Pirates fans will remember the play that ended the remarkable 19-inning marathon between the Bucs and Braves as one of the worst calls in baseball history.
Did Clint Hurdle Blow Three Games Last Week?


PITTSBURGH: Manager Clint Hurdle of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks off of the field after pulling Paul Maholm against the Colorado Rockies during the Opening Day game. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) Getty ImagesHey, bad things happen to good teams. I get it. But the Pirates played three close games last week, losing all three in extra innings, and somehow none of those 39 innings, not a single one of them, were pitched by the Pirates’ All-Star relief pitcher.
Granted, Hurdle took things to a perhaps-unprecedented, possibly insane extreme when he couldn’t find room for Hanrahan in a 19-inning game. There probably aren’t many managers who would have taken this ill-considered protocol quite so far. But the protocol is there.
Read Article >MLB Says Jerry Meals Blew Pirates/Braves Call
eBay Item Of The Day
↵If you can’t have famy, there’s always infamy. Now we’ll see if the market for Jerry Mealsabilia blows up big time -- the supply of which is currently limited to this autograph on eBay.
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Read Article >Jerry Meals Blows Call. Can We Have Review NOW?

Scott Cunningham/Getty ImagesThat game didn’t really mean anything; the Cubs likely lost the game as a result, but they’re going nowhere, and the Marlins are buried in last place in the National League East.
And if that angle doesn’t convince you, how about this one?
Read Article >Braves Vs. Pirates: Jerry Meals Admits 19th Inning Call Might Have Been Wrong
Baseball Nation’s Rob Neyer is one of the few saying that Meals may have been correct in calling McKenry out at home plate, and while no replays have actually shown that Meals’ call was terribly wrong, this is one of the more controversial calls in recent memory regardless.
Read Article >Five Things I Learned From The Braves/Pirates 19-Inning Game


Julio Lugo of the Atlanta Braves scores the game-winning run in the 19th inning against Michael McKenry of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Turner Field on July 26, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) The good news is that if another pitcher collects the dust and snorts it, he becomes a proven closer.
2. No one likes Jerry Meals and everyone is angry at him all the time
Read Article >Jerry Meals Might Have Been Right


Julio Lugo of the Atlanta Braves scores the game-winning run in the 19th inning against Michael McKenry of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Turner Field on July 26, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) Call me a sensationalist or an iconoclast if you like, but I just gotta say something this morning ...
Jerry Meals might have been right.
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