2013 WORLD SERIES - GUARDIANS vs OUR LAST BEST HOPE

[JRGoldman]

Holy shitholy ith

[piranesi]

INFIELD FLY MOTHERFUCKERS

[Death From Above]

[hammerva]

Apparently throwing from home plate to third is really difficult for the Red Sox

 

It was a fair call although the fact that Jim Joyce called it makes it immediately suspect

[Jiji]

Fantastic ballgame with a hilarious ending.

[JRGoldman]

What a great game. I think I would have said that even if the Red Sox had won. A bizarre ending but the call was correct.

[Death From Above]

Yeah it was a really good game up until a very weird finish. It took some guts to even make that call really. If this was the NHL the referees would have pussied out while the league and media praise them to high heaven for "not deciding the game", so this is probably preferable.

 

Still... wow, what an ending that is.

[LethalStriker]

I can't see how the Red Sox let Saltamacchia start at catcher the rest of this series.

[Niners Fan in CT]

It was the right call I suppose even though you are allowed to impede the runner's progress to field a ball, right? I mean isn't that how the rule is written? Middlebrooks was just in the way far too long and Craig is clumsy...  Crazy shit..

[piranesi]

You all know this was all Jon Jay's fault, right?  He set that mess in motion.

[PaulS]

Salty needs to never throw to 3rd ever again, or be shot into the sun, or whatever.

 

If only Napoli's hip and a lack of practice allowed him to still catch....

[Big Fresh]

I don't pay close attention to baseball. Afterall, it's not like it's hockey. But did that Boston pitcher actually get confirmed as using vasoline or whatever it was? Because I'm not sure the guys in my break room at work are the most unbiased judges, when they've spent every game so far yelling, "BOSTON FUCKING CHEATED THE FUCKING CHEATING CHEATER FUCKS!!!"

[Tabe]

It was the right call I suppose even though you are allowed to impede the runner's progress to field a ball, right? I mean isn't that how the rule is written? Middlebrooks was just in the way far too long and Craig is clumsy...  Crazy shit..

Yes, you can. However, the rule in question specifically spells out the situation where a fielder dives for a ball and it gets past him. In that case. obstruction is the call.And intent doesn't matter. But Middlebrooks intentionally stuck up his leg and tripped Craig.Great call by the umps in a huge spot. The comment about NHL refs was dead on. They would never have made that call and would have decided the game by "not deciding the game".

[Tabe]

I don't pay close attention to baseball. Afterall, it's not like it's hockey. But did that Boston pitcher actually get confirmed as using vasoline or whatever it was? Because I'm not sure the guys in my break room at work are the most unbiased judges, when they've spent every game so far yelling, "BOSTON FUCKING CHEATED THE FUCKING CHEATING CHEATER FUCKS!!!"

It's sunscreen and MLB has stated they don't care about it.

[PaulS]

I thought it was determined that it was rosin (which is provided by MLB in a beanbag behind the mound at all times)

[Niners Fan in CT]

 

It was the right call I suppose even though you are allowed to impede the runner's progress to field a ball, right? I mean isn't that how the rule is written? Middlebrooks was just in the way far too long and Craig is clumsy...  Crazy shit..

Yes, you can. However, the rule in question specifically spells out the situation where a fielder dives for a ball and it gets past him. In that case. obstruction is the call.

 

 

Well, what it says is that the player can no longer be in the "act of fielding".. 

 

The issue to me is that Middlebrooks is not capable of disappearing. He's not a magician. The way the rule is written...it basically makes it so the fielder cannot attempt to go for the ball in that spot. Middlebrooks only option would have been to allow the ball to go past him in which Craig would have scored anyway. The fielder should be given more leeway.

 

My take is that it was the right call but a poorly worded rule.

[piranesi]

There's no way that ending the inning on that as the third out, after Craig was clearly tripped up by Middlebrook would not have been a worse call.

 

The better options were:

 

1) Not making a shitty throw that forces your third baseman to lunge onto the ground in front of a runner

2) Give up your hope to tag the guy and get off the base and catch the shitty throw so you are "in the process of fielding the ball" and the runner has to stay put anyway.

3) Just hold on to the ball and then watch Pete Kozma pop up.

4) Don't make your relief pitcher bat in the 9th inning of a tie game in what was his first ever professional at bat and then take him out almost immediately in the next inning anyway.

 

So many options.

[JRGoldman]

Jon Jay isn't exactly a giant bat, but it seems like putting him on first and pitching to Kozma with the chance of a double play is the better bet.

Looking ahead to the game four matchups, we could be in for a wild ride. Neither pitcher is a sure thing to make it out of the fourth right now, and both bullpens look like they could use a day off at the very least.

[Hoffman]

I was lucky enough to be there tonight.  What an atmosphere.  As for the ending, I was a zillion miles away in the right field terrace, so I wasn't absolutely certain the Cardinals had won until Fredbird stormed the field waving his flag.Anyway, as much as everyone agrees it was the right call, I still have to say this to make light of it all:Jim Joyce made the call straight away at third base, and when have we ever known Jim Joyce to blow a call?

[piranesi]

Hey! He's an honorary Guardian now.  You leave him alone!

[Tabe]

It was the right call I suppose even though you are allowed to impede the runner's progress to field a ball, right? I mean isn't that how the rule is written? Middlebrooks was just in the way far too long and Craig is clumsy...  Crazy shit..

Yes, you can. However, the rule in question specifically spells out the situation where a fielder dives for a ball and it gets past him. In that case. obstruction is the call.

 Well, what it says is that the player can no longer be in the "act of fielding"..  The issue to me is that Middlebrooks is not capable of disappearing. He's not a magician. The way the rule is written...it basically makes it so the fielder cannot attempt to go for the ball in that spot. Middlebrooks only option would have been to allow the ball to go past him in which Craig would have scored anyway. The fielder should be given more leeway. My take is that it was the right call but a poorly worded rule.

It's not poorly worded at all. If you're not in the act of fielding, you have to not be in the way. Doesn't matter if you have time to get out of the way or not - you have to not be in the way. The rule is black and white.And, again, Middlebrooks intentionally tripped him anyway.

[Death From Above]

And, again, Middlebrooks intentionally tripped him anyway.

 

 

At best this is possible but to just claim it's outright fact is pretty ridiculous.

[piranesi]

It's probably not even clear in his own mind.  But I think that little devious part of his brain felt he was tangled up with an opponent and pushed back unconsciously.  He may not think he did it on purpose but his legs flying up made it almost impossible not to call obstruction.  It looked bad in real time and it still looks pretty bad in replay.

 

But again, his intentions have nothing to do with it.  And neither does anything he did or didn't do once he was on the ground.  Once he was there, he was screwed.  If you take the fielder out of the equation and think of it like this: "If the runner is blocked or tripped or stopped from moving forward, he's been obstructed and is awarded the base" then it's a pretty obvious call.

[Tabe]

And, again, Middlebrooks intentionally tripped him anyway.

At best this is possible but to just claim it's outright fact is pretty ridiculous.

C'mon, he stuck his legs up in a completely unnatural way right into Craig's legs. He wasn't trying to get up - nobody gets up from their belly by kicking their heels into the air. He wasn't trying to crawl away - he didn't move forward. The motion he made has only one purpose at that time - to trip the baserunner. Obviously he'll never admit it but c'mon - it looks really, really obvious to me.

[Niners Fan in CT]

 

 

 

It was the right call I suppose even though you are allowed to impede the runner's progress to field a ball, right? I mean isn't that how the rule is written? Middlebrooks was just in the way far too long and Craig is clumsy...  Crazy shit..

Yes, you can. However, the rule in question specifically spells out the situation where a fielder dives for a ball and it gets past him. In that case. obstruction is the call.

 Well, what it says is that the player can no longer be in the "act of fielding"..  The issue to me is that Middlebrooks is not capable of disappearing. He's not a magician. The way the rule is written...it basically makes it so the fielder cannot attempt to go for the ball in that spot. Middlebrooks only option would have been to allow the ball to go past him in which Craig would have scored anyway. The fielder should be given more leeway. My take is that it was the right call but a poorly worded rule.

It's not poorly worded at all. If you're not in the act of fielding, you have to not be in the way. Doesn't matter if you have time to get out of the way or not - you have to not be in the way. The rule is black and white.And, again, Middlebrooks intentionally tripped him anyway.

 

 

In this instance, It gives the fielder no option but to allow the ball to go by him or be called for obstruction. In my view.. that is a poorly written rule.