Phillies formally file protest
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Phillies formally file protest
Paul Hagen and Daily News staff
The Phillies formally filed a protest today of yesterday's 14-inning loss to the Marlins.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the basis of the protest is that the Phillies don't believe the replay rule was properly applied.
"We felt like we had grounds to back Charlie’s protest, and we’ll let Major League Baseball make the decision," Amaro said. "Our feeling was that we frankly that the utilization of the video was not properly used in this case. But we’ll see."
By now you know that Hunter Pence was ruled out on fan interference call after initially being awarded a double in the sixth inning of what ended up as a 5-4 Phillies loss. The ruling change could have cost the Phillies two runs.
A fan wearing a Phillies jersey reached over the railing and tried to catch the ball with his hat. Marlins outfielder Bryan Peters' glove hit the hat when he attempted to make the play.
Afterward, Charlie Manuel said he protested because he did not believe the replay review was valid because only home runs are reviewable. The umpires said the review was valid because the Philliwes were arguing that it should have been a home run.
Asked what he expects to get out of it, Amaro said, "I don’t have an answer for that. We just felt like we had grounds."
Amaro said he did not know how long it would take to get a ruling. He the way the rule is written in the rulebook is "very clear."
"Our feeling was that, in our estimation, how you interpret the rule is that you utilize the video replay to decide whether a ball is a home run or not," he said. "We didn’t feel that was the case in this case."
Amaro said he is comfortable with the current replay system and does not think that it should be expanded beyond home runs.
He declined to comment when asked about the difference in statements made by Manuel and umpire Joe West. Manuel said he did not ask for a replay. West said the manager did. "I’m not going to get those discussions," Amaro said.
Asked whether he wanted the game to be replayed from the point of the issue, Amaro said, "Well, I think we’re just trying to do what we think is right. And we’ll deal with the consequences after that."
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He said, she said. We all know arrogant, hubristic, argumentative Cowboy Joe West, who has his thing for the Phillies, will not stand up like a man here. He'll hide behind the 'Manuel was stating it was a homerun, so we have to review it' stance. The umpiring was pathetic including the last three pitch calls. But we know that this will not be reviewed since the Marlins have their stadium booked, it doesn't matter in the standings, and the ratings say a closer race with the Atlantans would help the coffers of MLB. Priceless.— 24sDad- Alex Dicandio and Augie Fitzhenry are idiots who should be banned from CBP for life.— spearmuzik
- Yes,they are total idiots! Just listen to their comments. — fred13
- They are not going to uphold the protest. They never do. Interesting to see what they say.— Ssteve115
- If they don't they set a very dangerous precedent. Home fans then have all the motivation to interfere on a ball hit by the away team. — n62
- despite whether the Phillies should of or should have not won the game, the point is that MLB officiating is weak at best and the Umps need to be held accountable for their poor calls— jamarder
- Really. Who gives a dang? The last protest upheld was reported in an earlier article was 1986. Waste of time and another example of the weakness of the commish.— Clem
- The Phillies have invested millions in attracting Alex DiCandio and Augie Fitzhenry and their ilk. You sow what you reap, the Good Book says.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- The most the Phillies can hope for is the league to apologize and say the umpires were wrong but they won't replay it.— mikegdj
- I don't believe anything that Jee West says.... period.. any neither should however the commissioner of baseball is... for the good of the game..— STEVE5444
- Even if the Phillies were arguing that it should have been a home run, the replay is supposed to only rule on home run or not. Its not supposed to rule on interference. But still, I don't see any point in replaying the game unless it affects the final standings.— SteveS11
- This is clear. The loss should be voided and the game played at that point if it is determined that the game will mean anything. It is NOT relevant if Charlie asked for the replay (he still claims he didn't) because you still can't call that interference on a replay. MLB is going to have a tough time getting out of this one.— MDefl
- Joe West is flat-out lying. But this is the MLB where umpires are not held accountable for anything, are not evaluated, and can do whatever the heck they please and never be called into question. And spineless Bud Selig will never do anything to change that.— n62
- Murph, I think you are dropping the ball on this one, no pun intended. I agree with what Smalls said on DNL. It is the integrity of the umpire that is at issue. Fat Joe sounds like the Jon Lovitz character on the old SNL " I watched the replay because Charlie thought it was a home run. Oh Charlie didn't say that, then I watched it because the home plate umpire thought there was fan interference. Yeah, that's the ticket, the home plate umpire thought there was interference. Because I never make a mistake!!!"— StorminNorman
- That fan...how do you spell jerk?— ngfs66
