A controversial call that could’ve been a turning point in the National League Championship Series turned into a moot point by the end of the night.
Florida manager Jim Leyland played the game under protest after an incident at second base in the fourth inning led to the Braves’ first run, but the Marlins’ victory made it a footnote.
After Kenny Lofton singled leading off the fourth, he attempted to steal second on a 3-2 pitch to Jeff Blauser. Lofton was called out by second base umpire Eric Gregg–even though replays showed he was safe–which led to Lofton stepping off the base to argue the call. Unbeknownst to Lofton, Saunders had just thrown ball four to Blauser, meaning the steal attempt was irrelevant and second base was his anyway. But second baseman Craig Counsell alertly watched Lofton walk off the base and then tagged him out.
Gregg ruled that “time” was out after the steal attempt and thus Counsell could not tag Lofton out, which led to a prolonged argument by Leyland that ended after the umpires went over to the private box where NL President Leonard Coleman was seated.
“The umpires ruled that it was umpire error that the runner had been inappropriately called out when it was ball four, and therefore placed him on the appropriate base,” Coleman said in a statement.
“Leyland’s argument wasn’t that Eric corrected his mistake, but that you could not call time in that situation and that play had to continue,” said crew chief Bruce Froemming. “It was excellent officiating on Eric’s part to be able to correct his mistake on the spot. Leyland has the right to protest.”
Leyland declined to address the issue afterward, saying that the win made the protest meaningless.
Mad genius: Leyland has a reputation as a dugout genius, and only a genius could get away with the lineup move he made Friday.
Before the game, Leyland confirmed that Moises Alou’s tender left wrist was OK and that Alou was healthy enough to be in the starting lineup. But Alou was only 3 for 27 in his career against Smoltz, while backup outfielder John Cangelosi was 10 for 19, so Leyland kept his top RBI man on the bench and put in the light-hitting Cangelosi, who hit .245 in ’97 and had all of 12 RBIs.
“Rather than take a chance against a guy like Smoltz, who (Alou) has not been successful against, it makes sense to me to rest him for one more day,” Leyland said.
The move didn’t hurt the Marlins, though Cangelosi went 0 for 3 and made an unforgivable baserunning gaffe in the fourth inning, getting doubled off first base on a line drive to right field.
Leyland said Al Leiter and Kevin Brown would pitch the next two games, and he wasn’t sure who would pitch in Game 6.
“(Livan) Hernandez could get a start,” he said. “I have to go back to the pencil and the paper in my office and see what’s going to give us the best chance to win.”
Numbers game: Only eight times in 27 years has a team rebounded from a 2-1 deficit to win the NLCS, but the Braves are one of those clubs. They did it last year when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit against St. Louis. . . . John Smoltz’s five earned runs allowed were the most by a Braves starter in any NLCS game since Greg Maddux allowed five in a 6-3 loss to Philadelphia in Game 6 in 1993.
Snooze patrol: Not that the American League playoffs are dull or anything, but Atlanta manager Bobby Cox admitted Friday he fell asleep during the Orioles-Indians game Thursday night. “I turned it off,” Cox said. “It was in the seventh and it was already three hours long. I don’t know why they’re longer. I know they threw a lot of balls (in the game).”
