Chicago Cubs manager David Ross did some barking about the strike zone on Sunday Night Baseball, and since he’s a manager now rather than a commentator, it got him tossed. It seemed like a quick hook, but the zone was so bad all night long that maybe there was a lot of chatter we hadn’t heard.
Manager beefs about the zone, gets booted. It happens. What doesn’t always happen is that, in midst of his angry words to rookie umpire Erich Bacchus, David Ross offered up some really specific advice. It was simultaneously eye-opening and kinda hilarious, as Jomboy breaks down:
Obviously some of that is just the anger that accompanies a poorly-called zone (and after review from the data, it was indeed one of the worst zones of the year). But some of it was what Ross really did think the umpire was doing wrong, specifically, as he was trying to make calls – namely, anticipating certain pitches instead of just tracking the zone.