Hey Phil, Grow Up

Phil Coke came into yesterday's game and walked the first batter he saw, ninth place hitter Trevor Crowe. Now we know how bad leadoff walks are, but they're even worse when the hitter is batting a robust .184/.262/.237 with no homers and 4 RBI this season. Then after the game he decides it's a good idea to blame home plate umpire Jeff Nelson.

From Marc Carig:

"I thought it was a strike," Coke said of the 3-2 fastball, which Nelson ruled missed inside against Indians leadoff man Trevor Crowe. "I wouldn't want to redo anything."
...

"Fastball in," Coke said, apparently expecting the benefit of the doubt (not that he has the track record to reasonably expect such a thing). "I thought it caught the corner of the plate and had late finish in, almost a little cut at the end of it. I've done that who knows how many times before, got that kind of finish and gotten a call there. But I didn't get it this time."

First of all, what about the other three balls you threw to a .184 hitter? Was that Nelson's fault too? And second, the pitch wasn't even a strike.

The pitch is circled in blue.

I hate these umpires as much as anyone, and I think that in general they do a terrible job. That said, Coke is a 26-year-old that has done absolutely nothing in this league, and to publicly question an umpire at this stage of his career is mindless. The fact that he's crying about a pitch where the ump made the right call makes it even more of an embarrassment.