We found the above image at the website, DougEddingsIsADouche.com. It is not quite FireJoeMorgan.com, and the site is actually defunct, but for a league where not many umpires’ names are even known, it can’t be easy to have a hate-site in your name.
This is what happens when the Rays have an off-day after a bad loss…
Click on above image for a larger version…
It has been close to 20 hours and we feel no better now than when AJ Pierzynski created a phantom interference call supported by Doug Eddings.
OBSTRUCTION (from MLB official rules): Obstruction is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.
As can be seen in the images above, Willy Aybar is not “in possession of the ball” and he is not “in the act of fielding the ball”. So the question then is whether or not Aybar “impedes the progress” of Pierzynski. We needed the still-frame above to even determine if contact had actually occurred.
Clearly Pierzynski is initiating the contact. That should end the discussion, right? Nope. We get this interpretation from umpire Ted Barrett following the game:
“As a runner, you’re allowed to (make contact). What Doug ruled at second base was, even though A.J. did kind of stick his arm out to make contact, Aybar was still in his way, so A.J., if he would have turned, he wouldn’t have been able to continue on to third. So after making the throw, Aybar is no longer in the act of fielding and he can’t obstruct the runner…”
Is there any difference between this play and the time Alex Rodriguez slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove in the ’04 ALCS? Sure different situations. But ultimately the runner’s responsibility is to advance to the next base and should not initiate contact with a fielder unless a fielder is blocking the runner’s path to the base.
Where does it stop? Is it OK for a runner rounding first base on a routine single to alter their path by a few steps to initiate contact with the first baseman and be awarded second base? And if not…Why is it, in the words of Barrett, ok for Pierzynski to make contact?
Did Aybar “impede the progress” of Pierzynski? His progress where exactly? Progress from falling backwards on his own fat ass?
And the umpire should not be bailing out a runner that was stupid enough to get himself into the situation in a first place. Aybar did not hinder the runner. Aybar did not impede the runner. Aybar did not cause Pierzynski to be tagged out. This is no different than a basketball player that leaves his feet out of control and creates contact. A referee is not going to bail that player out with a foul call and an umpire should not be bailing a runner out when he gets himself in a pickle.
And to make matters worse, we had to watch this garbage while listening to the White Sox TV announcers. We have never hidden our disdain for the homerisms of Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson (although we like Jackson better than Tom Paciorek). And they were at their homerific best yesterday. While some announcers may watch a play and note that their team “got a break”, Harrelson and Co., repeatedly praised Pierzynski for his baseball “instincts”. Instincts? This play never happens if Pierzynski does not break a cardinal rule of baseball by trying to advance to third base on a ground ball in front of him.
From the White Sox broadcast:
Jackson: That is third baseman’s fault for not veering to the left and getting out of the way…I’m gonna tell ya. AJ’s got some of the best baseball instincts that you are going to come across anywhere.a few moments later after more Pierzynski ass-kissing…
Harrelson: I have had so many enjoyable moments watching him play, since he was a sophomore in high school, that he was doing stuff like that back then.
What is being said around the Blogosphere…
THE BAD: Shawn Riggans. This is just one reason why if (and that is a big IF), the Rays make the playoffs, we feel Mike DiFelice should be the Rays’ backup catcher. With 2 outs in the 9th and the Rays up 1 run, a single to left was fielded by Ben Zobrist who made a throw to the plate that 2-hopped Riggans, but still beat the runner by 10 feet. Riggans let the ball bounce off his mitt tying the game. Does Dioner Navarro miss that throw? Maybe. Does DiFelice miss that throw? We doubt it.
THE WORSE: BJ Upton. In 9th inning of a 1-run game take nothing for granted. With AJ Pierzynski on first base and no outs in the 10th inning, Upton went back on a flyball and allowed Pierzynski to tag up up and move to second. Before we bash Upton too hard, we noticed earlier in the game that the wind was playing havoc with flyballs, all the more reason for Upton to go back harder and then come in if needed. And Upton claims he was aware there was a chance of the tag-up saying: “Obviously, there was a chance he might tag. I just didn’t get my feet under me to get the ball in…I couldn’t get my feet set under me to make a strong throw.” We call bullshit. After he catches the ball, he takes two more steps towards the wall before even thinking about throwing it back in. It was just another case where Upton had his head stuck up his ass…And of course the Upton-apologists are at it again. You guys have to stop. And we are not saying that the people who think Upton is somehow responsible for children with cancer are any better. But Upton sometimes makes boneheaded plays. Occasionally…rarely even…he doesn’t hustle. To say otherwise is to ignore the obvious and suggests that either you are related to Upton or just aren’t watching the games…Not exactly the best timing for this article.
THE WORST: The Grim Reaper, Jason Hammel. We know Hammel has pitched better recently, but we call him the Grim Reaper for a reason. He should only be coming into games when death is imminent. We do not want Hammel within 500 feet of the mound when the game is still undecided. And we know we was hosed a bit but he still allowed AJ Pierzynski to get on base and he still gave up the winning hit.
THE WORSTEST: Doug Eddings. In the history of bullshit made up c***-sucking calls that was the bull-shitiest most made up c***-suckiest off all calls. It was like calling travelling with 3 seconds left or like a pass interference call on a hail Mary. Even if there is contact…and we still aren’t sure there was…you swallow the mother-effin whistle unless you are absolutely certain. Really, Doug? An obstruction call in extra-innings? Really? Did you really see that, or did you let AJ Pierzynski make the call for you?
THE MOST WORSTEST: Our first-ever stomach punch game as a Rays fan. It is the next morning and we still feel sick to our damned stomach. And there is no game tonight so we have to deal with this stench another day. We feel like the ump kicked us in the groin and then clubbed a baby seal while we were curled up in fetal position. This is maybe the worst we have felt since the Bert Emmanuel play in the 1999 NFC championship game.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
