If they make a rule to protect the catcher from getting drilled why wouldn't they protect the MIF from getting slaughtered? The SS was hit behind the bag, he wasn't gaining ground to 1B.
I thought the (slide?) was late. I understand these guys play for keeps and this was a must game. I can even appreciate what Utley did, that type of slide is also dangerous to the slider. At the same time, it sure could be called dirty, but more importantly I thought it was kind of a dumb play by Utley. That said, it is hard to believe how everything turned out.
First of all, Utley should have known this wasn't going to be a double play As soon as he saw the soft toss from the 2b. Why would he take a chance on what the umpire might call? If they did call interference, it actually would have been a double play and the Mets would have been out of the inning without scoring.
Then after the collision he never went back to touch the bag. A play that should never have happened changed the game completely. And with the broken leg it could even change the series.
I would have called it a double play because it seemed Utley never went for the bag (not even with his hand) And it was late. Furthermore, I think it was a very high risk play by Utley. Had he been called out and it was called a double play, today everyone would be talking about how stupid that (slide?) was.
I don't favor either team, you can appreciate the effort, but to me this play was unnecessary and border line stupid, even though it worked out perfectly for the Dodgers. If MLB calls this a legal slide, it is time to make a rule change to protect those MIF's without any protective equipment, just like they changed the rule to protect the catcher.