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Baseball-Utley still active, but not in lineup for Game Three

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley remained eligible to play in Monday's NLDS against the New York Mets as the appeal of his two-game suspension has not been heard, but he was not in the starting lineup. Utley was suspended for what was deemed an illegal slide into Mets' shortstop Ruben Tejada, who suffered a broken right leg from a high, late collision at second base during Saturday's second game of the best-of-five, which is knotted at 1-1. While Major League Baseball was ready to hear the appeal on Monday, the Players Association asked for more time to prepare for the hearing, which can be held up to 14 days after the discipline. The play has caused a firestorm of debate on Twitter, at the water cooler and on talk radio on whether Utley's aggressive collision with Tejada was simply hard-nosed baseball or a reckless play. While the Dodgers' defended Utley's action, Mets players were angered by the slide and New York sports talk shows fielded a heavy stream of outraged calls over the play. Utley can expect a deafening jeer from the Citi Field crowd during introductions at Monday's Game Three. (Reporting by Larry Fine; Editing by Andrew Both)