04/26/24
August 21, 2009
Jays' pitcher makes "brain freeze" error: Jays' pitcher Cecil tosses a loose ball into dugout without asking an umpire for time. There is video; let me know if it doesn't come up.
Dumb play, but not as big a deal as Yahoo made it out to be.
I wonder if a baseball team could refuse to take the extra bases. It's a cheap way to advance. Unlike a balk, which would disadvantage the batter if the umps didn't call them, there's no compelling reason I can see why that mistake should result in two bases for the batting team.
posted by rcade at 02:34 PM on August 21, 2009
Ultimately a non-issue, since the Sox pounded the Jays 8-1 on several homeruns, so it's not like this play was similar to Fred Merkle's famous gaffe.
I think the reason for two bases is the same reason for most of those "live ball thrown out of play" situations or a ground rule double: theoretically, the runners could keep advancing until the ball was back in play, but since it's not coming back into play the rules make it a compromise "two bases" rule.
In this case though, the rule is probably the sum of two separate base awards: the throw itself was a balk (although a dumb balk call because the spirit of the balk call is to prevent the pitcher from tricking the runners through fake motions, and this was clearly not intended to fool the runner) sending Bay to 2nd- good heads up by Ortiz to start waving him over- and then 3rd base was awarded on the ball going out of play.
I was actually listening to this game (btw, the MLB app for the iPhone is a phenomenal deal; $10 for the whole season, and you can listen to all games, both home and away feeds, with the extended game day and video highlights built in), and was kind of dumbfounded when the announcers described it. The Red Sox announcers were quick to identify what happened, though they like everyone else weren't sure what happened. But again, it was more a comic "wtf?" moment in an otherwise thorough trouncing.
posted by hincandenza at 03:08 PM on August 21, 2009
It was 1-1 in the 4th inning, so it wasn't a blowout at that point in the game. After the error he seemed to fall apart.
The Blue Jays aren't going anywhere, so sure, not a big deal in the big picture. But I don't think I'd ever seen a play exactly as that one, so it was pretty amazing. You can watch baseball for 35 years and then see something completely different. Just another reason I love baseball.
posted by justgary at 04:30 PM on August 21, 2009
This type of play happens every now and then in the majors. A couple of years ago an outfielder casually flipped the ball into the stands thinking he had just caught the 3rd out, when in fact there were only two outs. A base runner scored on that play.
Given that the game was so lopsided, it wasn't that big of a deal.
The reason the umpires needed to discuss this case is because a wild pitch that goes through, or off of, the catcher into the dugout is a one base advance. Whereas a live ball that is thrown into the dugout (or stands) that is not a pitch is a two base advance. Clearly this was not a pitch. From my coaching days we always called it the 1 plus 1 rule. You get the base you're going to, plus one more. In this case it seems excessive since the runner wasn't actually trying to advance at all, however in most cases it's a fair rule.
posted by dviking at 04:37 PM on August 21, 2009
Time for a rules clinic. There was no balk on the play. In order to balk, the pitcher has to be on the mound, when he's off the mound, as Cecil was, he's an infielder. (Catchers can be guilty of a balk too, but that's another story.) The play is a live ball thrown out of play, thus a two-base award from the time of the throw.
If a fair batted ball goes out of play after bouncing in the field of play, the award is also two bases, but this time it is from the time of the pitch. The distinction can be important, for example if a runner is on the move from first base and reaches second before the ball goes out of play, he still gets 3rd.
One other point of confusion is that an award for a pitch or pickoff attempt from the mound by a pitcher goes out of play, it is only a one base award.
In short, the rule on awards for balls out of play is one of the most confusing rules in the book.
posted by Howard_T at 04:39 PM on August 21, 2009
This type of play happens every now and then in the majors. A couple of years ago an outfielder casually flipped the ball into the stands thinking he had just caught the 3rd out, when in fact there were only two outs. A base runner scored on that play.
Type of play yes. A pitcher that gets the ball from the ump, drops it, then slings it into the dugout, not so much. It's easy to lose track of outs, so the play your mentioning does happen now and then. Maybe I've missed them, but I believe this play is much more rare.
Given that the game was so lopsided, it wasn't that big of a deal.
It ended lopsided. This is where actually watching the game trumps reading the final score. It was quite obvious the pitcher lost all concentration after the mistake. This was a tie game in the forth that took a hard turn after his gaffe. If this had been a post season game the play would have been huge.
posted by justgary at 05:09 PM on August 21, 2009
Watching the video replay, I was struck by how the announcers are just blathering on and on while the event unfolds, instead of paying attention to the game and calling the action as they see it. (Nationwide telecasts are the worst offenders.)
It's almost as if they feel like their clever stories are being interrupted by the game.
"....and Eric Bruntlett just made an unassisted triple play to end the game..Now where was I? Oh right. It was Christmas Eve in 1979 and I was driving to my parents' lodge outside of Poughkeepsie when- you should have seen this moose!"
posted by mikemacman at 08:31 AM on August 24, 2009
The present General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays' entire tenure with the team has represented a ''brain freeze" .
I can forgive Brett Cecil his error, J.P. Ricciardi, not so much. October 5th cannot come quickly enough for Blue Jays fans.
The headline from Yahoo!Sports seems just a touch over dramatic as well.