Weirdest Play Ever And James McDonald Sorta Gets Demoted

I watch a lot of baseball, and I consider myself pretty knowledgable about the rules, but I was completely confused in the second inning. Here's the explanation Tony Jackson had:

"What happened was this: with runners on second and third and one out, Randy Wolf hit a line smash up the middle that D-Backs pitcher Dan Haren snagged with his glove (it would have been a two-run single to center otherwise). Both Andre Ethier (third) and Juan Pierre (second) were WAY off their respective bags and had no chance of getting back.

But as Haren turned and fired to second for what appeared to be an easy out, Ethier just kept on running without turning back. Second baseman Felipe Lopez took the throw from Haren and seemed to overrun the bag, then simply ran to the spot where Pierre was standing, frozen, about 10 feet to the third-base side of second base and actually TAGGED Pierre. Well, in the time it took Lopez to get there, Ethier was able to get all the way down the 3B line and cross home plate BEFORE Lopez tagged Pierre.

But that is NOT the reason the run counted.

The reason the run counted was that the D-Backs then left the field WITHOUT ANYONE EVER TOUCHING THIRD BASE to double off Ethier. If Lopez had bothered to then touch third base on his way off the field, with the ball in his glove, Ethier would have been the fourth out of the inning -- and that isn't as superfluous as it sounds, because that would have meant the run would NOT have counted.

As the Dodgers jogged back onto the field for the bottom of the second, Joe Torre slowly walked out and conferred with plate umpire Larry Vanover and 3B umpire Charlie Reliford, pleading his case that the run should count. Vanover and Reliford ultimately agreed, and the Dodgers had a run.

The moral of this story is that Haren should have thrown to third to double off Ethier in the first place instead of throwing to second to double off Pierre. That's a lesson for the Little Leaguers: if you're trying to double off runners who failed to tag up, and there are more than one of them, always double off the LEAD RUNNER first."

In short, they're treating it as if Ethier and Pierre both left early on a tag-up play, like somebody might on a deep flyball to center field or something. So they tagged Pierre out, but by then Ethier's run would have counted unless they appealed that Ethier left 3rd early. At least that's how I simplified it in my feeble brain. Regardless, this is one of the few times I was genuinely shocked by a ruling.

In something unrelated, I was disturbed to find out that James McDonald has been temporarily demoted to the bullpen in favor of Eric Stults.

"Rookie fifth starter James McDonald will be pushed back three days instead of pitching the next time his spot comes up in the rotation on Thursday, manager Joe Torre said Sunday. Meanwhile, McDonald will be available to pitch out of the bullpen."

It sounds like a temporary deal, but it also sounds like McDonald's hold on the 5th starter spot is tenuous at best. I don't quite understand the skepticism. I love Stults, and have always sung his praises, but he has nowhere near the upside as McDonald. The least the Dodgers need to do is show some kind of confidence in him.