NEW YORK – Given the crime of which Major League Baseball accuses Chase Utley, poetry was served when the league came in high, hard and from the blind side on Sunday night.

For his violent take-out the night before of New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, whose leg was broken on the play, Utley was suspended for two games.

Through his agent, Utley announced his intention to appeal, which the league intends to hear and rule on prior to Monday night's Game 3 of the National League division series at Citi Field.

Utley's argument likely will not be the league's rulebook, which specifically prohibits the sort of intentional collisions that injured Tejada, but rather decades of lax enforcement of those rules. The Dodgers did not comment publicly other than to say they stood behind Utley's decision to appeal, and privately noted the league's capriciousness, along with the unprecedented nature of the punishment.

Chase Utley is appealing his two-game suspension for his illegal slide. (AP) More

Joel Wolfe, Utley's agent, released a statement: "A two-game suspension for a legal baseball play is outrageous and completely unacceptable. Chase did what all players are taught to do in this situation – break up the double play. We routinely see plays at second base similar to this one that have not resulted in suspensions. Chase feels terrible about Ruben Tejada's injury and everyone who knows him knows that he would never intentionally hurt anybody."

The Mets issued a statement supporting the league's decision to suspend Utley.

Chief baseball officer Joe Torre said in a release he believed discipline was warranted because Utley violated the rule against targeting defenseless fielders, particularly around second base. He cited rule 5.09 (a)(13), which, he said, "is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base." He then noted the league has been "in discussions" with the players' union in regard to protecting middle infielders, an emphasis that apparently began Saturday night.

The league has tired of runners knocking shortstops into left field. And, instead, punished Utley from out of left field. In the aftermath of Utley's slide – what many Mets, including Game 3 starter Matt Harvey, preferred to call a "tackle" – it was possible to hate the outcome of the play (Tejada's injury) and understand the intent, which was to keep an inning alive by any means. With the league's ruling, it's possible to hate the outcome, hate the intent and disagree with the punishment.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Sunday it was possible Utley would be in the starting lineup Monday night against Harvey, and Mets fans surely would have enjoyed the access to Utley, though that seems to be in jeopardy. If the suspension holds, Utley would not be available until Game 5, should the series go that long.

And, yes, at some point this division series would have to return to the field.

Utley broke Tejada's leg. No matter how you feel about why or how that happened there remains the matter of the Dodgers and Mets playing at least two more games, along with the matter of those two games being housed at Citi Field, along with the matter of just how offended the Mets are by Utley's dive-bombing of Tejada.

In the quiet of the Mets' clubhouse late Saturday, one player said to another, "So, dirty or not?" The second guy looked up like he'd been clunked in the forehead with a pool cue, seriously pained there could exist a softer interpretation. "Well, yay-uh," he said, and the first one nodded, convinced.

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