Caballero: Umps changing pitch-clock rule 'without any warnings'

New York Yankees super-utility player José Caballero hasn't been impressed with how umpires have handled a specific pitch-clock rule, and he wants more clarification from the league about how it should be called.

Caballero was issued a warning for intentionally delaying the game in the sixth inning of Sunday's 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays when he didn't appear to be alert to pitcher Spencer Miles by the eight-second mark on the clock.

"(The umpire) was saying that, if I look down, he was gonna call a strike on me," Caballero said postgame. "So, I don't really understand the rule there. They've been changing the rule without any warnings ahead. I don't know why they're doing that."

Caballero became visibly upset with home plate umpire Steven Jaschinski, leading to a long discussion involving Yankees manager Aaron Boone and crew chief John Tumpane.

The lengthy discussion also had an effect on Miles, who admitted afterward that it disrupted his flow, leading him to allow a run in the sixth.

"We're supposed to be addressed at eight seconds left, and it seems like every time it's at 10, he taps the plate, looks at you like a fake look, then looks back down," the pitcher said, according to Sportsnet's Hazel Mae.

"I see that, so I'm coming set," he added. "Next thing you know, they're talking. There's no strike rewarded to me. He wasn't kicked out of the game, and I don't get a warm-up pitch, so it was just three, four minutes of nothing. That was tough, but got back in there the first strike and left a curveball over the plate. ... Definitely trying to stay focused. It's impossible to stay hot because they're at the plate. I can't warm up or throw any warm-up pitches. I think, mentally, you just have to stay ready as soon as he steps back in that box."

Caballero has a reputation of stepping into the box and not making eye contact with a pitcher until the last second in hopes of disrupting their timing. The tactic has previously led to other exchanges between him and various umpires.

"It's not like I invented the rules. I wish they were more clear with the rules," Caballero said.

When asked whether he would seek clarification before the next game, Caballero added: "Please, I need it because I do the same thing over and over, even from the windup, even from the stretch. I do the same move. It's not my fault the pitchers rush a little bit."

"It's been four years with the new ruling, and they still haven't figured out what to do with it," the 29-year-old said.

Caballero was a big part of New York's win Sunday, hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning.