A new hot topic has enveloped the world of baseball, and it has nothing to do with steroids or metal bats. Instead, it has everything to do with that painful-to-watch collision between Florida Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey at the plate.

In the wake of the collision, Posey has ended up out for the season with a broken left fibula and three torn ligaments in his left ankle. But in a way, he's lucky he got off that easy. Posey himself acknowledges he could have been left with a spinal cord injury.

The incident has caused quite a stir, adding fuel to the fire of those who believe that the game's rules should be altered in an effort to protect catchers. Catcher is the most vulnerable position on the diamond, and players who make a living out of crouching behind the plate are routinely struck by foul tips, bats and runners trying to score.

In the case of the Posey takeout, Cousins — in what appears to be a clean play (even if Posey doesn't sound quite completely convinced of that himself) — barreled into the catcher to try and knock the ball from his glove. It's a common occurrence in baseball games, and despite the fact that Posey never actually had full possession of the ball, there is no reason to suspect any type of foul play on the part of Cousins.

The hurt came when Posey's left ankle got stuck under his own weight while he fell and twisted into an awkward position. Posey believes that he did give Cousins room to slide around him on the play, but that the Marlin didn't take it.

As Posey lay writhing on the ground, it was clear that this was no ordinary twisted ankle. X-rays showed that Posey had fractured a bone in his lower leg. The Giants have lost last year's NL Rookie of the Year and one of their best players for the season. The loss of Posey could cripple the defending world champions' repeat bid.

Was it all worth it?

Giants manager Bruce Bochy told KNBR in San Francisco that the issue of catcher collisions "needs to be addressed."

ESPN writer Buster Olney echoed this sentiment in his daily blog, pointing out that "there's a reason why outfielders don't dive headfirst into walls and hitters don't stick their heads over the plate with the bases loaded; players don't willfully put themselves at risk of significant injury for one run, for one play."

Had this been Game Seven of the World Series, it would have been a good idea, but with over 110 games left in the season, Posey probably should have thought more carefully about how he positioned himself.

Olney also reported that Posey's agent, Jeff Berry, reached out to Major League Baseball's leader of on-field operations, Joe Torre, to express his concerns about the catcher collision situation. Berry criticized the rules currently in place (or the lack of rules), arguing that players are left much too vulnerable. Berry also drew a spot-on parallel to football, saying that "if you go helmet to helmet in the NFL, it's a $100,000 fine, but in baseball, you have a situation in which runners are (slamming into) fielders.

"It's brutal. It's borderline shocking. It just stinks for baseball."

Should plays like these be deemed dirty? Or is it all just part of playing a physical sport? How would you feel if one of your favorite Houston Astros was involved a collision like this?