Having now watched the entire game over charting the umpires patterns for calling a strike out:
Nearly every strike out was called with the unpires right arm sticking out first, then the pumped fist signaling the out sign. Only Carl Everett's strike out in the 6th and Q's strikeout in the 7th were called differently.
Five other third strikes hit the dirt prior to the ninth inning. In the four times the batter was out (GA in the second was called a foul tip), the umpire did not make the last fist pump signifying an out until after the catcher tagged the batter with the ball. Even two batters prior to Pierzynski, Aaron Rowand swung at a ball in the dirt and the umpire did not pump his fist until after the catcher tagged the batter.
This is in stark contrast to how the umpire handled the last out in the ninth, where he pumped his fist as did for every other strike out that did not hit the dirt.
If the umpire thought the ball hit the ground, he wouldn't (or shouldn't) have made the out call until Josh Paul tagged the runner, as he did every other dropped third strike in the game.
Amazing.
You can watch for yourself:
Garrett Anderson in the second
Bengie Mo in the 6th
Konerko in the 6th
Konerko in the 8th
Rowand in the 9th
