Baseball Musings: Manny Robbed, Screws Up

October 18, 2007

Manny Robbed, Screws Up

After the Red Sox hit into their ninth double play of the series, Ortiz walks and Ramirez hits what appears to be a home run off the top of the wall in right center. Manny doesn't run, thinking the ball is gone, but it's so close the ball bounces back on the field and the umpires call it in play. Ortiz scores from first, but the lolly-gagging Ramirez ends up at first with a single. Manny watched the ball rather than run it out. Of course, it's not the end of the world if the Red Sox lose.

Lowell strikes out, so it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Update: According to the broadcast, if the ball hits the yellow line, it's not a home run. The yellow line is part of the wall, separate from the shelf behind. It sure is tough to tell from the replay, but the ump probably made a good call. All the more reason to be upset at Manny for not hustling.

Maybe someday they'll remake Airplane with Manny taking on the Abdul-Jabbar role. :-)

Posted by David Pinto at 09:21 PM | League Championship Series | TrackBack (0)

Comments

That wasn't his home run trot. He hit a fly ball to right that should have been caught. The wind pushed it out, and Manny was surprised by it...

Posted by: Lyford at October 18, 2007 09:31 PM

Not to defend Manny, but if that ball was hit into the gap, he's on second or third by the end. He only lollygags when the ball is hit directly over the head of a fielder... either it's gone (I've only seen him wrong once) or it gets caught. He should hustle in case of an error, but still - we're talking about a very very small incremental harm to his team.

The rules as stated online say it should be a home run if the ball hits "over the yellow line". I'm assuming this means hits the yellow line OR ABOVE. If that's the case, there is absolutely no excuse for the umps to blow this call. A ball cannot be going downward and strike a vertical wall and bounce UP. It's physically impossible. The fact that the ball bounced upwards is pretty clear evidence that it was a home run. This happened to JD Drew earlier in the year - a ball hit off the top of the monster, the flat part that's kind of like a countertop for the front row seats. It bounced up and back onto the field. Had it hit the vertical wall, it would have bounced DOWN.

So umpires not understanding physics cost the Sox a run in the postseason, and 10% of JD Drew's home runs this year. Embarassing.

Posted by: Mike at October 18, 2007 09:33 PM

Is the salient question top of the wall vs. beyond the wall? What exactly is the ruling supposed to be on a ball that hits the top of the wall? If that ball hit the top and then went out, that would be a home run, right? Or not? I was under the impression that if it hit the top of the fence, it would be a home run regardless of which direction it goes, but Buck is saying that (a) the ball hit the top of the wall, and (b) that they made the right call.

Either way, it gave Manny another opportunity to look like an ass.

Posted by: Adam Villani at October 18, 2007 09:35 PM

That's what I thought, Mike, in which case I agree with you -- I can't see how they could think it didn't at least go off of the top of the wall. If it were a matter of whether it hit the top vs. whether it went out, that'd be a difficult question. If the rules say the top of the wall is out, then I don't know how they blew that call.

Posted by: Adam Villani at October 18, 2007 09:40 PM

All right, I took a look at the ground rules online:
"Fair batted ball that travels over the yellow line on top of the outfield wall (on the fly): HOME RUN."

Does "over" mean "completely clears" or "over the line separating the yellow from the green part"? The wording is kind of ambiguous, but if it's consistently interpreted in the former way, then they made the right call.

Posted by: Adam Villani at October 18, 2007 09:45 PM

I don't think it's ambiguous. The line, just like a line in tennis or volleyball, is several inches wide; it's not a geometric line with no width. To go "over" it means to clear the yellow completely.

Posted by: Tor at October 18, 2007 10:00 PM

It makes no sense to paint a line on a wall such that it is several inches wide on both the vertical part of the wall, and the horizontal top. Having the line exist on the top of the wall just allows for weird stuff like this. What if the ball hit the exact same spot on the top of the wall and then bounced into the stands instead of back onto the field? That would, according to Tor's interpretation, be ruled a double!

What about those vertical lines that determine home runs on angled walls? If the ball hits that line, is it a home run or is it in play? It was always my assumption that if it hit these lines, it was considered a home run. I had thought it was the same for the horizontal lines.

Posted by: Mike at October 18, 2007 10:37 PM

Leave it to Fox commentators to ride Manny. What a bunch of ass-wipes, just like their bias and rascist talking heads that parade at prime time trying to pander their non-stop propaganda.

They should add Potty Mouth Coulter to their baseball booth which I am sure would delight their knucklehead viewers.

Posted by: Tony at October 18, 2007 11:03 PM

"Ever seen the inside of a Turkish prison?"

Posted by: mraver at October 19, 2007 02:48 AM

I think it's incredibly condescending, you might say racist, to suggest that one can't criticise a black man when he doesn't hustle. Repeatedly.

Manny poses like a jerk, maybe costs his team in an elimination game; it's Fox's fault!

Oh, the state of public education in America. I want my tax dollars back.

Posted by: dd at October 19, 2007 08:10 AM

Pathetic T-bag Tony, You are a clown. Racist? Because he put in no effort? Interesting, are we to assume that folks like Manny are not supposed to try? Cultural? Disgusting, pandering line of thought, you sicken me as much as a klansman.

Posted by: Tony Sucks at October 19, 2007 09:06 AM

After the commercial Fox came up with a definitive replay that showed the ball hitting the yellow line on top of the wall and bouncing back in. So the umps got the call right. The ball did not clear the yellow line.

As for Manny, I thought Buck and McCarver were covering for him almost all the time. They repeatedly defended his "not the end of the world" comment and generally adopted the let-you-know-who-be-you-know-who attitude.

The one exception was when Manny loafed so obviously that not even Buck and McCarver could ignore it or cover for it. What are they supposed to say? Manny really hustled on that play?

Posted by: casey Abell at October 19, 2007 09:18 AM

Archives

By Category:
Advertising (7)
Agents (11)
All-Star Game (173)
All-Time Greats (208)
Army Strong (8)
Attendance (174)
Authors (3)
Awards (168)
Base Running (77)
Baseball (1580)
Baseball Jerks (212)
Blogs (723)
Books (110)
Broadcasts (551)
Charity (42)
Cheating (574)
Collectibles (14)
Colleges (3)
Commissioner (36)
Conditioning (1)
Contests (10)
Crime (89)
Cuba (1)
Deaths (150)
Defense (358)
Demographics (8)
Discipline (12)
Division Races (721)
Draft (62)
Equipment (21)
Fan Rant (44)
Fan Violence (10)
Fans (56)
Fantasy Baseball (38)
Feats (3)
Films (2)
Free Agents (585)
Games (5548)
History (93)
Hit Streaks (22)
Humor (56)
Ice Cream (4)
Illnesses (125)
Independent Leagues (16)
Infrastructure (3)
Injuries (1055)
International (74)
Interviews (162)
League Championship Series (1170)
League Division Series (923)
Little League (2)
Management (1212)
Mascots (4)
Matchups (698)
Mechandising (43)
Minor Leagues (12)
Movies (9)
News Media (88)
Oddities (1)
Offense (209)
Old Timers (4)
On Base (18)
Opening Day (210)
Opening Day Impressions (19)
Other (300)
Owners (58)
Pennant Races (32)
Pitchers (2852)
Players (1444)
Podcasts (185)
Post Season (59)
Power Hitting (5)
Pranks (1)
Predictions (134)
Probabilistic Model of Range (105)
Public Relations (8)
Records (151)
Rivals (2)
Rookies (44)
Rules (23)
Salaries (8)
Scheduling (21)
Science (1)
Scoring (5)
Series (61)
Simulations (5)
Sluggers (752)
Spring Training (104)
Stadiums (249)
Standings (25)
Statistics (981)
steroids (1)
Strategy (167)
Streaks (14)
Superstitions (16)
Team Evaluation (894)
Team Movements (58)
Tickets (47)
Trades (665)
Transactions (256)
Umpires (52)
Uniforms (16)
Union (19)
Welcome! (3)
women (3)
World Cup (149)
World Series (656)

By Month:
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002

Credits

Partners

Baseball Musings Ticket Store
Advertise on the Baseball Blogosphere!
Baseball Musings Fantasy Games
Sports Books
Fan Store

Patrons

Jan in Wellesley
Jack Spellman

Links

Baseball Info Solutions The publisher of the Bill James Handbook and a great source of stats.

ESPN.com's baseball page.

STATS, Inc. You'll find great baseball books and fantasy games here.

Baseball Direct Scoreboard This is powered by STATS, Inc. Good box scores, and good situational stats.

Baseball Reference.com It's like having Total Baseball and the Big Mac online!

Baseball Prospectus.com Wonderful commentary and analysis.

Baseball Primer Baseball for the Thinking Fan.

The Hardball Times Baseball. Insight. Daily.

Takkle High School Sports

Minor League Spilts Database Up-to-date minor league statistics, broken down by situation.

Inside The Book A blog by the authors of The Book.

Baseboogle A search engine for baseball research sites.

Win Shares From Major League Baseball Graphs.

The Transaction Guy A baseball transactions blog.

Japan Baseball Daily An English language site for Japanese baseball news and stats.

Doug's Business of Baseball Weblog A blog with a focus on the economics of the game.

Why I Like Baseball A Yankee fan writes about her favorite team.

Skilton's Baseball Links Links to numerous baseball sources.

Dan Lewis A blog about all sports.

Birds in the Belfry A site about the Orioles. Articles and research.

Only Baseball Matters A baseball blog by a John J. Perricone.

Jocksalot Lots of sports links.

Al's Ramblings A Brewer's blog.

Futility Infielder Jay Jaffe's baseball site. More than just a blog.

Mike's Baseball Rants Mike Carminati's baseball blog.

Aaron's Baseball Blog A general interest baseball blog.

Boy of Summer Travis Nelson on baseball.

Baseball Crank Dan McLaughlin's blog on baseball, the war and politics.

Bambino's Curse Edward Cossette's blog about the Red Sox.

Oakland Athletics Blog David Levens writes about the A's.

Ducksnorts Articles and Blog by Geoff.

Boston Sports Media Bruce Allen's roundup of the Boston Sports Media.

The Diamond Angle An online baseball magazine.

The Cub Reporter A Chicago Cubs blog.

Bronx Banter A baseball blog by Al Belth.

At Home Plate Articles by Jonathan Leshanski.

Dodger Thoughts Jon Weisman on the Dodgers.

The Clark & Addison Chronicle A Chicago Cubs web log.

Baseball Writing Joe Zibell's essays on baseball.

The Eddie Kranepool Society A Mets blog.

Mariners Weblog The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's weblog written by Shannon Fears

PortlandSoxFan.com A Red Sox blog from Portland, CT.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog Two Tigers fans and their take on the Motor City team.

A Rookie's Life The blog of Cleveland Indians' rookie Jody Gerut.

The Baseball Desert An Englishman living in France writes about the American game.

ChiSox Daily Mike Lubuda writes about the White Sox.

Shallow Center A blog mostly about the Phillies.

The House that Dewey Built Jeff Kuhn writes about the Red Sox.

SethSpeaks.net A blog by a Twins fan.

Frank's Field of Dreams News about Asian players in the United States.

Jay's Giants Blog William Jay blogging about the Giants.

Baseball Savant Cutting edge baseball news and analysis updated everyday from all aspects of the greatest show on dirt!

Athletics Nation Blogging about the A's.

Red Reporter JD Arney writes about the Reds.

Dominican Players Raul Tavares writes about players from his home country.

The Pearly Gates An Anaheim Angels Blog.

Red Sox Haven Randy Booth on baseball.

Tigers Weblog The Detroit News weblog on the Tigers, written by Tom Gage.

Management by Baseball Jeff Angus writes on how business can learn from baseball.

The View From the Bleachers A Chicago Cubs blog.

Cubs Now! Brian Hipp on the Cubs.

Honest Wagner A Pittsburgh Pirates weblog.

All-Baseball.com A collection of excellent baseball weblogs.

Soxaholix A comic strip blog about the Red Sox.

Most Valuable Network Blogging all 30 teams.

Baseball, Etcetera Andrew Godfrey's baseball blog.

Most Valuable Network, Astros Lisa Gray and others write about the Astros.

fenwayfanatics.com A Boston Red Sox blog.

Balls, Sticks & Stuff A sports blog with an emphasis on baseball.

Phillies Nation Brian Michael writes about the Phillies.

Batgirl Less stats, more sass.

Sabernomics Economic thinking about baseball.

Fire Brand of the American League A blog about the Red Sox.

Ivy Chat Chicago Cubs and other rants.

Baseball Evolution A group website writing about baseball.

The Cubdom.com Byron Clarke blogs about the Cubs.

Red Sox Stats Sabermetric numbers for the Red Sox system.

DRays Bay A blog devoted to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Baseball Analysts Rich Lederer and Bryan Smith combine their baseball expertise into a single site.

Over the Monster A Red Sox blog by Randy Booth.

Viva el Birdos Ghosts of the St. Louis Cardinals past, present, and future.

Black Sox Blog A look at the current and historical teams of the South Side of Chicago.

Redleg Nation A group blog about the Cincinnati Reds.

Barry's Journal Barry Bonds' web log.

Hardball Dollars Keeping track of major league salaries.

Clem's Baseball and it's "Green Cathedrals" The resource for baseball stadiums on the web.

The Baseball Zealot Looking at the game of baseball from all sides of the spectrum .

Was Watching Laconic commentary from a Yankeeland zealot.

Bleed Cubbie Blue A Chicago Cubs blog.

Beaneball A's baseball from the heart of New York City.

The Writers A collection of sports writers express their opinions.

Yard Work What the Baseball Tonight crew would write if it could.

United States of Baseball Peter Handrinos' baseball columns.

Beer Leaguer Alternative veiwpoints on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Red Sox Connection Links to everything Red Sox.

Baseball Pilgrimages Stories of visits to baseball parks.

Fangraphs Multi-year charts of player stats.

Roto Authority Unique fantasy baseball information.

Yanksfan vs. Soxfan A Yankees fan and a Red Sox fan battle it out in the blogosphere.

Sawxblog.com A Red Sox fan writes about the home town team.

Oriole Magic An MVN blog about the Orioles.

The Baltimore Chop Joseph Jackson on the Orioles.

Lookout Landing A Seattle Mariners blog.

Sons of Bart Brush A blog about the Harvard baseball team.

Base Blogging A resource for sports and baseball bloggers.

Three True Outcomes A group blog by on major league baseball.

Cardinals Diaspora A blog for Cardinals fans living away from St. Louis.

Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? A Pittsburgh fan chronicles life in the Grand Canyon.

Brew Crew Ball A blog about the Milwaukee Brewers.

Getting Paid to Watch Posts by a former trainer for the NY Mets.

The Gas House Gang An historical St. Louis Cardinals Blog.

6-4-2 An Angels/Dodgers double play blog.

El Guapo's Ghost Rambles on about the Red Sox Baseball and the Red Sox.

Baseball Etc

Tiger Tales A Detroit Tigers web log.

The Baseball Card Blog A blog about baseball cards.

Sox1Fan A Red Sox blog.

Out of Left Field Another Red Sox blog.

New York Yankees Update A Yankees blog with lots of photos.

Liberty Ball A current and historical Phillies blog.

Crawfish Boxes A Houston Astros blog.

MLB Rumors Clearinghouse News from around the majors.

Roar From 34 A group blog about the Orioles.

Blogging Baseball All-time baseball highlights and real-time commentary.

Rubber Arm A group blog about major league baseball.

Fenway Nation More news about the Red Sox.

Rays of Light A Devil Rays blog.

Fantasy Baseball Chronicle Information for fantasy players.

American Legends A sports blog.

Duffy's Cliff An interactive Red Sox site, featuring a lexicon of the Red Sox.

Oriole Post - The World of Baseball and Beyond An Orioles blog.

DRays Bay A Devil Rays blog.

Mets Heads A blog about the New York Mets.

The Soul of Baseball Joe Posnanski promotes his book on Buck O'Neil and blogs about baseball.

My Baseball Bias A blog about East Coast baseball.

Sports Business Radio Articles and talk about the business of sports.

The Game of Baseball A blog about Major League Baseball.

Baseball Hot Corner Opinionated observations for the thinking fan.

FantasyDope.com Fantasy baseball news.

Peter's Red Sox Forever A Red Sox blog.

Sox Nest Commentary on the Red Sox.

The Big Oz A Florida Marlins blog.

Baseball Reflections Where old school baseball meets sabermetrics.

The Sommer Frieze A Yankees blog.

Fenway Nation A Red Sox fan site.

In-Between Hops A Milwaukee Brewers blog.

Right Field Bleachers Another Milwaukee Brewers blog.

On Baseball and the Reds Another Cincinnati Reds blog.

Crooked Pitch A fantasy baseball blog.

Bless You Boys A Detroit Tigers blog.

Cubs f/x Pitch f/x and the Chicago Cubs.

The Hot Corner

Eephus Pitch Tossing pure junk about New York baseball since 2006.

It Is High, It Is Far, It Is Caught A tribute to John Sterling.

Baseball GB Baseball from a British perspective.

Nick and Nick's Twins Blog A couple of Nicks write on the Twins.

SkyKing162 Baseball with a hint of lime.

Center Field A Red Sox blog.

Empyreal Environs Writing about the Red Sox.

Trophy League Planet Aggregating the baseball blogosphere.

Cardinals Best News Links Aggregating St. Louis Cardinals news.

Zell's Pinstripe Blog A Yankees Blog.

HSAC Blog Official Musings of the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective.

The Baseball Fix A general baseball blog.

MLB Roundup A baseball video blog.

Fantasy Dope Fantasy Baseball News.

The Cubs Brickyard Hilarious fake news.

Spitting Seeds A blog about Major League baseball.

Infield Chatter A blog covering all aspects of baseball.

The Bronx View A blog and podcast about the Yankees.

Instapundit Politics and the law. This site inspired me to start blogging.

Wild Treasure Treasure hunts through the blogosphere.

San Diego Ticket Finder San Diego Ticket Information.

Prize Sports.net Baseball Collectibles.

Fantasy Sports R Us The #1 Fantasy Baseball Leagues site on the web.

RotoRank - Fantasy Baseball Draft Guides Customized For Any Fantasy Baseball League.