The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Illegal slide costs Utley 2 games
Dodger suspended after controversial play on Saturday.
Safe at second base — and suspended for two games.
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chase Utley was banned for two playoff games by Major League Baseball on Sunday night following his late takeout slide that broke New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada’s right leg.
Utley’s agent called the penalty “outrageous and completely unacceptable” and said there would be an appeal.
The Mets and Dodgers are tied at 1-all in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Game 3 is scheduled for tonight at Citi Field.
An appeal would allow Utley to play until the hearing process is complete. MLB would likely try to resolve the matter today, before the series resumes.
In handing down the penalty, MLB executive Joe Torre called it an illegal slide.
Umpires ruled it a legal play Saturday night, and Utley was even awarded second base after a replay review showed Tejada never touched the bag with his toe.
Torre said after a complete examination, he concluded Utley’s slide merited punishment.
Utley’s agent, Joel Wolfe, saw it differently.
“A two-game suspension for a legal baseball play is outrageous and completely unacceptable. Chase did what all players are taught to do in this situation — break up the double play,” Wolfe said in a statement.
“We routinely see plays at second base similar to this one that have not resulted in suspensions. Chase feels terrible about Ruben Tejada’s injury and everyone who knows him knows that he would never inten- tionally hurt anybody. We will be appealing this suspension immediately,” he said.
The 36-year-old Utley, a six-time All-Star, has a part-time role with the Dodgers after they acquired him Aug. 19 from Philadelphia. But before the suspension was announced, manager Don Mattingly said Utley might start Game 3 because of his productive numbers against Mets pitcher Matt Harvey (6 for 18 with a homer) and the leftyrighty matchup.
In their own statement, the Dodgers said they stand behind Utley and his decision to appeal.
With the Dodgers trailing by a run in the seventh inning Saturday, Utley slammed into Tejada at second base to make sure the Mets could not complete a double play that would have kept them ahead. Utley went in high and hard, crashing into Tejada’s legs and flipping the shortstop head over heels.
The tying run scored, Tejada was wheeled off with a fractured fibula and the Dodgers rallied for three more runs in the inning, going on to a 5-2 victory that evened the series.