Yankees: Nestor Cortes Jr. calls out familiar Giants-Dodgers ump

New York Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. is like an elephant: nothing about him, physically, makes sense.

Oh, and also, he doesn’t forget. Especially if someone’s responsible for, say, a massively missed call that might’ve been the difference between hosting the Wild Card Game and having to play it at Fenway Park.

At least one of those Giancarlo Stanton rockets would’ve left the yard instead of leaving him on first base. The mood would’ve been different. You know the whole story. It might’ve sent the Red Sox home! Instead, we’re watching a nightmare Sox-Astros ALCS.

So, if there’d been one call that tipped the tides in the one game that tipped the season series, you’d probably remember the face responsible for that call.

Thursday night’s NLDS Game 5 also featured some umpiring rearing its ugly head, when umpire Gabe Morales sent Wilmer Flores into the offseason on a check-swing strike three to end the ninth. He didn’t swing. Didn’t come close. No challenge. Season over.

In the immediate aftermath, Nasty Nestor fired off a kindly tweet wishing no ill will on Morales himself, but trying to get him to clean up his act.

Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. had a bone to pick with Gabe Morales, who ended Giants-Dodgers early.

Meaner men would’ve phrased that a different way!

Cortes Jr.’s reaction to the call — conveniently sent to MLB without a period at the end, so it wouldn’t show up on most feeds — was measured. He understands umpiring is a job. He understands umpires have to put food on the table. But he does not understand how you can get away with an extremely wrong call like that on the biggest stage.

Following this particular check, there was plenty of rabble roused on both sides about what check swings have meant to the entire 2021 Giants-Dodgers season. After all, wasn’t this just evening things out for Darin Ruf’s incorrectly-called swing at Dodger Stadium that created the Giants’ NL West win and changed the location of yesterday’s game?

As Giants fans would counter: who cares?! We just got knocked out of the entire postseason?!

Yankees fans might have a similar attitude once they realize that Nasty Nestor was yelling at the same man who wrecked New York’s chances of hosting the Wild Card Game by punching out Rougned Odor on the worst 3-2 strike from Matt Barnes you’ll ever see.

The bases were about to be loaded. The walk-off was right there for the taking. And yet …

Perhaps Nestor was subconsciously wishing for an entirely different Gabe Morales call to be reversed.

Alas, two different teams’ seasons might’ve ended prematurely in large part because of this one man. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Heartbreak isn’t reviewable.

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