Everyone talked about how the umps gave the Sox the key Minnesota and Baltimore games last week to keep them in the playoff race (vs. basically eliminating them), and what happened tonight was just another example of this. I only saw part of the game, but all I heard was Harrelson and Stone saying over and over “we got a break” on key pitches that were called strikes that weren’t strikes. This happened numerous times, including in the 9th, which prevented Cleveland from having a good chance to score the winning run. The only time I heard them say this against the Sox was on an Ohman pitch, which actually was inside and was not a strike. The calls in this game were ridiculous. Another call in the 10th resulted in an Indian player being thrown out of the game, because he felt he tagged out the batter, which the umpire disagreed with, allowing the Sox to have the winning run in scoring position with one out (although he didn’t score).
White Sox Gifts
Cleveland had bases loaded, one out, in the 13th. They didn’t squeeze, and of course, didn’t score. I know the Sox had the same opportunity in the 11th, and were just as stupid. It continues to amaze me that when a team isn’t scoring and needs one run, they refuse to squeeze and just assume they will start to score.
As a result of the terrible calls and idiotic managing, the Sox won a key game. They came away with momentum instead of a heartbreaking loss in a game they led in the 9th inning.