The fix is in.
Home-plate umpire Dale Scott helped Toronto’s resurgent gunslinger, Shaun Marcum, snag a win at Fenway today.
All day Wednesday, JD Drew found himself simmering back to the dugout after being called out on strikes, and every time the pitches were anywhere from six inches to a foot-and-a-half outside the strike zone.
In the ninth inning, David Ortiz found himself called out on ball four, a pitch that was so wide of being a strike that catcher Jose Molina had to slide left to pull it in.
Adrian Beltre couldn’t get an appeal on a check swing. He clearly didn’t go around; not even close.
Terry Francona was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, and it’s incredible it took until the bottom of the ninth. Francona dutifully sat on his hands the whole afternoon while Dale Scott gave the Toronto Blue Jays every advantage.
When Beltre’s appeal was denied, Francona couldn’t take it any more.
Having watched thousands upon thousands of games, I personally cannot recall ever seeing a strike zone so outrageously inconsistent with the rules of baseball. Nor have I ever seen a game called in such a one-sided fashion.
Of course I didn’t see the 1919 World Series.
It’s just an opinion, but it’s an informed one.
Dale Scott is either dirty, blind, or incompetent—or all three.
Since his vision seems fine and he can’t be incompetent and have gotten this far, a reasonable person must assume that Dale Scott fixed this game.
Why, who knows?
Is this the NBA?
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