...completely unwarranted over reaction...the slide was within the rules...Torre should suspend himself.
I disagree Ron he (Utley) made no attempt to slide toward the bag, he went completely to the right of the bag to take out Tejada. I mean he didn't even start his slide until he was even with the bag. With that said, one game & a fine would have been enough IMO.
Mattingly also said before the announcement that Mets fans wouldn't have had a problem with the play had it been made by New York captain David Wright. "If it would have been their guy, they would be saying, 'David Wright, hey, he's a gamer. He went after him. That's the way you gotta play,'" Mattingly told the Los Angeles Times. "But it's our guy. It's different. I'm not condoning or defending; the slide, or the failure to be in a proper position, for both players...... What's MLB gonna' do? Put a chalk line down, where one must begin their slide???? Just saying, I don't want to take either side, period....Yet, Donnie has a valid legit point, (who doesn't from both sides who were on the field last night.....or- take a look from the others eyes....and walk a mile in both shoes..... I don't want to see players hurt at any cost, or excuse, but I don't want MLB meddling in another affair, that's going to possibly change the game as we know it.
He made absolutely no attempt at the 2nd base bag, he slide to the right of it with even making a legit attempt to touch the base & STARTED his slide as he reached the bag. Who the hell does that? It was a dirty play period & not the first time he tried to take out Tejada. He's making things personal & I for one am glad MLB stepped in.
...Rick, the rules have never been interpreted that way before. Simply put, Mets fans see it as a dirty slide and Dodger fans see it as a clean slide....the others are pretty much split....like I said, there are contradictory flaws in the rule book which counter Torre's ruling..For example, .the runner does not have to slide toward the bag. The runner does not have to begin his slide at a certain point...the runner only has to be within reach of the bag with either foot or either arm. ...I have already said that something needs to be done concerning the rules on this kind of play. They changed the rules a couple of years ago to help protect catchers when Buster Posey got hurt on on a home plate collision. ...I'm not saying it was not a vicious slide and a horrible injury an loss for the Mets. I also understand that in todays game, teams invest a lot of money into their player want to be protected, and I get that and I've said the rules or the way the rules are interpreted on this play should be amended in order to protect infielders...but the was nothing Utley did or didn't do that violated current rules. ...The problem here is not the play itself, but instead, the way the rules have always been interpreted...the ruling on the field at the time it was made was that Utley was forced out and the play was even later reviewed again and the Umps on the field not only determined that the slide was not only legal, but also decided that Utley was safe. Torre's over-reactionary and over-officious ruling is therefore an admission that the rules do in fact need to be changed. And IMO, Torre's decision is attempting to retroactively discipline Utley...which is BS.
... something else to consider; the ONLY reason this is even being discussed at all is because Tejada was lost to the Mets because his leg was broken...if the same slide was made and the DP was broken up without an injury, it would have been overlooked and deemed as "part of the game", and Utley would not be suspended. ...another thing to point out; If Torre's ruling stands, how can MLB, with a clear conscience, NOT step in and say that because Utley should have been ruled out and because the play was such an obvious game changer, the game should be replayed. There is NO way to assume that the game would have subsequently unfolded as it did. ...Torre's BS "over-officious" ruling opens up a whole new can of worms, by trying to change 150 of history in the middle of the freaking Post Season.
What also surprised me on that play was that after Mattingly's challenge (that was over turned) Collins had every right then to challenge that Utley never even touched the bag, which to mine & many others surprise he didn't challenge. How the hell could a player be called safe when he never even touched the bag. As far as the rules themselves, yeah they seriously need to be reviewed. Especially the so-called NEIGHBORHOOD play which is a joke.
...^^^all true... and again, how can Torre over turn the ruling made by the Umps on the field who also had benefit of the replay system and did not rule the slide as breaking the rules?...like I said, this opens up a whole other can of worms. Using Torre's logic and ruling, the game should be replayed but we know that won't happen. ...the rules DO need to be changed, but not in the middle of the Post Season...I know you don't really care for the Dodgers but to be fair, why should they now be penalized for something that in the past has been allowed? Different fans see this topic in polar opposites...and Rick, you know as well as I do, that if it were one of the Yankees or Giants players, you'd likely view it in a different light and deem it as "part of the game".
By going out his way and sliding AWAY from the base to take out Tejada, the umps should've made the proper call which is a DP....both runners out! And by hurting Tejada by NOT sliding to the bag, it becomes a cheap shot. Bottom line - Utley slid so far AWAY from the base that he was UNABLE to touch 2nd base with his hand! I wouldn't like to try and defend THAT ONE . Good luck! Do we really want to declare open season where base runners can slide four or five feet away from 2b into fielders on any and all possible DP scenarios? If so, SS and 2bmen are going to demand a "few more" bucks to say the least....not to mention actions SP will take when they they see their mid infielders getting wiped out with leg injuries. I would feel very uncomfortable tonight if I were a Dodger batter with a tough hard thrower like Harvey out there. Harvey is NOT like our basic current Yankee pitchers...lol.....he isn't shy, and he "KNOWS" he's in charge when he's out there. Anyone want to venture a guess on how Yankee fans would feel if this happened to Jeter? My guess, even the opposing team would kinda put their heads down, if you known what I mean. I love good hard base running.....but IMO this one was a bit out of line.
One can find numerous "take out slides" pics, of the Mets this year alone, taking out basemen, esp 2nd, while being a good 4-5 feet to the OF side, not even close to being inline with the bag, only the SS (J. Rollins and others), time and time again, from this year alone.) Here's one of several pics from this year, and watch the frenzy of "at least he was sliding", or that's nothing close. I've seen all but 1 week of Bums games this year, along with almost every Yanx game this year. I can clearly recall time and time again, the Mets/Bums games, and out of line slides by the East Siders, time and time again.....
Joe Maddon's take: Joe Maddon also said he's not in favor of a rules change. Maddon rejected arguments that because there's a "Buster Posey rule" that protects catchers from collisions, infielders need a similar rule. "The rule's already in place," Maddon said. "That's the part that really staggers me. If, in fact, the umpire thinks he did it on purpose, it should have been a double play. And beyond that, if you wanted to attach any kind of penalty, it would almost be like the equivalent of the flagrant foul in basketball. ... But that's the first time all year something like that happened. I'm not into over-legislation of anything, but there's already a mechanism in place to take care of that, as far as I'm concerned." Maddon rejected arguments that because there's a "Buster Posey rule" that protects catchers from collisions, infielders need a similar rule. "I hate it," he said of the Posey rule. "I don't like it at all. I think the rule at the plate is ridiculous, and that needs to go away. It was one play and it was based on bad technique; that's why the catcher got hurt. And that play right there [involving Utley and Tejada], there was only one play to be had, and that was one out at second base. I'm not defending the slide, but I'm saying there was only one out to be had there. Just an awkward situation that doesn't happen very often." Maddon recalled that when he managed in Tampa Bay, he lost shortstop Akinori Iwakuma on a similar slide, but he never complained because he felt it was part of the game. "It happens," he said. "Listen, everybody wants to put everybody in a bubble anymore. I mean, my God, I'm really not into that. I don't like the knee-jerk overreaction to anything, I really don't. Let's utilize the rules that are in play right now, but don't overreact." Craig Biggio's viewpoint: "I just hope the game doesn't change the way they did with the home-plate thing. I hate this thing back here," said Biggio, pointing behind home plate at Minute Maid Park. "I'm not a big fan of it. This game is played by big men. They're fast, and unfortunately sometimes things are going to happen. "It's like every time somebody gets hurt, we're changing the rules. They do it in college, where you have to slide straight into the base. I think that's absolutely, 100 percent correct, because you have a bunch of amateur players who are playing a little kamikaze at times. You have to control those guys. Guys in the minor leagues and the big leagues understand the way you're supposed to slide. If you don't slide the right way, usually your pitcher will take care of that." You can read more at/and courtesy of: http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2015...hange-wake-ruben-tejada-chase-utley-collision
