I screamed at my radio a lot on the drive home yesterday because Damon Bruce was being a complete ass to one of his best/frequent callers, The Butcher Boy. D-Bruce was ranting about the exact same things Uncle Todd just ranted about. No more Posey Rules! People get hurt, it's part of the game! The runner has always been allowed to break-up a double-play! Blah Blah blah. Guess what Uncle Todd? Baseball/professional sports have changed, players are MASSIVE investments now. If you think for one god damn second this is about changing rules for player safety, you're dead wrong and an idiot. They are changing the rules so that the millions of dollars these baseball players are getting paid, are protected from those rare moments when players are at risk for catastrophic injury. Sports Media, Sponsors, Commercials, Social Media, Ticket Sales, Franchise future, Merchandise and a lot of other shit feels the aftershock when one of these players goes down.
When Buster Posey was blown-up at home plate, he was coming off a rookie of the year/world series season and the Giants had themselves a franchise player they've been thirsting for. Then the play at the plate happened, which ended Posey's 2011 season. The MLB looked at themselves and said, "As rare as this occurrence is, and as much as it is tradition, we can't let this happen to another player. Especially if it's a franchise player like Posey". At the time, the SF Giants I'm sure were breathing down the MLB's neck and so was the sports media world pushing for an answer/solution. When the Posey Rule came out, all of the old baseball curmudgeons threw their hands up, bitching and moaning about the tradition and preservation of baseball's ancient (that's right, ancient) rules. It's 2015, folks! Shit is a lot different now then it was back in the 70s when Pete Rose was throwing his carcass all around the diamond. Like it or not, some things do have to change with baseball as things have to change in other professional sports leagues. These choices aren't even made by or up to the fans anyway! Think the NBA would allow Bill Lambier or Rick Mahorn to play 80's Bad-Boy defense in 2015? Fuck no. Does the NFL allow late-hits and watch franchise QB's get absolutely pummeled? Not anymore! Thanks Drew Brees!
When Buster Posey was blown-up at home plate, he was coming off a rookie of the year/world series season and the Giants had themselves a franchise player they've been thirsting for. Then the play at the plate happened, which ended Posey's 2011 season. The MLB looked at themselves and said, "As rare as this occurrence is, and as much as it is tradition, we can't let this happen to another player. Especially if it's a franchise player like Posey". At the time, the SF Giants I'm sure were breathing down the MLB's neck and so was the sports media world pushing for an answer/solution. When the Posey Rule came out, all of the old baseball curmudgeons threw their hands up, bitching and moaning about the tradition and preservation of baseball's ancient (that's right, ancient) rules. It's 2015, folks! Shit is a lot different now then it was back in the 70s when Pete Rose was throwing his carcass all around the diamond. Like it or not, some things do have to change with baseball as things have to change in other professional sports leagues. These choices aren't even made by or up to the fans anyway! Think the NBA would allow Bill Lambier or Rick Mahorn to play 80's Bad-Boy defense in 2015? Fuck no. Does the NFL allow late-hits and watch franchise QB's get absolutely pummeled? Not anymore! Thanks Drew Brees!
But El Mijo! The Utley slide was on the national stage! If this was game 45, nobody would've cared! Bullshit. Everybody cares about everything these days thanks to social media and the internet. It's one of the reasons why this Sports Blog even exists!!! Things that happen on the big stage of anything will have more national attention, that's news 101, I get it. However, you are splitting hairs if you think that this wouldn't be addressed simply because the timing of it. It may have sped up the process drastically but eventually, things like player safety rules always have a way of winning out. It's the reason why the NFL struggles so much with concussion protocol. But El Mijo! The players prefer the existing rules! Who cares what they think? They are professional athletes, they are supposed to want to play hard and make some bodily sacrifices in order to win. Every player would change his tune pretty fast if he's sitting in a hospital bed with fractured bones, not helping his team win. Players are stupid too. What if Tejada's leg doesn't heal properly and his career suffers after. The Mets have no problem kicking a crappy player to the curb if the guy behind him has more talent. instead of Tejada signing a lucrative extension, he's on the waiver wire with a bumb leg because things can go south very quick. Think Posey wishes that his own rule was around before his leg got blown away? Think Tejada is lying on his couch with a broken leg thinking, "Gee, I definitely respect and understand why Utley did what he did". Enough with the macho, hard play, tough it out mentality. It's out-dated and erroneous.
You can't predict the future, and the MLB/professional sports will always take steps to make sure their investments are most protected in the present and future, regardless of what traditional rules say or how often the rule is used. Sports owners are filthy rich, the filthy rich care about money so altering a rule to protect their money shouldn't surprise you. Wake up and let fucking go of your decrepit baseball traditions of how the game is "supposed" to be played.
By: El Mijo
By: El Mijo