Frayed Knot

Centerfield wrote: But to me, if you call it by the letter of the rule, it would be a very simple rule to enforce. Especially with the benefit of slo-mo replay,. Except that I'm going to be sitting in front of my TV with a gun in my mouth before this season ends if we start requiring interpretation of intent via slow motion replay.

RULE 6.01(j) — SLIDING TO BASES ON DOUBLE PLAY ATTEMPTS If a runner does not engage in a bona fide slide, and initiates (or attempts to make) contact with the fielder for the purpose of breaking up a double play, he should be called for interference under this Rule 6.01. A "bona fide slide" for purposes of Rule 6.01 occurs when the runner: (1) begins his slide (i.e., makes contact with the ground) before reaching the base; -- the Utley thing (2) is able and attempts to reach the base with his hand or foot; -- pretty much the same as it always was, although now subject to part 4 (3) is able and attempts to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide; -- this is what tripped up Werth but it's also wide open to interpretation. Neither Werth on his previous slide nor Revere earlier in the same game stayed on the base either so then if becomes a matter of whether the ump thinks they were able to if they cared to try. (4) slides within reach of the base without changing his pathway for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder. -- this even more so. Is sliding to a particular side of the base depending on which way the runner thinks the fielder is leaning not allowed? How much of a shift constitutes 'changing his pathway'? Shit, initiating contact was always half the purpose in sliding. Like I said earlier, a lot of this reminds me of the home plate rule when it was first put in. Umps seemed to be calling that one by some strict letter of the law which often bore no resemblance to the intent of the rule or the reasons why it was adopted in the first place.

I agree that he started the slide legally, the call must have been made because he didn't end it within the new rules because he made contact with Walker while over-sliding the bag. Credit to Walker & Cabrera as they picked up on it immediately. Now maybe they were just begging but it might have helped sell the call. This rule is shaping up a lot like the plate rule did when it was new a couple of years ago in that no one seems to know exactly how literally to apply the new standards (remember catchers being called for 'blocking the plate' when the runner was still 35 feet away?) and, as such, I don't blame Rizzo for blowing his stack even if he's blowing it in the wrong direction (go to the league, not the umps). Basically the rule says: - you have to start your slide before the base, something Werth did where Utley clearly did not. - the runner can not 'alter his path' to go after the fielder, something that's subject to all kinds of interpretation - and that the runner has to 'try to maintain' contact with the base, another subjective concept which can go any number of ways

As the team's one true "hot" prospect, this is quickly becoming the all-Amed Rosario thread. I was going to wait until he notched 100 ABs at Bingo before touting the fact that he's currently hitting .424 with a 1062 OPS since his June promotion to AA (59 ABs) which followed his .309/.359/.442 start at St Lucie. But between my own impatience and then seeing that BP just named him #15 on their mid-season Top-50 prospect rankings (taking out all those who graduated since the pre-season lists - BA named him #18 on their similar mid-season update) well, I didn't wait. From BP: #15 - Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets Why He’ll Succeed: Rosario keeps getting better, every season. His ability to put on good weight without sacrificing athleticism enables him to stick at the six and rake at the plate, making him a threat on both sides of the ball. Why He Might Fail: Still a work in progress, the approach and an unusual hand path could falter against better arms and better spin. If the bat doesn’t develop as anticipated, it is still a major-league package, but not an impact one. Unmentioned there is that he won't turn 21 until November.

I thought it was time to seperate Zack's issues from Harvey's -- First of all, bravo for starting a new thread. Too often around here we act as if threads are an endangered species and so topics which merit discussion on their own wind up buried in the midst of some multi-page 'all-purpose' thread. "Is Zack potentially looking at TJ2 like Matz or some other ailment?" -- Matz didn't have a second TJS, he just took longer to recover from it than normal and ran into other issues while trying to come back. Recovery times vary and the timing of Wheeler's surgery (early in the spring) meant his was guaranteed to kill not just one season but also a chunk of the other. In his case an irritated nerve was the latest set-back (the ulnar nerve has to be moved during surgery then put back and nerves tend to frown at being moved and don't always adjust easily to their new/old location). Frustrating but it happens. "I just do not understand why pitchers are injured in serious ways so often. I would think the body was not designed for the torque of pitches and swings (baseball and golf) but I don't remember it being like this even after TJ was invented." -- Your second statement pretty much answers your first and the new generation of throwing harder than hard has only increased elbow injuries. Throwing more and harder as youths (travel teams, year-round baseball, etc.) are thought to be a factor in more and younger TJ surgeries. Throwing taxes ligaments and when you do that often enough they break. Such cases used to end careers with a "sore elbow" but now they're fixable. Suggested Reading: THE ARM: Inside the Billion Dollar Industry of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports -- Jeff Passan

Or bring him off the bench and have him hit a game-changing HR, either way.

Agreed. It's not clear whether he just happened to pass them in the hall and decided to let off steam or if he specifically went looking for them. That linked article also mentions Jim Joyce not recognizing Rizzo and having to ask who he was which seems kind of odd. Not that umps & GMs mix all that often but there are only 30 GMs and both guys have been around the game for a long time now.

Apparently Nats' GM Mike Rizzo got into a screaming match with the umps in a hallway after the game, complete with security guards intervening. Not surprisingly it was over the slide-rule call. Can't say as how I blame him. Not that I think he's right necessarily but there seems to be no consistency in how and if that rule is applied. Werth slid past the base twice yesterday and Revere did it once but only one of them wound up being called at of course it came in the 9th inning of a tight game. Whether this new rule is being applied by the letter of the law or subject to interpretation seems up in the air and I certainly can't claim to be able to predict it. http://nypost.com/2016/07/08/nats-gm-ump-get-heated-in-shouting-match-after-mets-game/

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Nice ballpark in Jupiter! That's the one you can see from the orbiting Juno satellite, right?

dinosaur jesus wrote: Best win of the year. I said the same thing a couple days ago, but this one may just have moved into the lead.

Is this an umpire challenge, a Nats challenge, or did Don Mattingly figure he had one more challenge left and just called the stadium?

Lefty Specialist wrote: Boy, Reed has just been so solid this year. I'd vote for him over Trump or Hillary. In fact, I just may write him in.

That's an awful lot of faith in Lugo who has 2 innings in the majors and a 6.50 ERA in AAA.

Solis'ya later, Sammy. Would have been an even better inning if we didn't hand him one of the two outs he was able to get.

Ugh. I disagree w/Keith about Jose having a good jump. I think he was going to be out no matter which way he ran.

d'Kong76 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: That wasn't that bad a throw, as much on Flores as on Bastardo. Yeah, Wilmer had some concrete shoes on there or something. I think he was expecting a lob toss and got some version of the express.

That wasn't that bad a throw, as much on Flores as on Bastardo.

Ollie hit .147 as a Met -- 23 for 156

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: I didn't realize JD Drew was even still playing. Did he mean Steven Drew? Yes, it's Stephen. Tim Drew also no longer playing.

Harvey at first seemed determined to 'work through' his partially torn UCL rather than go through surgery back when it was his elbow that betrayed him so I suspect his first instinct will be to try his gosh-darnedest to avoid the knife here too. I apologize for my strong language.

[fimg=120:1dcez3ks]http://d3k2oh6evki4b7.cloudfront.net/req/201604090/images/headshots/2/2d528d35_mlbam.jpg[/fimg:1dcez3ks] You've been Wilmer'd

HOLY WILMER!!!!

Gary continuing to get his anti-Murph digs in: "nothing we haven't seen before"

I have no idea what the rules of this game are anymore.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Harper is really strong, kids. About as strong as Travis. OK I'd probably bet on Harper in a weightlifting contest, but the results were the same.