Maddon ejected after overturned call at plate

LOS ANGELES -- Viewed frame by frame, Willson Contreras' left leg seemed almost synchronized with the baseball, kicking out toward foul ground as Kyle Schwarber's throw zipped in from left field. By the time the ball nestled into Contreras' catcher's mitt in the seventh inning Saturday night, there was little room for Charlie Culberson to slide. Culberson missed home plate completely. Umpire Lance Barksdale called him out.
Then Dodgers manager Dave Roberts challenged the play, Cubs counterpart Joe Maddon was ejected and chaos descended upon National League Championship Series Game 1 presented by Camping World -- a 5-2 Cubs loss to the Dodgers.
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"It was just a perfect play that we got penalized on," Maddon said.
The Cubs were already trailing, 4-2, when Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner singled with two men on base in the seventh. Attempting to score from second, Culberson was called out when Barksdale ruled that he did not touch home plate.
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Almost immediately, Dodgers players implored Roberts to challenge. Major League Baseball implemented Rule 7.13 in 2014, dictating that "unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score." The rule mandates catchers to provide some sort of sliding lane for baserunners at home plate, while giving managers the latitude to challenge such plays.
Mostly, the rule is in place to protect catchers, some of whom have been against it from the beginning. Maddon, who has long questioned the rule's implementation, sprinted out of the dugout as soon as umpires overturned the call, arguing with three of them. Crew chief Mike Winters eventually ejected him.
"I have to stick up for my boys," Maddon said, noting that his argument was with the rule itself -- not the umpiring crew's enforcement of it. "I've got to stick up for everybody that plays this game. I thought it was inappropriate. I don't want guys trying to hurt anybody deliberately or intentionally, either. I agree with that 100 percent. But there was no [malicious] intent with that play."

Ultimately, the play mattered little in a game that saw the Cubs cough up three runs in relief, trail from the sixth inning on and go their final 18 plate appearances without a baserunner. But it sparked renewed debate over Rule 7.13, which in this instance went in Los Angeles' favor.

"Looking at the replay, it's pretty obvious he blocked the plate," Culberson said. "It's baseball, but luckily for us, the rule says you have to give us the lane, so it worked out."
Added Roberts: "It was pretty clear to us."

The Cubs were not so certain, with Contreras quipping the two teams may as well "go to Walmart and get some toys and play," and Maddon comparing the rule to the city of Chicago's recently abandoned soda tax.
"My point is all rules that are created, or laws, aren't necessarily good ones," Maddon said.

Barely 24 hours earlier, Maddon sat at the same Dodger Stadium podium in a faded jean jacket and lime-green shirt, radiating his personal brand of cool. By late Saturday, the Cubs' manager was red-faced and angry, defending a player whom he believed did his job perfectly.
"I think that was the wrong call," Contreras said. "I will not change anything. If I have to do that again, I will do it again. They have to change everything. Not me."