Cubs play under protest against nationals

WASHINGTON – The Cubs defeated the Nationals 5-2 on Saturday, after the referees allowed Washington, closest Sean Doolittle, to start the ninth inning with his throw. The manager of the Cubs, Joe Maddon, came out of the dugout on two separate occasions to raise the issue and argue.

WASHINGTON – The Cubs played the 5-2 defeat on Saturday against the Nationals, after the referees allowed Washington to get closer Sean Doolittle throw the ninth inning using a toe tap with his delivery. Cubs manager Joe Maddon stepped out of the dugout on two separate occasions to raise the issue and chat with the home umpire and team leader Sam Holbrook.

Doolittle noticed for the first time that the Cubs were watching him during his warm-ups and, after his first run of the ninth inning, Maddon immediately left the canoe to complain to the referee team. The referees held a conference near the mound, but allowed Doolittle to continue the procedure while letting the Cubs protest the match.

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"At that point, he's not trying to do anything but make noise," Doolittle said. "And it was a little tired. I do not know, sometimes he has to remind people how smart he is and how attentive he is to the game. So he put his stamp on it, that's for sure.

The managers are allowed to protest a match when they claim that the referees have misapplied the rules. The Major League Baseball will determine later if the contested decision has broken the rules, but the match will not be replayed unless it is also determined that the violation affected the Protestant team's chances of victory.

"[Maddon] thought [Doolittle] stoned, which in itself is not illegal, "Holbrook told a pool reporter. "And all that comes from the fact that his pitcher was called for something that was a little different from what Doolittle was doing. So, in our opinion, Doolittle has not done anything illegal.

Maddon's problem stems from an incident earlier this season with Cubs Carl Edwards Jr., who was told he could not use a similar pitcher movement, a hesitation that developed in a snap in the first series of the season against the Rangers in Chicago.

The Cubs had identified this move from Doolittle before arriving in Washington and wanted him to receive the same message.

"It is very simple; That's exactly what Carl said he could not do, "said Maddon. "I was told it was an illegal pitch and that he could not do it. I said, "If you do not clean, I will protest the match." So we protested against the match. It's their rule, not mine. I did not ask for it first.

While Maddon was discussing, Doolittle decided to focus more on the execution of his throws on the mound. He started some warm-ups while the managers and referees held a conference, exaggerating his pressure on his feet by putting almost all his feet on the ground. When the action resumed, Doolittle scored a 1-2-3 innings with a seven-run withdrawal. Maddon said that he would like to play for this reason in the ninth inning.

Maddon said that there must be a clear decision indicating whether a pitching motion like this is allowed. The Cubs believe that forcing Edwards to change his motion is one of the reasons he has had trouble this season, part-time with a 9:45 ERA.

Edwards, meanwhile, said he liked that Maddon caused such a ruckus about all of this.

"It just shows that they have my back," Edwards said. "It's a rule, I can not say anything, it's a rule, they say it's illegal land, it's illegal land."