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| Daniel Nava Safe At Home; Jerry Meals Clueless |
It's not so much that home plate umpire
Jerry Meals blew a call that cost the Red Sox a win. Umpires are human—they blow calls. It's more that Meals was
completely out of position and could not possibly have made the proper call. The bottom line is that
Daniel Nava—
in fact—scored the tying run (see photo). It's just that Jerry Meals couldn't see it. As a result,
the Rays took a tainted 2-1 victory over Boston—dropping the Carmine Hose into second place.
David Price had stymied the Red Sox through seven plus innings—but after a 39-minute delay, he could only face one batter in the eighth.
Ryan Lavarnway doubled off reliever
Joel Peralta, and Nava went in to pinch run. Another double by
Stephen Drew should have plated Nava before the disputed play, but he waited too long between second and third and could not score. Bring on the controversy! A fly ball by
Brandon Snyder should have tied the game, but Meals completely blew the call and Boston's ninth inning rally fell short as well. Game. Set. First Place. Gross umpire malpractice. Almost exactly two years ago (July 26th, 2011),
Meals blew another call at home in a 19-inning Braves/Pirates game. Then, he called
Julio Lugo safe, and replays
clearly showed he was out. Same ump, same mistake. Here's a thought—bench Meals every year in the last week of July.
