Atlanta Braves Get the Short End of the Umpiring Stick Again

Here we go again. What is it about umpiring crews that include Bill Hahn?

Tonight the fault was not Hahn's. The blame for the loss on Tuesday night can be placed squarely on Jerry Meals short stature frame.

He squeezed Jair Jurrjens all night long, while giving Ricky Nolasco the benefit of the doubt.

Unfortunately that did not stop when Rafael Soriano took the mound in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead. Soriano was squeezed on two of the five pitches he used to walk Cody Ross.

After Ross was sacrificed to second, pinch hitter Ross Gload came to the plate. Soriano threw a first pitch strike right down the middle, which was called a ball. Three pitches later, the game was over and the Braves had lost a tough one.

Hahn's crew was involved in another game the Braves lost on a walk off HR. At Fenway Park in June, Chipper Jones, Eric O' Flaherty, and Bobby Cox were all thrown out of the game by Hahn on the same play for arguing balls and strikes.

Needless to say, this is getting old.

Of course the Braves had their chances against the Marlins all night long. The inexplicably employed, Greg Norton did his best Mario Mendoza impression yet again. This time he hit into a double play rather than swinging late on an 85 mph "heater."

Norton is hitting .120 a week after being retained in Atlanta while the Braves sent down the scorching-hot Brook Conrad. Conrad was hitting .344 with two home runs and eight RBI, two triples and two doubles in the 14 games he spent with Atlanta. Most of which came while Norton was on the disabled list.

But I didn't write this to badmouth the Braves. It's one loss, albeit a rough one, but still just one loss. It wont get any easier tomorrow night when the Braves face Josh Johnson. Kenshin "Cant find the strike zone" Kawakami will pitch for Atlanta.

The Braves simply cannot afford a losing streak right now. The Marlins and Phillies are hot right now, and any slide in the Wild Card standings will have the Braves looking up at the Giants, Cardinals, Rockies, Astros, and these Marlins.

The Braves do need to address the bullpen at the deadline. Nothing huge, just an extra arm. And for goodness sake it's time to designate Norton for assignment.