Manager's Special

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Ah, Bruce Bochy. Very crafty.

The Dodgers had a 5-4 lead in the ninth when they brought in Broxton, but the Giants loaded the bases. Then hitting coach Don Mattingly, managing on behalf of the ejected Torre, went to the mound for a strategy talk. As he was stepping off the mound, first baseman James Loney apparently asked him a question, and Mattingly stepped back on the mound. Inadvertently, Mattingly had technically made two visits to the mound in the same inning and that meant Broxton had to leave the game. Reliever George Sherrill, who has struggled all season, then came in and promptly gave up a double to Andres Torres, giving the Giants a 6-5 lead, and another hit by Buster Posey off Travis Schlichting drove in another San Francisco run.

And nice one, Donnie-- Keith would never make that mistake. Of course, Keith would have probably intentionally gotten himself tossed, so as to get to his postgame Cohiba sooner.)

[Ceetar]

wait, really?

I figured you had to get all the way past the foul line again before it'd be a second visit. That's sorta silly.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I would have thought so too. It's kind of a spirit-of-the-law/letter-of-the-law thing here. I'd have to see the rule as written, but my impulse would have been to rule in the Dodgers' favor on this one.

[Benjamin Grimm]

And here's what the rule book says:

A manager or coach is considered to have concluded his visit to the mound when he leaves the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher�s rubber.

I guess the umpire ruled correctly.

[seawolf17]

Doesn't mean Bochy's not a doosh.

[metirish]

What did Bochy do, the article doesn't even mention him. Are we assuming he brought it to the attention of the umps?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Think they'd have the guts to call that on Torre though?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

seawolf17 wrote: Doesn't mean Bochy's not a doosh.

Well, if pointing this out makes him a doosh, then Bobby V's the doosh's doosh, isn't he?

And besides, Bochy's just annoyed at all the times he's had to dodge liners that knocked his clothing off, or dust himself off after Lucy pulled the ball away.


"I think the point of the joke is that I have a very, very large head. Yeah, I think it's a little oblique for a one-liner, too."

[Guest Edgy DC]

"I don't care. The rules are the rules, and if you're
not going to call that a trip to the mound, well, I'm
just going to stay out here doing the Robot until you
do. Dancin'! Dancin'! I'm a dancin' machine!"

[seawolf17]

I hate it when Bochy gets a big head over stuff like this.

[HahnSolo]

I saw Bochy talking about it on SportsCenter. I think they took it from the Giants postgame show. He said, and I am paraphrasing, that "I brought to the umpires attention, and none of them had seen it, and I told them I was going to protest the game. Then they made the call, but none of that would have mattered if we hadn't gotten the hits, blah, blah, blah."

The bold is my emphasis. Bochy said none of them had seen it, which I find hard to believe. All four umps would make a call based on a manager saying so? More likely, one of them saw it, was fuzzy on the rule, and relayed what he saw to another ump who had not seen it, but was clear on the rule.

As someone mentioned up above, I always thought the foul line was the cut-off point.

[Zvon]

Edgy DC wrote: "I don't care. The rules are the rules, and if you're not going to call that a trip to the mound, well, I'm just going to stay out here doing the Robot until you do. Dancin'! Dancin'! I'm a dancin' machine!"

[Zvon]

A doosh?
I'd give Bochy a bonus.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

seawolf17 wrote: Doesn't mean Bochy's not a doosh.

Bobby V, then, as well.

[Frayed Knot]

HahnSolo wrote: I saw Bochy talking about it on SportsCenter. I think they took it from the Giants postgame show. He said, and I am paraphrasing, that "I brought to the umpires attention, and none of them had seen it, and I told them I was going to protest the game. Then they made the call, but none of that would have mattered if we hadn't gotten the hits, blah, blah, blah." The bold is my emphasis. Bochy said none of them had seen it, which I find hard to believe. All four umps would make a call based on a manager saying so? More likely, one of them saw it, was fuzzy on the rule, and relayed what he saw to another ump who had not seen it, but was clear on the rule. As someone mentioned up above, I always thought the foul line was the cut-off point.

If the umps took Bochy's word for it and made the call based on that then it's bad on them, not him.

After reading about this, I have a vague recollection of seeing this same thing called before - but it's been so long that I might have gotten the mound/line thing wrong too if asked about it before today.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I remember one time in a Mets game, a manager went on to the field to check an injured player, and then made a brief stop on the mound to say something to the pitcher. The opposing manager said that that had to count as a visit, and forced a pitching change.

I don't remember, though, which side of the issue the Mets were on, or which manager it was.

[seawolf17]

Article I read said that in 2006, Bochy pointed out the same thing in a game, also by the Dodgers.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I guess that's his shtick, then.

[DocTee]

There were several warnings and ejections in this game (Hit batsmen, and the like) and wonder if this will add fuel to the fire.

The Giants broadcasters were wondering why Donnie Baseball--he of no managerial experience--was running the team after Torre's departure, especially when Larry Bowa was available (implication being Bowa would not make that mistake).

[Benjamin Grimm]

I would guess that Mattingly is being groomed as Torre's successor.

And Bowa isn't.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I would guess that Mattingly is being groomed as Torre's successor.

That would explain the in-game tactical error/loose grasp on the rules.

[Fman99]

Bochy's out there watching every manager's feet every second that they're on the mound for just this type of thing? Douchetastic.

[Zvon]

How could the umps have misinterpreted this rule?
Don't they have a lil rule book in their pocket?

The manager should have been tossed and the pitcher can face one more batter and then he must leave.
Eyecurumba

[metirish]

Did I read him wrong or was Gary Cohen being very sarcastic about "Donnie Baseball I guess not knowing everything about baseball
" when he and Ron talked at length about this incident?

[Zvon]

Did I read him wrong or was Gary Cohen being very sarcastic about "Donnie Baseball I guess not knowing everything about baseball " when he and Ron talked at length about this incident?

If he was being sarcastic then that would mean he really thinks Don knows everything about baseball, no?
Or that everyone else thinks that?

I dunno.
Lets put it to the meter:

[metirish]

Perhaps sarcastic is the wrong word, sounded to me like Gary was very subtly throwing digs at Mattingly.

Anyway , he a MFY douchebag.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"Sardonic" fits better. So does just plain "mocking."

[Zvon]

facetious?