ATLANTA -- Andrelton Simmons lifted a pop fly into shallow left field. Not a hard-hit ball, by any means, but at least 50 feet beyond the infield. St. Louis shortstop Pete Kozma drifted back, throwing up his hand in that universal baseball gesture, "Ive got it." Only one problem. Right before the ball came down, the rookie veered out of the way, apparently thinking left fielder Matt Holliday was going to take it. The ball dropped harmlessly in the grass. The crowd roared, thinking the Atlanta Braves had loaded the bases with one out. Only one problem. Standing nearby, umpire Sam Holbrook had thrown up his right arm, signalling Simmons was out. This grab was made by the infield fly rule. The first wild-card playoff game in baseball history turned out to be just plain wild Friday, thanks to a complicated rule that has long been part of baseball, even if many people -- even hard-core fans -- dont know exactly what it is. The disputed call led to a protest by the Braves -- which was quickly denied -- and an ugly display as fans littered the field with debris, causing a 19-minute delay. That only delayed the inevitable for the Braves. The Cardinals moved on to the divisional series against Washington with a 6-3 victory in baseballs new one-game, winner-take-all playoff round. "You never want to see something get violent like that," said Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, who played his final game. "But when youve got (what is essentially) a Game 7 and your whole season is on the line ... things like that are going to happen." What, exactly, did happen? The infield fly rule gives umpires the discretion to call an automatic out on a popup with more than one runner on base, largely to prevent the team in the field from intentionally letting the ball drop so they can get an extra out, since the runners cant drift too far away from the bag for fear of getting doubled off after the catch. "The infield fly rule is to protect the runners, really," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. This time, it cost the Braves. At issue was whether Kozma had established his position to make the catch, and whether it should have been made under any circumstances on a popup that far beyond the infield. "I thought we have a legit beef," Gonzalez said. Joe Torre, who played and managed for both the Braves and the Cardinals, was on hand as the executive vice-president of baseball operations. He turned down the protest, ruling it was a judgment call by the umpires. "Not that you cant protest," Torre said. "But you cant uphold a protest based on that." Besides, both Torre and Holbrook thought it was the right call. "Its all judged on what the fielder does," said the umpire, who was stationed down the left-field line as part of the expanded six-man crew that is used in the playoffs. "Once that fielder establishes himself and he has ordinary effort on the ball, thats when the call is made. So it wouldnt matter whether it was from third base or on the line out there. Its all based on what the fielder does. Thats what I went on, and thats what I read." The Braves saw the play differently, of course. "I thought the shortstop had to go way out there to make a play on that fly ball, and I think weve got to take into account the crowd -- 50,000 people yelling -- and I thought there was some miscommunication between Holliday and Kozma," Gonzalez said. "I thought we were going to catch a break there." No one was pleased about the way the crowd reacted after the call. Braves president John Schuerholz issued an apology to Major League Baseball and the Cardinals, blaming a small group of fans who "acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable." As the Cardinals celebrated another playoff triumph in the clubhouse, someone screamed, "Infield fly!" "I understand that the Braves are upset by what happened," manager Mike Matheny said. But, he added, "The umpires were out there. It was the right call." Besides, the umpires had nothing to do with Atlantas three throwing errors, which allowed the Cardinals to score four unearned runs. Without the defensive miscues by the NLs top fielding team, that call in the eighth would have been an afterthought, not one that nearly caused a riot. "Ultimately, when we look back on this loss, we need to look at ourselves in the mirror," said Jones, whose errant throw in the fourth led to three runs for the Cardinals. "Three errors cost us the ballgame, mine probably being the biggest. Did (the infield fly rule) cost us one out? Did it cost us one run, possibly more? Yes. But Im not willing to sit here and say that call cost us the ballgame." On Twitter, outfielder Jason Heyward said: "When you dont have anything positive to say its best to not speak," then thanked Braves fans for their support this season. Braves starting pitcher Kris Medlen tweeted: "Cant point fingers at anyone but ourselves. Didnt bring our A game as a team and the cards capitalized." The play will certainly lead to a clamour for expanded use of instant replay to deal with an epidemic of disputed post-season calls in recent years -- especially with the new one-and-done format. If nothing else, there were plenty of comparisons to the NFLs much-maligned replacement refs. "This was an exciting game," Torre said. "Im sorry about the controversy. Its certainly not something we ever plan on." Cheap Jerseys China . The 18th-ranked Nishikori retired from his semifinal match with eventual champion Andy Murray at last weeks Brisbane International with the same injury. After training at Melbourne Park, he felt he was not fit enough to compete at Kooyong and will use the remainder of the week undergoing intensive treatment to try to play in the Australian Open. Cheap Jerseys free shipping . They relaxed. Ben Roethlisberger converted a pair of critical third downs during a remarkably patient 64-yard drive over the final 6:33 and Shaun Suisham drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Steelers to a 16-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the rain on Sunday. http://www.cheapjerseys2014.us.com/[/ur... . 25 game against the Cleveland Indians from 7:10 p.m. (CDT) to 1:10 p. [url=http://www.cheapjerseys2014.us.com/]wholesale nfl jerseys . -- Charlie Beljan was worried about keeping his PGA Tour card when he showed up at Disney for the final tournament of the year. wholesale jerseys . Canada will open its 2013 Classic schedule against the Italians on Match 8 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Canada failed to advance out of the first round in the first two Classics, suffering a shock 6-2 defeat to Italy in Toronto the last time the tournament was held in 2009.Pinch-hitting for TSN.ca NFL Editor Justin Boone, Scott Cullen runs down the top waiver wire pickups with a focus on the coming week and the rest of the season. All of these players are available in at least 35% of TSN.ca Fantasy Leagues. QUARTERBACKS Carson Palmer (at Buccaneers) Currently ranked 14th among quarterbacks in fantasy points, Palmer isnt far off from being a low-end starter anyway, particularly now that hes hit a groove with WR Denarius Moore, but going against the Buccaneers pass defence, which is allowing 310 passing yards per game, has tended to be a favourable matchup. Brandon Weeden (at Ravens) Its not the best week to go looking for quarterbacks on the waiver wire, but Weeden isnt a bad option against a Ravens team that isnt nearly as ferocious defensively without ILB Ray Lewis and not nearly as gifted in pass coverage without CB Lardarius Webb. Weeden struggled against San Diego, but in the previous four weeks, he averaged 274 yards passing (including 320 yards at Baltimore in Week Four) and 1.5 touchdowns. Others to consider - Christian Ponder (at Seahawks), Matt Cassel (at Chargers), Matt Hasselbeck (vs. Bears), Ryan Tannehill (at Colts) RUNNING BACKS Jonathan Dwyer (at Giants) Dwyer suffered a calf injury in the win over Washington, but he also delivered his second straight 100-yard game, making it difficult for head coach Mike Tomlin to bump Dwyer out of the starting lineup even if Isaac Redman or (less likely) Rashard Mendenhall are deemed healthy. The Giants defence was tough against Dallas running game last week, but theyre still giving up 4.6 yards per carry and allow 113.0 yards per game, both of which suggest that there will be opportunity for a physical runner like Dwyer to grind out some yards. Daniel Thomas (at Colts) While Thomas is behind Reggie Bush in the Miami scheme, he took over after a Bush fumble in the third quarter against the Jets, finishing with 42 yards on 15 carries. Thomas also has three touchdowns in his last four games -- the only one of those in which he didnt score, he had just four carries for four yards at Arizona -- so if you need a fill-in back or flex play for this week, Thomas against an Indy defence allowing 4.8 yards per carry is a favourable matchup. Others to consider - Donald Brown (vs. Dolphins), LaRod Stephens-Howling (at Packers), Jacquizz Rodgers (vs. Cowboys), Andre Broown (vs.dddddddddddd Steelers) WIDE RECEIVERS Josh Gordon (vs. Ravens) If Im going to throw out the possibility that Brandon Weeden will be able to pass against the Ravens, might as well look to his deep threat as a likely candidate for a productive day. Gordon has yet to catch more than three passes in a game, but has 286 receiving yards with four touchdowns over the last four weeks. Going up against the Ravens secondary, Gordon will have opportunities to get open down the field. Andre Roberts (at Packers) Far be it from me to pass judgement on how people are running their fantasy teams, but it must be nice to be so deep at wide receiver that you dont even need the guy averaging 9.0 fantasy points per game, good enough to rank 22nd among all wide receivers. You know who ranks 27th, with 8.3 fantasy points per game? Larry Fitzgerald! The guy who keeps drawing the double teams that allows Roberts to rack up yardage. With 14 catches for 168 yards over the last two weeks, despite mediocre quarterback play, Roberts is a worthy replacement on many rosters for this week and beyond. Cecil Shorts (vs. Lions) While rookie Justin Blackmon is the popular one in Jacksonville, Shorts is the productive one, putting up a dozen catches for 195 yards over the last couple games. Hes not particularly efficient and an unpolished receiver with a green quarterback presents some risk, but Shorts is doing enough to warrant consideration agains a Lions pass defence that has only been okay this season, allowing 214.1 yards per game with 10 passing touchdowns. Others to consider - Brandon LaFell (at Redskins), Kendall Wright (vs. Bears), Santana Moss (vs. Panthers), Titus Young (at Jaguars) TIGHT ENDS Greg Olsen (at Redskins) Olsen has put up modest numbers (seven catches, 54 yards) over the last couple weeks but, going against the Redskins, who have allowed a league-high 19 passing touchdowns, is a decent time to plug Olsen in as a filler if you normally have one of the New England tight ends (Rob Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez) or San Franciscos Vernon Davis on a bye this week. Others to consider - Jermaine Gresham (vs. Broncos), Brandon Myers (vs. Buccaneers), Dennis Pitta (at Browns) Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '