Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports: Fooled ‘em twice: Feliz picks off two Royals in ninth

Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports Latest Big League Stew - MLB from Yahoo! Sports Fooled ‘em twice: Feliz picks off two Royals in ninth 19 May 2011, 6:40 pm Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz caught two Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning Wednesday night — on consecutive at-bats — thanks to a great pickoff move. But shame on the umpires, the Royals say, for not calling a balk on Feliz after he made pinch-runners Jarrod Dyson and Mike Aviles look silly. Dyson especially so. Not since 2003, reports Stats LLC, had two runners from the same team gotten picked off in the same inning. Watch Feliz make his moves Feliz obviously didn't have his best stuff. On his first pitch, he allowed a game-tying home run to rookie Eric Hosmer for his first blown save of the season and first after 19 straight going back to 2010. Overall, he allowed three hits and two walks — including one to swing machine Jeff Francoeur, of all people — and looked shaky delivering to home. But not to first. His pickoff move kept the Royals in check long enough for the Rangers to win 5-4 in 11 innings. Dyson had been 9 for 9 in steals and Aviles was 8 for 9. But were Feliz's moves legal? The Royals are talkin' the balk. "He bent his front knee. He definitely did," said Aviles. "He had a balk move and it went unnoticed and he picked two guys off. His left knee broke forward. His left knee bent. Once your left knee bends, you've got to go to the plate." Royals manager Ned Yost agreed with his own guy. Rangers manager Ron Washington begged to differ. A balk move? Washington scoffed at the idea. "There's pitchers in the league who are doing that. The umpire never called a balk," he said. "So I don't know anything about Neftali having a balk move. Of course there's other guys in the league doing that. The umpire didn't call it a balk. "That's all I've got to say about it." Thank you, Forrest. Well, balks are a lot like strike zones — while they have rulebook definitions, they also tend to be called without consistency. And some umpires are more apt to call them than others. Mike Muchlinski twice gave Feliz the benefit of any doubt. If you have an opportunity, watch the entire inning on MLB.tv using the Royals broadcast. Analyst Frank White, who stole 178 bases in his major league career, said that if a right-handed pitcher first moves his right foot (the one on the rubber), then he's throwing to first base. It's clear, watching in super slow-mo, that Feliz first moves his left foot on both pickoffs. Now, Dyson wasn't going to get the benefit of the doubt because he was attempting to steal on Feliz's first move and got caught leaning. Aviles simply was beaten by Feliz's ridiculous quickness. And, apparently, by Feliz breaking the rules. Aviles argued the call at first base, complaining to Muchlinski that the tag was late — but apparently not about the balk. Aviles went into the clubhouse and checked the video — something umpires do not have the luxury of doing. But chances are the blue men group will be watching Feliz a little closer next time. Picking off two guys in the same inning has a tendency to draw attention. Follow Dave on Twitter — @AnswerDave — and engage the Stew on Facebook You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.