Orioles in 1st place

[weams]

[weams]

Darren O'Day to MASN

"I don't think the standings necessarily are a big deal yet. We are a proud team and we won the division last year. It's going to be a challenge with everyone coming for us, but we've been playing better baseball lately. We knew we would, it was just a matter of time."

[scOtt]

Darren O'Day to MASN

"I don't think the standings necessarily are a big deal yet. We are a proud team and we won the division last year. It's going to be a challenge with everyone coming for us, but we've been playing better baseball lately. We knew we would, it was just a matter of time."

[video=youtube;4g8gC8OfqzE]

[Rene88]

Nobody is out of this division, that scares me. The Sox could make a couple of moves and they may awaken. Moreso with Evil Empire, they will def make moves.

Someone will break away, but who?

Toronto scares me the most.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Malike]

First place.

[Rich Mac]

Going to be at least one more. Yanks are off today and 1/2 back. Even a loss won't knock us out of 1st. Of course, a win would be nicer.

Amusingly, ESPN dropped us down below the Yankees in the standings. I shouldn't have expected anything different - they probably just did it alphabetically

[El Gordo]

Back in first place thanks to Joey bats little dirty trick. Check this out: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/170622448/new-slide-rule-impacts-blue-jays-rays-ending

[weams]

[clapdiddy]

Back in first place thanks to Joey bats little dirty trick. Check this out: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/170622448/new-slide-rule-impacts-blue-jays-rays-ending

I don't like the rule, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

[crissfan172]

I don't like the rule, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

I don't like the way the rule is written, but I fully support them trying to stop people from sticking their arms out to trip people.

[harp6]

I don't like the rule, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

"My feet were aiming straight at the bag," Bautista said. "I felt like I was within reach. I didn't go directly at him. As far as I understood, I was assuming contact was still OK and obstructing his path was still OK as long as you stayed within reach of the bag and your feet were headed towards the bag. I feel like I respected the rule, felt like it was absolutely a clean slide. It's just disappointing and somewhat embarrassing to lose a Major League Baseball game [that way]."

Bautista did not know that intentionally tripping a fielder with hands was also illegal under the old rules and still is illegal without the new rules. When I saw it I was reminded of the Arod swatting the glove incident.

They did not need the new rule in this case. It is interference similar to the Arod swatting the glove situation. Bautista intentionally grabbed at the foot of the fielder to trip him. Even with the old (still in existence) interference rules, if a baserunner willfully and deliberately interferes with a ball or fielder with obvious intent to break up a double play, then the batter is also out and it becomes a dead ball at that point. It would have been up to the umpire to decide if it was willful or deliberate and it also had to look obvious. Under the interference rules, it was hard to decide if a break up slide into second base was willful or deliberate as long as they were in reach of the bag and didn't do something stupid like Bautista did. But even under the interference rule, if the player grabs a foot with his hand to intentionally trip the fielder, or grabs his jersey to yank the fielder down, or swats at the arm to break up the double play, then it would have been classified as deliberate and the player would be called out at first for a double play. In slow motion, it was very obvious that Bautista intentionally grabbed at the fielders foot to trip him and even under the interference rules, it should have been called interference. But I think under the interference rules, interference still would have not been called last year in that situation. In live action, it is hard to see that it was deliberate. Under the interference rules, even though it was a violation of rules to intentionally trip a player like that, I don't think that it would have been reviewed and watched in slow motion. I think with the emphasis of the new rules, it was challenged and was in violation of the new rules and the existing (old) interference rule.

Edited April 6, 2016 by harp6

[24fps]

There is no player in baseball I despise more than Bautista. Not, ARod, not Ortiz, not even Papelbon. Very satisfying to watch that video.

[Aristotelian]

Roid ragers have a hard time controlling their actions and following the rules.

[weams]

Roid ragers have a hard time controlling their actions and following the rules.

It's not their fault. Addiction is a disease. I used to be angry with Ortiz as well about the phone. Now I just feel sad that he does not have the help in his life that he obviously needs.

[Bahama O's Fan]

Let's never let this go! All the way to game 162!