Chase Utley suspended games 3 and 4
- Thread starter pepsicock
- Start date
Didn't see the play until just now. Hearing about it this morning I thought "it's the playoffs. Playing hard and taking out middle infielders is going to happen"..... Utley's knee didn't hit the ground until it was behind 2nd base. That's too much. Had Utley started is slide before the base and slid into him I would be okay with that, but that slide causing injury deserves a suspension. Dirty play.
I actually disagree. He slid late, but before the bag and he clearly wasn't out of the baseline and his leg wasn't too high. I don't get the suspension. I really doubt there would have been any suspension or anyone calling for a suspension had he not gotten hurt.
Also, he was safe at second.
Huh? Utley was out by five feet. And he never even touched the bag. He slid directly into Tejada and never even touched the bag.
Correct. Utley never touched the bag. Plus he ran outside the lines. He should had been automatically out.
The umpires disagree with you. Upon review the determined that -
1. Tejeda never touched 2nd base
2. Utley was within the baselines
3. Safe at 2nd.
This. He was initially called out, but they reviewed it and Tejada never even touched the bag.
That was quite possibly the dumbest ruling in the history of replay review. That was a textbook example of a neighborhood play and the neighborhood play isn't even supposed to be reviewable.
You can't be safe at a base that you didn't even touch, and Utley never touched the base. Never even tried to touch the base. Not even after the collision. He simply got up and jogged to the dugout because he knew he was out.
Utley will appeal and he will win the appeal of his suspension. First of all, the appeal won't be heard for weeks after the season is over. His agents and representatives will show video after video of players throughout the year doing the same thing over and over. They weren't suspended, why should he be suspended? The only reason this comes up is because Tejada broke his leg. Under the way the game is played now, this was a baseball play.
I hope he wins his appeal and plays in NY. Can't wait for him to bat in a non-crucial situation because I will guarantee you he gets drilled at some point.
He ABSOLUTELY slid late and you could argue the ump could have called a double play because of that. Utley's a pretty boy and belongs in LA.
He ABSOLUTELY slid late and you could argue the ump could have called a double play because of that. Utley's a pretty boy and belongs in LA.
hate the mets but it was dirty. no sense in having an interference call on the books if you don't use it. when a guy makes no attempt at the bag, and didn't catch any of it, it's interference.
if i'm harvey, degrom and syndergaard, i can't wait for next april and to find utley's earhole with a fastball up and in.
if i'm harvey, degrom and syndergaard, i can't wait for next april and to find utley's earhole with a fastball up and in.
I don't think that was the definition or intention of the neighborhood play. It was a difficult play and a poor toss to Tejeda which caused him to be pulled from or miss the base, Also, you most certainly can be safe at a base that you didn't even touch.
I don't believe the "line" is defined by an actual measurement. He never really made an attempt to touch the bag, that would be more telling
The whole concept of the neighborhood play is to protect infielders from injuries (eg, broken legs) caused by takeout slides in double play situations, and that's clearly what happened in this case. Sure, the toss to second could have been better, but Tejada had control of the ball and his foot was an inch from the bag. Utley was out before he even slid and he knew it. His singular intention was to break up the double play. He didn't touch the bag and didn't even try to touch the bag. Never went back to the bag. After knocking Tejada down he simply got up and jogged to the dugout knowing he had accomplished the only thing he could do in that situation.
Textbook neighborhood play.
It was not considered a neighborhood play, it was considered a force play. This is why the play was reviewable, as neighborhood plays are not reviewable. There is a difference between a neighborhood play and a force play.
The safe/out call is an interesting one. While he never touched the bag, he was never tagged or forced out either. I would like to hear a statment from the league on what the ruling should be. The guys watching the replay say the ruling is safe, so I am guessing they know more than we do.
As far as the suspension, how can it be legal on Saturday, then cause for suspension on Sunday? This happens all the time in baseball, this just happened to be a time in which I guy got hurt. If Tejada doesn't turn his back to Utley, he avoids the collision, and isn't hurt and there is no suspension. Bottom line, it sucks he got hurt, but his poor play on the ball caused his injury. Every single guy in the league is coming in hot on that play, deal with it. He's not a real key part to the Mets and neither is Utley to LA. If they both miss the rest of the series it really has no effect.
As far as the suspension, how can it be legal on Saturday, then cause for suspension on Sunday? This happens all the time in baseball, this just happened to be a time in which I guy got hurt. If Tejada doesn't turn his back to Utley, he avoids the collision, and isn't hurt and there is no suspension. Bottom line, it sucks he got hurt, but his poor play on the ball caused his injury. Every single guy in the league is coming in hot on that play, deal with it. He's not a real key part to the Mets and neither is Utley to LA. If they both miss the rest of the series it really has no effect.
That was their explanation for why they reviewed the play, but it's flawed reasoning. They claimed it was reviewable because Tejada probably couldn't have thrown out the runner at first. But whether or not he could have thrown him out should be irrelevant. It was still a double play situation and had all the elements of a neighborhood play.
Utley didn't know whether the throw to first might be in time. He just knew he wanted to prevent the throw and did everything he could to stop it. If it was just a force play then he wouldn't have barreled into Tejada like a fullback. The infielder has to be given some latitude to protect himself from injury when the runner's sole intent is to knock him down.
He was out. The ruling on the field was that he was out. And that ruling should have stood without review.
I think the key difference is that in the neighborhood play situation the defender is intentionally missing the bag so he avoids the runner and/or so he can get this throw off quicker/cleaner, but in this situation he wasn't trying to do that. He was trying to touch or hold the bag but the throw pulled him off. That is why they deemed it a force play and not a neighborhood play I am not a Dodgers or Mets fan, I just think that although it was an unfortunate outcome, the call was ultimately correct. I know you won't see it this way so I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.
I'm not a Dodgers or Mets fan either, so I don't really have a dog in this fight. But I think you have to give Tejada some latitude in this situation even though the toss was less than perfect because I think he also was trying to avoid Utley. And Utley clearly had nothing else on his mind besides knocking down Tejada and preventing the throw to first.
I agree that we will have to agree to disagree.
Are they now going to suspend Chris Coghlan for doing the exact same thing to Pittsburgh's Kang?
Takes me back to the good old days. Look at Hal McRae's takeout slide at 2B. It's way more aggressive than Utley's. And, look how he is waving for the runner to score after he takes Willie Randolph out. No interference called as the Yankees try to get the ump to change his mind. Lou Pinella trying to be a voice of reason is kind of funny.
And, here's another slide that got out of hand (George Brett into Craig Nettles). By the way, no ejections here even with punches thrown. October baseball is great.
And, here's another slide that got out of hand (George Brett into Craig Nettles). By the way, no ejections here even with punches thrown. October baseball is great.
Coghlan slid before the base and touched the base when he slid. Utley slid (well, not really) after the base. Pretty clear.
