As I sit at my computer typing, part of me wants to smash it against the wall. I am an Atlanta Braves fan, and I am guessing I will always have a sour taste in my mouth over what occurred last night in the final game of Chipper Jones' stellar career. This hurts more than their epic collapse last season, which I did not think was possible. For those of you who do not know what happened, let me explain. It's the 8th inning, the score is 6-3 in favor of St. Louis, and the Braves have men on first and second with one out. Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons hits a popup to shallow left field, and it drops in due to miscommunication between Cardinals' SS Pete Kozma and LF Matt Holliday. The umpire called Simmons out due to the infield fly rule, although the ball was nowhere near the infield. Instead of having bases loaded with one out, they instead had men on first and second with two outs.
Before I continue, let me make one thing clear; I am not saying this blunder caused Atlanta to lose the game, but it certainly did not help. There were other contributing factors; poor fielding, the fact that the next batter got on and Michael Bourn struck out with the bases loaded, and the fact that they stranded runners in the next inning as well. With that said, the call was still ridiculous. It killed any momentum the Braves might have had. Not only was the call clearly wrong, but I hate the infield fly rule in the first place. I understand that it exists in order to prevent a fielder from intentionally letting a ball drop so that he can throw out a runner who is holding up. I would get rid of the rule, however, and implement a new one to punish fielders for letting a ball drop on purpose (much like the NBA's new anti-flopping rules). Either way, you would think that the umpire would realize that the green part of the field behind the dirt is no longer the infield. That umpire should be fired today because he cannot tell the difference between the infield and outfield, and that's elementary. A five year old can tell the difference.
Braves manager Freddi Gonzalez protested the call, but I knew it would stand. This is the same league that stole a perfect game from Armando Galarraga, so clearly it has no shame. Luckily the Orioles beat the Rangers in a convincing, controversy-free game, because it would have been absolutely disastrous if that game had been effected by a bad call as well. At the beginning of the season when commissioner Bud Selig announced the extra wild card spot, I was skeptical for this exact reason. Anything can happen in one game. To his credit, this change made the last month of the season far more exciting than it would have otherwise been. And that's pretty significant, considering that baseball has to compete with football during that last month. But the idea that after a 162-game season, a team's fate can be decided by one game is complete nonsense. My solution is a very simple one; make the wildcard round a 3-game series. If the season has to be shortened by 3 or 4 games, so be it. No one will notice or care. This would prevent one bad call from determining a team's season. I am disgusted, disappointed, and flat out livid. As I stated before, Atlanta could have done more to win this game. But that same argument could be made about the Packers for that Monday Night mess that caused the real NFL referees to return. I used to love the MLB with all my heart, but the steroids-era and Selig's rigidity about everything has made me lose faith in the league. I bet Selig is laughing at the Braves right now, because the man clearly has no morals and he couldn't care less about what is right and wrong. I predict I will do a backflip on the day he quits his job. That is all.
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