Utley to appeal 2-game suspension for slide

NEW YORK -- Dodgers infielder Chase Utley was suspended for Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-five National League Division Series by MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre for his takeout slide that broke the leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada in Game 2 Saturday night.

Utley will appeal the discipline, according to his agent, Joel Wolfe. The decision will be held in abeyance until the appeal process is completed, but according to a source, it was unlikely that the hearing would happen before first pitch.

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The Dodgers issued this statement: "The Dodgers stand behind Chase Utley and his decision to appeal the suspension issued tonight by Major League Baseball. The club will have no further comment at this time."

The Dodgers won Game 2, 5-2, evening their NLDS with the Mets at one game apiece. 

• Tejada fractures fibula on Utley's hard slide

"I recognize that there has been much commentary and many questions regarding the unfortunate play in last night's game in which Ruben Tejada was injured," Torre said in a release. "As I said after the game, the determination of whether a baserunner has intentionally interfered with a player attempting to turn a double play is left to the judgment of the Umpire on the field, and that judgment call is not subject to review. I should add that determining where to draw the line between an illegal slide and a legitimate hard play is an extremely difficult call for our Umpires.

Video: Utley's Game 2 slide results in two-game suspension

"However, after thoroughly reviewing the play from all conceivable angles, I have concluded that Mr. Utley's action warrants discipline. While I sincerely believe that Mr. Utley had no intention of injuring Ruben Tejada, and was attempting to help his Club in a critical situation, I believe his slide was in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09 (a)(13), which is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base.

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"We have been in discussions with the Players Association throughout the year regarding potential rule changes to better protect middle infielders, and we intend to continue those discussions this offseason."

Video: NYM@LAD Gm2: Utley on his mindset during hard slide

The rule in question states:

"A batters is out when:

"A preceding runner shall, in the umpire's judgment, intentionally interfere with a fielder who is attempting to catch a thrown ball or to throw a ball in an attempt to complete any play.

"Comment: The objective of this rule is to penalize the offensive team for deliberate, unwarranted, unsportsmanlike action by the runner in leaving the baseline for the obvious purpose of crashing the pivot man on a double play, rather than trying to reach the base. Obviously this is an umpire's judgment play."

Video: Diamond Demo on Chase Utley's controversial slide

Umpires reviewed the play and awarded Utley second base. A replay review showed that Tejada did not make contact with the second-base bag as he attempted to turn the double play, nor did Utley. The Dodgers parlayed that call into a four-run inning, taking a 5-2 lead. Had the play been interpreted differently in the moment it occurred, the seventh inning could have ended with the Mets leading, 2-1, regardless of how far up the line the runner heading to first had advanced.

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Video: NYM@LAD Gm2: Mattingly revisits Utley's slide

On FOX Sports 1 during Game 3 of the American League Division Series between the Blue Jays and Rangers in Arlington, Torre elaborated on his written decision.

"I was sitting behind the first-base dugout last night," he said. "I know Chase plays very hard. From my angle it looked like a hard slide. It really wasn't until I looked at video later on that I saw how late the slide was and how he sort of followed Tejada, sliding into him. It was based on the fact that he slid very late and it appeared to me he hit Tejada and the ground about the same time. He was more targeting the player as opposed to the base. He certainly didn't want to hurt him. He was just breaking up the double play, but I just thought it was a little bit much."

Wolfe, Utley's agent, was quick to announce an appeal and denounce the discipline.

"A two-game suspension for a legal baseball play is outrageous and completely unacceptable," said Wolfe. "Chase did what all players are taught to do in this situation - break up the double play. We routinely see plays at second base similar to this one that have not resulted in suspensions. Chase feels terrible about Ruben Tejada's injury and everyone who knows him knows that he would never intentionally hurt anybody. We will be appealing this suspension immediately."

Video: LAD@NYM Gm3: Collins on Utley's apology, replay

Torre responded to Wolfe's criticism on FS1.

"I can't worry about what's happened in the past," Torre said. "I'm just worried about what I saw and the fact that we're trying to have rules that will keep these players on the field. It's unfortunate. Chase Utley's a great player. He's always played hard. I've always admired that about him. Unfortunately this time his playing hard, it just happened to have a bad result."

When asked about a possible rule change for runners sliding into second, Torre said: "I know you want to upend the second baseman or shortstop because he has the ball and to break up the double play, but I think we're more concerned about keeping guys on the field, so we're talking more. In fact, in the Arizona Fall League we're doing some testing on having the players go into second base as opposed to going for the infielder."

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The Mets issued this statement:

"The New York Mets completely support the decision made by Major League Baseball to suspend Chase Utley for two games and feel this was the appropriate course of action. With this decision behind us, the team and our fans can now focus on playing winning baseball."

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The last time a Dodgers player was suspended in the postseason was reliever Jay Howell, who was suspended for three days after being found to have pine tar on his glove during Game 3 of the 1988 National League Championship Series against the Mets. The suspension was reduced to two days after his appeal.