joe morgan off to a great start rules wise...

[CJN]

not!

in the mets-cardinals game joe morgan made a ridiculous rules comment (what else is new, i know but this one's bad)

here's the situation

the st louis pitcher makes your standard fake to third look to first pick-off move. he clearly steps off the rubber after he fakes to third and then looks toward first but doesn't throw. here is where the infinite wisdom of joe morgan comes in. he says "they" are working on making this move illegal because it is "deceiving to the runner." he says something about not being able to fake to first from the normal postition and how he doesn't think it should be any different with this move. Jon Miller sounds like a rules genius whe nhe points out that the pitcher had clearly stepped off so it is perfectly legal. but joe won't back off his point because even though he stepped off it is "deceiving to the runner" which means in joe's world it should be a balk.

where does he come up with this stuff?

i hope this isn't an omen for how the rules interpretation on tv goes, but it probably is.

[budjones05]

Originally Posted by CJN

where does he come up with this stuff?

I heard that boardcasters are not require to know the rules, nor not subject to random drug tests.

[blindofficial]

I heard that comment as well. The pitcher really caught Jose Reyes off guard. Great move! Looked legit to me!


GO A's!!!!!!

[PFISTO]

I think Joe Morgan is the worst there is. When ever he is on the sound goes off.

[TxUmp]

Ties for worst with Tim McCarver. Whenever either of these gives a rule interpretation, it is almost always 180 degrees from reality.

[johnnyg08]

Reyes looked really lazy last night...jogged on the droppped fly ball...many players would've been standing at 2nd base in that situation...hopefully he steps up his intensity...

[johnnyg08]

Reyes looked really lazy last night...jogged on the droppped fly ball...many players would've been standing at 2nd base in that situation...hopefully he steps up his intensity...

[Eastshire]

Glad to know I wasn't the only one yelling at the TV last night. It upsets the wife though.

[orangeump]

yeah, hopefully some player steps up the intensity.

Talk about Cederstrom's job last night, who cares about some idiot that doesnt run out a fly ball?

[voiceoflg]

Originally Posted by budjones05

I heard that boardcasters are not require to know the rules, nor not subject to random drug tests.

You are correct on the first part. I plead the fifth on the second part.

But if we don't learn the rules and speak about them, we lose credibility. Those of us not well-placed in the business don't move up if we have no credibility.

I have to know the rules. My boss at the radio station probably doesn't know the difference. But my dad, an NFHS/JUCO umpire/referee (baseball, basketball & football) of about 30 years and former TI at Lackland AFB, will bust my chops if I get a rule wrong on the air.

[mississippiump]

Aren't all pick off moves and attempt to deceive the runner???

Does this make all pick off moves balks???

Jerry

[greymule]

Back in the early 1990s, Joe Morgan claimed that the scorer had erred by awarding the batter (Baker) a single instead of a double on the following play:

Abel on 2B, Baker lined a hit to right field. F9 took it on two hops and threw home where Abel was safe on a close play. Baker took 2B on the throw.

Joe Morgan claimed that since Baker had not stopped running after rounding 1B, but instead kept going when he saw F9 throw home, he should have been credited with a double.

The other announcer made a diplomatic attempt to indicate that Morgan was wrong, but quickly gave up when Morgan insisted.

[mcrowder]

What are you guys talking about? Joe is a former umpire (or claims to be), and is, as such, always right.

[LMan]

Originally Posted by mcrowder

What are you guys talking about? Joe is a former umpire (or claims to be), and is, as such, always right.

Yep. Seems like every coach I talk to was a former umpire, also

[greymule]

Seems like every coach I talk to was a former umpire, also

The last coach who told me that he was also an umpire used that "fact" as evidence that his following assertion was correct:

"On a close play, runners are required to slide."

Believe it or not, he added the following wisdom:

"Even in the big leagues."