Pirates manager fired for knowing the strike zone better than John Tumpane

Playing alongside the Alleghany on Saturday and the Mets this weekend, you’d think the Pittsburgh Pirates might benefit from a little home cooking from the umpires. The man behind the plate on Saturday, John Tumpane, had other ideas about how things would go. He apparently intended to completely screw the Buccos.

After New York extended its lead to 5-2 in the sixth inning, Pittsburgh was able to pull away and shut out the Mets in the seventh inning. Then, in the seventh inning, it looked like the Pirates might strike back and turn the game completely on its head.

Rowdy Tellez, Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds all made it to the bases to load the bases. Ke’Bryan Hayes threw a hard-hit ball to shortstop and Jack Suwinski had to bat. And instead of a late Fourth of July fireworks display from Suwinski and the Pirates offense, we were treated to the worst show in town: the ump show.

After Suwinski threw a clear ball 1 to tie the game at 1-0, Reed Garrett threw a sinker that fell nearly two feet below the strike zone, but umpire John Tumpane still ruled the ball a strike.

Suwinski then threw two more splitters that were out of bounds, making it 3-1. But then came another sinker, still below the zone and a little closer to the corner. Tumpane ripped it open again with a strike when Suwinski obviously thought he was going to walk to first base. That’s all Pirates manager Derek Shelton needed to see, because he freaked out and was thrown out of the game.

The K-Zone we see on TV can, of course, be misleading at times. As long as an umpire is consistent and reasonable, we can live with it. But that was not the case here. The low strike had not been called all game, and then suddenly Tumpane started throwing the Mets relief pitch.

What makes it worse is that Suwinski didn’t see a single real strike in the first five pitches of the at-bat. Not only is that an egregious full count when the bat isn’t off his shoulder, but it gives Garrett the benefit of the doubt as a pitcher that he didn’t earn by occupying the zone.

Shelton had every reason to be angry, and ultimately it was worth the ejection, especially given Suwinski’s obvious frustration at the plate. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter where it counted, which was on the scoreboard. Suwinski struck out on the next pitch and struck out with the bases loaded, and the Pirates were unable to score another point in the eventual 5-2 loss.

It’s a shame that big moments like this are decided by a referee. Be consistent, but more importantly, just be better, Blue.