Comments from Buster Posey:
"I do feel like, looking at the replay, and from where I normally set up on the plate, that there was probably a lane to slide. Now I want to make this very clear. … I'm not out to vilify (Scott) Cousins in any way whatsoever. It happened; it's over with. But I think my main point I want to get across is that I just think a play like that is something that has to be looked at by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players' Association."
—Giants catcher Buster Posey on the collision at home plate with Florida's Cousins, a play that probably has ended Posey's season.
After hearing Posey's comments regarding the play, and some of the others listed below, it seems as if the winds of change may be in the air. Once again, we are dealing with a bit of a clash of cultures or generations colliding -- old school versus new school, in a sense.
Many former players and coaches want to see the status quo maintained. Many current players have had most of their playing careers covered by a "no contact at the plate" type of rule set. Youth leagues, high schools, even college ball has rules in place to minimize contact. The oft-misunderstood "must slide" rules are in play at virtually all levels below professional.
So there will be some debate, but ultimately if baseball can protect some of its marquee players from unnecessary and preventable injury, then they should do so.
It does seem as if Cousins made a bee-line for Posey rather than the plate, but with the game on the line and the current rule set and customs in place, I cannot fault him too much for that. It does seem as if Posey did not have enough time to brace for the hit. He may have been rushing to make the catch, block and tag, only he knows for sure.
The following pics posted by a fan over at McCovey Chronicles blog show fairly clearly what happened in the final milliseconds.
The catcher cannot block before he has the ball and can brace for the collision.
The base runner must take a path directly to the open plate.
It's really that simple.
And the umpires will adjust. Youth and HS umpires across the land make this sort of judgment call all the time.
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From YahooSports.com
Matheny critical of Cousins’ hit on Posey
By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer
May 30, 5:26 pm EDT
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-posey-mathenyreax
“You know what, it wasn’t a dirty play, he didn’t come high spikes, he didn’t come high elbow,” Matheny said Monday. “But it wasn’t a necessary play. He was hunting. Buster gave him an option and he didn’t take it.”
Matheny, who won four Gold Gloves, isn’t in favor of rules changes to protect catchers and believes hard contact plays at the plate are just part of the game. But he said Cousins had an opening to slide while Posey was defenseless while awaiting a throw and instead hit him in the opposite shoulder.
“I don’t think you legislate,” Matheny said. “I think you just put a mark in the column that that kid took a run at a catcher. To me as a catcher I know the next time I get the ball I’m going to stick it to him.
“You make those notes as a catcher.”
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From YahooSports.com
Sun May 29 11:37am EDT
John Baker: Posey injury should lead to rule changes about sliding
By John Baker
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/John-Baker-Posey-injury-should-lead-to-rule-cha?urn=mlb-wp8044
This situation with Buster Posey has been a hot topic. What Scott Cousins did was in no way dirty, malicious, or outside of his rights as a baserunner. Second, what Buster Posey(notes) did on defense was exactly right. Both men put their respective teams before themselves and sacrificed their bodies in their attempts to win the game.
Without a doubt, the context of the game must be taken into account; this was the go-ahead run, and Cousins made sure it scored. While the injury is devastating, it is also the collateral damage of being a team player. I respect men who play the game hard and in this case, both did.
The best proposal I have heard is this: If the runner is forced to slide, then the catcher cannot be allowed to block the plate (like the collegiate rule). Because throws aren't always on line, contact still will happen, but I can't disagree that everyone would be safer.
Where else in sports can you get a 90-foot head start and run full speed into a grossly under-padded target looking in a different direction? Not the NFL, NHL, NBA, or even the fighting sports. In mixed martial arts and boxing, both combatants understand the rules. Buster Posey never even had a chance to "protect himself at all times."
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