Back to the Colorado Rockies Newsfeed

Saunders: Rockies irked at umpire, but they don't want automated strike zone

PHOENIX — "It was a joke!"

"The worst umpiring I've seen behind the plate since Little League."

"I couldn't believe that strike zone. It was unbelievable."

Those were a few of the comments I got from Rockies players after their loss to Pittsburgh on Monday night at Coors Field. Throw in a few colorful words not fit for a family newspaper, and you get the flavor of the Rockies' ire toward home plate umpire Lance Barrett.

The players, of course, wouldn't let me use their names. They didn't want to get fined.

By the end of their 6-1 loss to the Pirates, the Rockies had struck out nine times, six looking.