Frustrated Farrell follows up with Torre about slide rule

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell was adamant the new slide rule wasn't properly enforced Friday at Camden Yards when Manny Machado spiked Dustin Pedroia as he tried to break up a potential double play, so he decided to take the issue up Saturday with Joe Torre, the league's chief baseball officer.

"There was some conversation with the league today," Farrell told MLB.com's Jeff Seidel. "Clearly, there's a difference in opinion in how that rule was interpreted, and certainly the slide. Bottom line is this: if that slide last night is not deemed an illegal slide, we should just get rid of the rule."

Related - Pedroia unfazed by Machado's slide: 'I'm not the baseball police'

In Farrell's estimation, the Red Sox should've been awarded a double play on Mark Trumbo's fielder's choice that precipitated Machado's controversial slide - which forced Pedroia to an early exit with ankle and knee soreness - because it didn't meet the criteria, as outlined in Rule 6.01(j), of a "bona fide slide." Under the new rule, a double play is to be awarded to if the runner headed for second A) doesn't make contact with the ground before reaching the base; B) isn't able or doesn't attempt to reach the base with a hand or foot; C) isn't able or doesn't attempt to remain on the base at the completion of the slide (except at home plate); or D) changes his path for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder.

The umpiring crew determined, however, that Pedroia never made an earnest effort to turn a double play, and thus refused to call Trumbo out at first, sticking to their ruling after video review, too.

"As I said after the game last night, there's got to be (a) deliberate attempt to turn a double play," Farrell said. "I don't know how you can do that when you've got someone laying on your left leg on the left-field side of second base. Still, that was an extremely late slide, and, in my view, an illegal slide."

Pedroia wasn't nearly as perturbed.

"I saw it. I don't care. It's baseball," he said. "I was trying to get one out, you know what I mean? So I just put my foot on the back part of the base to get that out. If he just slid into the part of the base that I gave him, he'd have been safe. Luckily he didn't; we got the out."