It was a pitch that the ump has been calling a ball the entire inning (but one that some umps do call a strike) If he had called a strike there, Berkman may be facing a 5 game suspension right now for the damage he would have caused to the umps pants by kicking dirt.
My point was that regardless of what the ump was calling, few batters would have the eye and the nerve to take that pitch. Berkman is just amazing.
