Fast forward to Wednesday night, and Hohn was once again behind the plate for a game involving the Braves.  Apparently Brian McCann was up to bat, with no outs and Chipper (whom had just been walked on four straight pitches) on first base.  Marlins reliever Dan Meyer threw a pitch to McCann that the Braves catcher thought was a ball, yet Hohn called it a strike.  McCann went on to ground into a double play, on a pitch that he would have been taking on had the count been 3 – 0 at the time instead of 2 – 1. 

McCann then went into the clubhouse and watched a replay of the pitch.  Upon returning to the field before the start of the bottom of the eighth inning, McCann asked Hohn if he would admit that he missed that pitch.  Hohn responded in the only way he seems to know how, by ejecting McCann (it is an immediate ejection for arguing balls and strikes, but it is not like he tried to show up the ump during the at-bat). 

Bobby Cox then got ejected as well, because Hohn said he heard something from the dugout, and was going to eject someone.  In typical Bobby Cox fashion, Bobby told him to eject him instead.  Hohn obviously obliged.

The disturbing, and perhaps most telling, part of this story did not happen until the game was over, however.  After Nate McLouth struck out to end the game, Hohn and Marlins catcher John Baker did a fist bump.  You read that right.  The ump and the catcher of the team that had just won a game that had questionable balls and strikes called throughout gave each other props when it was over.

While I am not one for whining about the umpires, I do have to say that this is pretty fishy.  Not only is it fishy, but as far as we know it is unprecedented.  I have never heard of a player and an ump doing this before, or even shaking hands after a game.  So the question has to be asked, does Bill Hohn have it out for Atlanta? 

Apparently J.D. Drew struck out to end the inning, only homeplate umpire Bill Hohn decided to extend the at-bat.  After getting ahead in the count 0-2, Braves reliever Eric O’Flaherty laced a fastball threw the zone for what should have been strike three.  Hohn called it low and inside, and then Drew laced the next pitch off the Green Monster plating a run and giving the Sox the lead.  How an umpire can miss a call like that is beyond me.

What happened next is what made me smile, though.  Not only does O’Flaherty get tossed for asking where the pitch was, after being taken out of the game by Bobby Cox, but then Cox gets the business as well.  Add in Chipper Jones, who just went ballistic, and we finally see some fire from the Braves.  This will hopefully carry over into today’s game with the Chicago Cubs, and then the series with the Yankees this week.

Chipper Jones is not happy at all with the WBC.  Click the link or hit the jump for some quotes from the 2008 NL Batting Champ.

In regards to the format, Chipper thinks the entire tourney should be played in a week or so:

“There’s some serious problems with the WBC setup,” said Jones, who will skip the rest of the tournament. “I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. But I wouldn’t do it again under the current format. There’s way too many days off. This tournament could be over by now.”

In regards to his injury, Chipper is not happy with how the WBC trainers handled, well, anything:

“Well they kept me out five days in Canada, and I was probably ready to go on the third day,” Jones said. “They were going to do the same thing so I said, screw it, I’m coming home.  I’d much rather be around this [Braves] training staff and treat it aggressively and hopefully get back into some kind of action in two or three days.”

“They were going to be extra-cautious because it’s the second time it’s happened [in eight days],” Jones said. “And I just told [Team USA trainers] last night, if you’re not going to listen to me and you’re just going to tell me I’m going to be out for five days, I’m going home. …

“What’s five days gonna get us? Off day today, game tomorrow, game on Wednesday, and one day-long trip to L.A. … I might be ready to play the [championship] game. If they’re gonna keep me out that long, I just said, I’m going home.”

And how did Chipper like his stay in Toronto?

“We stayed in Toronto for a week and played three games. I don’t know if you ever stayed in Toronto, but it’s not exactly Las Vegas. To say that we were plucking our eyebrows out one at a time would be an understatement.”

I like the WBC, but this is getting ridiculous.  They freaking played Brian McCann in left field for an inning due to injuries.  My position on the WBC is quickly going from digging it to despising it.

Here is the transcript of his presser from yesterday.