Joe Maddon compares slide rule to soda tax: “All rules aren’t necessarily good ones”

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Joe Maddon wanted to get ejected. At least, that’s what he told reporters following the Cubs’ 5-2 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday, when he was tossed in the seventh inning following an overturned ruling at the plate. “That was a beautifully done major league play that gets interpreted tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago,” the Cubs’ skipper explained, later adding that he got ejected in order to defend “his boys.” “My point is, all rules created, or laws, aren’t necessarily good ones.”

Before we unpack those statements, let’s take a look at how the controversial play unfolded. In the seventh inning of NLCS Game 1, with one out and runners on first and second, Justin Turner lined a base hit into left field. Charlie Culberson raced home from second base and was nailed at the plate by a strong throw from Kyle Schwarber.

Upon review, however, things got a little messy. Cubs’ backstop Willson Contreras set up to receive the throw in front of the plate, where his left leg and foot blocked Culberson’s path to the plate in clear violation of the existing home plate collision rule. Per Rule 7.13, not only is the catcher required to leave a clear path to the plate, but he must have possession of the ball before moving to block the plate — unless, and only unless he is making a legitimate attempt to field the throw. Contreras, on the other hand, already had his leg and foot in Culberson’s path before receiving the ball from Schwarber and had not turned to receive the ball before blocking Culberson’s way.

As expected, the Dodgers challenged the initial ruling and successfully overturned it in their favor, tacking on an extra insurance run to their three-run lead. Equally predictable was Joe Maddon’s response. He argued with home plate umpire Lance Barksdale, then turned on crew chief Mike Winters before getting ejected from the game.

It’s easy to understand Maddon’s frustration. The play didn’t result in a violent collision, nor did Contreras appear to be committing violations with any kind of hidden malice toward Culberson. By the spirit, rather than the letter of the law, Contreras did nothing wrong. Still, tweaking the terms and conditions of a potentially dangerous play is, well, dangerous — no matter how beautifully a play is made or how innocently a catcher’s leg is thrown across a runner’s path to the plate. If Contreras is the collateral damage here, if it means that sometime in the near and inevitable future, a season-ending or career-ending collision will be avoided because of the same flawed rule, then maybe that’s not the worst thing.

Maddon should be available to manage Game 2 on Sunday.

Rich Hill keeps Cardinals off balance into 7th, Pirates complete three-game sweep with 2-1 victory

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PITTSBURGH – When he’s on, Rich Hill‘s pitches still dance. They still dart. They go this way. Then that way. They can baffle hitters with their movement, particularly the ones that don’t come close to breaking the speed limit on most interstates.

In a game that seems to get faster each year, Hill is a throwback. A survivor. At 43 and 19 years into a career he figured would have been over long ago, the well-traveled left-hander knows he’s essentially playing on borrowed time.

Hill is in Pittsburgh to show a young staff how to be a pro while occasionally showing the kids he can still bring it. That example was on display in a 2-1 victory over St. Louis on Sunday that gave Pittsburgh a three-game sweep of its longtime NL Central nemesis.

Knowing the bullpen needed a bit of a break, Hill (5-5) kept the Cardinals off balance for 6 2/3 innings, expertly weaving in and out of trouble with a series of curveballs that hover around 70 mph offset by a fastball that can touch 90 mph but plays up because everything else comes in so much softer.

Hill walked three and struck out six while giving up just one run, a seventh-inning homer by Andrew Knizner that drew the Cardinals within one. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in the first four innings and stranded them all as the Pirates pushed their winning streak to five.

“He threw the pitches he wanted to throw,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “They didn’t swing at them. The fact that he’s able to just bounce back and continue to execute shows how savvy he is as a veteran.”

Ji Hwan Bae‘s two-run single off Miles Mikolas (4-2) in the first provided all the offense Hill would need as Pittsburgh swept St. Louis for the first time in five years. Ke'Bryan Hayes singled three times and is hitting .562 (9 for 16) over his last four games after a 3-for-32 funk dropped him to seventh in the batting order.

David Bednar worked the ninth for his 13th save and third in as many days, striking out Knizner with a 98 mph fastball that provided an exclamation point to three days of tight, meaningful baseball, the kind the Pirates haven’t played much of for the better part of a decade.

“We know we have a very good team,” Hill said. “We’ve had meetings in here and we talk about it and reinforce it and just continue to go out there and give that effort every single night and understand that (if) we continue to put in the work, it’ll start to show every night on the field.”

Tommy Edman had two hits for the Cardinals, and designated hitter Luken Baker picked up the first two hits of his career after being called up from Triple-A Memphis early Sunday.

The middle of the St. Louis lineup – Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman and Nolan Arenado – went a combined 0 for 11 as St. Louis lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cardinals left 27 men on base at PNC Park over the weekend to fall back into last place in one of the weakest divisions in the majors.

It’s a division the Pirates – coming off back-to-back 100-loss seasons – are managing to hang around the top of for a solid two months. The bullpen has evolved into a strength, with Bednar at the back end and a series of flashy hard throwers like Dauri Moreta in the middle.

Moreta came on for Hill with two outs in the seventh and struck out Goldschmidt with the tying run at first while Hill was in the dugout accepting high-fives, already thinking about his next start, likely on Saturday against the New York Mets. It’s a mindset that has kept Hill around for far longer than he ever imagined.

“Every time he picks up a baseball, I know he feels blessed to be able to continue to throw baseballs for a living,” Pirates catcher Austin Hedges said. “I think that’s one of the best things he can teach our young guys.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Continue a six-game road trip in Texas against the Rangers on Monday. Adam Wainwright (2-1, 6.15 ERA) faces Martín Pérez (6-1, 4.43 ERA) in the opener.

Pirates: A season-long nine-game homestand continues on Monday when lowly Oakland visits. Johan Oviedo (3-4, 4.50 ERA) gets the start against JP Sears (0-3, 4.37 ERA).