All those meetings on the mound called by catcher Jorge Posada and the New York Yankees are giving Major League Baseball pause, too.
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MLB vice president of umpiring Mike Port said frequent mound meetings by all teams would likely be discussed by baseball officials this offseason.
"It would fall under the province of pace of game," Port said before the Yankees beat Philadelphia 7-4 to take a 3-1 Series lead.
The Yankees held six in the first inning of Game 4. Then came eight more -- four alone with Jayson Werth hitting -- in the fifth. Damaso Marte relieved Sabathia in the seventh. After two pitches, Posada made the 60-foot, 6-inch trudge yet again.Many other Yankees, including manager Joe Girardi, pitching coach Dave Eiland, and pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett correctly defended the meetings, saying they're part of the game and necessary at times to make sure you throw the right pitch.
Sabathia wound up striking out Werth with two runners on. Perhaps the Phillies could have used a meeting to figure out who covers third base if Johnny Damon steals second against an overshifted infield.
"It's just part of the game," Posada said. "We want to talk with each other so we know what we're doing."
What I cannot understand is where was this outrage when Jason Varitek spends half the game on the mound coaxing his pitchers through rough at-bats? When he does it all I hear from analysis and "experts" is, "boy that Varitek handles pitchers well." Now that the Yankees do it it becomes a problem. How typical.
This is such a b.s. non-issue. If you want to slow down the game maybe cutting out a minute during each commercial break, that would work. .... Oh wait, that's a money issue so that'll never change, it's much easier to just blame the Yankees.