So who saw the rules screw-up in Wednesday's (4-15-09) Padres @ Mets game?

[UMP25]

I'm relaxing watching the Padres @ Mets game Wednesday night when the following happened:

Mets with a runner on base and Brian Schneider up to bat. With a 3-0 count and trying to bunt R1 over, Schneider takes a high and away pitch for ball four. As he drops the bat to go to first, Padres skipper heads to the mound to talk to his pitcher. Plate ump Paul Emmel breaks it up and we're ready to go with Castillo now up. He takes two balls, and with the count now 2-0, Padres skipper heads to the mound. Again. He gets to the foul line when Emmel puts up his hand as if to say, "Whoa! No can do."

There's a delay of a few seconds, Emmel looks at Crew Chief Gary Darling, who then waves the Padres manager to the mound and lets him continue. Padres skip briefly talks to his pitcher, then takes the ball from him as he brings in a new hurler.

I'm looking at this and going, "Huh?"

Heck I had to call my esteemed fellow rules nerd Mr. Jenkins and tell him about this. He couldn't believe it, either.

A. No second trip to the same pitcher with the same batter at bat.

B. If for some reason the manager isn't warned by PU on such a prohibited second trip, he's not ejected, but the pitcher must be pulled--AFTER the at-bat is completed, however.

The Padres skip did, indeed, make such a second prohibited trip. He did change the pitcher, but before the at-bat was completed.

Oops. I wonder if someone is going to get chewed out.