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Buster Posey’s injury can’t persuade Joe Torre to…

Nakaltos — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:24:44 +0000

Click photo to enlarge

This Oct. 27, 2010, file photo shows former Major League Baseball manager Joe Torre speaking before President Barack Obama arrives at an event marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington. A person with knowledge of the appointment says Torre has been hired as Major League Baseball’s executive vice president of baseball operations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, because commissioner Bud Selig isn’t expected to formally introduce Torre until Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

abaggarly@mercurynews.com Buster Posey will put on his customary helmet, shinguards and chest protector when he gets behind the plate in a few months. But he won’t get any additional safeguards in the rule book.

Although Giants officials remain in favor of a rule change that would protect catchers from being targeted in home-plate collisions, the matter didn’t come up officially at the winter meetings last week in Dallas. It didn’t get past Joe Torre, Major League Baseball’s vice president for on-field operations.

Torre heard out Giants manager Bruce Bochy in several phone calls over the summer but declined to recommend that the rules committee take up the matter.

“Well, listen, I knew it was more emotional than anything else,” Torre said last week. “None of us like to see that. But I really haven’t heard anything that would encourage me to change anything or recommend a change. Being a catcher for a lot of years, I knew what the consequences were.”

Bochy isn’t giving up. He spoke informally with several managers at the winter meetings in an attempt to build consensus; he said at least four or five agreed that a change was warranted. Tony La Russa, who retired after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series, was among those on board, Bochy said.

Giants vice president Bobby Evans started his own grass-roots campaign with officials from other clubs at the General

Manager’s meetings in Milwaukee in November, Bochy said.

“I’ll continue to push for it,” said Bochy, who plans to raise the issue with Torre again this spring. “Sure, I’m disappointed. But it’s going to take other managers also getting involved, and some of them believe it does need to be changed. It’s something I’ll still pursue.”

The Posey play was a perfect storm in the 12th inning of a tie game on May 25 against the Florida Marlins. Rookie baserunner Scott Cousins tried to tag up on a fly ball that Nate Schierholtz caught in medium right field. Knowing that Schierholtz has a strong arm, Cousins said he knew the ball would beat him to the plate and he’d have to break up the play.

But the throw short-hopped in front of Posey and he wasn’t able to make a clean stop. As Posey turned toward the plate, still in fair territory, Cousins clearly went inside the baseline while leading with his right shoulder. Posey had dropped to one knee and his left ankle was pinned underneath him as the force of the blow toppled him over. His fibula sustained a fracture and he tore three ankle ligaments, which required two surgical procedures to repair. Posey couldn’t walk for three months.

Although his Giants teammates called it a clean play, Posey and club officials pointed out that Cousins had a clear lane to the plate. He chose to take out Posey instead of slide.

Bochy has lobbied for a rule that would award a catcher “a safe area, a neutral zone, whatever you want to call it, where he’s protected — particularly if he’s taking a throw from right field and is vulnerable”

Torre said he couldn’t get behind that idea.

“People have pointed out, ‘He was given a piece of the plate to slide to.’ And that’s true, he was,” Torre said. “But once (Posey) catches the ball, as a runner, you know that piece is gone. He’s going to block it. That play was not Buster’s fault. He’s trying to receive the ball, retain it, and here comes the runner. … He had committed to break up the play.”

Bochy said GMs in November discussed instituting a no-collision rule in exhibition games, but there’s no chance any meaningful protection wouldn’t come before opening day. Bochy acknowledged the argument that runners could get hurt if they were forced to slide, but said there are ways to tweak the rules that would make the game safer for everyone.

“You’ll have collisions at home plate. You can’t take that away,” Bochy said. “But it’s protecting the catcher when he’s vulnerable. It shouldn’t take something really terrible to happen before something gets done. We need to change this. These runners are getting bigger, stronger and faster.”

The collision is further incentive for the Giants, and other teams with offensively gifted catchers, to think harder about moving their young stars out of harm’s way.

Torre said he hasn’t closed the book on the issue, even if he doesn’t see himself reconsidering.

“We’ll continue to listen,” Torre said. “I’ll listen to anything that makes sense, and you know if it comes from people like them (Bochy and GM Brian Sabean), they always make a lot of sense. So I’ll listen.”

If a change ever does come, Bochy would make one more request.

“I don’t want to see this referred to as a “Buster Posey rule,’” Bochy said. “This has happened before. It’s time to make a change for the good of the game.”

For more on the Giants, see Andrew Baggarly’s Extra Baggs blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs.

What do you guys think about this.

Buster Posey’s injury can’t persuade Joe Torre to…

aeyvetara — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:24:44 +0000

Click photo to enlarge

Torre heard out Giants manager Bruce Bochy in several phone calls over the summer but declined to recommend that the rules committee take up the matter.

Giants vice president Bobby Evans started his own grass-roots campaign with officials from other clubs at the General

Manager’s meetings in Milwaukee in November, Bochy said.

Although his Giants teammates called it a clean play, Posey and club officials pointed out that Cousins had a clear lane to the plate. He chose to take out Posey instead of slide.

Torre said he couldn’t get behind that idea.

The collision is further incentive for the Giants, and other teams with offensively gifted catchers, to think harder about moving their young stars out of harm’s way.

Torre said he hasn’t closed the book on the issue, even if he doesn’t see himself reconsidering.

If a change ever does come, Bochy would make one more request.

“I don’t want to see this referred to as a “Buster Posey rule,’” Bochy said. “This has happened before. It’s time to make a change for the good of the game.”

For more on the Giants, see Andrew Baggarly’s Extra Baggs blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

San Francisco Giants have not asked Pablo Sandoval…

harriettvy — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 08:34:41 +0000

Despite renewed fears of player safety in Venezuela after the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, Giants officials have not asked Pablo Sandoval to call off a return to his home country next month.

Ramos was rescued Friday, two days after being abducted.

The All-Star third baseman had planned to leave Dec. 10 and play 10 games for Navegantes de Magallanes near his hometown of Puerto Cabello in Carabobo state.

“We are aware of the situation (with Ramos),” Giants vice president Bobby Evans said. “Everyone is cautious about the safety of their players.”

Major League Baseball often dispenses information and guidance to its clubs on travel and safety measures but has issued no directives, Evans said.

Sandoval stated in Spanish on his Twitter account that rumors of his travel plans are unconfirmed and he wouldn’t make a decision until the beginning of December.

Ramos was kidnapped from his mother’s house in a rough section of Valencia, a major city in Carabobo state located roughly 25 miles inland from Sandoval’s hometown.

Kidnapping has become more common as economic conditions worsen in Venezuela; in 2009, former Giants catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s brother-in-law and 11-year-old son were held for ransom for 24 hours before the kidnappers released them. The Ramos situation marks the first time a player has been kidnapped, though.

Sandoval has mentioned to reporters that he takes extra security

precautions when visiting his home country.

For more on the Giants, see Extra Baggs at blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Dodgers say Giants fan’s attackers liable in suit

SuzannePate20 — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:56:22 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two men accused of brutally beating San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow in a Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day should be held liable for potentially tens of millions of dollars in a family lawsuit, an attorney who represents the team and its owner said Thursday.

Lawyer Jerome Jackson filed a cross-complaint last week that argues Marvin Norwood and Louis Sanchez — not the Dodgers— are to blame for the brain damage that Stow suffered in March. Both Norwood and Sanchez have pleaded not guilty to one count each of mayhem, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and battery with serious bodily injury.

Jackson also predicted that if the case goes to trial, jurors could decide that Stow himself shares some of the blame.

“I’ve been doing these cases for 23 years and I have never seen one yet which it didn’t take at least two people to tango,” Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

“One of the things the jury will be asked to do is to determine what percentage of fault various individuals have for this event,” Jackson told the website. “You’re saying to the jury, ‘They (the Stow family) are saying we’re 100% liable. But does that mean (Marvin) Norwood and (Louis) Sanchez who beat this guy up, have no liability? And does it mean Mr. Stow himself has no liability?’”

“We want all the defendants and all the facts before the court,” Jackson told The Associated Press.

Stow’s negligence and liability lawsuit, filed earlier this year and before Norwood and Sanchez were arrested, only blames the Dodgers organization and owner Frank McCourt for the attack, alleging poor lighting and security problems at the ballpark. The cross-complaint adds Stow’s alleged attackers as defendants.

Jackson said the outrage that ensued after the attack toward McCourt has been misdirected.

“If these two suspects are indeed found guilty, I think most people would agree they bear some financial responsibility,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t Mr. McCourt out there beating people up in the parking lot.”

A call to Stow family attorney Tom Girardi wasn’t immediately returned.

Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic from Santa Cruz, suffered serious brain injuries during the attack. He was recently moved from San Francisco General Hospital to a rehabilitation center.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware earlier this year and Stow’s representatives sit on the official committee of creditors. Girardi has contended his client’s medical bills could exceed $50 million.

The creditors’ committee and Fox Sports each asked a judge to deny the Dodgers’ bid to auction television rights, which is key to McCourt’s strategy to emerge from bankruptcy as the team’s owner.

A four-day evidentiary hearing pitting the Dodgers against Major League Baseball and slated to begin on Monday has been pushed back to late November.

Not much else going on in the MLB planet today.

Baseball-Re-tooled Rangers ready for World Series…

NANCEACOUPS — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:12:00 +0000

The Texas Rangers have returned to the
World Series, but this is a vastly different club than the one
that fell in five games to the San Francisco Giants in last
year’s Fall Classic.

It is a re-tooled squad ever more determined to succeed.

Young pitchers have stepped up to fortify the a starting
rotation following the departure of ace starter Cliff Lee, a
pair of sluggers have been added and a bolstered bullpen have
all helped to make the Rangers favourites to claim Major League
Baseball’s championship for the first time.

Texas manager Ron Washington said the road back began with
a commitment made after last year’s World Series loss.

“On November the first we committed ourselves to trying to
get back here because we knew we had the potential in the
clubhouse to do it,” Washington told reporters on Tuesday at
Busch Stadium, where the Rangers worked out to prepare for
Wednesday’s Game One.

“A lot of times people say a lot of things that they like
to do, and they don’t usually live up to it. But the character
inside my clubhouse, they lived up to it.”

Lee, who left as a free agent to join the Philadelphia
Phillies, was a mentor in 2010 for C.J. Wilson, who converted
from a reliever to a starting pitcher and has become the new
number one on the Texas staff.

“A lot of us sat in the locker room after Game Five against
the Giants and we were really upset,” said Wilson, who will
start the Series opener against Chris Carpenter. “We’re like,
this is not how we wanted it to go.

“We are here to win, and that’s what we’ve been doing all
year, and the sting of losing last year is what carried us
through the off-season and helped us take it to the next
level.”

When the Rangers realized they were not going to be able to
re-sign Lee, they set their sights on power-hitting third
baseman Adrian Beltre, who left the Boston Red Sox as a free
agent, and signed him to a five-year, $80 million deal.

Beltre delivered 32 home runs, 105 runs batted in and a
.296 batting average besides a great glove at third base.

With the emergence of young Neftali Feliz as their closer,
the Rangers were able send former closer Frank Francisco to the
Toronto Blue Jays for power-hitting catcher Mike Napoli, who
belted 30 home runs and drove in 75.

Those two players helped in other ways as well, Washington
said.

“When we got Beltre … he brought leadership. Brought
tremendous offensive capability and tremendous defensive
capability, and leadership, also,” said the Rangers manager.

“We always knew what (Napoli) was capable of doing as far
as getting on base and punching the ball out of the ballpark,
but here we had another guy that was a leader, and he turned
out to be a tremendous receiver. Helped our young pitching
staff make it through the year.”

Mid-season acquisition of relievers Mike Adams, Mike
Gonzalez and Koji Uehara shored up the bullpen and the Rangers
roared on to the American League West title and eliminated the
Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers in the playoffs to return to
Major League Baseball’s grandest stage.

“I think (slugging outfielder Josh) Hamilton put it as
perfectly as it can be put,” Washington said. “Right now we
expect to win, and that’s the attitude we have.”

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

San Francisco Giants Mascot Lou Seal, Played by…

vanyparty — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:08:17 +0000

If mascots were Major League Baseball players, Lou Seal would be Cal Ripken Jr.

The San Francisco Giants mascot is a staple of all the team’s home games, and his durability is now beginning to get recognized by those across baseball.

What’s truly incredible about the lovable seal mascot, though, is that Joel Zimei, the man beneath the suit, hasn’t missed a home game in nearly 13 years, according to The Associated Press.

When the Giants wrap up their season on Wednesday, Zimei will have entertained the Giants faithful for 1,054 straight home games, which dates back to the final days of Candlestick Park.

Appearing in front of thousands of fans on nearly a nightly basis has become so common place for Zimei that he’s essentially become Lou Seal.

“It’s almost automatic, no matter how I’m feeling,” Zimei told The Associated Press. “It’s like hitting an involuntary switch and I just become Lou. After 13 years, sooner or later, it just blends.”

Zimei, who noted that the streak is the longest such, said that he’s battled through any injuries he’s had over the years, which includes a broken hand he suffered after punching a brick wall at the season finale in 2004 when he realized the Giants had not made the postseason.

Click here to see photos of Lou Seal in all his glory >>

What are your opinions.

MLB: San Francisco 6, San Diego 4

averaregu — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:02:51 +0000

Published: Sept. 7, 2011 at 1:46 AM

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 7 (UPI) — Brett Pill made his major league debut Tuesday with a two-run homer that helped lead the San Francisco Giants past San Diego 6-4.

Pill cleared the leftfield fence in his first at-bat at Petco Park to give the Giants a 2-0 lead and help move San Francisco to six games behind first-place Arizona in the National League West.

Carlos Beltran went 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Giants.

Eric Surkamp (1-0) prevailed in his second major league start, holding San Diego to three runs on five hits in five innings. Ramon Ramirez notched his fourth save.

Wade LeBlanc (2-5) took the loss. He allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings.

Nick Hundley homered off Surkamp in the second inning for the spiraling Padres, who have dropped 11 of their last 12 games.

What do you guys think about this.

Giants place OF Schierholtz on DL (AP)

DomoDeazy — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 05:55:24 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—The San Francisco Giants have placed outfielder Nate
Schierholtz(notes) on the 15-day disabled list to make room for left-hander Eric
Surkamp(notes), who will make his major league debut against the Houston Astros on
Saturday night.

The Giants must still make room for Surkamp on the 40-man roster.

Schierholtz, who expected the move, tested his fractured right foot Friday
and was still too sore to play. He fouled a pitch from Atlanta’s Tim Hudson(notes) off
his foot in the series opener with the Braves on Aug. 15.

Schierholtz played through it, then had an MRI during Monday’s off day. A CT
scan followed to confirm the fracture.

What are your opinions.

San Francisco Giants 2011: Cody Ross and 5 Heroes in Wake of Buster Posey Injury

sheelryceplay — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:43:02 +0000

Since his call-up on May 26th, Brandon Crawford has been a steady hand defensively at shortstop.

Besides his grand slam in his debut against the Brewers, Crawford has done little offensively, hitting a measly .216/.310/.324.

Fortunately, the Giants were interested more in his glove than his bat, and they have been rewarded. Crawford’s solid defense has been a marked improvement over Miguel Tejada’s board hands, and has helped keep the Giants in close contests.

Having a fortified middle infield has done wonders in improving what was a very porous Giants defense.

Crawford should also be recognized for playing competitive ball coming straight from High-A San Jose. A .216 average might not be good by major league standards, but it sure is impressive for an emergency call-up who had never played higher than Double-A in his life.

Thanks for visiting our blog =).

San Francisco Giants: 5 Biggest Threats to Title Repeat

tattoo_mixa — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:09:12 +0000

The Giants may not have had the best defense range-wise in 2010, but they were able to make the plays on everything they got to.

The Giants defense is subpar in 2011, but most of their errors came early on. The Giants are currently 13th-worst in the National League in errors with 40 and 12th in the league in fielding percentage at .983.

According to Baseball-Reference, as a team, San Francisco’s Rtot (the number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made) is minus-three, so their defense has slightly cost them a few runs.

One glaring defensive question mark is Miguel Tejada. As a shortstop this season, Tejada has made six errors and has a .942 fielding percentage in 27 games—with an Rtot of minus-three.

The Giants have made the most of Tejada by placing him at third base while Pablo Sandoval is recovering from his injury. Tejada has responded nicely by making just one error in 27 games, with an Rtot of four and a .988 fielding percentage.

If the Giants want to repeat as champions in 2011, they will have to continue doing something they excelled at last season—catching the ball.

Vinnie Cestone is a Baseball/San Francisco Giants Featured Columnist for The Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained first-hand or from official materials from ESPN or the Major League Baseball website.

This article was featured on The Talking Giants Baseball Blog.

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San Francisco Giants 2011 MLB Draft Picks: Ricky Oropesa Video Highlights Power Swing Against UCLA

gentlamenz — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:37:57 +0000

Read More: mlb draft results, 2011 mlb draft results, mlb draft 2011, 2011 mlb draft, major league baseball draft 2011, first year player draft, rule 4 draft, 2011 baseball draft, mlb draft tracker 2011, major league draft 2011, Albert Pujols (1B – STL), Brandon Belt (1B – SFG), San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants used their 116th overall pick on first baseman Ricky Oropesa out of USC, and when they took him, the Giants knew what they were in for. Oropesa has insane power, maybe one of the most powerful bats in this year’s draft, and there’s video to prove it.

Here’s a clip from a 2010 game against UCLA that Oropesa takes Erik Goeddel yard on the second pitch he sees:

USC Sophomore 1B Ricky Oropesa (vs. UCLA) (via rkyosh007)

You can tell that Ricky has one thing on his mind at the plate, and that’s to absolutely destroy the baseball. He generates a lot of his power is his legs and hips, almost turning his back to the ball before uncoiling his devastatingly smooth swing. It almost looks too easy for him here, like Goeddel gift-wrapped a fastball for him. Let’s just hope that Ricky can turn out more like his first base counterpart Brandon Belt or maybe even an Albert Pujols, instead of someone like Pedro Cerrano.

We’ll be here for the next three days covering the 2011 MLB Draft. For more in-depth discussion about the Giants head to McCovey Chronicles. For more general minor league and draft discussion, check out Minor League Ball and Baseball Nation.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

San Francisco Giants: Picking Their All-Time Pitching Staff

tattoo_saha — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:32:45 +0000

The Freak. The Franchise. Big Time Timmy Jim.

Whatever you choose to call him, he has managed to become not only the face of the contemporary San Francisco Giants, but has etched his name in the history books, both with the Giants and Major League Baseball, in just his first five big league seasons.

Tim Lincecum is just shy of his 27th birthday, and already he has collected two National League Cy Young awards and a World Series ring.

Lincecum has led the National League in strikeouts in each of the last three seasons, and on June 6 recorded his 1,000th career strikeout, becoming the second fastest to reach that mark behind Kerry Wood, and just the eighth player to reach that number in his first five seasons.

The Giants ace has struck out opposing hitters at phenomenal rates, leading the National League in strikeouts per nine innings in each of the last three seasons, and averaging an astounding ten strikeouts per nine innings pitched over his entire career.

Lincecum is already a three-time National League All-Star and is likely to be appearing in his fourth All-Star game this July.

What Lincecum accomplished in the 2010 postseason was legendary. It began in his first career postseason start against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, in which he pitched a complete game shutout with a franchise postseason record 14 strikeouts.

It ended with a ten-strikeout masterpiece in Game 5 of the World Series, when Lincecum recorded the win in the deciding contest, giving San Francisco its first world championship.

Number 55 is just entering his prime, and will in all likelihood be at the top of this list when all is said and done.

Comment Below!.

San Francisco Giants 2011 MLB Draft Picks: Kyle Crick Video Showcases Youngster’s Promise

PureParejas — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:37:52 +0000

Read More: kyle crick, first year player draft, rule 4 draft, 2011 mlb draft, mlb draft 2011, major league baseball draft 2011, 2011 baseball draft, mlb draft tracker 2011, major league draft 2011, mlb draft results, 2011 mlb draft results, San Francisco Giants

All of the great pitching that has come from the San Francisco Giants farm system over the past few years is very impressive, but also came from years of being much higher in the draft due to poor season of play. Now the Giants are World Champs, but still seek great pitching talent; which they believe they’ve found in high schooler Kyle Crick out of Sherman, Texas.

Unfortunately for San Francisco Crick is currently scheduled to attend TCU in the fall, but still could possibly opt out and stay in the minor leagues. If he does, here is a look at what the Giants and their fans may get to see. Crick is a big body out on the mound, and throws a very heavy ball with a nice slider as well. He also works with a straight change-up, rounding out his solid trio of pitches, and would likely only get stronger and better within the Giants farm system.

Here’s a look at Kyle in April pitching three innings down in Sherman. The video is a bit long but you can jump threw it and watch some of his sequences. He works very quickly, looking comfortable and in control while showcasing his stuff:

04.22.11 Gus Daniel catching Kyle Crick (via gusdaniel2012)

Comment Below!.

San Francisco Giants 2011 MLB Draft Picks: Joe Panik Video Shows Off His Hitting Skills

Coeflyloyal — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:22:33 +0000

Read More: joe panik, st. john’s baseball, first year player draft, rule 4 draft, 2011 mlb draft, mlb draft 2011, major league baseball draft 2011, 2011 baseball draft, mlb draft tracker 2011, major league draft 2011, mlb draft results, 2011 mlb draft results, Matt Cain (P – SFG), Tim Lincecum (P – SFG), Buster Posey (C – SFG), Madison Bumgarner (P – SFG), San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants have had a lot of recent success with their draft picks. Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain; all home-grown talent that the Giants minor league affiliates help foster and grow. Now the Giants used their first round choice in the 2011 MLB Draft not on a pitcher, like many other teams on day one, but on shortstop Joe Panik out of St. John’s University. The first middle infielder the Giants have drafted since 1988, Panik isn’t a huge guy but has some sneaky power, and we’ve got video to prove it.

Here’s a look at Joe Panik’s swing during a three game set between St. John’s and West Virginia. You’ll notice he’s got a very solid swing, showing some balanced, strong cuts at the plate. Towards the end of the video there are some nice shots of Panik is slow motion where you can examine his fluid swing more carefully.

Joe Panik (04-10-2010) West Virginia at St Johns – At Bat (via CamdenDepot)

What are your opinions.

San Francisco Giants: Brian Sabean’s Shameful Comments Are Fueled by Greed

Roindjnkfvjkfvijfijkdfd — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:32:35 +0000

I would like to make a brief remark on Brian Sabean’s comments about the recent home-plate collision that left Buster Posey injured. The comments by Sabean were pitiful and uncalled for.

Let me say, I do believe the Marlins should be retaliated against. It’s baseball. The Giants should not attempt to injure anyone, but a Tim Lincecum fastball between the numbers on Mike Stanton’s back—or whomever the Giants choose—is well within their right, just like running over the catcher blocking the plate is well within the right of a baserunner.

But Sabean’s attitude, along with that of Posey’s agent, Jeff Berry, is deplorable.

First, Sabean is angry for one reason: He’s built a team, it seems he feels, that can’t stand without their starting catcher. I don’t know if that feeling is necessarily true, but if it is, he only has himself to blame.

Second, home-plate collisions are part of the game. As a kid, I remember hearing about Pete Rose and not because he was the all-time hits leader. As a child, my main association with Pete Rose was “Charlie Hustle.” My main association with “Charlie Hustle” was the home-plate collision with Ray Fosse during an All-Star game. Yes, an All-Star game.

I remember that collision being pointed out as good baseball; it was supposed to exemplify how the game was played. Major League Baseball called it the greatest All-Star game moment of all time.

Buster Posey takes a vicious hit in the minor leagues in 2009

It’s funny how these things work: That play took place in the bottom of the 12th; Posey’s collision was in the top of the 12th.

Third and most pitiful of Sabean is, if he feels that home-plate collisions are dirty plays, why has he not lobbied for for this change before? Same goes for Jeff Berry; why hasn’t he said anything to MLB before this?

I invite you to check out this video of Buster Posey playing for the San Jose Giants in the Class A Advanced California league in 2009; before Sabean knew that this kid was going to lead his team to a World Series; before Berry knew that Posey was going to develop into an elite MLB hitter.

Mr. Sabean, did you care about your players before they held your poorly built offense together? Before you rested your career on him?

Mr. Berry, did you care about Buster Posey before you realized that a $100 million contract could be somewhere in his future?

The calls to end home-plate collisions are spurred by greed, not care. Let’s remember that.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.