The Baseball Reporters Show Recap 7/21

Tony Massarotti discusses last night's weird ending to the Dodgers/Giants game. Today's Stat Of The Day is regarding SP Clay Buchholz, who made his first start today since returning back from the DL.

So in case you missed it, or didn't hear about last night's Dodgers/Giants game, here's what went down: Don Mattingly, bench coach for the Dodgers, goes out to the mound to talk to closer Jonathan Broxton. Mattingly was in this unfortunate position because manager Joe Torre was ejected earlier in the game.

Mattingly took a couple steps off the mound after talking to Broxton, then went back to the mound to continue talking. Giants manager Bruce Bochy protested to home plate umpire Adrian Johnson that Mattingly took a second trip to the mound, against baseball rules. The umpires then took Broxton out of the game and he was replaced with struggling George Sherrill, who gave up the winning hit and the Giants went on to win.

Adding insult to injury, MLB officials came out today and said the umpires were wrong. According to MLB rules, Mattingly should have been ejected, Broxton should have remained in the game to finish off the batter, and then be replaced by another pitcher once the at bat was over.

Tony Mazz on last night's Dodgers vs. Giants game, "To me, it seems like they should go back and play the final couple at bats of that game. The NL West pennant race could significantly be affected by that game, don't think otherwise. The Dodgers and Giants right now are separated by 3 given the outcome of last night's game. If the Dodgers win that it's a 1 game difference. In that league, and in that division, that could make a difference. To me, absolutely fascinating story and I think the Dodgers are getting screwed."

Today's Stat Of The Day is about Clay Buchholz and the success he has had this year.

Tony Mazz on the Stat Of The Day, "The number is 14. That's the number of double plays that Clay Buchholz has induced this season. Prior to this year, he had 14 for his career. So he's matched his career total in this year alone. His ability to get ground ball outs is part of the reason he's become what he is this year. That is your stat of the day."