HP Umpire Tim Tschida ejected Rays pitcher Joel Peralta for illegal substance-defense in the bottom of the 8th inning of the Rays-Nationals game. With none out and none on, Nationals Manager Davey Johnson requested that crew chief Tschida inspect Peralta's glove. After inspection, Peralta was ejected and his glove confiscated for possessing an illegal/foreign substance (pine tar), the call is irrecusable. At the time of the ejection, the Rays were leading, 5-4. The Rays ultimately won the contest, 5-4.
UEFL Standings Update
This is Tim Tschida (4)'s third ejection of 2012.
Tim Tschida now has 6 points in the UEFL (4 Previous + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call = 6).
Crew Chief Tim Tschida now has 5 points in the UEFL's Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Irrecusable = 5).
This is the 74th ejection of 2012.
This is the 28th player ejection of 2012.
This is the Rays' first ejection of 2012, last place in the AL East (BOS, TOR 4; NYY 3; BAL 2).
This is Joel Peralta's first career MLB ejection.
This is Tim Tschida's first ejection since May 28, 2012 (Gene Lamont; QOC = Incorrect).
Wrap: Rays at Nationals, 6/19/12
Video: Peralta Ejected for Illegal/Foreign Substance Pine Tar on Glove; Equipment Confiscated
UEFL Standings Update
This is Tim Tschida (4)'s third ejection of 2012.
Tim Tschida now has 6 points in the UEFL (4 Previous + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call = 6).
Crew Chief Tim Tschida now has 5 points in the UEFL's Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Irrecusable = 5).
This is the 74th ejection of 2012.
This is the 28th player ejection of 2012.
This is the Rays' first ejection of 2012, last place in the AL East (BOS, TOR 4; NYY 3; BAL 2).
This is Joel Peralta's first career MLB ejection.
This is Tim Tschida's first ejection since May 28, 2012 (Gene Lamont; QOC = Incorrect).
Wrap: Rays at Nationals, 6/19/12
Video: Peralta Ejected for Illegal/Foreign Substance Pine Tar on Glove; Equipment Confiscated
36 comments :
Video is up on MLB.com
I love Tschida's game management here. He leaves Maddon and the Rays absolutely no room to complain.
Link: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22424691&c_id=mlb
This is quite uncommon. Interestingly, Tschida ejected Joe Niekro in 1987 after an emery board flew out of Niekro's pocket.
Tschida was the plate umpire on the game. It was actually Dave Phillips (Crew Chief) that ejected Niekro after the emery board came out of of his pocket
It's funny that the only headline on the main page of mlb.com is "Ray's back Price's solid effort in win over Nats."
In my opinion the Peralta story is big news, but I guess MLB doesn't want to call attention to the cheating.
Joe Niekro was a classic moment. He casually pulls the the emery board out of pocket, and throws it on the ground, like no one was supposed to notice, and then throws his hands up when the umpire sees it like, "What...I didn't do anything. Oh, where did that come from?"
Have you heard Joe Maddon's comments? Talk about an apologist. He acts like the pitcher got framed somehow. And Mitch Williams at MLB Network implied that you could hit up every team and find someone if you wanted to.
I do hope that you notice that there is no footage of Niekro scuffing the ball. Joe always had emery board in his pocket or in the dugout. I believe Joe's comment was the emery board had nothing to do with why the ball was scuffed, it was for his nails.
Tschida was also the HP umpire for the Frank Robinson-Mike Scioscia near-brawl in 2005 involving pine tar.
And I believe Niekro. I've read stories written about knuckleballers and they are fanatics about their nails being just right. Makes sense, too.
Troy,
Is there a 3rd choice in the Robinson vs Scioscia fight? Anything I've ever herd about Robinson is always terrible. He must have been a real jerk, Frank is the only player Joe Brinkman talks about in his Book. Unless Joe has written another book, his book was basically a "how to" umpire baseball book. Yet he had some pointed words about Robinson. The head-scratcher in all of this is Robinson's ability to land jobs with the MLB office and individual clubs. Joe says Frank would do shit during opposing players at bats.
If you look very closely at the Niekro video, you will see him take the glove off his left hand. It is available on YouTube. Look closely at his left hand. He appears to "palm" something and go to his left hip pocket, presumably to put the square of sandpaper there. He then pulls his pockets out on both sides and the nail file comes out of his RIGHT pocket. The magician's diversion at work. When he simultaneously pulls out the left pocket, watch him briefly search for and grab the presumed square of sandpaper before everting the left pocket. He still got a suspension but he had a plausible excuse "I gotta file my nails between innings" and he kept the magic trick safe. Joe was the most clutch pitcher in the Astros franchise history. He guaranteed a win in the 1980 play in game vs the Dodgers and came through with a complete game victory. RIP, Joe, you were one of the greatest!
Hats off to Tschida for enforcing the rule, and being a gentleman about it.
That being said, I agree with Joe Maddon's position that this is a chickens--t thing for Davy Johnson to do. If baseball goes down this road, major league umpires are going to spend more time impersonating TSA agents than umpiring. I don't think anyone-especially the umpires-wants to get into a "check him" war. Can you imagine working HP and having to listen to that crap over and over again?
Maddon also makes a good point about trading on inside information. I wonder if cheap Davy ever considered the possibility that Peralta might have picked up a little knowledge during his stint with the Nationals. Knowledge (hypothetically) such as which player likes to hit the Addy during the dog days when they're just too damn tired to play. Or which player has a wife and 17 girlfriends the wife doesn't know about.
Point is this: If this is the cheap way the game starts being played, sooner or later someone is going to get pissed and retaliate by sharing some *real* inside information.
@ Curt Crowley
I understand your position, but if Peralta didn't want to get caught cheating, he shouldn't have cheated. Maybe Joe Maddon should stop being so defensive and recognize that it was his player who broke the rules.
How many games is he looking at? I would suspect he'll get some sort of suspension?
usally it is 10 games for having a foreign substance.
Rule 8.02 (a)
The pitcher shall not have expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove.
PENALTY:
(a) The pitcher shall be ejected immediately from the game and shall be suspended automatically for 10 games
Couldn't agree more with the positive comments for Tschida. One of the best!
Anybody else think Maddon deserves a little fine or a 1-gamer here...not just because he's got a cheating player, but what "bush league" crap to have the Nat pitcher checked after the half-inning. Makes the casual fan think everybody's got tar on their glove! Not good for BB!
I don't have any sympathy for Maddon on this one. Your player got caught, take it like a man. Don't blame everyone else.
No "expectorate" (better known as spit) was involved here. The rule that applies is:
8.02 The pitcher shall not --
(b) Have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section (b) the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically. In National Association Leagues, the automatic suspension shall be for 10 games.
I was under the impression that "National Association Leagues" was the fancy term for the leagues that make up MINOR League Baseball. Does it include the bigs as well?
@Anon9:48am,
That's correct, and Joe said as much. He had something else besides the emery board that was scuffing the ball. And the emery board was probably thrown so he could drop the small square of sand paper.
In highschool it might be cheap to check a glove of a pitcher.
At the MLB level for millions of dollars, cheating of any kind is a problem. Johnson had a duty to his employer, and to Las Vegas, and those are not chicken shit reasons.
It's most likely your misguided opinion, and lack of knowledge that allows you to think this is a chicken shit thing to do to an opposing pitcher.
I don't know how they'd do it, but they should implement something similar to hockey. If a team complains about an opponent's gear, but is wrong or is intentionally wasting time, then they are imposed a penalty for delaying the game. It would keep managers from doing what Maddon did... asking for a meaningless equipment check just to get back at Washington.
How in the world would Johnson even know to check the inside of Peralta's glove?
Most likely Johnson was acting on inside information from a former teammate of Perlata. Joel was formerly with the Nationals, where I believe he made approximately 30-40 appearances for them a few years ago.
I can understand Maddon sticking up for his players. But the fact is this: foreign substances on the ball are illegal. If you are caught with them, its a 10 game suspension. Period. For him to come out and claim Johnson pulled a chickens---t maneuver, makes Maddon look even worse.
Now, I think this little episode serves as a great example of the disparity between the "spirit of the game" vs. the "rules of the game." Premise: If Joel Peralta was busted for pine tar use by a Nationals player/coach that was a teammate, then Peralta must have used pinetar while playing for the Nationals. I'm sure while playing for the Nationals the clubhouse culter was "go out and win ballgames, do what you need to do, and get it done." Using something illegal is ok as long as it helps us win.
From the Rays perspective: Peralta cheated. He knew it was wrong. If he didn't know it was illegal, he wouldn't have it hidden inside the glove as opposed to outside in plain view. Manager Maddon always stands behind his players right or wrong. Also, if I recall correctly, Maddon was a member of Mike Scioscia's staff during the Brendan Donnelly incident. Fact is, it is cheating, it is wrong. Maddon, being ultra competative himself, would not hesitate to call out an opposing pitcher if he was given the opportunity. If he says otherwise, he's a hypocrite.
From an umpire's perspective; Tschida really couldn't have handled it any better. Including the glove/hat check of Mattheus later on.
I'm still waiting to see another clip of Tschida's ejection mechanic. Only recent one was the "soccer referee/go to your room" dismissal.
Wasn't Cowboy Joe the HP umpire in the 1988 NLCS when Jay Howell was tossed for having pine tar in his glove?
@Anon 12:38
The minimum 10 game suspension applies to National Association leagues which refers to ONLY Minor League Baseball.
@Curt Crowley
I don't see Davey Johnson's move as chicken-shit at all. Go down what road? The road towards not cheating? Is that a bad road? Let the "check him" war begin! If no one is cheating, then it will get boring in a few weeks and be forgotten. If pitchers are cheating, and enough get busted, they'll stop. It's a win-win for everyone. I can also in-fact imagine working the plate and listening to that. But it wouldn't bother me at all because I would do my job and check him. I'd much rather do that every game if I have to than condone cheating on my field, wouldn't you?
UmpsRule, I can't disagree with anything you said. One of maddon's points, with which I agree, was the source of the information, and davey Johnson's decision to use it was chickens--t. They gained that knowledge from his time as a national. That's just not something you do. It's also a touch hypocritical, as I didn't hear the nationals complaining when he was cheating for the nationals.
To be clear, my problem is with the source of the info, not that a cheater got caught.
@ Curt Crowley
I do agree with those points.
@ corey....yes west was the HP umpire in that '88 LCS game where howell got tossed, but it was the late Harry Wendelstedt who actually threw him out and they brought the glove to the stands where Ed Vargo (ump supervisor) and Giamitti (SP?) were. Then they got soft when they reduced the suspension from 2 games to 1.
I was actually at game 3. Of course it was the second game 3 as the one Friday night was rained out. The conditions Saturday afternoon weren't much better. I was only 11 and I'm sure I was complaining up a storm about being cold and wet. But after Howell got shown the door, the sun peered through the clouds and the Mets won the game. All was good until Scoscia and Gooden in game 5.
Oh yes Condescending Marc, anyone with whom you disagree simply lacks knowledge. Oh if we all could be blessed with your vast knowledge and wisdom. But hey, you dont call yourself the greatest for nothing, right?
You frequently attempt to place value on others' statements based on their level of professional baseball experience. So I'm going to do that here. Joe Maddon is in the show. You watch the show on tv. So whose opinion carries more weight?
You know, here's the thing. Yes, you have Peralta doing something illegal and that should be caught. Then again, you have someone being, and this is a word that we use all the time around here and I can't think of a more appropriate time to actually use it, "A RAT" by, oh I don't know, RATTING him out for doing it.
Peralta = He's caught, suspend him, fine him, whatever is appropriate for a cheater.
Tattle-Tale = This is one of those "moral" or "man code" violations. How do you deal with it? Socially isolate the miserable bugger. Don't do anything punitive like a suspension or anything like that, he doesn't deserve that because it doesn't fit the "crime." Just don't trust him with secrets or anything really. That's all. He'll get his just desserts soon enough if you resort to THAT sort of vigilante justice.
I miss Bruce Dreckman, good ump and John hirshbeck and sad to see fletcher get hurt get well soon, i know I'm leaving someone out
Ed Rapuano has been gone for the last 3 weeks. I saw him holding his back during a recent plate job and has not worked since that game. Also Tim Welke missed the previous 2 weeks and his whole crew is off this week, so we will see come next week if it is serious. Also, Bill Welke has been out since last Thursday.
Peralta has been suspended 8 games: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/danny-knobler/19397847/rays-peralta-gets-8-game-suspension-for-pine-tar-in-glove
The reason I don't have a problem with Davey's inside info is becuase I think I learned about this when I was 12yrs old. A Kid on my team left after 2 weeks, and went and gave his new team our signs. Our coach wasn't upset, he just came to us and changed the indicator.
I think if you look at it from an NFL standpoint, offense and defensive coach's who change teams always have stuff to give to their new team to help beat the old team.
I think the player who gave the info to Davey has shown zero loyalty to his friend Peralta, but I don't know if he should, you could argue either way and be right I think.
Once Davey has the info, I think it's his duty to use it. I put the blame on Peralta, he broke the rules. On the other hand, Davey followed the rules, it's hard to find fault with guy making sure his team isn't cheated.
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