Willson Contreras being back at catcher has already infuriated Cardinals opponents

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is back where he belongs behind home plate, which has already gotten the best of the Dodgers and Max Muncy.

The Cardinals-Dodgers weekend series had its share of controversial moments, including several involving Willson Contreras. The Cards catcher did an excellent job pitch-framing on Sunday, and Max Muncy noticed.

Muncy said that he has to control his emotions, though he did notice umpires getting “bullied” into making critical calls against Los Angeles, such as this beauty from Saturday’s contest to end an otherwise-close game.

https://twitter.com/thecomeback/status/1660100736280322050

That’s less than ideal, as Gallegos pitch was a full six inches off the plate. Mookie Betts isn’t one to complain, but even the LA star outfielder had to turn his head.

So, when Sunday came around, the Dodgers had enough. Muncy was eventually ejected for a poor strike call on his own account.

Third base umpire Paul Emmel threw Muncy out of the game.

Cardinals: Is Willson Contreras bullying opposing umpires?

If Willson Contreras is a bully, then he has a stunning amount of confidence.

Contreras had his role stripped of him just a month into his first season with his new team. He became Oli Marmol’s scapegoat — and quite successfully, I might add — and since the Cardinals have turned things around.

The former All-Star catcher has been a major part of that turnaround, working with the St. Louis pitching staff. Something, surely, is working, but that has nothing to do with Contreras being a so-called bully behind home plate.

Contreras returned to his catching duties a week ago. Since then, St. Louis has regained a foothold in the NL Central, while their competitors fall back down to earth. The Cards are alone in third place in what’s become a very crowded division.

As for the Dodgers, bad calls happen. It’s all part of the human element, and until robots eventually come for my job and/or fix the strike zone in major league baseball, this won’t be the last time you hear about it.