What to do with Morgan

[blue911]

Which begs the question what is he doing in the majors, but I'll leave that aside.  Home plate is the one base that begs "slide by", since you can, literally, slide by it. Kids are taught this technique beginning at 14 these days: basically the only part of the entire body that comes close to the plate is your hand, and you touch the plate as you slide by.  Nobody gets hurt. His chances of scoring if he had done that would have been 100%.

Nobody has ever said Nyjer had great or even good instincts. But Tom's right, Nyjer had two strides to make up his mind, face first or blow him up. Blow him up was his choice. They are called the Tools of Ignorance for a reason. Saturday is the cheap crap play that should have got him ponded.

[Potomac Cannons]

Nobody has ever said Nyjer had great or even good instincts. But Tom's right, Nyjer had two strides to make up his mind, face first or blow him up. Blow him up was his choice. They are called the Tools of Ignorance for a reason. Saturday is the cheap crap play that should have got him ponded.

Nyjer should already have had the hook slide to the outside in mind as an option and been ready to go for it if the throw allowed.  That would require Nyjer having a measurable baseball IQ and he clearly doesn't.  There's no excuse for a MLB player to not have that part of the game as a regular part of his repertoire and be able to implement it with even minimal awareness of game circumstances.

[blue911]

Nyjer should already have had the hook slide to the outside in mind as an option and been ready to go for it if the throw allowed.  That would require Nyjer having a measurable baseball IQ and he clearly doesn't.  There's no excuse for a MLB player to not have that part of the game as a regular part of his repertoire and be able to implement it with even minimal awareness of game circumstances.

How in the hell is Morgan going to hook slide when he can't even execute a simple pop up slide?

[spidernat]

In this case there was a portion of the plate that was available to touch if he had slid in feet first. He didn't need to knock the catcher down like he did.

Maybe Morgan should slow down next time and tip toe to the plate in order to nick the "portion" of the plate the catcher graciously leaves available for him to tag.

[Potomac Cannons]

How in the hell is Morgan going to hook slide when he can't even execute a simple pop up slide?

Yet another reason the talent impaired goon shouldn't be here.  If he can't make a slide that high school kids are taught then he shouldn't be in MLB as a speed/defense guy.

[Nick the Pig]

Nobody has ever said Nyjer had great or even good instincts. But Tom's right, Nyjer had two strides to make up his mind, face first or blow him up. Blow him up was his choice. They are called the Tools of Ignorance for a reason. Saturday is the cheap crap play that should have got him ponded.

Yep.  The Marlins catcher was blocking the plate from the get-go.  He left his feet a bit to get a high throw, and when he came down he was blocking the whole plate.  Nothing wrong with a baserunner bowling him over.

But the Cards catcher was standing in front of the plate.  And stepped away even further as Morgan approached.  No excuse for any contact on that one at all.

[GburgNatsFan]

While I hear you, I can't shake my belief that Morgan would have scored if he slid. That just poisons the argument for me. Maybe he doesn't have enough time to make the decision, but no one would have faulted him for sliding had he chosen to do so.

I think he's gotten this idea in his head that he's badder than he is, and it's leading to stupid play.

It is a common technique for catchers to show some plate to entice the slide, then slide over and block it while applying the tag.

And I'm not sure he really had time to slide, if measured from the point the ball arrived to the catcher.  He was 10 ft away by then and really motoring. And sliding into a catcher's leg has its own set of risks to both parties.

[tomterp]

While I hear you, I can't shake my belief that Morgan would have scored if he slid.

I don't disagree with this.  But we've had a day to discuss, his decision was split second.

[Ray D]

I don't disagree with this.  But we've had a day to discuss, his decision was split second.

Seriously Tom, in all your years of watching baseball do you remember a precedent? An example of a runner approaching home who should have slid but instead plowed into the catcher because he didn't have enough time to make an informed decision?

[Lintyfresh85]

I don't disagree with this.  But we've had a day to discuss, his decision was split second.

Yet, he's able to make the split second decision to swing or take a pitch 3000 times a year with no problem.

[ZIM4MVP]

NYJER MORGAN = TRUE AMERICAN HERO!!!!!

Attitude that this team needs

[Coladar]

NYJER MORGAN = TRUE AMERICAN HERO!!!!!

Attitude that this team needs

Lol. Yeah, we need guys getting 15+ game suspensions.

[imref]

i posted this on the dibble apolgoizes thread, here's his take on the Morgan brawl:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/09/rob_dibble_on_the_nyjer_morgan.html

[blue911]

Seriously Tom, in all your years of watching baseball do you remember a precedent? An example of a runner approaching home who should have slid but instead plowed into the catcher because he didn't have enough time to make an informed decision?

July 14,1970

[Ray D]

July 14,1970

Pretty much my point, it happens less than once in 40 years.

[Ray D]

July 14,1970

Wait. Is this a reference to Pete Rose running into Ray Fosse? (Sorry, unable to look it up right now.)

 Totally different situation. 

I never liked what Rose did (different conversation: it was a meaningless allstar game not worth ending a career) but it was the only way he was going to score. The catcher was crouched and blocking the plate with the ball. Plowing into him is what the runner does in that situation.

[blue911]

Wait. Is this a reference to Pete Rose running into Ray Fosse? (Sorry, unable to look it up right now.)

 Totally different situation. 

I never liked what Rose did (different conversation: it was a meaningless allstar game not worth ending a career) but it was the only way he was going to score. The catcher was crouched and blocking the plate with the ball. Plowing into him is what the runner does in that situation.

Fosse was up the line and without the ball. Rose could have scored by sliding feet first but Rose was a head first only player. 

[Ray D]

Fosse was up the line and without the ball.

That's not my recollection, but then my recollection is fuzzy. if that's the case than Rose is (was) dirtier than Morgan.  No surprise there.

[tomterp]

Seriously Tom, in all your years of watching baseball do you remember a precedent? An example of a runner approaching home who should have slid but instead plowed into the catcher because he didn't have enough time to make an informed decision?

Do you think Dunn would have slid?  



The only reason we're saying Morgan should have slid, was because he was out and failed to score the run.  If the catcher drops the ball, we're talking about his great play.  

[PANatsFan]

Do you think Dunn would have slid? 

The only reason we're saying Morgan should have slid, was because he was out and failed to score the run.  If the catcher drops the ball, we're talking about his great play. 

Agreed. The catcher squares up at the last second.

[Ray D]

Do you think Dunn would have slid? 

Yes, I absolutely think Dunn would have slid.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

On Tuesday, August 31, on a play at the plate, Morgan ran over Marlin backup catcher Brett Hayes rather than slide. Morgan was on second with a Alberto Gonzalez at first when Adam Kennedy hit a slow double-play ball to Dan Uggla; Uggla flipped to Hanley Ramirez at second for the first out, but Hanley double-clutched and threw home to get Morgan, who had rounded third and was trying to score. It was a high throw, and Hayes was standing directly on top of the plate, blocking it with his body. Had Morgan slid, he might have scored; but if the throw had been lower, Hayes would have been crouching and he’d have been out with a slide. So Morgan may have calculated that the only way to score the run was to knock the ball out of Hayes’s hand. Hayes held on, recording the out, but sustained a separated shoulder, a season-ending injury. After that play, Morgan reportedly cursed out a Marlin fan.

That all brings us to last night. Because of the Hayes incident the night before, it was perhaps to be expected that the Marlins would plunk Morgan, and Morgan took his first beaning with equanimity as he jogged to first. But when Chris Volstad threw the ball behind him in the 6th (with the Marlins up 15-5), he charged the mound like a man possessed, winding up at the bottom of a pile of Fish as National 3rd base coach Pat Listach started punching Marlins just to even the odds.

This time, Morgan’s manager and teammates were behind him, at least in public. . . .

While the events of the past 24 hours have heaped condemnation upon Nyjer Morgan, I think the Marlins are being forgiven too easily — which is surprising, considering all of the drama the team has produced this season. Morgan was the Nationals’ leadoff hitter, but Volstad didn’t hit him immediately — he struck him out in the first and gave up a sac fly to him in the second. (In the meantime, Volstad plunked Wil Nieves in the second and Alberto Gonzalez in the third, both presumably unintentionally.) Volstad waited till Morgan’s third plate appearance — when his team was up 14-3 — to go after him, which shows that he put his team’s runs above his team’s honor. But that’s just what Morgan did on the basepaths, stealing a run to get his team’s offense going. So Volstad threw the ball behind him the next time he showed up, and Morgan took the law into his own hands.
...
But if you ignore his behavior in Philadelphia and St. Louis, I don’t think Morgan did anything wrong in Miami. Sure, he took his life into his own hands — Volstad is 6’8″ and has about 60 pounds on the featherweight Morgan — but while rushing the mound was inadvisable, it wasn’t hard to justify after the other team deliberately threw at him twice.

Morgan’s having a bad year at the plate because his walks are down, his strikeouts are up, and his BABIP is 47 points lower than last year. For the second year in a row, he’s leading the majors in times caught stealing. And the former eccentric fan favorite who once referred to himself as “Tony Plush” has quickly turned toxic in the nation’s capital. He isn’t doing the Nationals much good in the lineup right now, and it wouldn’t hurt their season much if Major League Baseball told him to cool off for a week, as will inevitably happen. But he isn’t the only one to blame for yesterday’s brawl. The headhunting Marlins shouldn’t be let off the hook.

J-Mad can guess where this comes from.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/nyjer-morgan-wants-a-piece-of-the-marlins-i-dont-blame-him/

[ronnynat]

Yes, I absolutely think Dunn would have slid.

Dunn doesn't slide into home. He might have tried to just step on the plate and avoid the catcher, but I really don't think he would have slid.

[tomterp]

Yes, I absolutely think Dunn would have slid.

He hates to get his uni dirty, a la Eddie Murray.  Still, Dunn dove for a ball this season and made a nice catch, surprised the hell out of me.

So maybe he would have slid, but I'm still thinking he just lumbers through the guy.

[Obed_Marsh]

I am so sick of people misusing the word beaning. If you didn't hit them in the head, you didn't bean them.