Thursday, July 22, 2010

Wednesday Notes

  • Remember the Mattingly Misstep? Well, thanks to the fine print of the rulebook, the umpires erred in ejecting Jonathan Broxton. But since the Dodgers' interim manager Don Mattingly didn't protest, the umpires' error stands:

    Rule 8.06(b) states: "A second trip to the same pitcher in the same inning will cause this pitcher's automatic removal from the game."

    However, Rule 8.06 Comment says: "In a case where a manager has made his first trip to the mound and then returns the second time to the mound in the same inning with the same pitcher in the game and the same batter at bat, after being warned by the umpire that he cannot return to the mound, the manager shall be removed from the game and the pitcher required to pitch to the batter until he is retired or gets on base. After the batter is retired, or becomes a baserunner, then this pitcher must be removed from the game."

    The mistake was discovered after the game in a rehash with league umpiring evaluators.

    If the Dodgers had protested the game, there is a chance the protest would have been upheld and the game replayed. The Dodgers did not protest the game.

  • Meanwhile, the Dodgers continue to feel the effects of this loss, as MLB suspends Clayton Kershaw and Joe Torre for their roles in the scheme to retaliate against the Giants; Tim Lincecum, the Giants' ace (who had thrown at Matt Kemp earlier in the game), got shelled but did not end up taking the loss thanks to the Dodgers' implosion. Said ESPN.com:

    Major League Baseball suspended Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw for five games and manager Joe Torre for one game Wednesday for intentionally throwing at San Francisco Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand on Tuesday. Both also received undisclosed fines.

    The punishment was announced by Bob Watson, vice president of on-field operations for MLB. Kershaw and Torre were ejected in the seventh inning of Tuesday's game at Dodger Stadium after Kershaw hit Roward with a pitch. Giants starter Tim Lincecum had hit Matt Kemp with a pitch in the fifth after brushing him back on his previous offering, and plate umpire Adrian Johnson issued a warning to both benches.

    Kershaw has decided to appeal the decision, so his suspension will not take effect until the appeal process is over. Torre's suspension is set to be served during Wednesday night's game at San Francisco, while Schaefer's is scheduled for Thursday's game versus the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

  • Kershaw, who didn't get the win, continues his growth, says the LAT's Helene Elliott. Yikes, maybe he should have that growth looked at by a doctor.
  • But wait, not all is lost! We've always got schadenfreude. The Padres' MSB--the original MSB--is out with a calf strain (espn.com)

6 comments:

rbnlaw said...

Ah, schadenfreude, you never let us down.

Kyle Baker said...

He strained his tiny little calf? How cute. Put a little Snoopy band-aid on his boo boo.

Kyle Baker said...

Torre has already served his suspension.
Clay will appeal and likely get it reduced so that the team will time the suspension so he won't miss a start.
Schaefer won't be missed tonight.
Life will go on, plus we got to plunk someone.

Net positive.

Josh S. said...

I'll miss Schaefer. He's like my baseball grandpa.

Kyle Baker said...

I love the concept of a baseball grandpa. The Don Zimmers of the world. You want to sit on their lap and have them teach you to whittle and give you penny candy.

rbnlaw said...

Yeah, but the trade-off with Zimmer was tobacco juice stains on your shirt.