ST. LOUIS — Don’t kill the umps.
As floored as John Farrell was with Saturday’s obstruction call on Will Middlebrooks that gave the Cardinals the winning run in Game 3 of the World Series, the Red Sox manager Sunday exonerated umpires Jim Joyce and Dana DeMuth.
“That call was made as it should have been,” Farrell said before the Red Sox faced the Cardinals in Game 4 at Busch Stadium.
But Farrell took aim on the rule, saying a provision should be made to determine intent on such a play. As the obstruction rule is written, it doesn’t matter if the interference is intentional or not.
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Farrell may get his wish. Joe Torre, baseball’s vice president of operations, told The Post the rule will be examined this winter.
“A couple of people have raised the issue with me,” Torre said. “It’s only fair to do that. I try to serve the managers and this is something we will look at.”
In Saturday’s ninth inning, Middlebrooks became entangled with Allen Craig after the Red Sox third baseman dove to catch Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s throw wide of the bag. Though Daniel Nava retrieved the ball and nailed the gimpy Craig at the plate, Joyce had signaled obstruction on Middlebrooks and DeMuth determined it was enough to keep the runner from scoring.
The play started with Jon Jay hitting a sharp grounder to a drawn-in Dustin Pedroia, who made a diving stop and fired to the plate to nail potential winning-run Yadier Molina. Craig then broke from second to third base, drawing Saltalamacchia’s throw.
Farrell would like to see a “Type B” obstruction added to the rule book, where the fielder is not punished for inadvertent contact with the runner.
“If there was the ability to have some measure in there in that portion of the judgment — judgment on intent,” Farrell said. “Right now there is none. It doesn’t matter if there is intent or not. When Will Middlebrooks is lying on his stomach, it’s hard to say he was intending to impede that runner’s progress.”
As the rule is written, the base runner can initiate the contact and be the beneficiary.
“They can seek out an infielder, run into him and benefit by advancing,” Farrell said. “So [Saturday] when there’s no intent, given the heightened importance of the game at the time and where we are, you’d like to see possibly the Type B portion of that rule addressed.”
Craig indicated he was unaware of what was happening as he rumbled toward the plate with the winning run on Saturday, but he wasn’t alone. Adam Wainwright indicated he was confused that the Cardinals had just won the game — because it was clear Craig was out at the plate.
“I didn’t know what happened, but I was running out on the field, too,” Wainwright said. “And I got about halfway out there and saw Craig out by a couple of feet and started tiptoeing backwards into the dugout.
“[Dana DeMuth] called him safe and I thought, ‘Wow, I think I’ve just witnessed the worst call in the history of our game at home plate, only to find out there was obstruction. So there were four or five times I didn’t know what the heck was going on.”