4/8/2013 Reds at Cardinals

[Brutus]

Is there such a thing as a clear attempt to take out a player without it being dirty? I think we see it all the time at 2B. As you and I have observed, he did change the angle of his run exactly as Molina caught it so it was clear he was trying to take out Yadi. I don't know if it was dirty though because of the lack of spikes.

Yeah that's the point I'm getting at. I think taking a player out is perfectly fine as long as you're not doing it to injure someone. If you're not going at the knees or trying to cleat someone, then taking someone out is a good baseball play.

If he were trying to plow over a defenseless player, go at the knees of another player or simply having his spikes up in the air, I'd have a real problem with the play. But he did none of those things.

Simply sliding in at a player can give a split second for the slide to be completed as the natural instinct is to brace for contact. Heisey probably thought he was dead to rights so that's likely what he was doing. In hindsight, if he slides away from contact, he would have certainly been better off in that situation.

[MikeThierry]

I think the Red Zone Investigators have rested their case here. I'm in agreement with you two

[redsmetz]

There's nothing dirty about that play. He didn't have his cleats up in the air. He didn't try to injure Molina. He simply tried to slide right into Molina's legs. That's how it's actually taught.

Now, granted, he would have been better off trying to slide away from Molina in this case, but it was not a dirty play.

That was my thinking on me referring to it as a stupid play. He might have been safe had he slid outside to touch the plate.

[kaldaniels]

I think the Red Zone Investigators have rested their case here. I'm in agreement with you two

Now to try the lesser count of "being a bonehead".

[Maldez]

I'm convinced Heisey made his mind up the only way he could score was to blow-up the catcher and knock the ball free. Either that or his GPS malfunctioned.

[Brutus]

Now to try the lesser count of "being a bonehead".

Guilty as charged.

[Brisco]

A-Choo did his best to lose the game, but the Reds prevailed.

Totally disagree... Today may have been Choo's most impressive game... After two huge errors, he had the maturity to shake it off and start and continue the 9 th inning rally. To me that take an impressive amount of discipline and moral courage.

[MikeThierry]

Now to try the lesser count of "being a bonehead".

Maybe I'm a bonehead for saying that the Cardinals bullpen would be better this year. Starters have been good, offense has been good, bullpen... not so much. Seems like a trend since 2011.

[MikeThierry]

Totally disagree... Today may have been Choo's most impressive game... After two huge errors, he had the maturity to shake it off and start and continue the 9 th inning rally. To me that take an impressive amount of discipline and moral courage.

What ever makes you sleep better at night...

[kaldaniels]

Maybe I'm a bonehead for saying that the Cardinals bullpen would be better this year. Starters have been good, offense has been good, bullpen... not so much. Seems like a trend since 2011.

For clarity sake you do know I was referring to Heisey right?

[MikeThierry]

For clarity sake you do know I was referring to Heisey right?

Oh right...

[SweetLou1990]

Or did Heisey just get outsmarted at the plate by Molina? The smart play is to dive to his right and just get his left hand across the plate. I've never seen a runner lose his bearings (or GPS), but that was an awful attempt at dis-lodging the ball, if that is what it was.

[MikeThierry]

Or did Heisey just get outsmarted at the plate by Molina? The smart play is to dive to his right and just get his left hand across the plate. I've never seen a runner lose his bearings (or GPS), but that was an awful attempt at dis-lodging the ball, if that is what it was.

So you're saying Molina has skills of a ninja? :P

[Brisco]

If some how Zod came down from Krypton and infused the Cardinals players with superhuman powers, there would be 0% chance the Cardinals come back from this one.

Kneel before Zod!

[MikeThierry]

This is a very interesting, if not intriguing, tid bit about today's game:

There have been 6 instances where a team has scored 9 runs in an inning in one game and the next game given up a 9 spot in one inning and the Cardinals have done it 3 of those 6 times.