Line up mess in Tampa Bay
 

Today, the Rays submitted their lineup with Longoria and Zobrist both listed as the 3rd baseman and no one as DH . I guess Longoria was supposed to be the DH but the manager screwed up. The plate ump (Ted Barrett) did not notice it so the game started this way. Indians manager Eric Wedge brought the discrepancy to the umpire's attention. What followed was a long delay in which the umps were trying to figure out what to do. One of the umpires went inside, I'm not sure what for and when he came back they made their decision. No DH for the game so the pitcher was inserted into the 3 spot. Zobrist was at third and Longoria wasn't playing although the announcer said Longoria could come in later. All of this was occured before starting the bottom of the 1st.

Lesson for all of us. Check the line ups carefully.

Was this the correct ruling? I would have had no idea.

It should never have come to this. The PU didn't check the line up cards at the exchange or else he would have caught it.

That being said rules 6.01 and 6.10 conflict on what should be done in this circumstance. 6.01 makes it seem as though Longoria should bat as the DH while 6.10 makes it seem as though the pitcher must hit.

I personally would have ruled the same way the umpires did, that the Pitcher must bad in the lineup where Longoria was listed, which was fourth in the lineup. Rays screwed up so the default should be the choice that puts them at a disadvantage in my opinion.

Longoria was listed third in the line up I believe which is where the pitcher ended hitting.

Yes, he was listed batting 3rd in the order. Good video with explanation of the MLB interpertation and closeup shot of the Ray's lineup card. The Official Site of Major League Baseball | MLB.com: Homepage

I need the OBR experts help on this one. Reading the article, it says that Longoria was taken off the lineup but was allowed to enter the game as a pinch hitter later. I dont think that Longoria should have been allowed to enter the game at all. He was listed on the original lineup. All the Rays took the field @ the top of the 1st.... except Longoria. The starting pitcher took the mound. Shouldnt that pitcher be the unannounced substitute when he takes his position on the mound and that should replace Longoria in the line-up? I might be missin' something here.

then my question would be which third baseman gets to play...did Madden get to decide that?

The other 3rd baseman already took his position @ 3rd....

oh okay...thanks. so he's now the player at that position...got it.

Chris,

Neither the OBR or the PBUC manual cover this type of lineup error. Rule 6.10 (b) says that the DH must be named in the starting lineup prior to the game. In this case, since Longoria was listed as the 5 position, this was not done. Therefore, the role of the DH is eliminated and the pitcher must bat in that spot. Had Wedge brought this to Barrett's attention before the game had started, it's possible Maddon could have left Longoria in and removed Zobrist. However, since Zobrist took the field, he had to be left at Third.

As to whether Longoria should have been eligible to play later in the game, since this is not specifically covered (as far as I can tell), they probably went with 9.01 (c). They probably felt that they should have caught this error in the first place and didn't see it fit to remove him from the game.

What if Wedge would have brought it up after the Rays had batted, especially if both F5s had batted? Now we have substitution issues and a bigger ball of snot.

Longoria would have been considered an unannounced sub (Pinch hitter) should he had come to the plate. At that point we end up with a new F1 & someone (likely either Longoria or Zobrist) would be done for the day.

As others have stated, best to check the lineups carefully before the game. It's something the MLB guys don't really expect.

that's not a shot of their lineup card, that's a shot of the lineup and depth chart that is posted in the dugout. i'm not bringing it up to be a PITA, i'm bringing it up because it is correct as it is written with the DH listed in the 3 spot.

Lineup mess was mishandled in TB.
 

Longoria should have sat after snafu | MLB.com: News

Mike Port, MLB umpiring vice president ruled on this one today.

More specific?
 

Why?

Maybe since he was already in the game, albeit illegally.

Just the factors
 

Would that make Longoria or Sorrenstine the improper substitute?
If Longoria is the pitcher of record, you cannot sub for him until he faces one batter. If this were the case, the visiting team lost the advantage in the top half of the inning. Blunder?

Batting "out of order" caught prior to incident and reported by the opposing team? The lineup card was wrong prior to the game. The determination was made not to allow a DH while the team was at bat. So the pitcher must have been missing from the offensive lineup. He was added to the lineup. The lineup was corrected. The game went on.

An illegal player? Longoria never stepped on the field of play as the pitcher, F5 or DH. Now had Longoria entered the batter's box in the 3 slot, would he not have become the pitcher of record {unless his manager called for a double switch}?

Again, why the player disqualification over a lineup error?

I'm not sure...my guess would be because he was listed as a starter on the lineup card...I think there were two third basemen listed at the time that the lineups became official...while improper, maybe since he was listed as a starter, he's done.

Time derivative
 

The proper pitcher and the proper third baseman were not substitutes. These two players were already in the game and their positions in the lineup were established after the first pitch. A substitution for Mr Longoria never took place. Why was Mr. Longoria's entry into the ballgame as DH denied? It was determined that the DH had not been reported at the appropriate time. The pitcher was required to bat in the P/DH position. The DH position had been effectively eliminated by the opposing coach. The DH was not allowed to serve in the role of P/DH.

That by itself was the only penalty that can be completely justified by rule. The DH was not terminated because, by rule 6.10, it did not exist at game time. I would like to ask the scorekeepers a question. If Mr. Longoria were about to break the record for consecutive MLB games "played" as a DH, would this game count?

it woudn't have counted for Ripken...my understanding was that he had to play a certain amount of time to get credit for the game...so no, the record would've stopped there. (I don't remember what inning they discovered this error)...but as you said, great question for the scorekeeper...i have no idea.

Message in a bottle
 

Mixup forces Rays to bat Sonnanstine | raysbaseball.com: News

No mention of snafu in previous press release.

Hijinks extend beyond lineup gaffe | MLB.com: News

BTW, the umpire crew faced several close calls that night.
The snafu wasn't one of them.

Who brought up the snafu and why?