‘There’s no real repercussions for umpires’: Jon Lester backs Cubs after controversial calls
Jon Lester always had a reputation for telling it like it is as a player – whether it was voicing displeasure with umpires’ calls or taking ownership of a poor outing.
So it’s no surprise to see him with an honest take on Friday’s “Cubs Postgame Live!” about the umpiring in the Cubs-Diamondbacks game.
The Cubs were frustrated with the strike zone all afternoon by home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.
There were several pitches out of the zone throughout the game that were called strikes on Cubs hitters, including a pair of key spots.
In the bottom of the 6th inning with 2 runners on, Ian Happ took a 2-2 pitch that was off the plate outside. But Ortiz rung him up on Strike 3.
Then in the 8th, Christopher Morel was caught looking on a pitch that dipped below the zone with runners on first and second as the Cubs were attempting to mount a comeback.
“At the end of the day for players, you have this disgruntled feeling, we have repercussions for our actions,” Lester said on “Cubs Postgame Live!” “If I don’t pitch well, you don’t hit well, you get sent down. There’s no real repercussions for umpires. You can be bad or be OK and you have a job for as long as you want to do it.
“It’s frustrating on that end. The tough part about that is both those counts were 2-2, now they go 3-2. Now a guy’s gotta make a pitch with 2 guys on – that changes not only that at-bat but maybe that inning.”
The Cubs ended up getting a run after Happ’s strikeout – on Morel’s RBI single.
Happ also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning in the at-bat before the call on Morel in the 8th inning.
“I don’t have control over that,” Morel said through team interpreter Fredy Quevedo Jr. “I simply just try and control what I can and they have to do a better job.”
Dansby Swanson had an infield single to follow Morel’s strikeout but Miles Mastrobuoni grounded out and the Cubs never scored again. They left 10 men on base in the game and went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“I think there were some big calls in this game that were called incorrectly,” Craig Counsell said. “Some ball-strikes that were just missed.”
The Cubs ended up losing 5-2 to the Diamondbacks in the first game following the All-Star Break.
