How I learned to stop worrying about comments ... *

* and love the Infield Fly Rule!

Infield fly rule: the diagram

Postseason umpiring controversy, solved!

You probably have a strong opinion on whether the call in the Cardinals/Braves game Friday was correct or not. This isn't about that; this is about how to avoid calls like that being made by umpires who are posted out of their normal positions.

The last time a protest was upheld

Harold Reynolds: "The umpires got it right."

You don't have to believe me. You don't have to believe Harold Reynolds, either. But you have to admit that the guy has seen a whole lot of baseball, and been involved in a whole lot of Infield Fly calls.

If you're not convinced by Reynolds -- who gets a lot of help from MLB Network's video crew -- then it's possible that you simply can't be convinced.

But here's my textual take on Infield Flyocalypse, anyway.

Everything you always wanted to know about the Infield Fly Rule*

* but were afraid to look up.

Calls Calculated to Drive You Mad

It looked just like this.

The wild Wild Card: Cardinals down Braves after controversial call

When it all comes down to a one-game playoff, anything can happen. But no one expected this, as the Cardinals won 6-3 after a wild, disputed finish.

After controversial 8th inning, Cardinals still ahead 6-3

We just saw history, friends.

Those of us watching the inaugural National Wild Card game just saw the deepest infield-fly call in the history of Major League Baseball. We also saw the edges of the playing surface covered with a blanket of debris, thanks to thousands of outraged hometown fans.

It happened in the bottom of the eighth inning. With runners on first and second base and one out, Andrelton Simmons lifted a high ... well, you can call it a high pop, or you can call it a high fly. Either way, St. Louis shortstop Pete Kozma ran into short left field, while left fielder Matt Holliday trotted in. There was some confusion, as there sometimes is, and the ball fell to the ground between Kozma and Holliday.

Here. Confusion:

Game-changer! Bases circled! Cardinals' lead endangered!

Except left-field umpire Sam Holbrook had already ruled Simmons out, because of the infield-fly rule; in his judgment, Kozma could have made the catch "with normal effort". In that case, the runners may advance at their own risk, and these runners wound up on second and third. But the Braves would otherwise have had the bases loaded with one out, instead of second and third with two outs.

Fredi Gonzalez argued, to no avail. Fans threw rubbish on the field, which held up the game for a long stretch because you can't play when it's like this:

Once play finally resumed -- after a long, long delay of nearly 20 minutes -- the Cardinals retook their places on the stage, Brian McCann pinch-hit for the pitcher, and Mike Matheny summoned hirsute closer Jason Motte for a four-out save.

McCann walked, loading the bases, and was replaced by pinch-runner Tyler Pastornicky with leadoff man Michael Bourn up next. Motte fell behind 3-and-1, but battled back and blew Bourn away with two fastballs. After all that, the score was still 6-3 after eight innings.

Oh, and apparently the Braves did file an official protest. You might imagine how well that's likely to go for them.

Chipper Jones grounds out in what's probably his last at-bat

Chipper Jones might be feeling just a little better, after this game, about his decision to retire.

In the fourth inning, his throwing error led directly to the Cardinals' three-run inning. And in the bottom of the seventh, he came to the plate with two runners on base and two outs, and did this:

Just a routine grounder, nothing to be ashamed of. But after an excellent regular season, his last, it looks like the future Hall of Famer is going to finish with four fruitless at-bats and a terribly damaging error in the final game of his brilliant career. Which isn't exactly the way anybody drew it up.

The Cardinals didn't score in the eighth, and took their 6-3 lead into the bottom of the frame.

Ted Turner is rich enough not to care

Welp. This is how this game is going for the Braves.

YOU SEE THAT, YOU DOLTS? THIS IS WHAT I THINK ABOUT YOUR FIELDING IN THIS PARTICULAR CONTEST.

Also, it's red. Don't ask. It happens in nature when you pass your first billion.

Cardinals add 2 runs thanks to Braves' shoddy fielding

For the first time in 2012, Kris Medlen has given up more than three runs in a game. So considering his Braves trailed the Cardinals 4-2 after six innings, Medlen probably took little solace in actually outlasting his opposite number, Kyle Lohse.

In the bottom of the sixth, Chipper Jones led off against Lohse and popped up. Freddie Freeman followed with a single, though, and after Dan Uggla drove a fly ball to the warning track in left field, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny had seen enough and summoned erstwhile starter Lance Lynn from the bullpen.

Lynn's first test was David Ross, whose second-inning homer had given the Braves an early lead. Ross made another bid, this time to tie the contest, but a retreating Carlos Beltran gathered in Ross's fly at the warning track in right-center field.

Meanwhile, Medlen came out for the top of the seventh. David Freese led off with an easy grounder to second, but Dan Uggla's throw was so wild ...

... that Freese wound up on second base, and moved to third a moment later on a sacrifice bunt. That, finally, got Medlen out of the game after 92 pitches. He gave up only three hits and zero walks, with two of those four runs unearned thanks to Chipper Jones' third-inning throwing error.

Oh, and make that another unearned run charged to Medlen. With Chad Durbin on the hill and the infield drawn in, Pete Kozma hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Andrelton Simmons. He made a nice stop but bobbled, then threw home wildly; even a good throw would have been too late, but the wild throw let Kozma motor all the way to second base.

That brought in left-hander Jonny Venters to face lefty-hitting pinch hitter Matt Carpenter, and things just got worse for the Braves. Carpenter hit a soft grounder between Venters and first baseman Freddie Freeman, neither were sure who should make the play, and Carpenter just eluded the tag after Venters finally picked up the ball ... while Kozma was sprinting home all the way from second base!

The ugliness finally ended when Jon Jay grounded into a double play. It's 6-2 Cardinals, heading to the bottom of the seventh.

Matt Holliday homers, puts Cards up 4-2

Matt Holliday was an MVP candidate at one point this season, as he was hitting .320/.404/.543 with 19 home runs at the trade deadline. Since the deadline: .252/.336/.417 with eight homers in 218 at-bats. So that should make Kris Medlen feel better.

Or not. Holliday took a 1-2 pitch deep, and it wasn't exactly an easy pitch to hit. Medlen threw a fastball right on the inside corner, but Holliday caught up with it and had enough bat speed to drive it to left, easily keeping it fair.

This is the first time Medlen has given up four runs since July 7, 2010 against the Phillies, though only two of the runs for this game are earned. He's looked sharp at time, but it's starting to look like the Cardinals have a bunch of good hitters. Who'd've thunk it?

The Braves are 0-5 in elimination games at Turner Field. They'll have to get to the Cardinals' bullpen if they want to push that to 1--5, as Kyle Lohse left the game with a runner on first and two outs in the sixth.

Braves' fourth-inning rally falls flat with bunt

Do the Atlanta Braves have some sort of scouting report that says Kyle Lohse and his teammates aren't good at fielding bunts?

In the bottom of the fourth inning with Freddie Freeman on second base and one out, Atlanta catcher David Ross -- who'd homered just two innings earlier -- bunted toward shortstop, obviously looking for a base hit. He got it, just beating David Freese's throw to first base, with Freeman moving to third.

That brought up rookie Andrelton Simmons, who also laid down a bunt. This one, though, went right to Lohse, who had plenty of time to throw out Simmons while Freeman stayed on third because it wasn't a squeeze. Lohse's throw, however, glanced off Simmons' helmet and down the right-field corner, while the runners circled the bases.

It was all for naught, though, because the umpires correctly ruled that Simmons had run inside the baseline:

In the ESPN Radio booth, Chris Singleton wondered why Simmons was bunting with two runners aboard and the pitcher due up next. Why, indeed?

Heading into the fifth, the Cardinals still lead the Braves, 3-2.

Cards take 3-2 lead after Chipper error, Craig double

The St. Louis Cardinals played about 500 hours of baseball this year, give or take. So it was more than a little frustrating to think the whole thing could be decided by an umpire's split-second decision to grant time to David Ross.

With two strikes and Ross at the plate, umpire Jeff Kellogg called time. Ross swung through the pitch:

After getting Ross to swing through one change-up, Lohse figured he'd try another, and that one went over the left-field fence. Oops. And you figured the Cardinals could have had a chance to get away with it if it weren't for that Medlen kid. The Braves' starter was looking lights out.

But a Carlos Beltran single was followed by a Chipper Jones error, putting runners on first and third with no outs. Allen Craig -- suddenly one of the more feared hitters in baseball -- drove a double to left to score a run.

With runners on second and third, the Cards tied the game on an RBI ground out from Yadier Molina, which was followed by a David Freese sac fly to give the Cardinals the lead.

If Medlen kept doing his thing, the Kellogg time-out call could have been the story of the game. Now? The story is Medlen giving up three times for just the second time out of 13 starts so far this season. And the only other time he gave up three runs? A seven-inning, three-run game with eight strikeouts and no walks. With the Chipper error, though, only one of the runs for this game is earned.

Kris Medlen is good, but the Cardinals offense, at least for today, has been a little better.

Braves lead Cardinals 2-0 on David Ross's home run

Brian McCann's been struggling so badly lately that Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez benched his star catcher, and wrote David Ross's name on the lineup card instead.

Rarely has a managerial move looked so good so early in a big game. Because when Ross came up in the bottom of the second inning, Kyle Lohse left a change-up in the middle of the strike zone, and Ross didn't miss. Worse, Dan Uggla had just drawn a seven-pitch walk, which doubled the damage of Ross's long blast that carried the left-field fence.

Rookie shortstop Andrelton Simmons followed Ross's homer with a line-drive single up the middle, but Lohse finally escaped when his opposite number tried to bunt his way aboard and was thrown out easily.

So the Braves entered the third inning with a 2-0 lead. Considering that the Braves have won 23 straight games started by Kris Medlen, things aren't looking good for the defending World Champions. But it's early yet.

Jason Heyward robs Yadier Molina of home run

We didn't have to wait long for some superb drama in the National League Wild Card Game.

In the top of the first inning, Braves starter Kris Medlen -- so brilliant since joining the rotation in August -- struck out the first two Cardinals he faced, plunked Matt Holliday, and retired Allen Craig on a ground-out. Kyle Lohse pitched just as impressively in the bottom of the first.

But in the top of the second, Yadier Molina drove the third pitch to deep right field, taking Jason Heyward back, back, back until ...

Making the degree of difficulty even greater, this game's late-afternoon start time left right field bathed in bright sunshine. At least Heyward had his sunglasses deployed, and it didn't hurt that he stands 6-feet-6, either.

With Molina (barely) out, Medlen struck out David Freese and Daniel Descalso on a grounder to first base, leaving the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the second. Thanks to Jason Heyward.

Five (5) things you don't know about the Atlanta Braves

Here's a quick primer on the Wild Card-winning Braves, who face the Cardinals in a single winner-take-all contest.

The expectations, production of Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman

The Braves have a pair of 23-year-olds who were supposed to be much better by now, which makes it easy to ignore they're pretty good already.

Baseball Nation predicts the playoffs

We're not telling you to take these predictions and use them to gamble. But if you were to do such a thing, you'd win an awful lot of money.

Five (5) things you don't know about the St. Louis Cardinals

How great is Yadier Molina? (and some other things)

Cardinals, Braves set Wild Card rosters

The St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves have finalized their 25-man rosters for this evening's NL Wild Card matchup. Other than the understandable dearth of starting pitchers on each roster, there are no real surprises for either team.

The Cardinals have elected to put 10 pitchers on their roster, while the Braves have gone with nine. Each team has one back-up starting pitcher in case of injury or if things get out of hand early, but the rest of the pitching spots are taken up by bullpen arms.

St. Louis Cardinals

Pitchers

SP	Kyle Lohse
RHP	Lance Lynn
RHP	Jason Motte
RHP	Edward Mujica
RHP	Joe Kelly
RHP	Fernando Salas
RHP	Trevor Rosenthal
RHP	Mitchell Boggs
LHP	Marc Rzepczynski
LHP	Sam Freeman

Atlanta Braves

Cardinals vs. Braves, 2012 N.L. Wild Card Playoff: Time, TV schedule, starting pitchers and more

In the first-ever National League Wild Card play-in game, the St. Louis Cardinals face the Atlanta Braves. The winner gets to face the Washington Nationals in the NLDS.

Cardinals vs. Braves, 2012 N.L. Wild Card Playoff: Medlen faces Lohse

Two of baseball's best arms face each other in one-game playoff.

History won't remember Kris Medlen's season, but we will

Arguably the best pitcher the National League this season won't appear in the record books. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't appreciate what Kris Medlen has done.