Yankees stun Phillies in Game 4 | via daringireball.com and Philidelphia Enquirer
With Mark Teixeira batting, Damon stole second. Upon arriving there, he saw third baseman Feliz on the base, because the infield had shifted to defend against the lefthanded batter. With no one covering third, Damon continued.
Afterward, no one would say exactly which Phillie should have covered the base.
“It’s the catcher or pitcher,” said manager Charlie Manuel. “Evidently, there was some miscommunication there. . . . Usually the catcher tries to get down there.”
Said Lidge: “To be honest, that’s not really something you go over a lot. I don’t know who is supposed to cover on that.”
Neither did Feliz. “That’s a play, we never got anybody to say, ‘OK, you’ve got to go out there, you’ve got to go here.’ ”
Damon expected to see Lidge on third. “We have talked about it throughout the year, especially when Mark is up,” he said. “I was just trying to be aggressive and get into scoring position, and it just worked out where there was a throw. The third baseman covered [second], and the pitcher did not” cover third.
First time ever that I’ve seen the infield shift bite the defensive team in the arse. I initially thought that Damon had accidentally overrun second on the slide, then he just about walked over to 3rd. Brilliant head’s up play by Damon.
I guess it’s important to think about the possible consequences before you put the infield shift on. Not to mention that the catcher needs to make sure the throw doesn’t go to the right field side of second base.