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OT: Chase Utley

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He didn't slide until after the bag so he should have been called out. That said, no suspension Utley was within the distance where he could have tagged the bag with his left hand.
 
You have to be braindead to think there was nothing wrong with that slide.
 
Not remotely interference. He was in the base path and the contact happened after Tejada threw the ball. The injury was because Tejada was out of position due to Murphy's terrible throw.
390-slideweb-1010.jpg


What is it in Tejada's right hand if contact happened after he threw the ball?

My biggest point is that Utley never attempted to touch second base (even if he was close enough that he could have). There is no way he can argue that this happened while he was attempting to get to second safely so I can't see how it is not worthy of suspension (nor do I see how it isn't interference as all he did was make it impossible for the shortstop to throw the ball to first).
 
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8893 said:
The irony will be if he gets suspended, which is what they're talking about now.

The only person who will benefit is Utley, because it will protect his coward ass from retribution. He's a bench player for them and it does nothing to correct the result for the Mets.

You can call Utley a lot of things but coward ass is not one of them.
 
Not remotely interference. He was in the base path and the contact happened after Tejada threw the ball. The injury was because Tejada was out of position due to Murphy's terrible throw.
Never threw the ball.

Just wow.
 
Not remotely interference. He was in the base path and the contact happened after Tejada threw the ball. The injury was because Tejada was out of position due to Murphy's terrible throw.
This is all true but starting the slide almost at base level ain't remotely kosher. He just wasn't sliding to get to the base. It's gone on for over 100 years so it's nothing new but a rule change is in order. BTW there are a ton of injuries from sliding runners every year. Mets were just snakebit because of when it happened.
 
jibsey said:
This is all true but starting the slide almost at base level ain't remotely kosher. He just wasn't sliding to get to the base. It's gone on for over 100 years so it's nothing new but a rule change is in order. BTW there are a ton of injuries from sliding runners every year. Mets were just snakebit because of when it happened.

How's it "all true"? The ball never left his hand.
 
You can call Utley a lot of things but coward ass is not one of them.
We'll see if he enters the batters box! Have watched the play numerous times. I fail to see a slide. Utley leads with his shoulder and hits Tejada about thigh high. I hope the Mets don't lose anyone important tomorrow when the benches empty!
 
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UConnDad said:
We'll see if he enters the batters box! Have watched the play numerous times. I fail to see a slide. Utley leads with his shoulder and hits Tejada about thigh high. I hope the Mets don't lose anyone important tomorrow when the benches empty!

I'm not saying it wasn't cheap. It was without a doubt and it was also the wrong call by the umps. But as a guy who had Phillies season tickets for every season but one Utley was in philly I can confidently tell you Utley is probably in the managers office begging to start tomorrow. There was a reason he led the league in hit by pitches 2 or 3 years in a row. He plays hard, sometimes dirty, accepts the consequences and is never a coward ass about it.
 
I'm not saying it wasn't cheap. It was without a doubt and it was also the wrong call by the umps. But as a guy who had Phillies season tickets for every season but one Utley was in philly I can confidently tell you Utley is probably in the managers office begging to start tomorrow. There was a reason he led the league in hit by pitches 2 or 3 years in a row. He plays hard, sometimes dirty, accepts the consequences and is never a coward ass about it.
Didn't say he was a coward. Just want him in the batter's box. Will make things interesting.
 
UConnDad said:
Didn't say he was a coward. Just want him in the batter's box. Will make things interesting.

My bad, thought I was still responding to the original poster I quoted.

Can't say I blame you with wanting to see that. Enjoy the rest of the postseason. Hopefully it's better umpired.
 
I'm a Phillies fan, and an Utley fan; so take my post accordingly.

Utley should have been called out because he never touched the bag.

The play wasn't dirty though. The rule sucks and Utley took advantage. The rule requires that the runner be within reach of the bag when he slides, and Utley was within reach (as he went by).

The rule should require that the runner end his slide within reach of the bag. Utley made no attempt to end up safe at second, but the rule does not require him to do so.

Sucks the way it turned out, sorry to see anyone get hurt.

As far as retribution; the Mets should focus on winning the series. If they want to pluck Utley they should do it next year (if Utley is still around). Although, If Utley is playing second and a runner comes in hard Utley is fair game.
 
I won't call it a dirty play, but it was sure wreckless as hell. Then umps made it worse by declaring him safe.

Someone in Dodger Blue is goinfg to pay a price for that slide.
 
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Met fan, obviously don't like Utley. And I agree, it really wasn't dirty. I turned to the people with whom I was watching at the bar and said "the MLB has never called against it, so this BS is what happens."

At least he didn't pick up his cleatin the air like a certain QB once did ;)

*getspopcornready*
 
It's "dirty" anyone saying otherwise never played the damn game. Now whether Utley intended it do be dirty when he began to take action no now knows but him. But the fact he hit his leg before he did anything close to being called a "slide" (which it wasn't not close) it's a dirty and unacceptable play period this has no room for opinion. He broke his freakin leg not because of some freak play he broke it because the move ended up making to take him out was "dirty"!
 
Philly people gonna Philly. That's what they do and he is the poster boy for it. He's the same as the guy who bites shoulders in soccer. And MLB is going to make this a point of emphasis now because even the most villainous players in the game know that this is not how you play it.

I am hearing it from players at all levels, from friends who are deeply involved in the game to national players. People who even used to defend him but now say they can't. They have lost any respect they had for him. And these are not Mets fans--far from it. They are just baseball people, players and fans.

He's a dirty player and that was a dirty play. He is a coward because he was gutless and hit the guy from behind when he was defenseless, and he didn't have the sac to man up after the game and say he made a mistake--if that's what it was.

Worst thing is that someone else like Seager, who is a good young player, is probably going to pay for Utley's bush league crap. Utley's just a bench player now, and hurting guys with dirty plays is all he's got left in his bag of tricks.
 
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I'm a Yankees fan, so no love for either team.

From what I saw, Utley's slide was late and way off the basepath. There was no intent to get to second base. Not only was his only goal in disrupting the play (sliding way off of the basebath), by being so late late and high, he exponentially increased the likelihood of injury to the Short Stop and/or himself. Heck, Utely's helmet likely kept him from being knocked-out cold.

Torre basically had to suspend Utley because 1) his play was likely to cause injury, intended or not, and 2) the umpires blew it big time.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/p...at-ruined-everybodys-night-except-the-dodgers

Being a Yankees fan from the '80, I love Mattingly; but his comment - "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" is wrong. That type of play needs to stay in the '80's.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2015...uspended-2-games-slide-broke-ruben-tejada-leg
 
This is all true but starting the slide almost at base level ain't remotely kosher. He just wasn't sliding to get to the base. It's gone on for over 100 years so it's nothing new but a rule change is in order. BTW there are a ton of injuries from sliding runners every year. Mets were just snakebit because of when it happened.

Which is why that 'type' of slide has been banned in youth baseball, high school baseball, and college baseball. I think it's even banned in minor league baseball (got to protect the millions invested in those 18 year old arms and legs). At those levels, the slide must in in the basebath and into the base, not to the side at all.
 
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The irony will be if he gets suspended, which is what they're talking about now.

The only person who will benefit is Utley, because it will protect his coward ass from retribution. He's a bench player for them and it does nothing to correct the result for the Mets.

Exactly, and also if he were playing in City Field he would get stuff thrown at him by drunk Mets fans, not to mention he would need major security around him in NYC.
 
He should also be suspended game 5 as well, I think the main reason Torre decided to suspend him games 3 and 4 so he wouldn't have to play in NY. The whole scene would have been an circus.
 
The whole scene would have been an circus.
Get ready for the circus. Looks like the appeal won't be heard today, so he'll be able to play tonight.

Amazing coincidence that the TV ratings will likely skyrocket, right?
 
No dog in this hunt (Yankee fan)...but I'm disgusted with the demonization of Chase Utley. Chase Utley has been a great player and team mate in his career, and has been nothing but a credit to the Phillies organization Utley's motivation was simply to aggressively stop the double play and his intent was to go in hard. There was nothing illegal about it. Utley had no intention of hurting Tejada and I'm sure he feels really bad about it. Utley may not have instantaneously realized that Tejada would spin and try to complete the double play either, which directly led to the broken leg. The Mets would be stupid to try and get retribution during the rest of the playoff series and smarter to wait to next Spring.
 
No dog in this hunt (Yankee fan)...but I'm disgusted with the demonization of Chase Utley. Chase Utley has been a great player and team mate in his career, and has been nothing but a credit to the Phillies organization Utley's motivation was simply to aggressively stop the double play and his intent was to go in hard. There was nothing illegal about it. Utley had no intention of hurting Tejada and I'm sure he feels really bad about it. Utley may not have instantaneously realized that Tejada would spin and try to complete the double play either, which directly led to the broken leg. The Mets would be stupid to try and get retribution during the rest of the playoff series and smarter to wait to next Spring.


You don't have to have intent to injure for the play to be dirty. It was reckless -- that's more than enough for me -- and not the first time he's done something similar. I have no issue punishing the result as that's the risk you take with a play like that.
 
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