Angels Coach Appears to Flip Off Umpire, Tempers Flare After Brutal Missed Calls

The Angels weren't happy with the calls. Interim manager Ray Montgomery was ejected for arguing. So was Tim Laker, the Angels' offensive coordinator, during the bottom of the eighth inning with the Mets batting against Angels pitcher Jake Eder.

SNY, the Mets' regional television network, showed Laker express his frustrations with Bacchus before getting the heave-ho.

Freeze-frame that clip and it appears Laker needed only one finger to summarize the feelings he expressed in so many words:

None of Bacchus' ball/strike calls during Luis Torrens' at-bat against Eder were as egregious as the two missed calls during the Rengifo at-bat. But it's unlikely the umpire will receive his best grade of the season from Wednesday's game.

Bacchus is closer to the top of the umpire accuracy rankings than the bottom, according to umpscorecards.com, where his 94.67 percent accuracy rating is likely to take a hit.

As for Laker, it's possible his gesture will subject him to supplemental discipline from Major League Baseball.

Montgomery was elevated to interim manager, and Ryan Goins to bench coach, when manager Ron Washington was placed on medical leave in June. If Montgomery is suspended by the league, he will not be able to appeal the discipline, and the Angels would potentially be left with three managers in a span of less than two months.

(Incidentally, this also happened in August 1996 when Marcel Lachemann resigned, interim manager John McNamara tended to a medical issue, and Joe Maddon filled in for McNamara. When Maddon was ejected during one August game, pitching coach Joe Coleman became the fourth man in a month to serve as the Angels' bench boss.)

Regardless of how it happened, the Angels' record is what is after getting swept by the Mets. At 49-53, they are 4.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the third and final Wild Card berth in the American League.