If Jonathan Papelbon had his way, umpire D.J. Reyburn would be packing his bags and heading for the minors.
Papelbon, who suffered a loss to the Dodgers after surrendering a run in the ninth inning on Monday night, was visibly upset after the game. The Phillies closer disagreed with a call made by Reyburn, who was serving as the home-plate umpire, which led to a bit of a tirade in the Philadelphia locker room following the contest.
"He probably needs to go back to Triple-A…You're up in the big leagues to do a good job and when you don't do a good job you should be demoted or fired," Papelbon said. "It's just like anybody's job. If I don't do my job, I go down to Triple-A. There's no room for that up here. It's not a knock on the umpires. It's the integrity of the game. You want to be able to go out there and play the game the way it should be played. All night long, from [Dodgers starter Clayton] Kershaw to [Phillies starter] Vance [Worley], all the way to the ninth inning, it affected the outcome of the game."
Papelbon's main gripe was that he believed he had struck out Dee Gordon looking to begin the ninth, but Reyburn disagreed. Instead, the at-bat continued, Gordon hit a triple, and he eventually came around to score what proved to be the game-winning run.
This came in a game that evolved into a pitchers' duel from the third inning on, with neither team surrendering a run until that point. It remains to be seen if Papelbon will be slapped with a fine for his postgame remarks, but it wouldn't be all that surprising given how candid he was.
"I thought [Reyburn] was terrible –- all day. It wasn't just that pitch," Papelbon said. "All I wanted to know was if he could throw me out for what I was thinking, and if he could, I thought he sucked. It's that simple."
For the record, neither Papelbon or Reyburn is likely heading to Triple-A any time soon.
Check out Papelbon's frustration in the video below, courtesy of CSNPhilly.com.
