Apologies for actually talking about an ongoing game, but AAAAARGHT ARGH ARGH aaaaaa!
You can slide wide of the bag, that’s always been the rule. But when doing so you have to make an attempt to reach the bag, that’s also always been the rule. Utley’s slide should have been interference on Saturday and it was interference 20 years ago.
In the 2012 Matt Holliday slide referenced above, he slid right on the bag. He didn’t have to reach for it because his butt landed right on it. His was a legal slide for that reason. Cheap and dirty maybe, but it was within the rules.
Like I said above, it wasn’t against the rules a couple of weeks ago.
If he reached down, he would have touched the base. How far off the basepath could he have been?
He absolutely broke up the double play, just not in a way that you would have preferred. But it’s not about your preference, it is about precedent, and on September 16th, there was precedent set. If MLB made a mistake then, they should at least admit that and hand out future suspensions. Consistency would be nice, rather than clairvoyance.
I think Utley will win the appeal on that basis.
If I remember correctly, when Albert Belle laid out Fernando Vina, he wasn’t ejected.
The rule that was quoted a few posts ago clearly states that it is up to the umpire’s judgement at the time. They did not judge at the time that Utley broke this rule, so why is their judgement being discarded here?
That’s because Vina was in the baseline.
In actual game news, the Royals look likely to win today while the Astros’ bullpen sucked. And the Blue Jays, holy crap. There’s that MLB leading offense.
Belle was suspended later.
I thought the Astros had this one locked down, but not so much.
It was against the rules, it just wasn’t called.
He didn’t reach for the base, because he wasn’t trying to get to the base. He was trying to interfere with a fielder.
Well, that was super painful.
I find that sort of selective enforcement quite problematic. If I pass a cop every day going 80 and he waves and smiles, I have every reason to believe I’m okay doing so. Sounds like the MBL needs some accountability here if they are going to start handing out suspensions now.
I never said he did. I suggested that it was well within his reach, which it was.
Also worth noting that, with a knee coming straight at his face, self-preservation probably took precedence over reaching for the base.
And again, interference is determined solely by the umpire’s judgment. And the umpire did not in any way make that determination. If we are going to be a stickler for the rules, let’s at least respect them.
I was thinking that both KC & Toronto gave up early in the series, but I’m wrong on that. Houston is just too good at this all year and Toronto finally had some coffee.
Toronto brings David Price out of the bullpen with a 7-1 lead. I know that losing Cecil hurts but that’s a panic move IMO.
Yeah. I don’t really understand treating Dickey almost like a mascot. “Oh, who’s a cute little knuckleballer?”
Granted, I was splitting my attention between the game and trying (and failing) to fix the vacuum, so maybe he was pitching badly and just getting lucky?
And I ain’t sayin’ - I’m just sayin’ - but does Delino DeShields Jr. look more like dad’s teammate Marquis Grissom?
I dunno, I saw the game where Kang (?) got injured and I thought “Oh, what a shame, but these things will happen”; it looked like a player sliding into second. Watching this play, my first thought was “WTF did Utley just do?”. AFAIK nobody associated with the Pirates ever suggested the play was dirty; you would think if it had been an issue we would have heard a lot about it during the leadup to the wild card game. I don’t think the plays are as comparable as you are suggesting.
Locrian:
I think it’s safe to say that “give up” is not in the Royals’ vocabulary. HOLY COW. Go Royals!
Very impressive comeback! No lead is safe against this team.
I’ve been perfectly calm all day long, cmk. How about you? Not a single nerve - not a one. Super, super calm. Same with my pregnant wife - the baby wasn’t hopping and spinning ever since about 2:45pm EDT from pure adrenaline from mom. (We’ve been calling him “Yordano” since we found out, as sort of a code name. ‘How’d Yordano do last night?’ ‘Think Yordano is doing alright after the bad start last week?’)
Super, super calm. Just normal post-season Royals baseball, right?
WTH is going in with Arrieta? Walking batters?! TWO earned runs in a single game?:eek: Did he lose his magic hammer or something?
Fortunately Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo have stepped off of the milk cartons to hit back-to-back homers and put the Small Bears up 5-2! As cmkeller just said, HOLY COW!
My advice to the Cardinals at this point is to stop throwing to the Cubs.