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I compare to the following play. Third strike not caught, ball pops out in front of the plate where it is kicked unintentionally by the batter trying to advance. Ball is live. Catcher made the mistake by not catching the ball so don't penalize the offense.
Now we have this play. Catcher sets up to block the plate and the ball comes in and pops out in front of the plate. Runner is blocked but catcher no longer is in the process of receiving the ball, he is in fact reaching for his mistake. I am not going to bail out the catcher for not catching the ball on his initial attempt. If he is still blocking the plate, without the ball, and is not receiving the ball he is obstructing.
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