Bad Games and a Bad Call

I went to the game at Minute Maid on Friday night, taking my oldest grandson. It was a nice night with him, but the game was a real stinker. The Rockies got six runs off starter Chris Sampson, who left the game in the first inning. The 'Stros put up four runs in the bottom of the frame, but the Astros' bull pen could not contain the Rockies. The final score was 11-5. That means in consectutive Friday games, I have witnessed the Astros lose twice by a combined 21-9!

Then last night I went to see the second game of the Rockies' series in Houston. It was a better contest, the Astros eventually lost 3-2. But we saw one of the worst calls by an umpire at a critical moment that we have seen in a while.

Geoff Blum was leading off the bottom of the seventh inning. He hit a line drive into deep right center. Ryan Spilborghs of Colorado made a valiant effort, and when he landed on the ground and rolled over, he held the ball aloft as though he caught it. The umpire ruled it a catch, though the ball had ricocheted off his glove and under his body where he gathered it in his grasp. Blum was standing on second, but was ordered off the field by the umpire. So was manager Cecil Cooper, after a lengthy and animated argument that did nothing to change the ruling. It may not have cost the Astros the victory, but it surely contributed.