Crash test: What's YOUR play at the plate?

In the sixth inning of Thursday's Mets-Pirates game, Nick Evans of the Mets was steaming around third base on a single to leftfield. Matt Diaz threw the ball home. Catcher Dusty Brown waited for it, his body partially blocking Evans' access to the plate.

Evans had to make a quick decision: slide around Brown or crash into him?

It's a decision baserunners have to make every day from April to October. It's a decision a Florida Marlins player named Scott Cousins made on May 25, igniting a baseball passion play involving a serious injury to a franchise player, many harsh words, a debate about rule changes, and, sadly, death threats.

Evans called his choice "a game-time decision." He decided to slide. When the ball skipped away from Brown, the catcher vacated his position and no contact was necessary.

But it could have been.

It's doubtful a Nick Evans-Dusty Brown collision would have made headlines before May 25. But the eyes of baseball are fixed on the 30 feet or so between a runner coming down the third-base line and a catcher holding his ground and waiting for a throw.

That has been true ever since Cousins leveled Buster Posey, the wunderkind catcher for the defending World Series champion Giants. Posey suffered a fractured left fibula and three torn ankle ligaments. He is out for the season.

The recriminations started almost immediately. The first debate was about whether Cousins' actions -- he scored the eventual winning run in the 12th inning of a tie game -- were clean or dirty.

Some called for new rules limiting contact. Others said it wasn't necessary to change a practice that has been in baseball since its infancy. Giants general manager Brian Sabean made strong anti-Cousins statements last week and was rebuked by MLB.

Cousins, a Bay Area native, has received death threats, which led Posey on Saturday to call for calm. "We all need to move on," he said.

If only it were that easy. The Posey-Cousins incident is the talk of baseball. Catchers are baserunners, too, so they have a unique perspective on the issue.

The Mets' Josh Thole said: "There's nothing you can do as a catcher. You try to put yourself in the best position. You think about getting the out, and whatever happens . . . "

Catchers go through drills to learn how to block pitches. Coaches hit pop-ups straight up in the air for hours in spring training so catchers can learn to catch pop-ups. But Thole, who started catching full-time in 2008, said there are no drills that can teach you how to stand in against a baserunner who is hell-bent on separating you from the baseball.

"When I first started catching, I was getting hit all the time," he said. "I never gave them any of the plate. I always just stood there and guys just plowed into me. I got hurt three times doing it. So I started giving them a piece of the plate and kind of going where the ball goes."

That's the unknown variable in these plays: The catcher can set up in whatever position he chooses, but the throw is going to determine where he ends up at the moment of impact and whether he can brace himself.

On the Posey-Cousins play, the throw from rightfielder Nate Schierholtz short-hopped Posey. He went down on one knee but failed to catch it. Even so, he turned toward Cousins without the ball in an attempt to tag him in what must have been a reflex motion. Cousins lowered his right shoulder and Posey was hurt.

Thole said some baserunners are known by catchers to be contact-initiators. Cousins hadn't been around long enough to get a reputation, but Florida teammate Logan Morrison has one.

That was backed up when Morrison said: "If it was me running, I would have put him in the third row of the stands. If he got hurt, I'm sorry. That's part of the game."

Said Thole: "You know your handful of guys who are going to come after you . . . They're not going to slide. I know some guys have gotten hurt sliding, so they don't slide. A catcher drops a shin guard on them and they say, 'I'm done with that. I'll just run you over.' "

Then there's the other side: A player who will never crash into a catcher because he doesn't want to get injured himself. Said Carlos Beltran: "I'll never collide with anyone. I think it's a big risk to get hurt. Every player approaches plays like that differently. I just go for the plate and score the run."