Some of the strikes umpires call on Altuve are just horrendous. Usually its on balls that are around his eyes, and almost all umps seem to call anything up to his shoulders a strike. But on this 4th-inning AB just now, the 1-0 pitch ran way inside, so far inside that it popped out of the catcher's glove as he reached over to catch it. Strike. Then, a slow curve, outside and picked by the catcher just before it hit the ground. Strike 2. Altuve fouled off another pitch that was a bit low and away, asked the ump if it was a strike, and nodded as though the ump said yes.
He's having a disappointing year, for sure, but I wonder if part of it is pitchers realizing that Altuve's legal strike zone is apparently just as large as a guy who's 6'3".
