Buck on Jordan Baker

[mdbdotcom]

OK, maybe did I misread the statement. That said, I still can't see what would possess ANYONE to think that Ubaldo should remain in the game after that pitch. Even as an Orioles fan, taking off the black and orange blinders, it's pretty clear to me.

Had this been in reverse and Chris Davis had committed a hard slide into 2nd and then in his next AB he gets plunked on his very first pitch by a Boston pitcher, you can bet fans here would be crying bloody murder that he should be thrown out.

As for keeping the game under control, yes, Jordan Baker caused a little shakeup with the ejection call. But that game could have gotten way further out of hand had that been allowed to continue. Jordan Baker made the right call.

It's hard to believe that any rational human being believes that was intentional, no matter how many paragraphs you right about your opinion.

[weams]

OK, maybe did I misread the statement. That said, I still can't see what would possess ANYONE to think that Ubaldo should remain in the game after that pitch. Even as an Orioles fan, taking off the black and orange blinders, it's pretty clear to me.

Had this been in reverse and Chris Davis had committed a hard slide into 2nd and then in his next AB he gets plunked on his very first pitch by a Boston pitcher, you can bet fans here would be crying bloody murder that he should be thrown out.

As for keeping the game under control, yes, Jordan Baker caused a little shakeup with the ejection call. But that game could have gotten way further out of hand had that been allowed to continue. Jordan Baker made the right call.

You won't have the last word on this. It's not your argument that is flawed, it is your view of events.

[TonySoprano]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Os don't think MLB will take any action regarding last night w Baker. Buck spoke with Joe Torre today</p>— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) <a href="

">April 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Nevermore]

What mistake did the ump make? I don't care what Ubaldo says, he CLEARLY intentionally hit the guy. He may not have meant to hit him as high as he did. But the plunking was intentional. And plunking needs to be removed from the sport. It's not a message. It's dangerous.

And you know this how? How can you deduce that the hit batsman was intentional? Ubaldo was pitching a no hitter with the score 1-0. There were 2 outs and he was having a few control problems (4 walks). The last thing that Ubaldo would have wanted to do was put someone on base. Even Sandoval (the victim of this "intentional hit") didn't think that Ubaldo hit him intentionally. At the very most, the umpire could have issued a warning, not immediately eject him.

[Nevermore]

OK, maybe did I misread the statement. That said, I still can't see what would possess ANYONE to think that Ubaldo should remain in the game after that pitch. Even as an Orioles fan, taking off the black and orange blinders, it's pretty clear to me.

Had this been in reverse and Chris Davis had committed a hard slide into 2nd and then in his next AB he gets plunked on his very first pitch by a Boston pitcher, you can bet fans here would be crying bloody murder that he should be thrown out.

As for keeping the game under control, yes, Jordan Baker caused a little shakeup with the ejection call. But that game could have gotten way further out of hand had that been allowed to continue. Jordan Baker made the right call.

Had it been the reverse, with a different umpire, what probably would have happened after the Boston pitcher hit Davis, the umpire would have issued a warning. And most fans would have accepted that as reasonable.

[Nevermore]

Only when it's clearly intentional. First pitch of Sandoval's first AB since the hard slide from earlier and it happens to be 5 feet inside and hits him on the back of the shoulder. The ball was closer to his head than the plate. Heck, it was closer to the ground than the plate too. Sandoval wasn't exactly crowding the plate. Heck, he was about as far back he could be. And he still got plunked nearly on the back.

People want to read into body language. Well, if we're going to play theories, I'll say my theory is that he meant the ball to be a bit lower. I don't think Ubaldo meant to hit him in or near the head. But he certainly was gunning for him. Major league pitchers don't intentionally miss by that much. And again, if it wasn't intentional, he still shouldn't be in the game because then he's a danger to everyone if he can't' control his pitches to within a yard of his spot.

Then he should have been banned from a lot of games in the 2014 season -- and believe me, there were a lot of Os fans who wanted him off the team. Ubaldo was having extreme control problems last year. Buck didn't put him off the team, just out of the rotation, so that Ubaldo could get some help with his mechanics.

Ubaldo has greatly improved his control this year. But once in a while, the control problems will come back. And believe me, he is not the only pitcher with a history of control problems. Do we ban all pitchers with control problems?

[glorydays]

If the ump was concerned that the hard slide and the O's reaction to it was going to lead to a bigger incident - and felt that if a bigger incident were to occur he would automatically throw out a player... he should have issued a warning to both teams after the slide.

[Aristotelian]

I am inclined to think that he hit him on purpose. I agree with Hokie there. But what I think is irrelevant. Intent can never be proven. The right call is to warn both sides, then if anything questionable happens you can eject anybody you want on the spot.

[weams]

Had it been the reverse, with a different umpire, what probably would have happened after the Boston pitcher hit Davis, the umpire would have issued a warning. And most fans would have accepted that as reasonable.

Absolutely. Happens all the time. It turns out that Jordan was looking for retaliation when there was obviously none. He put his own agenda into the game and game himself a name and fame.

[weams]

I am inclined to think that he hit him on purpose. I agree with Hokie there. But what I think is irrelevant. Intent can never be proven. The right call is to warn both sides, then if anything questionable happens you can eject anybody you want on the spot.

He's a convincing arbiter. I just watched it again. No chance Ubaldo intended that.

[weams]

If the ump was concerned that the hard slide and the O's reaction to it was going to lead to a bigger incident - and felt that if a bigger incident were to occur he would automatically throw out a player... he should have issued a warning to both teams after the slide.

No question. Total blown call in many ways.

[weams]

And you know this how? How can you deduce that the hit batsman was intentional? Ubaldo was pitching a no hitter with the score 1-0. There were 2 outs and he was having a few control problems (4 walks). The last thing that Ubaldo would have wanted to do was put someone on base. Even Sandoval (the victim of this "intentional hit") didn't think that Ubaldo hit him intentionally. At the very most, the umpire could have issued a warning, not immediately eject him.

No one really believe that Ubaldo hit a batter in that situation intentionally.

[MurphDogg]

He's a convincing arbiter. I just watched it again. No chance Ubaldo intended that.

Based on Ubaldo's body language it sure didn't seem intentional. His arm flew up afterward as if to indicate that he had badly missed his spot. He didn't stare him down or anything like that. Maybe Ubaldo is just a good actor and planned ahead.

[MarylandAaron]

Was anyone even upset about Sandoval's slide before the HBP? It looked like a normal takeout slide to me.

[weams]

Was anyone even upset about Sandoval's slide before the HBP? It looked like a normal takeout slide to me.

I was concerned until Schoop was not hurt. I frankly had forgotten about it. And I hold a grudge.