CHICAGO -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon didn't like the call.
It was hard not to, when Paul Goldschmidt appeared to take an almost-full swing on a full-count changeup in the dirt from Trevor Cahill in the seventh inning. In a 3-2 loss to the D-backs on Sunday, Goldschmidt was ruled to have checked his swing, resulting in a walk that got Maddon's mind racing -- and got him ejected.
"I was really upset based on two things," Maddon said. "One, I really thought he swung, absolutely -- and two, I was thinking about the bullpen."
The walk meant Maddon needed to pull Trevor Cahill, who had thrown 33 pitches in 1 2/3 innings. It also threw off Maddon's plan for the rest of the close game.
So Maddon stepped out of the dugout, asking "What happened?"
He argued with first-base umpire Tripp Gibson and talked with home-plate umpire Gabe Morales. The end result was Maddon getting tossed for the first time this season.
"I said [to Gibson], 'Do you know what you just did?'" Maddon said. "It really made it difficult to use the bullpen for the rest of the game, by not doing the right thing and calling him out. Then [Justin Grimm] could have started the next inning. One hitter, then you have to get him out. All this stuff happened because that was not called."
Grimm got the final out in the seventh, then the Cubs used Travis Wood for 1 1/3 and Adam Warren for two-thirds of an inning to finish the game. Because the Cubs were unable to score the runs needed to take the lead, the walk and bullpen situation was ultimately inconsequential.
But it was enough to upset Maddon, who said the following when jokingly asked if he went out to tell Gibson he loved him.
"Tripp's a good dude, but I'm not there yet with him," Maddon said. "I haven't known him long enough."