Bob Melvin tried to make the most of his short working hours.
The Giants manager slammed home plate umpire Stuart Schurwater, who was ejected for disputing a bad strikeout call during Thursday’s matinee away game against the Nationals.
Schuwater got Mark Canha out on an off-the-charts pitch that sounded like he was in Baltimore, then ejected Melvin after he infuriated the team with his vocal tirade.
“Come on, kicking me out of the game is incredibly stupid.” Melvin said on a hot mic.“It’s stupid to kick me out of the game.”
“Please use good judgment. Please use good judgment.”
Managers are not supposed to debate whether a call is a ball or a strike, even in a terrible call like this one, but they are usually allowed some leeway when there are glaring errors.
Schuwater didn’t give Melvin that chance after left-hander DJ Hurts’ 2-2 pitch, which was clearly high and wide, got Cana out with the bases loaded in a scoreless game.
Even Kanha, known as one of the kindest players in the sport, appealed to Schulwater and questioned the sentence.
“Oh come on,” said one of the Giants play-by-play announcers for NBC Bay Area. “That’s not a strike, not even close to a strike.”
A hot mic picked up Shoewater telling Melvin, “Hey Bob, I can hear you,” and Melvin yelling from the dugout, “Let’s go. Good luck. That’s terrible.”
Melvin was then ejected and walked away to confront the umpire, who continued to claim that he told Melvin to be quiet.
“I looked at you and I told you,” Surewater said.
Melvin responded: “I can’t hear you. I’m standing up for the players. Do you think I can hear you?”
Surewater maintained that he continued to raise his concerns about the calls with Melvin until Melvin stopped his expletive-filled responses.
“Bob Melvin just got kicked out of the game, and I don’t blame him.” One of the Giants announcers said: before the on-field conversation.
The Giants ended up scoring one run when the next batter reached base on a walk, but they were undoubtedly hoping for more as they battled for a playoff spot.
San Francisco enters the game 3.5 games behind the Braves for the third and final wild card spot and cannot afford to lose to a last-place team like the Nationals.
“Umpire’s calls can change the course of a game,” one of the NBC announcers said. “It wasn’t a strike at any point. The guy who threw strikes across the planet, got a guy out on that pitch and threw the manager on top of him?”
His partner interjected, “If that’s what you decide, you have to wear it.”
