Cubs Play Ninth Inning Under Protest Against Nationals After Unusual Sean Doolittle Delivery

The Cubs are using unusual means to show their discontent with Sean Doolittle's delivery in their (as it currently stands) 5-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Joe Maddon argued that Doolittle's windup was illegal, given the noticeable toe-tap before the Nats closer released the ball.

For context, nothing is likely to come of this, though MLB will take a look. Should they deem the protest accurate, the game will be replayed, but this is very rare.

Per the MLB rulebook, these are the qualifications for a game under protest.

Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations later determines whether the protested decision violated the rules, though the game will not be replayed unless it is also determined that the violation adversely affected the protesting team's chances of winning.

So, essentially, a game under protest can only be replayed if the play in question had such a monumental influence that it impacted the affected team's chances of winning.

However, this appears to more of a ploy by Maddon. Cubs reliever Carl Edwards was told a similar motive in his delivery was clearly illegal earlier this season

By making a noticeable action such as a game protest, Maddon is letting it be known to the league that windup rules are at the very least inconsistent, and at worst getting out of hand.