April 13, 2004

Upon Further Review. Bobby M. Jones threw only 8 pitches and walked two batters in the 11th inning of Sunday's game, but he did not pitch badly. Watching my tape of the game this afternoon, I'd say Jones threw 4 balls and 4 strikes (maybe 3 and 5).

His first pitch to Hudson was right over the plate and low; the exact same pitch was called a strike on a Red Sox hitter an inning or two earlier. The second pitch was a ball. With a 2-0 count, Jones threw a great pitch that caught the outside corner, but was called a ball. The count was 3-0, but it should have been 1-2. Ball four was again over the plate and just a wee bit lower than his first pitch to Hudson; the call could have gone either way. ... Jones's first two pitches to Gomez were definitely balls -- inside and low. His last two pitches, however, were strikes: another pitch that grabbed the inside corner and another strike at the bottom of the knees.

Home plate umpire Tim Tschida's judgment on at least half of Jones's pitches were about as accurate as his call on Knoblauch's non-tag of Offerman in the 1999 ALCS.

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