Giants C Posey likely out for season (AP)

[ASFN Admin]

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Giants star catcher Buster Posey is likely out for the season with a fractured bone in his lower left leg suffered during a collision at home plate with Florida's Scott Cousins. The Giants announced Thursday that Posey was on the disabled list with the injury, a night after he was crushed by Cousins while trying to block the winning run in the 12th inning against the Marlins.



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[devilalum]

They're talkin about changin the rules.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT

If you don't want to get killed don't block the plate!

 

[Bert]

That's baseball. The catcher makes the choice whether to block the plate or not.

What is it with baseball this year? They were crying about a guy breaking up a double play earlier in the season and wanting to change that rule, now Posey's agent is trying to get this rule changed too. Pretty soon the MLB will be professional T-ball. (cant have a pitcher, that would be dangerous!)

 

[AZ Native]

Besides, he is batting .284 with 4 homers, hardly Willie Mays. The Giants were a mirage last year that lucked into the playoffs the last day. They will disappear this year.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Posey is a damn good player and probably the difference between them making the playoffs or not ..... there is zero offense on that roster and zero protection for him in the lineup .... this is a huge loss for them

 

[Russ Smith]

They're talkin about changin the rules.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT

If you don't want to get killed don't block the plate!

They're saying now it could be 6-8 weeks or the whole season which seems pretty wide gap there.

on the don't block the plate, he didn't, he actuall was in front of the plate ready to block with his leg and do that sweep tag. The runner came inside because he knew the ball beat him and he wanted to jar it loose. the runner is from the Bay Area he said he felt terrible, he didn't think it was a cheap play but he said I knew the bal was going to get there first so I had to try and jar it loose.

I don't think there's an easy rules change to stop this from happening but this wasn't one of those plays where the catcher sets up to block the plate knowing he's going to get hit.

 

[Russ Smith]

Posey is a damn good player and probably the difference between them making the playoffs or not ..... there is zero offense on that roster and zero protection for him in the lineup .... this is a huge loss for them

the irony is it sounds like they might call up Brandon Belt to play 1B to try and get more pop in the lineup.

Belt hit only .192 in 17 games before going down but he's hitting like .340 in AAA. the irony is a lot of people have been saying they should move Posey to 1b to keep him from the wear and tear and beating of playing C. Last Sunday he got a foul ball off his facemask and everyone was saying why don't they move him to 1B and the answer was he's a good C and they really like Belt and he can't play any other position.

 

[Go Devils]

thats to bad....

D'backs NL West Champs 2011

 

[MigratingOsprey]

I like belt and think they should both be in the lineup

it's a risk you take with being a C though and posey was definitely blocking the plate and should be expecting to get hit there ... there was going to be contact no matter what on that play

 

[Russ Smith]

I like belt and think they should both be in the lineup

it's a risk you take with being a C though and posey was definitely blocking the plate and should be expecting to get hit there ... there was going to be contact no matter what on that play

I can't get it to cut and paste in but there's a video from the mercury news website that if you freeze it you can see Posey is between the mound and home plate, directly in front not to the left or the right. So he's only blocking the plate if the runner comes from the mound. From 3rd base his foot is not even covering the plate. The runner is just starting to enter the circle and is still on the baseline. When the actual collision happens the runner is now inside the baseline and Posey has turned and is moving to his left towards the baseline but he's still not in the direct path from 3rd to homeplate.

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_18151673?nclick_check=1

The video is in the middle you can stop and start it and see what I'm talking about.

I don't think it was dirty but I also don't think Posey was blocking the plate. The runner has admitted he tried to dislodge the ball because he knew it was beating him. It was just one of those fluke things usually the catcher doesn't end up seriously injured.

I don't agree with Posey's agent but then I think many catchers have now essentially said they felt Posey wasn't blocking the plate and wasn't at fault.
One was Ray Fosse the guy Pete Rose trucked and wrecked his career, he's local too so probably biased but he said this.

Added Fosse: "I know guys looked at it and said it's a clean play, but a catcher is always taught to give the runner part of the plate, and once he has part of the plate, you expect him to slide to that part of the plate. It looked like the runner went after him."

It is just one of those plays that because Posey got so famous in the postseason last year, people are making a big deal out of his injury now.

I don't think anybody thinks the guy tried to injure him, just that he tried to jar the ball loose.

I've always felt if they needed a rule it should be catcher can't block the plate without the ball, and runner has to be within reach of the plate. I think he was in this case even though he went inside.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

He was definitely blocking the plate - there is no way you can say he wasn't ... it also was a pretty poor throw that came in ... he tried to catch it in front, but he definitely turned his body in the path of the runner .... cousins right foot flew chalk from the line right before contact and he scraped the base after the contact

Again, how can the guy make it from 3rd to home without any contact on that play with their respective positions?

Runner went straight towards the plate which was obstructed - why should he have to take the long way and choose which part of the plate is assigned to him?

You are either blocking it or you're not

Game tied in extra innings - posey wasn't going to concede anything and neither was cousins ..... two things made this play and it had nothing to do with either of them, a very shallow fly that was 50/50 and a poor throw in ..... actually, it being cousins could make a difference as he moves pretty well .... if it was someone like Wes Helms who subbed in and was on 3rd he doesn't try to slide or if it was a slight guy like bonifacio they're definitely sending him and he may be the one limping now

 

[MigratingOsprey]

interesting sports science on collisions in general

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6594536

 

[TheHopToad]

the irony is it sounds like they might call up Brandon Belt to play 1B to try and get more pop in the lineup.

Belt hit only .192 in 17 games before going down but he's hitting like .340 in AAA. the irony is a lot of people have been saying they should move Posey to 1b to keep him from the wear and tear and beating of playing C. Last Sunday he got a foul ball off his facemask and everyone was saying why don't they move him to 1B and the answer was he's a good C and they really like Belt and he can't play any other position.

The problem with Belt playing is that it forces Aubry Huff to play in the outfield.....and that is a disaster!

 

[TJ]

Sirius MLB says he is having major leg surgery and has "severely strained" knee ligaments. Also says Posey declared himself "out for the season"

 

[devilalum]

They're saying now it could be 6-8 weeks or the whole season which seems pretty wide gap there.

on the don't block the plate, he didn't, he actuall was in front of the plate ready to block with his leg and do that sweep tag. The runner came inside because he knew the ball beat him and he wanted to jar it loose. the runner is from the Bay Area he said he felt terrible, he didn't think it was a cheap play but he said I knew the bal was going to get there first so I had to try and jar it loose.

I don't think there's an easy rules change to stop this from happening but this wasn't one of those plays where the catcher sets up to block the plate knowing he's going to get hit.

Yeah, I noticed that after watching the replay a few more times. The runner came inside when he could have easily slid or run straight to the plate.

 

[AZ Native]

Posey is a damn good player and probably the difference between them making the playoffs or not ..... there is zero offense on that roster and zero protection for him in the lineup .... this is a huge loss for them

If a .284 player is the difference of making the playoffs, well, then that makes the point.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

he posts a good war - but BA is pretty cool too...................... it"s not like hw was a major piece in a WS title winning rookie of the year or anything................

 

[AZ Native]

he posts a good war - but BA is pretty cool too...................... it"s not like hw was a major piece in a WS title winning rookie of the year or anything................

Yeah right. And SD lost how many games in the last 20 to let SF squeak into the playoffs? He is OK, but is highly overrated. Time to move on.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Posey is a damn good player and probably the difference between them making the playoffs or not ..... there is zero offense on that roster and zero protection for him in the lineup .... this is a huge loss for them

This is my opinion as well. I don't like the Giants but Posey is a fun kid to watch.

 

[AZ Native]

Look, I like Posey too. But since he was injured, all my relatives in the bay area are acting like they lost Mays. Do I like the kid, yes. Would I want him on my team, yes. Is he the 2nd coming, NO. I'm sorry he got hurt. I enjoyed the way he played the game.

 

[BC867]

Look, I like Posey too. But since he was injured, all my relatives in the bay area are acting like they lost Mays. Do I like the kid, yes. Would I want him on my team, yes. Is he the 2nd coming, NO. I'm sorry he got hurt. I enjoyed the way he played the game.

Out of all their position players, Posey is the best they have. Losing him for the season should take the pressure off Bay area fans even hoping that the Giants should expect to repeat.

Posey's .284 BAvg (second best on the team among the regulars), 4 HR (tied for first) and 21 RBI (second) -- mediocre, but the best they have.

If his stats were better, I'd say he should come back as a full-time 1B next year. But his stats would be nothing to brag about for a 1B.

 

[Brian]

I like belt and think they should both be in the lineup

it's a risk you take with being a C though and posey was definitely blocking the plate and should be expecting to get hit there ... there was going to be contact no matter what on that play

Sorry brother. Russ is right. Posey absolutely was not blocking the plate. It happened just like Russ described it.

 

[AZ Native]

I too don't think he was blocking the plate. It was just a bang bang play and it is easy to watch it in slo mo and freeze and make judgement. These plays have happened for 100 years, only without today's technology. Buster was doing his job, as was the baserunner.

 

[TheHopToad]

Posey wasn't directly blocking the plate, but because the throw was a little offline, he had to turn his body back into the path of the runner. It also didn't help Buster that he went down on his knee. That took away any mobility he had and caused his leg to be planted and thus twisted under his body when he was hit.

Veteran catchers will tell you to always square your body up and remain on your feet for plays at the plate. That way you have more flexibility to absorb the hit, or better yet dodge the runner while still applying the tag. You can also crouch low and then stand up, flipping the runner up over your shoulder like Johnny Roseboro used to do.

 

[BC867]

You can also crouch low and then stand up, flipping the runner up over your shoulder like Johnny Roseboro used to do.

Ah, Johnny Roseboro. All 190 lbs. of him. He did a decent job following the Dodger legendary Catcher, Roy Campanella after the tragic accident.

Roseboro played some games in the Dodgers last season in Brooklyn in 1957, then was their regular Catcher when they moved to L.A.

Y'know what, Campy was listed at 190 pounds also. Roseboro sure looked a lot skinnier at his 5'11" than Campy at 5'9".