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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2021 6:37:07 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Manny Machado’s legal but dangerous slide into Tommy Edman’s ankle raises questions
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald May 18, 2021 at 5:41 a.m.
Here’s what baseball doesn’t need: the San Diego Padres interrupting their incredibly enjoyable takeover of the sport because of a stupid play that could’ve ended a guy’s season, if not career.
Manny Machado technically did nothing wrong on Sunday night.
He got caught in between first and second with a defender running at him, so he slid directly into the left ankle of Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman, breaking up any double-play opportunity while narrowly avoiding a gruesome injury.
The play was legal. The Cardinals looked at the umpire for a second, wondered if it was interference (it wasn’t), and moved on. Machado checked on Edman, they tapped each other as if to say, “no problem,” and then shook it off.
Major league players, current and former, went on social media to defend Machado. One of his current Padres coaches, former Cardinals infielder Skip Schumaker, told MLB.com that Machado executed the play exactly as he was taught.
Maybe that in itself is the problem here.
Machado could’ve snapped Edman’s ankle. The longtime Orioles superstar began his slide with his right foot, which he pointed directly at Edman’s left ankle. Even after watching the replay from every angle, it’s hard to tell if Machado went in with his spikes or hit the ground before he caught Edman’s foot. Either way, it was close to resulting in a nasty injury.
Here's the full Manny Machado slide play for more context pic.twitter.com/8MDtdzqVu3
— Jomboy Media (@jomboymedia) May 17, 2021
The question is not if Machado is a dirty player. There are videos of him roll-blocking Orlando Arcia, spiking Dustin Pedroia, kicking Jesus Aguilar, throwing his helmet at Josh Donaldson and throwing his bat at Fernando Abad to help someone make up their mind on that one.
A better question is why Major League Baseball has gone to great lengths to reduce injuries at second base, but teams are still teaching their players to slide into any defenders in their way while running from first to second? Is that really the most efficient method of interrupting the play?
This isn’t to imply right or wrong; merely a question worth asking as we look to protect the next generation of young stars and keep the most talented players on the field.
If it wasn’t Edman, but a superstar middle infielder who had his ankle nearly destroyed by Machado’s slide on Sunday night, there might have been a different reaction across the game on Monday.
Oftentimes you’ll see the runner freeze, or turn around and run back to first to best interrupt the second baseman in that spot. It forces the defender to chase the runner back to first or throw to one of the bags. With this method, there’s little chance of injury, no chance of being called of obstruction and a greater likelihood of delaying a double play.
That the Padres are teaching their players to slide into any fielders in their path seems counterintuitive to Rule 6.01(j), which was put in place in 2015 to limit injuries at second:
Rule 6.01(j): 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;
(2) is able and attempts to reach the base with his hand or foot;
(3) is able and attempts to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide; and
(4) slides within reach of the base without changing his pathway for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder.
Machado appears to have violated a few of these, but he technically wasn’t sliding into second base, so there was no obstruction.
Cardinals pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim looked frustrated.
“I thought the one on Machado going to second base, that was baserunning interference, but it was safe at first base,” Kim told reporters after the game.
On the ESPN broadcast, Alex Rodriguez, a shortstop and third baseman during his career, said definitively that it wasn’t a dirty play. Former players Adam Jones and Trevor Plouffe were among those to agree with Rodriguez via social media.
If it’s illegal for a runner to take out a fielder’s legs near second, why is it perfectly fine to do it 20 feet before the bag?
It was just four years ago that Machado’s spikes-up slide into Pedroia’s leg essentially ruined his career. Pedroia, who officially retired this year, said he’s “not upset about anything anymore.”
He didn’t seem terribly mad at Machado at the time, either. When Matt Barnes threw near Machado’s head, Pedroia infamously appeared to yell, “it’s not me, it’s them,” towards the Orioles dugout.
Machado has since been involved in some other controversies. Sunday, he was simply doing what he was coached to do.
Illegal or not, it was the kind of dangerous play that could’ve altered a player’s career.
The Padres don’t need that. MLB doesn’t need it, either.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2021 12:37:49 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 19, 2021 2:04:00 GMT -5
so we now have 5 no hitters after Turnbull's last night and the Mariners have been no hit twice in their barn
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 19, 2021 3:31:27 GMT -5
If they get some pitching help prior to the deadline and a healthy George Springer then look the hell out for the Blue Jays IMO.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 19, 2021 7:57:18 GMT -5
Funny how the scribes who wanted Erod signed to an extension are quiet today.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 19, 2021 13:08:33 GMT -5
Jonathan Papelbon has a funny reason for not regretting leaving the Red Sox Current Time 0:40 / Duration 18:46
By Tim Kelly, Audacy Sports 2 hours ago
Jonathan Papelbon holds the rare distinction of being the all-time saves leader for two franchises - the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.
However, Papelbon left a Red Sox team that was an annual World Series contender after the 2011 season to join a Phillies team that had been one in the preceding seasons. But while Papelbon was excellent statistically in three-and-a-half seasons with Phillies, the team never posted a winning record during the lifespan of his four-year/$50 million deal.
That acknowledged, the six-time All-Star says that he doesn't have any regrets about leaving Boston after parts of seven seasons, and his reasoning is pretty funny.
"No, there were no regrets because as y'all well know, Bobby Valentine showed up the next year - and I don't necessarily know if [that would have worked out]," Papelbon admitted to Ben Ennis and JD Bunkis of Sportsnet.
"I don't know if that would have really worked out. I had Dustin Pedroia calling me every other day bitching and complaining."
Valentine - who had previously managed the New York Mets to an appearance in the 2000 World Series - replaced Terry Francona as Red Sox skipper following a second-half collapse in 2011. For all that went wrong late in 2011, the Red Sox still won 90 games. A year later, under Valentine, they finished in last place in the American League East, going 69-93. Valentine was fired after just one season.
That the players weren't fond of Valentine in 2012 isn't exactly a revelation. Pedroia was forced to deny a report late in the season that he had been part of a group of players who told management that they no longer wanted to play for Valentine. Red Sox icon David Ortiz said in his 2017 book that the year under Valentine was "the worst season of my career," despite the fact that he personally slashed .318/.415/.611 that season.
The Red Sox made quite a few veteran additions - Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes - before the 2013 season, but it stands to reason that their biggest move that offseason was hiring anyone else but Valentine to manage. John Farrell was hired to manage the team, and in his first season at the helm, the Red Sox won 97 games and a World Series title.
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Post by Kimmi on May 19, 2021 16:50:42 GMT -5
If they get some pitching help prior to the deadline and a healthy George Springer then look the hell out for the Blue Jays IMO. Obviously, I'm still pulling for the Sox.
But I'd MUCH rather the Blue Jays win the division than the Yankees.
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Post by Kimmi on May 19, 2021 16:53:30 GMT -5
Jonathan Papelbon has a funny reason for not regretting leaving the Red SoxAll-Star says that he doesn't have any regrets about leaving Boston after parts of seven seasons, and his reasoning is pretty funny. "No, there were no regrets because as y'all well know, Bobby Valentine showed up the next year - and I don't necessarily know if [that would have worked out]," Papelbon admitted to Ben Ennis and JD Bunkis of Sportsnet. "I don't know if that would have really worked out. I had Dustin Pedroia calling me every other day bitching and complaining." That is hilarious.
I have always liked Papelbon.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 19, 2021 17:08:13 GMT -5
If they get some pitching help prior to the deadline and a healthy George Springer then look the hell out for the Blue Jays IMO. Obviously, I'm still pulling for the Sox.
But I'd MUCH rather the Blue Jays win the division than the Yankees. I do not get all the reaction and hype on the Yankees They have Cole and that is about it pitching wise.
A closer who shits the bed in big spots
a line up that cant stay healthy.
A skipper who is a big doofus.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 20, 2021 2:23:06 GMT -5
so we now have 5 no hitters after Turnbull's last night and the Mariners have been no hit twice in their barn make that 6 no no's after Kluber last night
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 20, 2021 2:27:03 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 20, 2021 3:20:32 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 5h Forty days.
April 9 - Joe Musgrove April 14 - Carlos Rodón (April 25 - Madison Bumgarner) May 5 - John Means May 7 - Wade Miley May 18 - Spencer Turnbull May 19 - Corey Kluber
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h Nothing is going to change until the mound is moved back.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 20, 2021 7:19:56 GMT -5
Peter Gammons @pgammo · 3h Three months back, "what are they thinking?" snarks @ Kluber, Gausman, Richards, Greinke contracts. 30 12 3 3 7 30 last night.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 20, 2021 9:47:37 GMT -5
Chad Finn @globechadfinn · 1h Maybe Jordan's should give away free furniture if the Sox don't throw a no-hitter.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 20, 2021 10:03:21 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 56m Best wishes to all the babies born in the last 12 hours who haven't seen a no-hitter.
It'll happen, just have faith. Tonight, early next week maybe. Hang in there.
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