LAdiablo wrote:
Well one slide sure seems to have changed things quite a bit!
Have to admit I wouldn't have been too happy if the situation was reversed but stop short of thinking he intentionally tried to hurt the guy
All the same it will be interesting to watch tomorrows game and see how things go
If Donnie had bawls he'd start Utley
Coupla things.
Replay needs to be re-addressed as does umpiring. Ump calls Utley out at 2nd. Utley gets up and goes to the dugout. Tejada is near 2nd base obviously injured.
OK, so Tejada actually missed 2nd, at least as far as one could tell (I'm not sure it was really conclusive - didn't see a real "close up"). Utley NEVER touched 2nd base (I'll get to THAT in a minute). Now normally, if a player walks off the field when he's safe, once he reaches the dugout, he's declared out. THIS time, apparently, because the umpire CALLED him out it's OK to get off the field and, upon replay confirming he's safe, return to the field.
OK, got it. But "in equity" (a phrase used in golf when the Rules does NOT cover a SPECIFIC situation, had the umpire called Utley safe, Tejada could have reached out and tagged 2nd base and Utley would have been out (anyway).
Soooooo, "in equity", Utley should have been out anyway.
Point 2. Baseball has gone to great lengths to protect the catcher, a guy who is in about as much protective gear as you could possibly get him into and still be able to play. If you barrel over the catcher you are OUT.
However, here you have a player TOTALLY EXPOSED and vulnerable with NO protective equipment and a sliding played is allowed to purposely slide AWAY FROM THE BASE to take the guy out and now, as happens, take him out of the playoffs.
I believe the rule in BB is that IF the guy sliding in clearly interferes and has no intention of sliding into THE BASE, not only is HE automatically out but the batter-runner is out as well (although I believe the batter-runner part is the umpire's judgement).
Had Utley PROPERLY (IMO) been called out and the batter also been called out the inning ends at 2-1 Mets. Had the batter been called safe due to the umpire's judgement (IMO the correct call) the inning ends tied at 2.
Seems like the NFL officials aren't the only ones have a bad Fall.