of the third. Jeff Mathis, the easiest out in either lineup, never should have come to the plate in the fourth, yet he made the last out after the blown call on Kendrick. Had things worked out differently, perhaps Torii Hunter never would have made it to the plate to hit his three-run homer in the fifth.
In the end, it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. After an encouraging first inning, the Red Sox turned in mostly atrocious at-bats against an impressive John Lackey, who pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings. The only threat was a two-out rally in the sixth, when Dustin Pedroia singled and Victor Martinez walked. Youkilis went on to work a 3-0 count and then took what was clearly ball four on the TBS pitch trax, only to have an inconsistent Joe West call it a strike. He went on to ground out, and the Red Sox put just one runner on during the final three innings.
The story of the game was Lackey's performance. He allowed four hits, walked just the one and struck out four. Darren Oliver replaced him in the eighth and retired five in a row to end the game. It was Lackey's first postseason victory since the 2002 World Series. He had been 0-3 in six outings since. Boston was shut out in the postseason for the first time since 1995.
Bring in the clowns.
"Aided by umps"
Failed to mention that calls do go both ways.
Sample, Bases loaded double play ball from Rivera, Torii was clearly safe at third, called out. Morales still cleared the bases in the next at bat, so I guess it did not matter.
Hunter was safe on the slide, but it appeared as though the tag was still on him when his foot came off the base.
Matthew,
In baseball you are permitted to over run first base, that the "tag" was still on him as he passed the base is immaterial. It was a bad call.
Matthew,
In baseball you are permitted to over run first base, that the "tag" was still on him as he passed the base is immaterial. It was a bad call.
He was talking about the play in the seventh, when Hunter slid into third base on what was ruled a double play.
OOPS. sorry
Titles, once again, deceive...
...you put "aided by umps, Angels run away with game 1" then you say in the body of the story, "in the end, it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway"...
I am getting tired of these attention-getting, flame-seeking headlines from these meatless, ill-conceived blog entries, that all-in-all, don't really make much of an impact other then getting us to comment...which I guess I am doing.
Stop trying to stir up controversy where none exists. If you want controversy, write a blog on the continuing problems in Afghanistan.
And did you right an article when the White Sox were "Aided" by the umps by allowing perzinski (catcher for white sox) to run to first when the third called strike did not hit the ground. Or is it you are just Red Sox fan crying about your team losing.
Thanks...
shut up you boston elitist! 'aided by umps' my azz. booohoooooo!
shut up! how in the heck does this blog get posted on msnbc.com? boohooo! how long is a baseball game, 9 innings? cry me a river in boston you idiot!
"Youkilis went on to work a 3-0 count and then took what was clearly ball four on the TBS pitch trax, only to have an inconsistent Joe West call it a strike."
hmmm, i think i would call that pitch tracker inconsistent. been driving me nuts the last two days. not sure if it's computer operated, or if they've got a monkey sitting there with a little jon madden style pen telling it to tap a screen every time a pitch is thrown..
I am sick of you and the rotoworld whining. The sox day in the sun is over, you don't need to make excuses cause we don't wanna hear them. It's gonna be a bitter pill for you and rotoworld when the Yanks are riding down the Canyon of Heroes.
...and Youk got screwed again right after that in the bottom half of the inning when he made a good play off of Lowell's bad throw. His foot was clearly on and didn't get that call either!
As a sox fan, I'm not going to blame the umps especially when the sox got 0 runs. However there were so many obvious blown calls last night I turned the game off. The Youk tag was RIGHT infront of the first base up where the guy practically RAN into You with the ball, yet was called safe.
C. B. Bucknor is by far the worst ump in the majors. He has no place in "the Bigs" much less being in the post season. The man has no idea what he is doing out on the field. If I were to state the obvious, some would be quick to call me racist, but the simple truth is he does not belong in baseball. At least not at this level.
History will repeat itself. Red Sox will beat the Angels. End of story
Iagree with Ron. Don'T manipulate controversy arguing bad umpires decisition. The true is simple: in baseball when you get four hits and do three errors nobody deserve won. The witer look as a jeaulous red sox fanatic. Please, be more profesional.
I guess this is what happens when your manager whines to the media that the umps are afraid of making calls against the Sox.
Nicely played, Scioscia. Now shut up.
An embarrassing game by the umps. Two blown calls at first, a terrible call v Ortiz that should've been ball 4, terrible call when Lester should've gotten the K, and a questionable call on Youk's ball 4.
But at the end of the day, we lost 5-0. Congrats to the Angels, and we try to get them tonight.
Waaah. The Red Sox sucked, bottom line, so they lost. And, now they know how all of the other teams that play at Fenway feel. Get over it, move on. Hopefully the Sox will get swept by the Angels. They don't deserve to be there anyway. Bunch of whiners.
How many runs did the Sox score? Oh yea, thats right... NONE!! How any extra base hits did the Sox have? NONE!! Blown calls are a part of baseball, always have been, always will be. Some games are deceided by a bad call. This one was not. 5-0... Not 5-4, not 5-3, 5-0!! And don't gimmie that crap Lester had to throw extra pitches. All season long all we heard was how "GREAT" Lester is. Boston was beat by a better team. Plain & simple.
Had the Angels only scored one run, they still would have won...since the Red Sox got SHUT OUT! so the umps are a non-issue.
what a bunch of chowder-head crybabies
im sure the red sox never had a game where the calls went their way
bla bla bla .......red sox lose !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nothing short of amazing to me. When it's Boston, it's a big story that the umps "screwed" over the team. Any other team, let's say the Tigers, no one talks about it. Inge was clearly hit by the pitch in the 12th which would have brought in the go ahead run but no one discusses that.
The red sox didnt score ...that is the umps fault also
dont worry red sox nation Brady is back and its football season.
ha ha ha
Yankees rule !!!!!!!!
A 5-0 game is NOT decided by the umpires! Lackey pitched wonderfully SHUTTING OUT the red sox and the ANGELS scored 5 runs PERIOD.
BTW I do find it ironic that a guy named Bucknor (Buckner) was at first base.
When terrible calls happen to the Tigers, it's blown off with the team and their fans basically called cry babies in the media. When they happen to the Red Sox, it's suddenly a real problem.
That being said, it seems like officiating in professional and college sports has gotten worse over the last several years. Many will say that the extensive use of replays makes referees and umpires look worse, but in many cases, it seems that the replay only confirms what the fans saw on the initial call.
Sox usually get all the calls and for once it goes the other way. How does it feel?
Yes, he was safe, but the umpire called him out since Lowell tagged him and he got OFF the base. That's why he was out. The majority of gaffes from the umpires were against the Red Sox. But what's new? Remember Chuck Knoblauch with the double play, despite the fact taht he missed Garciaparra by about 2 feet? This is what BoSox fans come to expect. We don't like it, we just expect it
When are these alleged calls? I have been watching the BoSox for 23 years now and I don't quite remember much of them... Can you refresh my memory?
he was talking about the guy who was tagged out at third in the bases loaded no out double play at the home plate then third. He was safer than safe. If you were talking about the Youk tag he tagged him BEFORE he got to the bag. It was a BAD call. Then they screwed up again when Youk had to jump up and still got down about a full step before the angel got to the bag and Youks foot clearly hit the bag but he still was called safe. Everything went the Angels way...
For the author to suggest that these calls cost Boston the game is as outrageous as it is downright stupid. This article looks like nothing more than an angry BoSox fan ranting because it certainly isn't sports journalism. What a moronic article!
You red sux fans need to stop crying. You get all hyped because espn sells you guys like their part owners. The umps didn't make 3 errors. We can go back to years of your gimmie calls or just like that strikeout last month that never got called when you got gifted a win. How's it feel to be on the other side. Man-up and take your loss. It's different when your taem doesn't get to juice and win.
"Aided by Umps, Angels run away with Game 1"... followed by "That none of those plays came in innings in which the Angels scored." It's funny how Sox fans cry so much when they come out on the short side of the score and yet had the situation been reversed with the Sox winning Game 1 all the Bahstan fans would be blogging saying things like "that's baseball" or "bad calls are part of the game." Ha! Cry babies!
Eff U to all of the Sox haters here.
We're not crying. Fact is that the umps blew some calls. Big deal - it happens in just about every game. It was in excess last night.
Now, quite your friggin crying about the Sox, you're all sounding like wicked pissa crybabies!
Yeah, congrats, but I would have like to see Lester, who was pitching great, have the calls go correctly, because if it were 2-0 in the 8th it was more conceivable that they would have had a shot and sometimes just a few runs makes the difference in the final score because the Sox would have come to the plate in a more confident manner. I just hope that the Umps aren't feeling bad for the Angels because of Adenhart. God rest his soul, but a pennant and WS should be won by the team that plays the best, not because people feel bad for the team.
Scott it isn't crap. the home run hitter would have never gotten that home run with 3 men on at least if the inning was over. The next half for the sox, its still 0-0, not 3-0, it could completely change the game. Just look at it this way, you would have had the same mentality (presuming you're an Angel fan) if it went completely the other way around... But that's OK, Beckett should come through tonight...
Yeah, that's true, Crank. The biggest issue as a Sox fan is that it happens every year (save for 2004) where some BS like that happens and dashes hope. The human error function of the game is unfortunate for any team; its merely the Sox fans such as myself that see it year in and out and get frustrated...
Yes, because we all know that Vlad Guerrero is clean. You hate a team that is better than your team... What, are you a Spankees fan, or an Angels fan? You losers still have the Rally Monkey?
Oh, woe is me...they're all out to get me.......that's a familiar old song from boston fans, and it's making the rounds again.....they always need to prepare their excuses well in advance.
2 of those 3 errors you speak of were bad calls. Yes they should have gotten more hits but clearly frustration with umps had a big effect in the outcome.
the umps have been horrible in all the playoff games so far....really bad last night....but if you don't score you can't b*tch.....
The Sox had three bad calls go against them. The Angels had two go against them- Hunter was safe at third, and there was a mysterious phantom catcher interference call that kept an inning alive for Boston after TBS had already cut to commercial. Ellsbury's reaction after grounding out showed what a lousy call that was.
The umps had a bad night and need to get their act together or get replaced, but there is no way that it had any bearing on the final result. It does sound like whining to the extreme.
Its a shame that we've never been able to say, in the playoffs, that's the name of the game.. It has always gone to the benefit to whomever's playing the Sox. It just gets old, John!
Excuses? Wow, talking about a team who has won how many championships? 1 in almost 50 years? That's some justifiable trash talking... ry to make an excuse for not winning with Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, etc. The Angels barely win in 2002 and all of a sudden you think BoSox fans are making excuses... That's what, 2 wins (the first a scraping win, the second riddled with bad calls... Keep trash talking...
1. there should be video challenges like in football
2. it DOES MATTER! Momentum is a big part of the game. If the umps are leaning against you... it changes the momentum.
3. The God-like attitude of these totally falable umps has to be fixed. These guys make at least one error a game.
4. How about a replacement ump. When a pitcher fails, he's pulled. When an umps fails like last night (really badly) he should be pulled.
5. This type of bad umping is ruining the game.
6. Do the umps take drug tests? maybe that's the reason for last night's bad calls
Thank you! And that 3 run homer never would have happened if the officiating was accurate and consistent...
That double play was accurate. Lowell tagged him and had his glove on him when he stepped OFF of third base, and that is an out. I didn't see the Ellsbury call either but one call give Lackey an extra 3-5 pitches... 4-5 bad calls against the sox took away pitches from Lackey and took away baserunners and added outs. The bottom line is that the officiating was terrible, it swayed more on Boston and it was a crap game...
just another stupid writer trying to grab headlines with his the title and not the actual story. creating drama where it doesn't exist to get a few more clicks from readers. you lost what little credibility you had.
That's right! SBrown... All these loser fans acting like we're making excuses. There's no need to make an excuse, when there is a valid reason, rather than an excuse. The home plate and first base ump were terrible and the Red Sox had a handicap like when a really good team is playing a really bad team. I thought they were evenly matched? I guess not...
OK Adam. Any other team would have had the same coverage if they got robbed that badly. Someone broke into that game, stole all the electronics, and fencable items, and just to be a$$@#&!s they stole one of each of the ladies' earrings so she had no pairs... That's OK, if Anaheim needs to pay the officiating to get a win in the playoffs against the sox, then so be it...
all i can say is thats baseball. Umpires are not perfect and neither are we. Try and go ump a game like that, i bet you make one or two bad calls.
Bottomline is Red Sox fans need to stop crying. I'm so sick of articles like this for the Red Sox and Yankees. It's not the end of the world that they were on the wrong end of some bad calls. Boo hoo. It happens to every team way too much. There needs to be some kind of disciplinary action against guys like Marsh and definitely Angel Hernandez who make bad calls regularly. The head of the umps at MLB, in response to the horrible Inge call on Tuesday, was that he wasn't watching the game but traveling...are you kidding me? Then he said Marsh has umped over 4000 games so he's sure he made an accurate call. Absolutely an ignorant statement.
Who is this idiot? Another B-sox whiner who has already forgotten the recent W series wins by the sox? He sounds like he's ready to usher in another era of "poor us, we haven't won in forever". He should shut his trap, or in this case break his hands and deal with it. None of those calls resulted in runs and you want to talk extra pitches due to bad ref calls? how about when Lackey had to keep pitching after striking a batter out only to have a bogus interference call made in favor of the Baked Beans.
Who is this idiot? Another B-sox whiner who has already forgotten the recent W series wins by the sox? He sounds like he's ready to usher in another era of "poor us, we haven't won in forever". He should shut his trap, or in this case break his hands and deal with it. None of those calls resulted in runs and you want to talk extra pitches due to bad ref calls? how about when Lackey had to keep pitching after striking a batter out only to have a bogus interference call made in favor of the Baked Beans.
No doubt the author is a Red Sox fan.....more than likely blood-relative of Kevin "whiner" Youkilis. Nice title to the story....that shows the degree of bias of the author. If you are going to write something, do it professionally and objectively. You point out, after your un-professional title, that the umpire errors were in innings in which the Angels didn't score...only to use it to say that it cost Lester more pitches...yet, Lester will be the first to tell you that he wasn't tired, he just sucked in the game...plain and simple.....the Red Sux were flat-out out-pitched and out-played....live with it and keep your opinions between you and your GI Joes.....
How can a team lose 5-0, be completely dominated, and blame the umps for the loss? I understand complaining if a team loses by one run or if there is a call that clearly changes the outcome, but that didn't happen here. I hate bad officiating and these umps should be called out for it, but this is ridiculous.
I believe the Angels team is done with the scorring for the rest of the series... its RedSox's turn to score all the runs in the next three games. Angels can never beat RedSox in post season.
The complaint was they wouldn't make calls in Boston. They were playing in Anaheim last night and don't be bitter when your team loses. I know Boston fans are horrible people but at least have some pride.
The Angels have had so many bad calls against them and Boston have so many called for them that I see this as payback.
Hey arse wipe.
Guess what - nobody's blaming the umps. It goes both ways. You seem to be blaming the Sox fans. Get your head outta your arse - show my one of your so called whines here where a sox fan is saying the umps blew the game!
I love the East Coast bias constantly demonstrated on this web site by the so called sports writers. Unless the umps were pitching batting practice to the Angels before the game, they had nothing to do with that 5-0 beatdown suffered by your beloved Sox. Boston, get ready for the next 86 year drought.
DugoutNut,
True, but the play in question was at third, so his foot leaving the bag with the tag still applied would result in an out.
That being said, one of the great things about this game is the human element. Umps will make bad calls, players, managers and fans will always see those calls through their own rose colored glasses.
I'd rather deal with a few bad calls than a play review everytime someone feels they were robbed by an ump.
You have to cross the plate to win...the Sox didn't and didn't. Here's another example of an east coast [s]whiner[/s] writer grumbling again when a west coat team wins. Enough already. We'll see how it works out. That's why its[i]best of five[/i].
whine, whine, whine. Get those Soston red socks soaked with tears. Just play the game.
Whatever you're smoking, Al, pass it along... I haven't gotten psychadelic in years..
Thank you Coldharbor, it's good to see that someone can refrain from getting melodramatic. Having been a baseball fan in general for years (I love to watch ANY good matchup), and having been a part of Red Sox nation for the same amount of time, I know that YOU all know that the umpiring in the major leagues has been absolutely horrifying for ALL teams for several years now. We Red Sox get just as many breaks from them, over the course of a season, as we do bad calls, and I think that goes for most of the major league teams. I'm a diehard fan dedicated to my team, but the plain simple truth is, we were outplayed last night by a team who brought their A game. I hope we bring our A game to the plate next time, because if we don't, we don't deserve to win. Champions win when it counts, adversity or bad calls notwithstanding, because they FIND a way to win. Usually, the Red Sox do find a way. I have faith that they will do so again, but if they do not this year, please people, don't embarass the rest of Red Sox Nation with your excuses.
Had things worked out differently, perhaps Torii Hunter never would have made it to the plate to hit his three-run homer in the fifth.
Aye, and if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon - Montgomery Scott.
Drew,
To call Boston fans horrible is total BS. Got to love that mentality that the Red Sox fans are the new Yankee fans. First off, we grabbed a few players from Free Agency to try to keep up with the Spankees. The best talent and future of the team (Youk, Lester, Paps, Ellsbury, Pedroia) are all BoSox draft picks.
Having pride? This is the entire reason we complain when a game like this happens. These umpires are getting paid very good money to do what they do, the least they could do is make an effort. I hear people say everyone makes mistakes, but the 1st base ump made SEVERAL, as well as the umpire. The sox should have had 3 more walks than they had and that along with the blown calls made this game more difficult for the Sox to compete.
Oh, and I imagine since you trashed RedSoxGirl for making a comment about Scioscia that you're an Angel fan. Again, back to pride, what about winning the division and spraying champagne all over Adenharts jersey... The guy who was killed by a drunk driver... I rest my case, about having pride...
And they are telling Wainwright to stop whining. How about all the Sox fans and the team? The best advice I can give these losers is next time, try to score at least ONE RUN, then you will have a chance of winning.
hey that's why they have challenges in football. its time to get technology to get umpires to realized they DO make mistakes.
It isnt about the player... the umps are ruining the game! It sucks.
1. there should be video challenges like in football
2. it DOES MATTER! Momentum is a big part of the game. If the umps are leaning against you... it changes the momentum.
3. The God-like attitude of these totally falable umps has to be fixed. These guys make at least one error a game.
4. How about a replacement ump. When a pitcher fails, he's pulled. When an umps fails like last night (really badly) he should be pulled.
5. Do the umps take drug tests? maybe that's the reason for last night's bad calls
Right on, sista. See, Scioscia, home teams do get the benefit of the doubt and calls do go in their favor.
That said, the Sox looked horrible last night. Grounders to first aren't going to win games.
Who knew crying and whining would become part of baseball.........
gymnastics may be the new alternative to baseball........
buh bye
Who knew crying and whining would become part of baseball.........
gymnastics may be the new alternative to baseball........
buh bye
Ladyfan-
Excellent comment.
Just a correction to Fecteau..... Paps was not a draft pick by the redsox...DUH......if you remember, he started his career in Minnesota..... You want to talk home grown?
Jeter
Cabrera
Rivera
Posada
Gardner
Chamberlain
Hughes
Cano
Nuff said......your team can enjoy the remainder of the playoffs from in front of the TV set.....
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