Good news! Ron Kulpa is behind the plate for game 4

[guitarmy21b]

The only thing I can say about the strike zone was that it was inconsistent at times. There were a lot of borderline pitches on the outside to righties that Dutch threw that were sometimes strikes, sometimes not. The Rangers have had to deal with ridiculous strike zones the entire postseason. CJ hasn't gotten the lower part of the zone yet. To imply that Kulpa intentionally gave Texas all the calls is pretty sad. Just admit that Dutch pitched a gem, and your boys couldn't get the ball out of the infield. Just like all the Cards fans are saying that the blown call last night didn't cause the loss, don't blame your loss tonight on your St Louis umpire.

 

[Ginger]

No, no, no. He got the call all of the time and the Cardinal pitchers got squeezed. Kulpa really should get fired for that dreadful display but that won't happen. Cardinals scored 16 runs last night. No amount of umpiring hijinks could ever screw that game up.

But you are right, it was up to the players to adjust and they didn't do a good enough job. Holland was impressive. Didn't need the help but he was openly giggling on the mound when he was getting those calls. He did a great job of keeping the ball down and away from the hitters and pitching to the zone. That is what really good pitchers do. I used to watch in amazement how Greg Maddux used to get the "corners" which were often a foot off of the plate. He was really great until they stopped calling it for him and then he became very average. Holland may not have been as good as his line will reflect but he wasn't going to give up many tonight regardless of the zone and in the end it didn't matter. But to say that he didn't get a favorable zone is ridiculous.

 

[guitarmy21b]

No, no, no. He got the call all of the time and the Cardinal pitchers got squeezed. Kulpa really should get fired for that dreadful display but that won't happen. Cardinals scored 16 runs last night. No amount of umpiring hijinks could ever screw that game up.

But you are right, it was up to the players to adjust and they didn't do a good enough job. Holland was impressive. Didn't need the help but he was openly giggling on the mound when he was getting those calls. He did a great job of keeping the ball down and away from the hitters and pitching to the zone. That is what really good pitchers do. I used to watch in amazement how Greg Maddux used to get the "corners" which were often a foot off of the plate. He was really great until they stopped calling it for him and then he became very average. Holland may not have been as good as his line will reflect but he wasn't going to give up many tonight regardless of the zone and in the end it didn't matter. But to say that he didn't get a favorable zone is ridiculous.

Somebody always gets the favorable strike zone. If the Rangers got it tonight, they got it for the first time in 13 games. And Holland's 4 CG SO's this year disagree with your comment. I just think it's stupid that your main gripe tonight is with the ump and not your offense.

 

[romeo212000]

No, no, no. He got the call all of the time and the Cardinal pitchers got squeezed. Kulpa really should get fired for that dreadful display but that won't happen. Cardinals scored 16 runs last night. No amount of umpiring hijinks could ever screw that game up.

But you are right, it was up to the players to adjust and they didn't do a good enough job. Holland was impressive. Didn't need the help but he was openly giggling on the mound when he was getting those calls. He did a great job of keeping the ball down and away from the hitters and pitching to the zone. That is what really good pitchers do. I used to watch in amazement how Greg Maddux used to get the "corners" which were often a foot off of the plate. He was really great until they stopped calling it for him and then he became very average. Holland may not have been as good as his line will reflect but he wasn't going to give up many tonight regardless of the zone and in the end it didn't matter. But to say that he didn't get a favorable zone is ridiculous.

This is what I am hearing from you :frown:

And this is what you'll get from me

I don't want to hear one word about Holland getting a favorable zone after the desparity of the zones between CJ and Carpenter in game 1. Holland kicked the Cardinals asses. The end. The only positive thing they can take away is he didn't nail them with a WS no-no.

 

[Ginger]

Somebody always gets the favorable strike zone. If the Rangers got it tonight, they got it for the first time in 13 games. And Holland's 4 CG SO's this year disagree with your comment. I just think it's stupid that your main gripe tonight is with the ump and not your offense.

Eh, that is pretty much BS and you apparently like "Romeo" didn't actually bother to read my posts but whatever at least you are reasonable. Rangers actually get a lot of breaks and they don't get jobbed like people on here think. It is just some sort of weird victim mentality that DFW fans seem to have. Maybe it is blind homerism or whatever but this has to be the most bipolar fan base of all. The fact that so many agreed with Jaar is just comical. Insane really.

 

[romeo212000]

Eh, that is pretty much BS and you apparently like "Romeo" didn't actually bother to read my posts but whatever at least you are reasonable. Rangers actually get a lot of breaks and they don't get jobbed like people on here think. It is just some sort of weird victim mentality that DFW fans seem to have. Maybe it is blind homerism or whatever but this has to be the most bipolar fan base of all. The fact that so many agreed with Jaar is just comical. Insane really.

I only agreed with Jaar that Selig and Torre made a poor choice letting Kulpa remain on the crew once it was clear the Cardinals were in the WS. I never called Kulpa's character or intentions into question. I also said I believe the blown call did change the complexion of the game, but that if Ian makes the throw he should've it would've been a non-issue. I also stated the Texas defense had a chance to limit the damage, and the blame ultimately falls on them.

 

[guitarmy21b]

I don't think I've ever blamed a loss solely on the officiating, except Limas Sweeds TD being called back on offensive pass interference against aTm a few years ago, which decided the game. Texas hardly gets the breaks, maybe they got a few tonight. That's the way baseball go, as Wash would say. The Cards still should have been able to get the ball out of the infield though.

 

[Ginger]

I don't think I've ever blamed a loss solely on the officiating, except Limas Sweeds TD being called back on offensive pass interference against aTm a few years ago, which decided the game. Texas hardly gets the breaks, maybe they got a few tonight. That's the way baseball go, as Wash would say. The Cards still should have been able to get the ball out of the infield though.

No, Holland was just that good. All of his pitches were extremely sharp and had wicked movement right at the plate. When Albert Pujols can't hit you then you have been amazing. He was amazing, no doubt about it. He is going to be a legit #1 starter probably as early as next season. If he can keep that velocity up for the next 4 or 5 years he is going to have some kind of career which is why Stinky is dead wrong in that knee jerk thread after yesterday's bombing.

Even if they don't win this season the Rangers ARE on the right track and have built a very, very good club. When they get some more seasoning on these young arms, if they stay healthy, they are going to be dominant for years. Years.

 

[scotsman1948]

if you watched the game you have seen that the homeplate ump made plenty of bad calls in both directions. the Cardinals griped more which made it seem more loaded in favor of the Rangers

 

[jaar01]

I'm sticking to my guns. A MLB umpire should not be umping a WS with his favorite team playing. Maybe its extreme, but it removes any doubt.

Now, having said that, I thought Kulpa did a fair job last night. I counted 5 Holland pitches that looked rather questionable that Kulpa gave Texas the call on. I counted 3 Jackson pitches that looked rather questionable that Kulpa gave St Louis the call on.

I don't think that is a big disparity. 2 pitches. Others may disagree. For comparison's sake, in game 1, Carpenter had 8 go his way, CJ 3. So there's that.

 

[DallasMCRSdynasty]

Holland turned in the most dominant performance by any pitcher this offseason when you consider that he pitched TBIA and against the best of offense in the NL (4th best in the league). They hit three balls out into the outfield (Berkman's hits and Molina's out). Other than that only one other ball was really hit well - the first out of the game that AB snagged (thank God for AB's defense at the hot corner). Yes, Dutch got a favorable strike zone, but he took advantage of it. The Rangers don't whine as a whole like the Cardinals, so you didn't see as much griping on their side. Kins/Andrus are the two most vocal and both of them disagreed with some calls last night if you actually paid attention to the game. The better team won last night.

As for game 3, it's ridiculous for anyone to think that the botched called at 1B didn't adversely affect Harrison's game moving forward (and therefore the outcome as a whole). Aside from the Craig HR, he was settled in and ready to pitch a very good game before that atrocious call messed him up. Is he professional? Yes. So, should he have been able to overcome it? Yes. However, he's a young/inexperienced pitcher and that usually makes a difference on how a pitcher comes back from from horrendous/obvious blown call, especially on the biggest stage.

 

[robhea67]

No, Holland was just that good. All of his pitches were extremely sharp and had wicked movement right at the plate. When Albert Pujols can't hit you then you have been amazing. He was amazing, no doubt about it. He is going to be a legit #1 starter probably as early as next season. If he can keep that velocity up for the next 4 or 5 years he is going to have some kind of career which is why Stinky is dead wrong in that knee jerk thread after yesterday's bombing.

Even if they don't win this season the Rangers ARE on the right track and have built a very, very good club. When they get some more seasoning on these young arms, if they stay healthy, they are going to be dominant for years. Years.

jarrrs an idiot but he did have a point. the rangers failed to get the next guy out. shit happens you have to overcome it and move on and get the next guy out. I listened to this same crap about the 06 mavs. Everyone blamed the nba for not wanting the mavs to win. In the games that the mavs lost they shot 30% .dont forget about the cowboys in 94 against san fran and of course both steeler losses in the 70"s.All this bias comes from having a president killed on our streets the government is out to get dallas in general.

 

[Windingmywatch]

I'm sticking to my guns. A MLB umpire should not be umping a WS with his favorite team playing. Maybe its extreme, but it removes any doubt.

Now, having said that, I thought Kulpa did a fair job last night. I counted 5 Holland pitches that looked rather questionable that Kulpa gave Texas the call on. I counted 3 Jackson pitches that looked rather questionable that Kulpa gave St Louis the call on.

I don't think that is a big disparity. 2 pitches. Others may disagree. For comparison's sake, in game 1, Carpenter had 8 go his way, CJ 3. So there's that.

"with his favorite team playing" ... where did you get that cr*p?

"Now, having said that" ... given what you said in the first line anything else you say is pure BS.

 

[DallasMCRSdynasty]

"with his favorite team playing" ... where did you get that cr*p?

"Now, having said that" ... given what you said in the first line anything else you say is pure BS.

Kulpa is a St. Louis native and lifelong Cardinals fan who was 17 when Denkinger made the mistake that triggered a collapse by the Cardinals that cost them the 1985 World Series to the neighboring Kansas City Royals. Asked about his St. Louis ties, Kulpa said, "It has nothing to do with it."

World Series: Umpire Ron Kulpa Misses Call, Igniting Cardinals Rally

It's from the huffington post, so ...

 

[jaar01]

WMW, I didn't make that up. Its Kulpa's own words. He was born in St Louis, is a lifelong Cardinal fan, still resides in St Louis area, and said his dream as a young man was to play baseball for the Cardinals. His words, not mine. And its noted in multiple sources.

 

[Stinky Britches]

No, Holland was just that good. All of his pitches were extremely sharp and had wicked movement right at the plate. When Albert Pujols can't hit you then you have been amazing. He was amazing, no doubt about it. He is going to be a legit #1 starter probably as early as next season. If he can keep that velocity up for the next 4 or 5 years he is going to have some kind of career which is why Stinky is dead wrong in that knee jerk thread after yesterday's bombing.

Even if they don't win this season the Rangers ARE on the right track and have built a very, very good club. When they get some more seasoning on these young arms, if they stay healthy, they are going to be dominant for years. Years.

I wasn't kneejerking. I was making a statement. It is true that our young pitchers have been unpredictable at key times. No one on this board is happier than I am about how Holland pitched last night.

We still should try to add a star pitcher next year, regardless of outcome.

Good to see you give some credit.

I don't expect you to drool over our team, I was upset at how you called us a fluke winner. Perhaps you're emotional right now as we are.