Dirtbag
Dickass
Douchenozzle
Gritmeister

After seeing that replay, there’s really nothing to add to this. Ridiculous.

Just complete BS. I wish we we’re playing the Phils tomorrow so Niese could plunk him.

is that Arod has been called bush league for the slap of the glove. He will never live it down. But Dick Torino, he will be applauded and called hard edged by the stupid talking head media and will not be called out for this.

Did any of our announcers advocate hitting him in the neck with a pitch? I’m guessing ‘no’.

and Karl Ravech or whoever was like “Jose Reyes interferes with Victorino here” and then precedes to talk about the cap bump between the umpire and Jerry Manuel and show that in slow motion.

is this real?

<img src="[IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/nnkwau.jpg[/IMG]"/>

i’d like to punchersize his face for a dollar

But the little league helmet-wearing cocksucker needs to get drilled the next time these teams meet. I’m tired of his act. I’m sorry that he’s upset that his shit team can’t beat the Mets anymore. Stick it in his ear!

So I didn’t make it through all 3,000 comments (but I really did try to read them all).

Why are any of us still talking about about what’s technically allowed in the rule book? vs. what’s not? vs. what should be? The only place on the field where you’re allowed to lower a shoulder and hockey-style check a guy is at home plate (where the guy is wearing pads).

It’s been a couple hours now, so I’ve had some time to cool off. (Holy lord was I pissed earlier, though.)

Anyway, despite my own anger/frustration/whatever… I have to say this: it’s the first week of May, and I am already very, very tired of the woe-is-me, “This [bad luck / bad call] wouldn’t happen to anyone except us!” thing. Yeah misfortune sucks. But this broken record really sucks.

Waaahhh, boo hoo, we didn’t get yet another call. I know a lot of calls don’t go our way. But can we all grow up and stop acting like it’s a conspiracy?

OK, so the obstruction rule looks unfriendly to the Mets in this case. But isn’t there any provision somewhere in the rulebook that says it’s not OK to elbow a player?

Also, I still don’t see why 7.08(a)(1) can’t apply. At one point Dick Torino steps on the infield grass, then he moves at least three feet toward the outfield in the course of pushing away Reyes, while he is also running away from Delgado, who, until he throws the ball to second, is attempting to tag him. Unless there’s some very strict interpretation of the rule that bars that reading, it certainly seems like it could apply here.

Not to wade too deeply into this topic, but it strikes me that the umpire’s ultimate discretion on this play was whether or not there was “obstruction” to begin with. The MLB rules define “obstruction” as “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”. If the runner throws himself at the fielder out of possession, as Vic Torino did with Reyes, the fielder is arguably not “act[ing]” to impede the progress of the runner. Thus, no obstruction and no base awarded. If the fielder fails to move, or moves into the path of the runner, it is clearly obstruction and the runner should be awarded the base. But in a situation where the runner moves himself to create the obstruction, I don’t buy the argument that the umpires are without discretion in this situation to let the play continue.

Also, uh, Vic Torino is a douchelord and can suck so many assholes.

I think it’s best if we just all agree that Torino is a little bitch

After some time to think about this, I feel a bit better. Not so upset at Torino anymore, and understand that the rule is what it is, even if its misguided. My feeling is, at this point, if the rule is to be re-examined, it needs to be under this scope: The Mets executed that play last night as well as possible, and well enough to earn themselves two outs. They were punished for that execution, and in baseball, or any game for that matter, a team/player should never get punished for good execution by the rules. That’s just my feelings about the theory behind the game and the rules, and in this situation, that feeling was contradicted, and therefore, IMO, it needs to be addressed.

The best comparable example in spirit and mechanic to this rule I think is the HBP rule. The HBP rule exists to protect the offensive player (in this case the batter) both from injury and disadvantage, and the penalty for breaking the rule is that he is awarded one base. However, the batter can also take advantage of this rule, allowing himself to get hit, thus earning a base. However, there is another rule in place, that gives the umpire discretion to accuse the batter of “not trying to get out of the way,” and thus not awarding him the base.

In the obstruction rule, much is similar. It is designed to protect the offensive player (in this case the baserunner), both from injury and disadvantage. The penalty for breaking the rule is that he is awarded one base. And much like the HBP rule, the baserunner can clearly take advantage of this rule to try and cheaply earn himself and his team a base. And again, the baserunner can attempt to take advantage of the rule to earn a base, as Torino did last night. Just like the HBP rule, and the caveat that the batter must attempt to get out of the way, in this case, there should be a similar provision in place.

Okay, now that that’s out of my system, winning streaks are awesome! Seriously, this team has been fun to watch for the last week and they’ve been very impressive, especially the SP (finally).

turned into a train-wreck.