The ump show is back, this time with Blue Jays manager John Schneider getting tossed for disagreeing with a strike call.
We barely knew you, John Schneider.
Saturday's Blue Jays vs. Mets game was as tight as ever, with every call seemingly having a huge impact on the outcome itself — eventually, ironically enough, a Toronto victory thanks in part to Buck Showalter.
However, before any of that took place, it was John Schneider, the Blue Jays manager, who was tossed for chirping with home plate umpire Charlie Ramos. Ramos, who was caught on the hot mic, warned Schneider to shut his trap. That did not work, and Ramos acted swiftly.
Taking criticism is not the strength of most in blue — minus the players on the field in this particular game, of course. Schneider had enough on that particular pitch to Vladdy, which was low and inside, yet called a strike in the top of the ninth inning.
This was the third time Schneider has ever been ejected and, frankly, it's tough to argue with him this time. There's no replay system in place to review balls and strikes, so Ramos was in a tough position and had to stand firm on what otherwise was a horrible call.
Blue Jays still get the win, without John Schneider
Even without Schneider, the Jays were able to pull out the win thanks to a puzzling decision by his counterpart, Buck Showalter, to pitch to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in a dangerous situation.
"It didn't work out, so it's something that's going to be critiqued," Showalter said. "If it had, we'd have been in a really good situation."
Showalter trusted his pitching staff, and it came back to bite him. Such is often the case in a close contest — baseball is a game of mistakes. Buck made the last one.