Quote:
Originally posted by TBBlue
As I said in my original post, this is a judgement call. These are the rules that West seems to be following to make that judgement. The supervisor in the pressbox (McKean, Garcia, or whoever was working that game) will have to sort it out and determine if West was correct on his judgement. We may or may not ever find out.
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I really think you're conflating what constitutes a judgment, and then a subsequent rule interpretation. West judged that the pitcher hestitated or interrupted his delivery. OK, fine. That's his judgment, and that is inarguable and unprotestable. But what he RULED about that judgment, that what he did was illegal and should be penalized by a ball being added to the count, is absolutely arguable and protestable, and apparently, has been protested.
If whoever hears the protest actually applies the relevant rules and interpretations to the RULING that West made, then he/they should conclude that West's ruling (not judgment) was not in accordance with the rules and the protest should be upheld.
Based on West's judgment that the pitcher was not pitching in accordance with the requiremens of 8.01, he should have warned the pitcher to comply, and further violations should have then been penalized by the pitcher's ejection. Adding a ball to the count was a misapplication of the rules, because what the pitcher did was not an infraction for which the rules specify a ball being added to the count as the penalty.