Rest assured, if Duncan's intent was to injure, he would have injured someone.

it is clear his intent was to injure. you cannot look at that any other way. his spikes were almost chest high and he was out by at least 6-7 feet. You and your fan boys can spin it anyway you choose, but your boy Duncan and Giradi just got Jeter a bunch of fastballs head high ... you will get used to it.

Wow. This is such foolish thing to say, as if Maddon premeditated these attacks on Francisco Cervelli. Your boy was blocking the plate, and in response got barreled over.

What's foolish is for you to convert my description of recklessness into an instruction for a premeditated attack.

It's unfortunate that your argument is so weak that you have to do that.

I would also note that Cervelli was not blocking the plate. There was room to go around him.

it is clear his intent was to injure. you cannot look at that any other way. his spikes were almost chest high and he was out by at least 6-7 feet. You and your fan boys can spin it anyway you choose, but your boy Duncan and Giradi just got Jeter a bunch of fastballs head high ... you will get used to it.

Um, no, it's clear to you. It's not clear to me.

Stop pretending that you are objective.

You can't block the plate and not expect to get run over.

Apparently you can in Spring Training games.

Just so I am clear, if the GayRod and the makeup comments are an attack on ARod, what is the underlying criticism here, that he is gay? And if, in fact, he is a homosexual, he is worthy of scorn from the internet message board posters?

Is that correct?

Saying he has blue lips has nothing to do with his sexual preference.

Stop pretending that you are objective.

i want what ever you are smoking..

98. Rich Posted: March 12, 2008 at 06:39 PM (#2711523)
I just watched the video. Duncan did not appear, at least from my admittedly biased Yankee fanboy p.o.v

The Sox have had their problems with Tampa in for years:

''What do you mean, 'regret'?" Tavarez said when asked if he was sorry he hit Gathright with a blow to the jaw in the eighth inning of a 12-11 win over the Devil Rays, adding another line to the rap sheet of scrums between these clubs. ''I wish I don't have to [throw a punch], because I'm not here to fight, you know. Little things happen in baseball, you know. No big deal."

Incensed at what Gathright's teammate, Carl Crawford, called a sucker punch, delivered with Gathright on one knee and trying to push away Tavárez's left leg that was planted on his right forearm (''I can show you the marks," said Gathright, who did just that for reporters), the D-Rays expect that baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson will view the incident with more gravity than Tavárez did.

''I think that may require a suspension, absolutely," said Joe Maddon

Girardi and Duncan just gave the Yankee regulars a steady diet of fastballs to the skull.

i hope they are happy.

spin it any way you want, facts are facts

i want what ever you are smoking..

Dude, you're ingesting something far stronger than smoke.

The inclusion of personal attacks are always indication of having a weak argument. Good work!

Tu quoque...

Julian Tavarez is a crazy person and was rightly suspended for what he did.

Shelley Duncan, hopefully, will be disciplined as well.

The Sox have had their problems with Tampa in 2006:

hmm, and the manger of that 2006 team was ????

thats right, a thug!

sorry i was thinking rays, he was with the marlins ..

oops

hmm, and the manger of that 2006 team was ????

thats right, a thug!

Madddon is a thug. The Sox addressed it, just as the Yankees have now.

Madddon is a thug. The Sox addressed it, just as the Yankees have now

i edited it ... i was thinking Giradi was with the Rays, he was the other horrible florida team. my bad

Baseball needs to allow fights like the NHL

If only to have some legitimate violence in the game and spare us all these back and forths between fans of teams who would never in a million years do anything remotely "thuggish" or "bush".

They're all jackasses
Now can we move on to some baseball please?

As someone with no dog in this fight, I have to admit I find this hilarious. Guy gets hurt in spring training, Yankees decides play should not have happened during exhibition game (though would be okay during regular season) so not only do they throw at Tampa, but also try to spike Tampa's second baseman. Now Jeter and A-Rod are gonna take a few extra inside pitches this season in payback, and hopefully escape a concussion or broken wrists..

Very constructive. I, along with all Red Sox, Oriole, Blue Jay, AL Central, and AL West fans would like to applaud Girardi and the Yankees for their "genius". Trading injuries and suspensions with a fourth place team, so smart.

BTW, if the original play was so dirty, what punishment did the MLB give Tampa Bay for it?

The Yankees addressed it with the HBP in the first inning. That's the way scores have been settled throughout the history of baseball.

The score was settled by the second inning. there was no message to send. Duncan's just a bush league jackass who, at best, doesn't understand the way the unwritten rules of baseball work, and at worst is a thug.

i edited it ... i was thinking Giradi was with the Rays, he was the other horrible florida team. my bad

Sometimes the truth is found when we don't edit ourselves.

still none of these "Examples" you throw out justify what Duncan did. his intent was to injure, make no bones about that.

the Yankee regulars will get what they deserve.

It would be in the best interest of Jeter, if he was to pull Duncan and Girardi aside, and maybe explain that to them ..

idiots

i edited it ... i was thinking Giradi was with the Rays, he was the other horrible florida team. my bad

Oh Giradi was injuring players in 06, but just his own young pitchers.

BTW, if the original play was so dirty, what punishment did the MLB give Tampa Bay for it?

The disaster that is Selg and MLB, as recently seen in the naming of names in the Mitchell Report and the ensuing circus, is now the arbiter of rectitude?

The Yankees addressed it with the HBP in the first inning. That's the way scores have been settled throughout the history of baseball.

The pitcher, Posada, Girardi and Longoria all say the HBP was unintentional.

“It just barely hit me,” Longoria said. “I didn’t feel like it was intentional.”

the Yankee regulars will get what they deserve.

It would be in the best interest of Jeter, if he was to pull Duncan and Girardi aside, and maybe explain that to them ..

Jeter hangs his hands over the plate and is hit with regularity.

Anyway, pray for injuries.

The pitcher, Posada, Girardi and Longoria all say the HBP was unintentional.

so that leaves Duncan using a deadly weapon on the middle infielders nads as the payback?
or have they officially, not retaliated yet?

so that leaves Duncan using a deadly weapon on the middle infielders nads as the payback?
or have they officially, not retaliated yet?

Cervelli broke his wrist, is probably out for the season and presumably his career is in jeopardy.

Imawura, on the other hand, reportedly has a small cut on his knee.

Seems like the Rays made out OK on this one.

so that leaves Duncan using a deadly weapon on the middle infielders nads as the payback?
or have they officially, not retaliated yet?

Since he wasn't trying to hurt anyone, apparently not yet.

The disaster that is Selg and MLB, as recently seen in the naming of names in the Mitchell Report and the ensuing circus, is now the arbiter of rectitude?

Uh, it's Bob Watson who is in charge of discipline. While not being perfect, he's reasonably unbiased. Why didn't the Yankees ask him to impose discipline? If Watson declined then you might have evidence of bias, or more likely, intelligence.

There is no clearer example of how badly the Yankees are going to miss Torre than these incidents. Torre was "soft" on retaliation because he was smart enough to know the Yankees had far more to lose from it than gain. Now Joe G. Eggplant has just started a feud with a lousy team that doesn't even have the playoffs to motivate them, and put his best players at risk. Brilliant.

From Abraham:

“Shelley made a hard, aggressive slide and I would have to took at the replay to determine exactly what I think,” Joe Girardi said. “I will have to look to see how high it was. Some players are taught to try and break it up, like Shelley was. He went after his glove with his feet.”

Go after the glove with your feet? That’s a new one. The Yankees should try and sign Ronaldinho.

Girardi also said that he sees video that shows it’s a dirty play, he’ll have a private talk with Duncan.

Link

Obvious spin from Girardi but hopefully he does have a word with Duncan. It's a freaking ST game and he's "retaliating" for a play that was, at worst, unnecessary. What an idiot.

Maybe this is a good thing if it increases the chances of Ensberg making the team over Duncan.

FWIW I watched yesterdays YES broadcast and they discussed the play at the plate. I think it was David Cone who said that your opinion of the play depends on which team you support, that comment is proven in this thread. Flaherty said that if guys shouldn't knock over catchers in spring training then catchers shouldn't block the plate in ST either. The discussion started after Molina was thrown out at the plate. Flaherty suggested Zaun did a better job than Cerveli of blocking the plate as he gave Molina a little target to aim at so he wouldn't get run over. In summary none of the YES guys were damning the Rays, they thought Girardi was making a big deal of it to show he had the teams back.

I've always felt the AL east needed its own version of the Ozzie Guillen/A.J. Pierzynski combo. Welcome, Girardi/Duncan.

I'm also interested to hear how this will be inflated and defended by ESPN for the rest of the season. Rhubarb is sweet when you've got your own media empire to sugar-coat it for you.

I agree that if catchers block the plate they have to expect to get crashed. I wouldn't want to slide into a catcher's shin guard and break my ankle.

Edit...if anyone said that. If not, I'm saying it,and have said it in other arguments in other threads about catchers. Catchers get run into in baseball. And only pussies whine about it.

It strikes me that intent is more important than outcome in things like this. Johnson made a clean play; it isn't typical that a catcher's wrist gets broken in such a play (any more than Ken Huckaby sitting on Jeter a few years ago would typically dislocate the runner's shoulder – the play was intense and got away from both the injurers and the injured in each case). Spikes up into the "upper thigh" region is clearly an intent to injure, even if it didn't succeed grievously.

Rich makes the argument upthread that the runner had room to go around the catcher. The runner has no obligation to avoid contact when the catcher is not allowing him access to whatever part of the plate the runner wants to touch. It's not up to the catcher to decide for the runner where he should run. And no catcher would make that stupid, stupid argument. Sometimes wondering whether people who post here have ever played the game beyond Little League is valid. This is one of those cases.

Rhubarb is sweet when you've got your own media empire to sugar-coat it for you.

No, Red Sox Nation controls ESPN. Hank is like Mel Gibson in "Conspiracy Theory." He's nuts, but he's also right. I think we're planning to spin this as Shelly Duncan would make a good running mate for McCain.

"...your opinion of the play depends on which team you support..."

And also the conduct of the teams involved after the play. I remember a few years ago Torii Hunter breaking a Molina wrist in a similar play during the regular season. Said Molina Bro. was blocking the plate, Hunter barreled into him, Molina was out for the rest of the season with a fracture, and nobody said boo. No retaliation, everybody agreed it was clean. It depends on the philosophy/mental health of the managers involved. There are managers, like Girardi and Guillen, who think that dickless retaliation is an unofficial rule of baseball. But not everyone follows their demonology.

The rules as written deny the catcher (or any other player) the right to interfere with the ability of the runner to touch the plate (or any other bag) when not holding the ball. I'd love to see that rule actually enforced properly. I'd much rather see a slide than an intentional collision. Baseball is not a contact sport, and it's ludicrous, frankly, that over the years catchers have been allowed to a greater and greater extent to act like linemen. How stupid would it be for shortstops to start blocking second while waiting for a throw that might prevent a double?

You know… if you think that takeout maneuver by Johnson wasn’t dirty, I really have to disagree. Cervilli wasn’t blocking the whole plate. Watch the highlight. Johnson seemed to be looking for contact, and Crawford clobbering the Astros’ catcher a week earlier indicates a team-wide strategy. Not cool, man.

I couldn't disagree with this more. I live in Central Jersey. The highlight is burned into my retina. It was a baseball play. In no way a dirty play. What wasn't cool was Girardi's ridiculous reaction.

If that bush-league jackass, to borrow your words, Maddon hadn't instructed his players to barrel full speed into prone catchers in meaningless ST games, none of this would have happened.

Wow, are you a clueless Yankee fanboy.

This post reveals more about you than anything about baseball.

Rest assured, if Duncan's intent was to injure, he would have injured someone.

Bullsh!t. What makes you think an intent to injure always leads to injury? Or even frequently leads to injury. Duncan was being an idiot, clearly wanted to injure someone and luckily failed.

#132...I agree with you to some extent, but I'm pretty rigid about contact at the plate bewteen runners and catchers. Most instances of crashes that I've seen are clean, even the ones where catchers take exception and lash out at runners.

The Fisk-Piniella fight was an example of how a clean play turned into something "extra-curricular". IIRC, the initial crash was clean, but as they were laying on the ground tangled up, Piniella started kicking at Fisk to get away from him, and Fisk whacked him with the ball (which is a time honored tradition, dating back to at least Jackie Robinson's career).

If the catcher is blocking, he is fair game to just about anything, except a dropkick to the head or body.

I agree that anyone who thinks Johnson had some duty to avoid contact with Cervelli has been watching/coaching too much little league. And there is a world of difference between a failure to avoid a collision with someone blocking a bag (especially the plate), and an attempt to create a collision with a defender who is beyond the bag the runner is supposed to be aiming for. And Rich, if you honestly believe that Duncan was not attempting to hurt/injure, then I seriously question your knowledge of baseball, and soccer for that matter.

Baseball is not a contact sport

You are wrong, IMO. There are no specific rules prohibiting contact in all instances. There are instances where you can't initiate contact, but the example we're discussing isn't one of them.

There may be few opportunities for contact in baseball, I'll grant you that. But it happens, and if it were illegal, there would always be ejections, and fines to go along with them.

How stupid would it be for shortstops to start blocking second while waiting for a throw that might prevent a double?

It would be very stupid, yes it would, because they'd get spiked, and that's why they don't do it. Catchers wear protection for a reason, and it isn't just to protect them from foul tips. The plate is the goal, and the goal must be protected, within the rules. And the rules state that the catcher can block the plate with the ball,and the rules say the catcher can position himself to catch a thrown ball, even if that positioning causes him to block the plate.

It's less crucial to stop a runner from gaining 2nd or 3rd than it is to stop him from gaining home. That's why you see violence there, on occasion.

I hate to sound macho, but it is a man's game, boys and girls, and if you're too squeamish about that maybe you'd be better off watching tennis.

Gambling Rent: Joe Girardi as Manager of the 2006 D-Rays, from the man who brought you Trevor Hoffman as the Best Closer of All-Time

I believe the issue is that homosexuals are natural shortstops.

You've clearly never seen me play shortstop.

As for Rich's attempts to spin this, I refer you to Girardi's comments (# 128). If that's the most/best Girardi was willing to say in "defense" of his player -- "I'll have to see the replay" -- you know it was bad. That's managerspeak for, "God, if somebody on the other team had done that, we'd have killed someone on that bench. But WTF do you want me to say?"

I didn't see the Duncan play, but "spikes high" is never a good thing. That type of play earns you the kind of notoriety only a psychopath would want.

I didn't see the Duncan play, but "spikes high" is never a good thing. That type of play earns you the kind of notoriety only a psychopath would want.

Ty Cobb nods approvingly.

does this mean im a psychopath?

Ok, so I haven't read any of this thread, but I'm sure this is the consensus. The Yankees are in the wrong on this, totally, and were from Girardi's complaints about the Cervelli injury.

For those who don't know, I'm a Yankee fan.

Ok, so I haven't read any of this thread, but I'm sure this is the consensus. The Yankees are in the wrong on this, totally, and were from Girardi's complaints about the Cervelli injury.

Persecution complex much?

Funny, Sam. But seriously, Duncan's play was egregiously wrong, at it points to how silly it was for Girardi to criticize the Rays player for a good, hard play. The latter was patently distinct from the former.

I consider this a mildly troubling foreshadowing of Girardi's NY tenure.

I consider this a mildly troubling foreshadowing of Girardi's NY tenure.

Two occasions of defending his players? Frankly, I'd rather see that than Torre's quasi toss of Alex under the bus over the "Ha!" thing in Toronto last year

If memory serves, the great thing about the Braves-Padres brawl is that Horner was out with a broken arm. I think he had been in the broadcast booth early in the game. When the brawling started, he went to the clubhouse, dressed out and suddenly appeared on the field ready to rumble . . . cast and all.

Two occasions of defending his players?

No, one case of turning nothing into something, the direct opposite of what Joe T would do. The previous play was a nothing play where unfortunately our guy got hurt. After his comments, idiots like Duncan just had to do something. And now, as people have pointed out, we'll get to watch stupid brawls with the Rays and if we're lucky, we won't lose any key guys to injuries or suspensions. It was stupid.

No, one case of turning nothing into something, the direct opposite of what Joe T would do.

I very much doubt that the actual players on the team regarded Johnson running over the catcher like that as "nothing" and pining it all on Girardi is silly.

The brawls are stupid, and we'll see where it goes, but it's a major stretch to claim that this was something that had its origins with the man in the manager's office.

I hate to sound macho, but it is a man's game, boys and girls, and if you're too squeamish about that maybe you'd be better off watching tennis.

If only we were watching baseball when there is a collision at home plate; instead, we're watching some other game.

But seriously, Duncan's play was egregiously wrong, at it points to how silly it was for Girardi to criticize the Rays player for a good, hard play.

I dispute your characterizations of both plays.

First of all, while Johnson taking out Cervelli was a hard play, it can't be characterized as a "good" one, based on the end result, which was a player was seriously injured as a direct result of what he did, in an essentially meaningless situation. If "good" plays like that happened on a regular basis in Spring Training, the Grapefruit League wouldn't be around for much longer. Can you imagine the uproar if it had been Posada, or Varitek, or Joe Mauer who was out for the season?

I don't think Johnson intended to injure Cervelli, and I agree that it would have been a good play in the regular season or some other situation where the game counted. But the purpose of the Grapefruit League is to get into shape and develop skills. It was absolutely foreseeable that Johnson was going to injure someone by doing that- catchers get hurt in that situation all the time. And it served no purpose (well, it may have convinced Joe Maddon that he isn't a #####, which isn't exactly a tipping point in the cost-benefit analysis).

And as for the folks that think Cervelli had it coming because he blocked the plate- first of all, if you watch the replay, Johnson could have tried to slide around him instead of plowing him. And the fact that catchers assume the risk that they'll get plowed if they block the plate during the regular season doesn't mean they have to get creamed in exhibition games. I don't particularly care what John Flaherty, King Kaufman, or Mike and the Mad Dog think- if this isn't an unwritten rule, it should be. The catcher's in no position to either hurt the other guy or defend himself in that situation, and the runner has a clear shot at him.

As for Duncan's play being "egregiously wrong," I thought it was rather exquisitely executed. He clearly indicated he was retaliating and he did so in a way that was threatening without seriously endangering his opponent. I imagine he'll be fined and suspended. And hopefully this will resolve this dispute.

Completely disagree, RB. His comments assured there being an issue in today's game, and virtually everyone in the press seemed to anticipate something. All he had to do was say that the play at the plate was a good hard play, much as Joe did himself when he played.

First of all, while Johnson taking out Cervelli was a hard play, it can't be characterized as a "good" one, based on the end result, which was a player was seriously injured as a direct result of what he did, in an essentially meaningless situation. If "good" plays like that happened on a regular basis in Spring Training, the Grapefruit League wouldn't be around for much longer. Can you imagine the uproar if it had been Posada, or Varitek, or Joe Mauer who was out for the season?

I don't think Johnson intended to injure Cervelli, and I agree that it would have been a good play in the regular season or some other situation where the game counted. But the purpose of the Grapefruit League is to get into shape and develop skills. It was absolutely foreseeable that Johnson was going to injure someone by doing that- catchers get hurt in that situation all the time. And it served no purpose (well, it may have convinced Joe Maddon that he isn't a #####, which isn't exactly a tipping point in the cost-benefit analysis).

And as for the folks that think Cervelli had it coming because he blocked the plate- first of all, if you watch the replay, Johnson could have tried to slide around him instead of plowing him. And the fact that catchers assume the risk that they'll get plowed if they block the plate during the regular season doesn't mean they have to get creamed in exhibition games. I don't particularly care what John Flaherty, King Kaufman, or Mike and the Mad Dog think- if this isn't an unwritten rule, it should be. The catcher's in no position to either hurt the other guy or defend himself in that situation, and the runner has a clear shot at him.

As for Duncan's play being "egregiously wrong," I thought it was rather exquisitely executed. He clearly indicated he was retaliating and he did so in a way that was threatening without seriously endangering his opponent. I imagine he'll be fined and suspended. And hopefully this will resolve this dispute.

I don't think you could be more wrong guapo. I disagree with every point you make. To each his own I guess.

Once Duncan realized he was probably going to be out, he should have just sat down in the basepath and waited for Iwamura to walk up and tag him. There is no place for attempting to dislodge the ball on a tag play. These are major leaguers and major leaguers never drop baseballs.

Note: I'm being a little facetious, but come on. Only Duncan knows what was going through his head. If I had to guess, I would say it was "I'm toast, I'm going to try to knock the ball out. If I miss, I'll clip him instead. Not the end of the world." If you take a moment to quit monitoring the comments and watch a replay, you'll notice Duncan never fully extends his left leg. Maybe because he's not trying to seriously hurt anyone (Iwamura or himself). And I said maybe because 4 seconds of footage isn't enough for anyone to be judging intent.

And whoever said Duncan's spikes are a deadly weapon is out of their damn mind.

Am I the only one who remembers ARod throwing Varitek into a solid headlock after he was shoved?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9LdzHNCbBZQ

Yes, Guapo, though you express those points well, I disagree with almost everything. A runner coming hard into home plate can't finesse the situation when he sees the plate blocked; he has tenths of seconds at best to process whether the plate is sorta blocked and accessible to some sort of fine-tuned hook slide. The conventional play is to knock the catcher on his rear end. You see plays like that made twice a minute in the NFL without wrists getting broken. The injury to Cervelli was an accident, and on the whole a lot more acceptable than walking naked into a French door, or other occupational hazards of spring training.

Duncan's play, OTOH, while it's hardly unprecedented or insanely extreme, is a bush-league play. You can't fine-tune the application of cleats to someone's crotch. There's basically no call for that play, except to up the stakes of aggression between the ballclubs.

Once Duncan realized he was probably going to be out, he should have just sat down in the basepath and waited for Iwamura to walk up and tag him. There is no place for attempting to dislodge the ball on a tag play. These are major leaguers and major leaguers never drop baseballs.

I thought Duncan was out on a force play at second base, in which case he would have already been out by the time he spiked Iwamura.

No, that's the crazy thing
he was trying to stretch a single into a double

So it's not like it was a takeout slide

No, that's the crazy thing
he was trying to stretch a single into a double

So it's not like it was a takeout slide

Oh, okay, my bad. That's weird. I've never heard of doing a "takeout slide" on a play like that. I guess the thought process in #157 makes a certain amount of sense, though.

Just watched the replay. Duncan wasn't trying to spike the 2nd baseman. He was trying to blow up his knee. Punk.

Nope, I'd hate to have to explain the makeup smudges on my shirt to my wife. I doubt she'd believe me about how I got them.

Not to pick on John per se, but I'd love to see anyone within 500 miles of this internet board challenge A-Rod to a fight and then spend a few weeks in the hospital recovering as a result. Can I buy tickets?

Cervelli broke his wrist, is probably out for the season and presumably his career is in jeopardy.

Cervelli was in the damn way.

Cervelli was in the damn way.

No he wasn't. He was sort of in the damn way. Johnson had a choice between going for the bag and going for contact and he chose contact.

I think both plays were wrong, and neither belong in a spring training game. Johnson's was more dumbass-wrong, and Duncan's was more jackass-wrong, but both were wrong.

Photo of the Duncan slide, for reference.

1. Does Shelley Duncan get residuals whenever Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video is played?

2. Saw 2 bench clearers in person. Mets-Padres, circa 1990. Elster charges the mound, nothing really thrilling happens. The other was Expos-Cubs, around 1987, notable for bombed out starter Rick Sutcliffe suddenly appearing in the brawl in his underwear.

Not to pick on John per se, but I'd love to see anyone within 500 miles of this internet board challenge A-Rod to a fight and then spend a few weeks in the hospital recovering as a result. Can I buy tickets?

Admittedly I'd get slapped around.

Heh.

Besides, I fear no man--my wife on the other hand scares the bejeezus outta me.

Best Regards

John

Elliot Johnson is smaller than David Eckstein. If he really had a choice between going for contact and avoiding it with an equal chance of scoring either way, then I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have gone for contact.

136 is right though. Rules say you can't block the basepaths if you don't have the ball yet. No, it's not particularly well enforced, but if Cervilli follows the rules, the run scores and he doesn't get hurt.

Third, you can't legitimately expect two guys who are longshots to make their teams not to go balls to the wall just because it's spring training. Johnson and Cervilli weren't even really fighting for jobs for this year, they were trying to get noticed for next year. If Cervilli doesn't block, it hurts his chances of making the team in the future, and if Johnson doesn't score, it hurts his as well.

136 is right though. Rules say you can't block the basepaths if you don't have the ball yet.

You're missing the point, and you are wrong, also. If the throw is coming to the plate and the catcher is waiting for it, he can block the plate waiting for it.

Here's the rule:

"Rule 7.06 to 7.08

NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand."

See? Waiting for a throw is fielding the ball, with the assumption that the ball is going to reach the catcher roughly the same time as the runner would. If the ball is still in the outfield when the runner is near the plate, that would be obstruction. But that's not what happened here.