In case you missed it, Phillies catcher JT Realmuto was ejected by umpire Randy Rosenberg after teammate Craig Kimbrel was called for a pitch clock violation in an exhibition game against the Blue Jays earlier this week. Thinking the umpire already had thrown the ball back to Kimbrel, Realmuto pulled his glove away just as umpire Rosenberg was about to place the ball in the catcher’s mitt, a gesture Rosenberg deemed to be intentional. To give you a comparison, think of it this way:

If Rosenberg was Charlie Brown preparing to kick a football, Realmuto was Lucy, yanking the ball away just as Brown was about to kick it.

Haha, gotcha.

But if you ask me, that wasn’t what Rosenberg wasn’t really annoyed about – and he had a right to feel tweaked.

Watch the whole thing here:

Now, read these few paragraphs, then go back and watch the video again. Cameras missed the entire sequence, so we’ll fill in some of the blanks for you. Kimbrel was called for the violation and was clearly irritated by it, so he slowly walks in toward the plate and asks for another baseball. Though you can’t see this, Rosenberg throws him one. Kimbrel then takes his sweet time walking back to the mound and then stops to turn, asking for another baseball. This is a stalling tactic that some pitchers pitchers have used to circumvent the pitch clock – and Rosenberg knows it. Kimbrel is clearly acting like a petulant child and striking back for a rule he deems silly, despite the fact the pitch clock will be used in games this year come hell or high water.

When Rosenberg then tries to deliver a second baseball, Realmuto unknowingly pulls his glove away and the ejection ensues, leading to an argument that included Phils manager Rob Thomson.

Did Realmuto deserve to be ejected? Probably not. But he – and the Phillies – missed the point. The catcher should be annoyed at his pitcher, Kimbrel, and not the umpire Rosenberg, for trying to mock the rules and ump in the first place. In fact, I kind of like the fact that Realmuto paid the price for his teammate’s actions. Next time, maybe Kimbrel will just accept the penalty and move on instead of pouting and acting like the entitled brat too many baseball players are deemed to be.