Chicago’s Great Sports Weekend Ruined by Umps!?
It seems like Chicago has waited forever for the Cubs to be this deep in the playoffs, and heck the Chicago Bears even had a chance to get back to a .500 record. What we didn’t expect was the officiating to ruin our what should have been great sports weekend.
Anyone else think the umps from tonights cubs game suck? pic.twitter.com/lpBzSci9Cb
— Andrew Schroeder (@ajss11) October 18, 2015
This was a theme all night Saturday night, Lester making quality pitches and they are called balls and New York Mets pitcher, Matt Harvey, getting the benefit of a gigantic outside the zone strike zone.
Matt Harvey: "I was really able to find the strike zone." Of course, the Ump gave him a zone as big as a house. @MLB maybe review the tape
— Lee Janger (@LeeJanger) October 18, 2015
Cubs fans in social media and Cubs blogs and message boards all proclaimed, “HOW CAN WE WIN WHEN WE HAVE TO PLAY THE UMPS TOO!”
Well… the Cubs wouldn’t win Saturday night, but its a long series and we had the Chicago Bears to look forward to on Sunday also! A packed sports weekend!
(Yes I know I didn’t mention the Blackhawks, but their win didn’t fit my storyline ? )
Then Sunday came around. This time of year it could only mean one thing, Bears football. This year we have the luxury of watching a team which Las Vegas says is favored to win the World Series as well, and you could almost tell fans were holding out for the 7:07 matinee during Bears football.
But then the referees decided to make the Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears game about them, instead of the play on the field. Most disturbing — early — was this interception, er…. touchdown?
HOW WAS THAT NOT AN INTERCEPTION!?
Ugh. Well at least the refs could rob the Bears anymore, right?
Oh man…
Welp… I guess the refs coouuld screw the Bears some more. This was an obvious hold that wasn’t called. The result of the play? A Stafford 57-yard pass to Calvin Johnson, which setup the game winning field goal.
Even though Chicago was waiting for the Cubs game, and the Bears became almost an afterthought, this one hurt. It hurt bad.
It’s 7:07 PM! Time for Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs to make it all feel better!
Right? Right…? Oh man….
Yes, that was called a strike. A low and friggen away strike. All friggen night long, low and away strikes!
ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!
While Noah “The Mets Give Superhero Nicknames To Everything, We Get It You Dub New York Gotham” Syndergaard continued to get calls two to eight inches out of the zone, Cubs hitters (especially lefties) expanded their zone to compensate for the horrible calls going against the team all night.
Tim Timmons strike zone for Mets pitchers against the @Cubs #GoCubsGo Let's do this. #FlyTheW pic.twitter.com/c10VjNWgXI
— Michael Levy (@michael_levy) October 19, 2015
Man, I wish there was a website (there is) or a Twitter handle (there is) that can help fans understand if the game is being called equally.
Call hurts #Cubs
Strike 1 should be ball 1
Top 4 Syndergaar vs Rizzo
0% call same
5.4in from edge pic.twitter.com/L7Jc3nwZtw— Cubs Strike Zone (@CubsUmp) October 19, 2015
Ah, see! Redemption! The Cubs were getting robbed!
Call hurts #Cubs
Strike 1 should be ball 2
Top 4 Syndergaar vs Bryant
18% call same
1.9in from edge pic.twitter.com/aLHXbcNbvb— Cubs Strike Zone (@CubsUmp) October 19, 2015
See!
Call hurts #Cubs
Strike 1 should be ball 2
Top 1 Syndergaar vs Rizzo
22% call same
1.9in from edge pic.twitter.com/FrOFJgvRmX— Cubs Strike Zone (@CubsUmp) October 19, 2015
Another one. I bet this huge at bat with Anthony Rizzo at the plate shows the same thing.
Call helps #Cubs
Ball 1 should be strike 2
Top 4 Syndergaar vs Rizzo
2% call same
7.1in from edge pic.twitter.com/fWdnjBaLmZ— Cubs Strike Zone (@CubsUmp) October 19, 2015
Ah… what? We got a call?
While both Cubs Strike Zone and Mets Strike Zone show more calls went the Mets way, the Cubs got some calls as well. Looking further, the Cubs pitchers didnt hit the expanded areas of the zone like Mets pitchers did.
Here is an accurate duplication of Jake Arrieta and Noah Syndergaard’s pitches verse right-handed and left-handed hitters.
In looking at the charts, the Cubs got more calls out of the zone against righties and the Mets happened to get an advantage against lefties.
Like so many of these arguments really end up, an official bias just isn’t true. It is all in the eye of the fan, which could be why you are a fan, or could be someone looking for a cheap reason their team didn’t win.
All too often Chicago fans, and maybe others, cry bullshit when things don’t appear to go their way on the field. While yes, umpires or referees make bad calls from time to time, the unimaginable amount of times they are correct, especially in bang-bang plays is astonishing.
So let’s suck it up Cubs fans, lick our wounds, and get ready to lace them up for a HUGE game on Tuesday home at Wrigley.
I didn’t get a chance to review the charts specifically, but one thing I don’t see mentioned is sequence or count when a “bad call” is made. I don’t blame umpires, athletes have to overcome unfortunate missed calls. I agree there typically is no bias and the percentages prove that. But the impact and ultimate result of an at bat is significantly affected based on sequence during that AB. And that can change a game, especially close ones.
The charts only show the pitch, and what it was called. While I agree with you that a bad call can change an at bat (see Jorge Soler in Game 1), the Cubs hitters needed to adjust to the zone the umpire was calling.