Less than 12 hours after his involvement in a play Wednesday
night that potentially ended Buster Posey’s season, Marlins
outfielder Scott Cousins remained visibly shaken.
By Juan C. Rodriguez – Sun Sentinel
SAN FRANCISCO – Less than 12 hours after his involvement in a play Wednesday night that potentially ended Buster Posey’s season, Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins remained visibly shaken.
Cousins was devastated to learn Posey, a Florida State product and the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, suffered a lower leg fracture from their home plate collision.
“It’s awful, but it’s part of the game and you have to play it as hard as you can,” said Cousins, who attended the University of San Francisco and still lives in the area. “That’s why I’m here . . . You wish his legs could come out from under him and he could roll over, get up, dusty himself off, maybe even say something to me mean. I’ll take it, but you don’t want to see his leg get broken. It’s the worst.”
In the 12th inning of a tie game Wednesday, Cousins tagged from third on a short fly ball to right-center. Nate Schierholtz’s throw short-hopped Posey, who never had possession of the ball. All Cousins saw as he streaked toward the plate was Posey turning to tag him.
Posey’s left ankle did not roll as his body folded backward following the impact. Cousins went back to touch the plate and put a hand on Posey to assess the damage.
“As soon as the collision happened, I knew the way we hit, I immediately thought make sure he’s OK,” said Cousins, before Thursday’s matinee. “He wasn’t saying much, but he was kind of groaning in pain. I called over twice (Wednesday) night. He was being seen by the medical staff the whole time. I waited around until after midnight and he was still in there. I left a message with both of his trainers. I’m going to send over a written message, too.”
Giants manager Bruce Bochy, a former major league catcher, fell short of calling the play dirty. He did suggest Cousins could have taken another route to the plate. Wednesday, after the 7-6 Marlins win, Cousins said Posey’s position did not leave a sliding lane.
“There’s nobody here that’s not sorry,” Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said. “Even after he scored, there was no celebration. There was zero celebration in the dugout.”
