Reviews

NY Times Had Great Weekend; So Did Mets -- 'Til Utley

10/10/2015

The Mets opened their series in Los Angeles Friday night and beat one of the best pitchers in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, with David Wright earning a 12-pitch walk in the first and then driving in two vital runs in the seventh. But you already know that.

(The Mets then got upended, in more ways than one, Saturday night. Plenty of opinions on that slide by Utley. See Comments below, and please add your own. But first, let's talk about the "paper" that made deadline two straight evenings with crazy stuff from LA.)

The other team that had a great night on Friday was New York Times, which delivered 115,000 copies of the paper, the version you can hold in one hand while eating a bagel with the other hand.

That paper was in my driveway in a nearby suburb at 7:30 AM – not bad for a game that ended after midnight. Tim Rohan, out in Los Angeles, completed his very readable article in a hurry and sent it to my friends in the Sports Department, who shaped it and sent it to the plant in College Point, Queens, where people were waiting for it.

We got it at 1:15. On presses at 1:26.
Overall, 98% on time, one late NJ truck by 3 mins.

That was my note from one of my friends in the handsome plant alongside the Whitestone Expressway.

The Times is doing quite well with its print edition, as other papers basically give up.

The coup on Friday night/Saturday morning reminds me of a similar night, Oct. 14-15, 1992, when Francisco Cabrera, an obscure Atlanta Brave, delivered the hit that won the National League pennant (and broke the hearts of a Pirate team about to be atomized by free agency.)

In the midnight hour, I found Cabrera in the melee on the field and rushed upstairs to write a column with a headline: His Name Is Francisco Cabrera.

A few hours later, I caught the first thing smoking, and was back in my driveway before noon. The paper was waiting for me. The column was in print.

I love the Web. I’m poking around on it all day. It’s the future. The Times does spectacular things on line. I also love print.

Look at the front page of the Sports Section Saturday – huge picture of Jacob deGrom, locks flopping, fastball flying, story by Tim Rohan, and below that two more excellent articles by esteemed colleagues -- Chicharito of Mexico by the Europe-based Sam Borden and the wretched sightlines at the hockey opener at the Barclays Center by Filip Bondy, recently departed from the fading Daily News, now doing the occasional piece for the Times.

The Mets would come back out and play again Saturday night. So would the Times. As one of my great bosses, Joe Vecchione, said a few minutes after the Times revamped in minutes on Mookie Night in 1986:

“We do it every day, Kid.”

Mark Weinrib

10/10/2015 02:23:13 pm

George. Fun piece. Also great to read that Mr. Bondy is back where he belongs

Brian Savin

10/10/2015 09:45:25 pm

One of the things I miss most about the city is when I find myself at Grand Central Station late on Saturday night but can no longer get the Sunday paper early edition for the now 2+ hour trip home. (2-0 Mets so far.)

I wonder if Wife of Mendel is saying things like my own about how each Mets pitcher looks cuter than the next? I tried to tell her they cut their hair and wear wigs. She doesn't believe me.

Mike from Whitestone

10/11/2015 12:27:27 am

Thanks GV, great stuff. Keep print alive.
Brian, the "bulldog" edition is still sent to Grand Central on Saturday Evenings. Surprised you can't get one. Hudson News or a nearby Starbucks. ....just sayin
Mets losing, Tejada done.
Ya gotta believe.

Brian Savin

10/11/2015 08:05:13 am

Mike, what time does the Bulldog start barking? Must be after 10. It used to be at the stand outside.

I'M OUTRAGED AT THE UMPIRING IN LAST NIGHT'S GAME ON THE DISPUTED PLAY. WHEN A RUNNER INTENTIONALLY INTERFERES WITH THE FIELDER -- AND THE RUNNER WAS NOT WITHIN REACH OF THE BASE -- HE IS CALLED OUT AND SO IS THE BATTER. REPEAT.... SO IS THE BATTER!!! IT WAS A DOUBLE PLAY, THE INNING ENDED, AND THE GAME SHOULD BE RESUMED AT THE TOP OF THE NEXT INNING WITH METS LEADING 2-1. IF JOE TORRE DOESN'T REVERSE THIS INJUSTICE, HE OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED AND HE WILL FOREVER BE REGARDED AS AS A CO-CONSPIRATOR.

time for my heart pills now......I wonder if the Children of Mendel would have the ear of the great one to call down a curse....coffee, coffee....

George Vecsey

10/11/2015 09:42:18 am

GV'S REACTION TO SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER IN LA:
(First, Mike from Whitestone is one of the people who make the presses and the trucks roll on time.)
I was watching USA-Mexico soccer muted, with Howie and Josh on the radio. I cut to the TV when Utley took Tejada down, and I have seen a dozen replays.. Here's my take:
The Mets have had trouble around 2B all season. I wrote about it a month or two ago. Too many people playing 2B and SS. Murph is gallant but something of a klutz, particularly when he gets away from fundamentals. His flip set up Tejada to be creamed. However, my son David, who knows the game at least as well as I do, says Tejada should have touched the base and settled for one out. That may be true; Tejada does not think quickly, either. Utley's slide was late, and he went wide, but it can be seen as the kind of National League ball that has been played by J. Robinson and A. Dark and F. Robinson and P. Rose and R. Hunt. Utley may yet be fined, even suspended, by Joe Torre of MLB, but if Utley makes that slide for your team, you applaud him for playing the game hard -- or maybe dirty. Imperfect storm. Tim Rohan's clear, urgent story was on my doorstep at 7:30 AM Sunday. The NYT still plays the game right. Your thoughts? GV.

ed goldman

10/11/2015 12:36:38 pm

how is it a "slide" if Utley. doesn't touch the ground until he's already past second? The appropriate rule in the book is all about intent giving the umpire discretion. SNY showed a past tape of Utley crashing into second [also Tejada?], and his first body part [other than his feet] to touch is also past second base.Let's take Brian's suggestion, and play the game over from the point of the vicious play. His slide was obnoxious even if his leg wasn't broken.

Mike

10/11/2015 09:12:55 pm

Good points George. I believe that the hard slide by Utley was similar to hundreds or thousands of other slides looking to break up a double play except for 2 differences; the flip from Murphy was behind Tejada leaving him vulnerable, Tejada decided to do a 360 spin causing his back to be to the runner as he started his slide. It appears that was when the injury occurred. Terrible chain of events leading to an unfortunate injury. Hopefully both teams will play baseball and may the best team win.

Mendel

10/16/2015 07:06:26 am

Unsure how many more 3-6AM innings Children of Mendel have in them. Living on espresso and coffee Ben&Jerry’s (Juerys).

Alan Rubin link

10/11/2015 11:31:18 am

George

I pleased to see that top-notch reporting is still available from a retired journalist. A two-night winning streak for the NYT printing plant near you is not the usual sports story.

However, I suspect that the combined efforts of your sports department and the printing plant in College Point were responsible for my Sunday NYT NOT being delivered this morning.

A four mile round trip to pick it up at the nearest store is a small price to pay for such excellence.

During the 20 years we had lived at 92nd street and CPW, we often picked up the Sunday paper late Saturday evening on our way home, always on the west side. Somehow, it was rarely available on the east side across Central Park.

I frequently noticed that the east and west sides of Central Park were two different worlds. My Upper West Side retail store customers would go downtown to shop rather than cross the park.

It was not uncommon for customers to move back to their native side because they could not adjust. One of the beauties of NYC is that is consists of thousands of little neighborhoods.

I'll be away in Madison, WI for this next week, so I will not be concerned about the affect the NYT's sports department and their printing plant's efficiency.

The important thing is that they have Met's wins to report.

Brian Savin

10/11/2015 11:36:44 am

Re the Bulldog: I was referencing the stand on the corner of 42nd and Vanderbilt. Aren't they closed inside?

Re the OUTRAGE: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety could not devise a set of bones able to withstand an assault of that magnitude. Utley didn't target the base; he targeted the shortstop and where he would be when he needed to release the ball. Even Pete Rose at his worst would almost always find a way to hide his intent. Utley doesn't bother. If there is to be sporting play in baseball -- and there are certainly clear rules -- this call should be reversed and the game replayed from that point. Yup, my team, but a thug is a thug and an assault is an assault.

Mendel

10/11/2015 03:45:18 pm

Imagine watching Utley make that “slide" at 6AM on an empty stomach. Children of Mendel are not pleased. Recuperate pronto, Ruben.

Ed martin

10/11/2015 07:17:23 pm

I share your delight in the extra effort by the print edition. Having been a long-time subscriber to the National edition, I have long Subscribed to the online edition as well and found the good news, bad news stories the last two nights here in the Hawaiian archipeligo. Aloha!

Brian Savin

10/11/2015 10:34:16 pm

Utley has been suspended for two games. Given that judgment by major league baseball, it follows that the umpire call was (obviously) unjustified. The Mets should protest the game, and they would be correct.

Mike

10/11/2015 10:52:11 pm

Mr Torre, like everyone, is entitled to his opinion. It will be appealed. Like I and Chase's agent have said, these slides have existed for generations. The only reason this is is even an issue is because Tejeda turned his back to the runner bearing down on him due to the poor toss by Murphy. The intent was to break up the double play, which Murphy did already, not injure.

Haruko Haeumi

10/12/2015 10:42:36 am

Hi George,
I saw Chase Utley's slide wasn't dirty. His barrel roll was a common action, like as I have seen since late 1970's on TV and live. If Ruben Tejada didn't hurt, nobody argue about it. I love hard slides and infielder's grand leaps, but opinions say it's dangerous. Am I an old-fashioned baseball fan?

George Vecsey

10/12/2015 11:29:42 am

Dear Haruko: I am right in the middle on it. It's a slide I have seen going back to my earliest days, watching guys like Eddie Stanky and Jackie Robinson slide hard -- and they were second basemen.
It is true -- Utley slid nowhere near second base, with intent to knock Tejada down.
Is that a slide that would be acceptable in Japanese baseball?
Ron Swoboda and Ed Charles are throwing out the first ball on Tuesday. I am meeting them for lunch at the place we visited.
best, George

Haruko Hasumi

10/12/2015 01:38:16 pm

Thank you for your information. Is Tuesday local time or Japanese time?

John McDermott

10/12/2015 05:21:34 pm

The Times should do something smart-hire Bondy asap and put him in charge of all their soccer coverage.

Gene Palumbo

10/12/2015 06:03:12 pm

This is from Brian Kenny’s blog. Could Mike, and others who see this as he does, tell us if they disagree with the rule, or with how Torre applied it in this case?

Mike, you're saying that there’ve been "hundreds of thousands" of other slides like THIS one?

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/154038044/chase-utley-slide-should-be-outlawed

If a baserunner slides hard and clean before the bag, and straight into it, those are the hazards of playing in a Major League infield. . . . [But] a slide like [Utley’s] not only shouldn't be allowed, it ISN'T allowed. . . .This rule was cited by Joe Torre in suspending Utley:

5.09 (a) (13) (Rule 6.05, 2014)
A batter is out when --
(m) A preceding runner shall, in the umpire's judgment, intentionally interfere with a fielder who is attempting to catch a thrown ball or to throw a ball in an attempt to complete any play:
Rule 5.09 (a) (13) Comment: The objective of this rule is to penalize the offensive team for deliberate, unwarranted, unsportsmanlike action by the runner in leaving the baseline for the obvious purpose of crashing the pivot man on a double play, rather than trying to reach the base. Obviously this is an umpire's judgment play.
* * *
If you are questioning whether Utley was trying to "intentionally interfere" with the "obvious purpose of crashing the pivot man on a double play," I would question your eyesight or your baseball judgment. Utley began to touch the ground at the far end of the second base bag. . . . I love the way Utley has played the game for years, but this was a dirty slide, a slide obviously against the rules.

The proper call here is interference: Utley should have been out, and so should the runner trying to score. The inning should have been over. I don't need to see if Tejada touched the base, or if Utley touched the base. Calling the rule properly, the inning would be over.

. . . . Only two seasons ago, Major League Baseball properly implemented a culture-changing rule that has all but eliminated what it deemed "egregious" collisions at home plate. . . . A rule had to be enacted to make [baseball] safer for catchers. It's a rule that worked. The rule for infielders is already there, clear as can be, and in black and white. On Saturday night, it needed to be enforced.

Brian Savin

10/12/2015 07:53:29 pm

Gene, well done! It is beyond sad that reasoned objectivity and reading for comprehension are lost arts. Indeed the thinking process and conscientious work ethic underlying clear established rules is being totally disrespected. Our current sports culture elevates lateist whim and rule disrespect as the new rule. Disgusting. If Mattingly plays Utley tonight he's not the man I thought he was.

Gene Palumbo

10/12/2015 08:21:44 pm

Just got this note from a friend: "Pete Rose said it was a not a dirty play --this from the guy who ruined Ray Fosse's career by drilling him at the platein a f***ing all-star game."

mike

10/12/2015 11:09:45 pm

Gene, I'm hoping you watched the entire Mets and Dodgers game and took in what Cal Ripken so elequently conveyed re the Slide during the bottom of the 6th. He's a Hall of Fame in many ways!

Gene Palumbo

10/13/2015 10:10:02 am

Thanks for replying, Mike. I live in El Salvador, and didn't have access to the game, but after reading your note, I did a google search and found this NYDaily News story about the exchange among the announcers in the TBS broadcast booth. Ripken's position was a minority report. The others who read this blog can judge for themselves whose arguments are more persuasive: Ripken's or Darling's and Johnson's. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/raissman-utley-tejada-incident-stirs-debate-tbs-booth-article-1.2393277

I also found this excellent piece, which I recommend to all of you: "Chase Utley broke a dude's leg, and the rules will eventually change," by Grant Brisbee, http://www.sbnation.com/2015/10/11/9496345/chase-utley-mets-dodgers-playoffs-slide

George Vecsey

10/14/2015 04:57:14 pm

was on with Brian Lehrer Tuesday and found myself quoting Billy Martin in the old Lite Beer commercials: "I feel strongly about it -- both ways." It's a play we've seen a thousand times -- the wide take-out slide. Now they need to make it clear what is legitimate.

There was a cabinet member, 30-plus years ago, who underwent a big congressional hearing, that produced nothing, and afterward he asked, something like, "Where do I go to get my reputation back?"
Given the Torre two0gane verdict, the Mets could be asking, "Where do we go to get the second game back?"

GV

Josh Rubin

10/13/2015 11:47:01 am

Well, as the saying goes, hitting well is the best revenge (or something like that).

Two additional takes on the slide. First, here is Slate with a series of video comps that walk through the nuances of dirty vs clean slides. Upshot, I think, is that breaking up the play is legit part of the game if you start your slide before the bag and before the out and you aim pretty much towards the bag. Risk of injury, however, results more from the position of the thrower than the legality of the slide.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/10/chase_utley_s_slide_was_dirty_here_s_the_video_proof.html

And here is 538 with a statistical analysis showing how Utley increased the probability of an LA win. the upshot is that the play itself had potentially series-turning value that far outweighed the cost of Utley's loss to the team.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/chase-utley-illegal-slide-dodgers-mets/

As always, I am enjoying the learned commentary here.

Mike

10/13/2015 01:29:03 pm

Good article Gene, thanks for sharing.

Brian Savin

10/14/2015 09:31:27 am

Nice point. But why don't the Mets protest the call and the game? Games used to be protested all the time (and announced over the loud speaker). This kind of constitutional timidity could get you into trouble, like giving in to someone's persistence and investing with Bernie Madoff or something.

Here again is rule 7.09(f) and (g): http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/runner_7.jsp

When does "discretion" become abuse when not exercised? This play is my candidate for the example, as my last garbled post tried to say. The rule is precisely, literally on point.

Oh well, at least the outcome of baseball games is less predictable than what comes out of the mouths of political candidates. The game properly trumped last night's debate.

George Vecsey

10/14/2015 09:44:36 am

Debate?

Comments are closed.

NY Times Had Great Weekend; So Did Mets -- 'Til Utley

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