We’re left with two well-defined positions: the fielder cannot block the base/plate without the ball for a tag, and the runner may not go out of his way to make contact. What remains is the fielder/catcher asserting his right to make a play as it should be made, and the runner exercising his right to the base. Occasionally, this will cause a conflict with the laws of physics; two solid objects may not occupy the same space at the same time.

I don;t like to see any more contact than necessary in baseball, either. But the game stems from throwing a hard ball toward another relatively unprotected person at 90+ mph. It’s a rough game at its core.

Human nature and competition can be corralled. Baseball polices itself pretty well, and Hamels was crushed with criticism. Yours is the only criticism I’ve seen of Byrd’s play. Most telling of all, is that Wieters looks Byrd in the eye after the call has been made, and taps him on the hip with his glove as if to say, “We’re cool, that was good old fashioned hardball.”

I should really say, though, that I like your essay a lot. It gets at the ways we watch the game and the ways it makes us think. It got me thinking.

Byrd has obviously made his choice. But to be honest, I don’t see how Wieters can avoid this collision; he is in the position he must be in to make a clean tag (and is instead forced to brace himself for impact).

Competition and human nature can be, to some degree, corralled. We saw it earlier this week when Cole Hamels was suspended for intentionally throwing at Bryce Harper. There’s always going to be a fine line between competition and sportsmanship, but it’s a line I believe we have the power to moderate, and discuss.

DAMN, I loved the first hundred pages of this book. Loved each of the people I met there and hoped nothing bad would ever happen to them. But by that, I thought I meant injury, tragedy, and heartbreak, not tumbling into cliche.

I’m also kind of annoyed that Affenlight’s obsession with O is presented as a done deal, rather than shown in its coming alive. I think if their scenes happened before our eyes, and if they were done well (which Harbach is certainly capable of), I might root for them a bit.

Oh, well. Will stick it out for thost first hundred pages, for Aparicio’s Art of Fielding, and in hopes of another wonder like Pella’s first meeting with Chef Spirodocus.