I apologize for the last couple of days. Some evil nerd went all Acid Burn on me and took down my host server for two days. I just hope that whoever it was finds whatever it is that they are looking for in life.
To be honest, I don’t really feel like writing about the Rockies right now. I’ve been trying, but all I can do is type expletives. The only positive from the last few days is that after last night’s debacle, they DFA’d Jose Lopez. My worst nightmare is that he ends up accepting a trip to Colorado Springs. The Jose Lopez experiment failed miserably and it’s time to move on. I’m just glad they made the decision before June.
Here in the next couple of days, I plan to write something about the state of the Rox, but for today I’m going to discuss the unfortunate Buster Posey situation.
Anyone that roots for opposing players to get hurt kind of sucks as a human being. I want the Rockies to win their first division title this year and I want it to happen with the Giants fielding their very best team. Obviously, that can’t happen now. However, I have a problem with the way Bochy and Posey’s agent have responded to the injury. It was a clean play, period.
Yesterday, Buster Olney wrote of the need to change the rules in order to protect the catchers. I’m not completely on board with that. Olney is correct in saying that home plate collisions are far too risky and not worth the resulting injuries. I’m pretty sure every Giant fan in the world is wishing that Posey had let Scott Cousins score on that play. However, it was Posey’s decision to sit on his knees in front of the plate without the ball. And, despite what his agent says, he was in front of the plate and he should’ve been prepared for a collision.
The most basic point of all this is that when a catcher blocks the plate without the ball, they are assuming the risk. It makes no sense for the baserunner to surrender themselves in that situation. They have just as much right to the dish as the catcher.
Generally, I’m all for player safety, but any regulation on home plate collisions needs to make sense and I’m not sure how they can accomplish that.
I’d like to open up some discussion about this. Is there a way to effectively protect catchers and still keep the game’s integrity intact? Please comment and let me know what you think.
(Again, I’m sorry for the recent inactivity around here. I’m working hard to get the site back to normal.)
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4 comments
Mark Reed
May 27, 2011 at 10:12 AM (UTC -6)
I agree with you 100%.
Pat Sauer
May 27, 2011 at 5:00 PM (UTC -6)
It’s too bad about Posey, but that does happen sometimes. I’m sure he knew the risk every time he donned the guards. I don’t think the rules need to change, but maybe the technique that catchers prefer to employ needs some refinement. I don’t think it’s written anywhere that they have to be a tackling dummy.
In terms of Lopez, O’Dowd gambled, and this time he missed. We’ve seen how a change of scenery helped Betancourt and Hammel. In this case, it didn’t.
Cole C.
May 28, 2011 at 4:40 AM (UTC -6)
Loving the expletives comment, in the same boat. The only question I have is how did it take me this long to find a Rockies blog.
Jerry
May 28, 2011 at 7:25 AM (UTC -6)
I’m in favor for some type of change for greater safeguarding of the catcher in these situations. At one time catchers didn’t wear face-masks; outfield walls were not covered with protective padding; hell, players didn’t even wear cups. What about invoking the college rule wherein players are only allowed to slide-into a base (feet-first) rather than loading up momentum for a full-frontal impact? This would still provide drama at the plate and materially reduce the risk of serious injury. And, it would NOT impact the “fabric of the game” … the oft-used phrase of traditionalists who never want ANY change in the game.