Blue Jays' Bautista Defiant in Wake of Umpire-Gate

Jose Bautista reacted to umpire Jeff Nelson's strike three call during the Toronto Blue Jays' opening series vs. the Cleveland Indians by turning and launching a few choice words as he headed back to the home dugout. After hitting a first-inning single off Indians pitcher Justin Masterson,

Bautista stares in disbelief after Nelson calls 'strike three.'

Bautista walked in the third before taking a called third strike in the fifth. Replays indicate all six callable pitches during the fifth inning at-bat were correctly officiated.

Against reliever Vinnie Pestano in the eighth, Bautista against struck out, this time swinging at three pitches while taking three for called balls.

When asked about his explosive attitude displayed during the Jays' opener, Bautista was unapologetic: "Sometimes I have trouble more than other players dealing with my production being affected by somebody else's mediocrity... It's just the way I am as a person. It's a tougher pill to swallow for me sometimes."

Again, Nelson's call was correct and Bautista indeed struck out on a called strike located within the zone.

Bautista's called third strike was located within the zone.

Though Bautista added that when he conducts his own brand of instant replay review of disputed plate calls, he finds the umpire was wrong upwards of 70% of the time, umpire QOC for Bautista ejections dating back to 2008 is 50%, which includes Bautista's most recent ejection, courtesy of Bill Welke in 2011, two called strikes located within the strike zone.

Manager John Gibbons says he has heard "from people in the organization" about Bautista's aggressive behavior toward umpires, though Bautista's attitude is not yet "an issue" and instead is a matter of intensity. At the same time, Gibbons unilaterally condemned Bautista's outbursts: "If you explode on them...Basically, it's like showing them up...Nobody likes to be shown up in the game. Nobody likes to be jumped on."

During Spring Training, Gibbons went on record saying he planned to chat with Bautista about his behavior toward umpires, saying that "whining gets old."

When asked about his fiery behavior, Bautista declared: "It's normal...I don't think I make anybody look bad."

News: Blue Jays' Jose Bautista defends his pointed reactions to umpires' calls (National Post)