The Blocking The Plate "Issue"

[Tailback U]

Have you ever played baseball before? Just curious. As a runner when you are rounding 3rd you have a split-second decision to make. You ask yourself: Do I have a better chance at being safe if I try and slide around the plate, or should I try and knock the ball out of the glove? Cousins chose to try and knock the ball out of the glove because if Posey catches the ball he is an easy out at home plate. The problem with this play is that Posey dropped the ball, but at that time Cousins was nearing Posey already.

If Posey catches the ball, Cousins is an easy out. Obviously we know that he dropped the ball and made this play look a lot worse than it actually was.

We can go through all the slow motions of a replay and say that he had a lane to go in etc, but base-runners obviously can't stop the play and look for the best option. They have to make a split-second decision and go for it.

It was a perfectly clean play.

I've never played baseball before and I completely understand what you're saying, I'm fully aware that the base runner doesn't have much time to think about what he wants to do. Which is part of the problem because 9/10 times the base runner is going to kill the catcher rather than go for the plate.

I also think that it is ignorant to think that this isn't a debatable issue like some fans do. Just because the game has been played with this rule in place for the last 120 years doesn't mean that it shouldn't at least be discussed and analyzed.

Again, my issue is that Posey really wasn't blocking the plate and Cousins was going to drill him either way. I understand that he made his decision while rounding 3rd and that is where I think the issue lies. I put no blame on the baserunner for his decision or action, but maybe the umpires need to get together and call the guy out or something if he trucks a catcher who isn't blocking the plate.

Like I said, I've never played baseball and I'm far from a diehard fan so I hold your guys opinion higher than mine, but do you guys think Posey is blocking the plate here?



I mean look at the way Cousins is launching himself into Posey. He's off the path to home plate, isn't he?

Also keep in mind that Posey was still looking at the ball until the very last moment in which Cousins drilled him. So he wasn't blocking the plate and he wasn't even looking at Cousins until the very last moment, but the baserunner was going to kill him either way.

[Tailback U]

If the outfielder doesn't Juan Pierre it or Posey catches it like he should have this is a non issue. Even that neither of those things happened, guess what? It's a non issuse.

The outfielder was Nate Schierholtz, who has one of the strongest arms in the league. I'm sure Cousins knew this as he was rounding 3rd, which most likely influenced his decision to truck Posey.

And you're wrong because this obviously is an issue or we wouldn't be talking about it right now.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I've never played baseball before and I completely understand what you're saying, I'm fully aware that the base runner doesn't have much time to think about what he wants to do. Which is part of the problem because 9/10 times the base runner is going to kill the catcher rather than go for the plate.

I also think that it is ignorant to think that this isn't a debatable issue like some fans do. Just because the game has been played with this rule in place for the last 120 years doesn't mean that it shouldn't at least be discussed and analyzed.

Again, my issue is that Posey really wasn't blocking the plate and Cousins was going to drill him either way. I understand that he made his decision while rounding 3rd and that is where I think the issue lies. I put no blame on the baserunner for his decision or action, but maybe the umpires need to get together and call the guy out or something if he trucks a catcher who isn't blocking the plate.

Like I said, I've never played baseball and I'm far from a diehard fan so I hold your guys opinion higher than mine, but do you guys think Posey is blocking the plate here?



I mean look at the way Cousins is launching himself into Posey. He's off the path to home plate, isn't he?

Also keep in mind that Posey was still looking at the ball until the very last moment in which Cousins drilled him. So he wasn't blocking the plate and he wasn't even looking at Cousins until the very last moment, but the baserunner was going to kill him either way.

He is launching himself into Posey to dislodge the ball from Posey...its the way its taught. If he's in your way and you are in your rights on the basepaths, destroy if need be. Much like a defender in football is taught to dislodge the football from the receiver.

Cousins was tore up about it too...he's a nice dude and was legitimately upset he hurt Posey.

[moneyman255]

Cousins thought Posey was going to catch the ball, so he was trying to knock it out. Nothing wrong with that except that Posey dropped the ball. He didn't know that prior to the collision though.

[Tailback U]

Yeah, I agree that it's just an unfortunate event and nothing more.

I just don't want to see more catchers get hurt like this but I guess that's just the way it is and nobody feels the need to change anything right now.

That said, if we do we see a guy or two suffer season ending injuries like this in the next couple of seasons then I think the MLB will end up implementing something.

[Mogriffjr]

This is stupid...

he trucked him and his LEG got messed up...it's not like he made Posey concust or anything.

It was unfortunate...he went to dislodge the ball and posey didn't catch it. Cousins blew him up, Posey's leg went awkwardly, now the Giants are bitching.

[Guest]

I want to hear Sabean apologize for his comments. Even Johnny Bench has said Posey put himself in the wrong position, and I'll take his opinion over everyone elses. It certainly sucks, but Posey misjudged the play and position he put himself in, and with Cousins trying to make a play as well.......this happened.

Hall of Famer Johnny Bench says Buster Posey's season-ending injury was the result of a mistake -- on the Giants catcher's part.

Bench, who knows all too well the physical toll of playing catcher in the major leagues, says preventing collisions at the plate is a major key to the success of any catcher.

"Buster was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award (as the top collegiate catcher in 2008) and is a great kid -- I called him after the World Series last year," Bench told the Tulsa World this week. "When I heard about the injury, I was anxious to see how this happened. Buster put himself in such a bad position."

Posey, last year's NL rookie of the year, was knocked out for the season on a play at the plate with Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins last week, a sequence that resulted in widespread, vexing rhetoric -- and apologies from both sides.

Bench, a spring training instructor for the Reds, was playing in his third All-Star Game in 1970 when Cincinnati teammate Pete Rose barrelled over Ray Fosse at the plate for the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Fosse, a rookie catcher for the Cleveland Indians, was seriously injured on the play, his promising career permanently scarred.

"First of all, my catchers don't sit in front of home plate. They stand away from home plate and work back to the plate," Bench told the Tulsa newspaper. "But we (catchers) are just fair game. You've got a guy running around third base at 210 to 220 pounds with 3 percent body fat and with sprinter's speed."

Cousins, a rookie, has been receiving death threats despite repeatedly apologizing for the May 25 collision that left Posey with a broken bone in his lower left leg and three torn ligaments in his ankle. He's had surgery and is done for the season.

"I teach my kids to stay away from the plate when you don't have the ball so the runner actually sees home plate and his thought is, slide," said Bench, who has undergone hip replacements on both legs in the past seven years after a 17-year career that ended in 1983. "But Buster is laying in front of home plate, and it's like having a disabled car in the middle of a four-lane highway. You're just going to get smacked."

Posey has said he felt Cousins could have slid around him but also said it was a legal play.

"Show them the plate," Bench said. "You can always catch the ball and step, or step and catch the ball, as long as you've got the runner on the ground. And if you have the runner on the ground, there's less chance of any severe collision."

Giants general manager Brian Sabean criticized Cousins on his weekly radio show, calling the play malicious and unnecessary. Sabean also said "if I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy."

Sabean's comments got the attention of Major League Baseball, and executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre spoke with Sabean on Friday. The Giants also issued a statement saying Sabean's comments were made out of frustration, and the GM was trying to reach Cousins.

"We intend to move beyond conversations about last week's incident and focus our attention on Buster's full recovery and on defending our World Series title," the team said in the statement.

Cousins also issued a statement Friday and apologized again for the collision.

Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez said before Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers that he doesn't have to defend his young outfielder because Cousins didn't do anything wrong.

"As a team we don't have anything to say," Rodriguez said. "If people want to keep talking about that, let them talk."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6625504

[NAHSTE]

Sabean definitely crossed the line with blasting Cousins like that. It's fine to call him out a little bit but that was a full on bitch fit. Not a good look for a GM. It's funny that across the bay Billy Beane told Kurt Suzuki to stay the fuck out of the way. If Sabean is so pissed about this, maybe he should tell his catchers to do the same.