Major League Baseball has told teams that it’s perfectly OK for pitchers to carry the kind of scouting cards that umpire Joe West confiscated from Philadelphia reliever Austin Davis on the mound this weekend.Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said he’d been informed the cards were legal. They are Jake Lamb Jersey , provided they don’t delay games, MLB advised clubs in clarifying the policy.“I think it’s great that our pitchers are able to have their game plans on them,” Kapler said Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. “I think it takes a lot of mental focus, takes a lot of bandwidth to get out the best hitters in baseball. And when you can just take a little of that off your mind and put it on a card, I think that’s helpful for pitchers and good for baseball.”It has become common in the age of advanced baseball analytics to see outfielders and infielders pulling info cards from their pockets to check on proper positioning. But the sight of a pitcher doing it on the mound caught a lot of attention at Citizens Bank Park.The unusual situation occurred Saturday night in the eighth inning of the Chicago Cubs’ 7-1 win at Philadelphia.The NL Central-leading Cubs were ahead 5-1 as Addison Russell approached the plate. Davis took the reference card from his back pocket, checked the scouting report on Russell, and then put it away.West, in his 41st season as an umpire, came in from third base and took the card. He said it was illegal under Rule 6.02(c)(7), which states that the pitcher shall not have on his person, or in his possession http://www.diamondbacksfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-greinke-jersey , any foreign substance.Kapler and Davis said the left-hander was looking at the card merely for information on the Cubs hitters. The 25-year-old rookie said he’s used them this season.“I think usually it’s a quick glance and go. I was waiting for whoever it was to get in the box. So I think it took an extra second or something and caught his eye. But I don’t know,” Davis said after the game.“Our analytics department works really, really hard to come up with this stuff for us and I want to use it because they work all day to come up with stuff to help get guys out. And if I have an answer to get a guy out, I want to know what that is,” he said.Davis said he made the card himself.“This is something I create. We have our meeting where we go over the hitters. I take that information and put it on a card so I don’t have to try and memorize it and use my mental energy to get ready for the game,” he said. “Then I just take a glance and go.”West kept this card.“I saw him take it out and I went, ‘What the heck is that?'” West said.West called the league office after the game for a ruling.“I didn’t want to throw him out,” West said postgame. “I know it’s foreign but he’s not trying to cheat. Maybe he’s trying to get an advantage because he’s reading the scouting report, but it wasn’t pine tar, it wasn’t an emery board, it wasn’t whatever.“In the long run Jeff Mathis Jersey , maybe they’ll let him (have the card). Right now, my hands are tied until they say yes or no. Right now, until the office says it’s OK to carry this, he can’t do it,” he said. The Reds lefty had his first bad outing in a while in the loss."The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the GameScooter Gennett continues to have himself a fantastic season. After cooling off a bit in July, he has come roaring back in the late-Summer months. He hit .318/.357/.458 in the month of August and has started off September even hotter. After homering in the game yesterday, he added 2 more to his total today and continues to be one of the Reds’ offensive leaders this season. In all, he went 2 for 4 with those 2 solo home runs. Have another trophy, Scooter.Honorable mentions are due to: Scott Schebler, for going 2 for 4 on the night and Matt Wisler, for striking out 2 in a scoreless inning of relief.Key PlaysThe Pirates got to Cody Reed early and often in this game. Adam Frazier (of course) started things off in the bottom of the 1st with a 1-out double and then moved to 3rd on a single by Gregory Polanco. That brought up Francisco Cervelli http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-pat-neshek-jersey , who singled on a grounder to left to bring in Frazier. Thankfully, the inning ended when Jose Osuna smoked a liner at Eugenio Suarez, who promptly caught it and doubled off Polanco at 2nd. Pirates led, 1-0.Pittsburgh was able to grow its lead in the bottom of the 3rd. Starling Marte hit a single with 1 out and then moved to 2nd on a walk by Adam Frazier. Gregory Polanco then doubled to right to bring in both runners. An infield single put Francisco Cervelli on first, and then both runners moved up to 2nd and 3rd on a double-steal. A Jose Osuna sac-fly brought in Polanco and the Pirates led, 4-0.The Pirates weren’t done. In the bottom of the 4th, Pablo Reyes hit an infield single. He moved to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt, but the bunt wouldn’t matter because Starling Marte hit a 2-out dinger to right-center to extend the lead to 6-0.The Reds tried to mount a rally in the top of the 7th and were able to get a couple runs back. Scooter Gennett hit a solo shot with 1 out to get things going. After singles by Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler and a walk by Tucker Barnhart loaded the bases, Phillip Ervin was hit by a pitch to bring in Suarez. Unfortunately that was all the Reds could muster out of the situation and the Pirates still led, 6-2. Scooter Gennett was able to help the Reds cut even further into the lead with another solo dinger in the top of the 8th. Pirates led, 6-3.The Pirates were able to add one more run in the bottom of the 8th off reliever Michael Lorenzen and the Reds were unable to come back. Pirates win Lenny Dykstra Jersey , 7-3.Tony GraphaninoSource: FanGraphsOther NotesCody Reed wasn’t great today, finishing with a final line of: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Hopefully he still gets another shot in the rotation, considering how well he pitched before this outing. Gabriel Guerrero made his Major League debut as a pinch-hitter in the 6th. Unfortunately, he struck out. You’ll get ‘em next time.John Fay of The Enquirer caught up with Reds’ interim manager Jim Riggleman before the game to ask him about Homer Bailey making tomorrow’s start. Riggs had a few...interesting...things to say about the situation.Homer is, by the way, making tomorrow’s start against the Pirates as the Reds try to avoid the sweep. He will be facing off against Jameson Taillon. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM ET.Tunes.
