Busted Posey

It's been quite a while - blog time speaking - since Buster Posey was injured at the plate by Scott Cousins.  One thing I did was listen to every side possible and come to a conclusion after that.  I didn't see the play live, but heard the radio account, then listened to the post-game show, interviews with various baseball people, and lots of talk radio.  I didn't see a replay immediately and wasn't able to view one for about three days.  So I heard others' opinions of the play before I saw it.

Many were saying that Giants players resigned to the idea that it was a legit taking out of the catcher who was blocking the plate.  So I was expecting to see a Rose/Fosse type of play, or a Snow/Pudge type of play or a Schierholtz/Chinese catcher type of play.  But when I saw it, I was shocked to see Posey not even close to blocking the plate, and Cousins veering completely out of his way (not even trying to score), crossing the foul line and throwing his entire body across the inside of the plate in order to take Posey out.  The video matched essentially nothing that I heard about it on the radio.

The "old school" types flexed their egos and said this is the way baseball has always been played.  Really?  Going out of your way to take somebody out?  I understand old school toughness of taking out the catcher...IF he's blocking the plate.  But all the other "comparative" plays that were mentioned had one thing in common with each other that wasn't present in the Cousins/Posey play.  In all the other plays, the catcher was blocking the plate.

Now I'm not advocating what GM Sabean said, either, that it would be fine with the Giants organization if Cousins never played again at the major league level, being the 25th man on the Fish roster.  Yes, it was an act of backing up his guy, but is just as much a part of baseball as the collision.  I'm wondering what will happen in Florida later in the season if Cousins is still on the roster.  Chin music is part of baseball, too.  But one thing is clear.  You don't run on Schierholtz.