Jump to content

MadMax

Established Member
  • Posts

    4,126
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    229

Everything posted by MadMax

  1. I've already envisioned it. Behold... Who needs padding when you've got plasma shields? And notice!... the shield is transparent. No one can b!tch at you about not seeing the play! Now, aside from that, I (and several others here) already own the padding that should be used on CPs... it's this right here: Schutt had jumped aboard the D3O wagon well, well before the material even was fully understood. The advanced TPU-EVA foam is engineered to molecularly alter and react to an impact, all while remaining hydrophobic (sheds water) and structurally unaffected by heat. Schutt first employed D3O into their line of NFL-quality football helmets, as this advanced foam was far, far superior in protection, "cooler" (less insulative), and less voluminous than "cheese pack" open-cell foam, more adaptive and pliant than crude, basic closed cell foam, and a helluva lot lighter and, again, "cooler" than memory foam. The Schutt XV suffered from only two "flaws", neither of which had to do with the D3O laminate foam, nor the "cheese grater" ABS carapace plates... which, to a letter, were fantastic as always, lending to Schutt's innovative designs on their football shoulder pads. These flaws were: The pathetic attachment velcro between the foam pad and the carapace plates. The lack of brand-item recognition, or endorsement, a flaw or fault that befalls nearly every product in the umpire gear space that doesn't have the Lou Gehrig logo on it. That's it. Oh sure, the pre-Adams version had an utterly horrible harness-yoke thing that I cut away and modified so as to accommodate an UmpLife or DeltaFlex harness (and Schutt-Adams subsequently copied without giving me any acknowledgement), and its one-size-fits-most nature didn't fit everybody, but the thing was absolute nails... nails... in multi-game PU work, or in hot, sweltering environments. Now, does the next great CP need to have D3O? Not necessarily... D3O (the company) is a lot like BASF, and is very particular about who they partner with and supply their foam to. The same can be said about Team Wendy's and Zorbium. However, it does need to be more attentively and consciously advanced than sofa cushion or crude memory foam.
  2. 242, I hate to break it to ya, but you're giving a report on a house fire years after the house has already burnt to the ground in a mighty blaze, and several of us were either witnessing it directly, or were trying to put out the inferno with what water pistols we could. +POS abandoned (retail) operations well before 2020... about, what say @wolfe_man, 2017? 2016?... Dan Parsons (the younger) tried to continue his father's innovations, and he showed some real potential (the ZRO-G mask and CP, and the Cobra CP), but ultimately, got in over his head. Then, he got caught up in a PayPal loophole (scam) exploited by several ne'er-do-wells who purchased with PayPal, then cancelled as soon as he shipped, with PayPal issuing a refund, but the products would be delivered and not returned. At that time, PayPal had no safeguards (for the vendor) on that. For that last span of time, Dan was only taking orders from customers known to him; thus, several of us had to either call or email him directly. Even then, it would be hit or miss as to if the products would be delivered. When they were delivered, they were as good-quality as we expected them to be. In the end, it wasn't enough. Several of us actually tried to figure out a way of getting the Cobra CP and the ZRO-G mask sold through other more reputable and reliable vendors, such as Ump-Attire. I genuinely wanted to obtain the planform for the ZRO-G and the MAG-T (bonded magnesium mask; very rare) masks, and "shop them around" to other vendors as lower priced alternatives to the wretched DynaLites (dipped masks suck). That Honig's K4 was always a good alternative, in its own right. Hollow steel, with huge (ie. forgiving) ear guards and the additional crown guard, the chisel XCG that would support just about everybody's dangling TG, and a very accommodating bowl shape that didn't feel cramped when you put any mask pads of your choosing in it. The frame was available in 3 finishes – black, silver... and... ahem... navy (now, why oh why would an umpire mask be made in navy?... still??!! Could it be a few holdout states??? Hmmmm???). Best yet, you the umpire-customer would be given the options to choose the frame, choose the pads (type and color) you wanted in the frame, and any of the additional accessories, and the whole thing would be bagged, boxed, and sent to you, exactly how you ordered it. +POS did the same thing with the ZRO-G, albeit you couldn't get the Team Wendy pads thru +POS like you could from Honig's. Yeah, how's that for customer service, Wil-slugs? +POS is gone. But... certainly not forgotten. I emphatically want (and hope) that those guys ( @Cavalier1948 and @Umpiresrock74 among others) who are doing pad retrofitting on Golds would get ahold of either the ZRO-G or Cobra CPs, and really examine how +POS did laminate foam, using technical mesh, closed cell foam, and open cell "sizing" foam to produce a highly effective foam vest that performed vastly better than a Wilson sofa cushion, and was (often) 1/3rd the cost!!!
  3. No you do not. Use of those words is how we got cursed with nylon so crude it looks like and feels like the bottom of a Coleman camping tent. You need a technical (“technical” = synthetic) wicking mesh fabric. I was just looking around for similar, example suggestions, and I have here a set of Blackhawk knee pad inserts (I wear 5.11 pants for my other line of work, and I slip these into pockets in my pants), and they are exactly resemble what you’re making for your CP pad. Foam, sandwiched between a robust, abrasion resistant fabric on the outside, and softer, lighter synthetic (polyester) on the inside. Even that (rather cheap) gym shorts material would work, too. To understand why Wilson (and Douglas, and others, to be fair) used nylon in such prodigious quantities is A) they could glue the nylon to the foam directly, and then edge-stitch it with a lapped seam. Upholstery foam does not do well being stitched through, and B) the nylon has to hold up (and did) against constant abrasion and abuse, and caustic cleaning & disinfectant chemicals, that come from use as… football pads. Remember, the baseball umpire’s CP was born out of football shoulder pads. The companies used what they had at the time… and haven’t changed since!!! So what you need is a better fabric, akin to actual sports clothing. Check out what’s used on… well… volleyball knee pads and such. Force3 used neoprene as the outer skin on their CP, and it’s been received with mixed sentiments. Guys don’t understand why this was done, and they think the CP weaker because of it – because they can’t see or directly touch the hard plastic plates. Neoprene was used to “seal” in the Kevlar, because… Kevlar decays with exposure to UV, and neoprene is one of those fabrics that impedes UV transmission.
  4. Best thing you’ve said all year… … … from my vantage point at least. Golllllllll-damn! That thing is a rolling money pit.
  5. It is. I can’t remember +POS’s exact designation of it, but BB12 jumps to the front of my memory stack. It was a steel frame, with a chisel-point XCG (so as to easily mount a TG), and oddly, arrowhead ear struts positioned below the centerline. Why? One likely reason is that the harness strap would thereby be positioned lower (deeper) on the frame. Royal blue pads on a black frame would be quite the complement to a Carlucci CP. The All-Star is a FM25Ti Mk II. This is the only double-wire titanium mask on the market (all others are single-wire), and aside from the Nike “Icon” Ti, was the mask to have in the Majors because of how light it was. It never really showed up in umpire circles (everyone wanted the super-sexy, super-hard-to-get Icon), and only fell out of favor in catcher circles because All-Star proved, with science and demonstrations, that the FM4000 -series (both steel and magnesium) were better suited to geometric deflection than their FM25Ti.
  6. It was in Texas (TASO) for some time between 2011–2018(?). I was exposed to this at a tournament, and a TASO umpire called it (a Balk), ironclad in the belief it was a Balk, based on his experience in Texas high school baseball that previous spring. The way that he explained it, or the way that TASO rationalized it, the receiving of signs off the rubber was both A) imitating a stance or movement associated with his F1's pitching stance, and B) compelling / influencing a Runner (R1, especially) from departing from the base and taking a lead, thwarting steal attempts. Of course, because of the advent of wrist-cards, and signals coming directly from the dugout, NFHS addressed this in 2021 by codifying that despite how the F1 gets the sign (and it's allowed), the F1 must look in at the F2 prior to coming set.
  7. Is this the s#!tty end o’ the stick?? @834k3r, would that make The Wolf of Wall Street a Leonardo DiCaprio film… … or a Margot Robbie film?? 😍
  8. Is this sarcasm? I think this is sarcasm... ... ... at least I hope it's sarcasm.
  9. Why, because the sofa-cushion foam is rather insulating, and you're kept nice and warm like a blue sea lion on these chilly winter night games? The great big yellow "W" stands for Walrus.
  10. This needs to change. Below Major League Baseball games, the Plate Umpire is the only entity that can make a dead ball Live, and the only way they can do that is to either point and/or (audibly) call "Play". Umpires must understand this is very much a requirement. Exactly. We (umpires) don't call a Balk because we were mistaken, or deceived, or embarrassed for feeling negligent in our job of knowing the location of the ball. For a more thorough discussion of this, check out this topic: To reiterate... you/we/any umpire cannot Balk this. It is simply "No Play". Because the conditions / requirements to make the ball Live were not met, then the act of making the ball Live was never valid.
  11. Lou, you must not know many umpires at all. … … … or you live in a “Navy’s all ya need!” state.
  12. I can see you Happy Gilmore’ing it, and hopping in the first batting cage you can find to take pitches off the chest to test it out. In lieu of that, I think either @acpar72 or @kylejt has a “CP Tester On A Stick!”
  13. In fairness, neoprene isn’t exactly a crude open-cell upholstery foam, which is used on cheap sofas, loungers... and Wilson WestVests. That s#!t holds moisture like a sodden sponge 🧽. Ever dump a gallon of water on a cheap couch? ... ever wait around for it to dry?
  14. I too am... or was... a champion of the Pilot G2’s. I actually would prefer getting them in oddball colors (teal, orange, sky blue)... or pink (memorial to JS; also – “Hey Coach, can I have my pen back?”) because of how well and vibrant they write... Until... I bought a batch of Write-in-the-Rain notebooks for the umpires in my League, since we have to record defensive & offensive conferences, coach challenges, and my boss needs details on any warnings or ejections given. I thought I was being all slick and genius... until the first wet game I encountered... oh sure, the paper held up great! But the writing... just melted and dissolved away! Stupid me, gel pens are water-based! 🤨😰
  15. Do you even need the pectoral wings? Have you determined a method to attach the pauldron (outer shoulder plates) to the shoulder arch plates? This is neoprene, you say? That stuff cauterizes pretty well. Are you committed to jacketing it within a technical mesh fabric, and sewing on Velcro anchor straps? If you are, it’s best to mark where they’ll be by laying the carapace plates over the foam jacket, and then using a chalk marker or tradesman’s pencil (white/yellow/red) to mark through the slots onto the foam beneath. If this was me, I wouldn’t even bother stitching the anchor tabs on. I’d slice / lance / melt slots in the foam jacket, and then loop my own Velcro loops thru both. Here’s your chance to install side release buckles instead of t-hooks. T-hooks corrode and cut shirts when hit. Side release buckles are plastic, and could break, but if installed with Chicago screws, can be easily replaced if one breaks. Thought of that? I commend you you on doing something that Wilson couldn’t even get off their corporate a$$e$ to do in 25+ years.
  16. In both cases, @Richvee, those are incredible examples of out-of-box thinking & design. The roof?! Really?! But in both cases, why’d they ruin a perfectly good baseball field with a football gridiron?? Football’s 🏈 stoopid.
  17. @JSam21, myself, and guys like us do college and higher, where that coach is paid to know to ask us (umpires) about options. For HS, equivalent, and lower, it makes for more… harmonious game management if you at least indicate / inform that an/the option exists. HS coaches are paid, sure, but do I have a Class 6 former-MLB-player-now-coach, or a Class 1 PE-teacher coach that I have to announce / explain the call to? Additionally & mechanically, when enforcing the penalty & awarding bases, always begin with the BR. Award him 1B first, then work “forwards”. Place unforced Runners back at their bases TOP. Often, when you do this, a coach usually gets that inkling that an option is available, and comes to ask you about it.
  18. In 2-man, this position is taken primarily due to one of two reasons, lack of training (naïvety) notwithstanding – Over-eagerness on SA at 2B (and likely “burned” or exposed as “slow or lazy”) Fear (of getting hit) Granted, guys who are complete novices to umpiring pick up the bulk of their information from watching TV, where they see an umpire (hey, lookatthatwillya) at 2B… in B-deep. Even if they watch a game in person, and they get the general hint that he needs to be in “B”, as soon as he gets on a 60-90 in person (or worse, a 50-70), and realizes how close that is (to the plate), the Fear kicks in. Little League doesn’t help things, either, because the typical IP for BU with R1, and “closed bases”, is B-beyond. So, there is a quantity of lower-skilled (skilled, not lack of effort) umpires who are muddling around, doing games (50-70, 60-90) and getting the reps in, but without any structure as to why we stand there, or how we move there. And their use of… “improvised” positions come down to self-preservation of some variety (physical, pride, etc.)… except when it blows up, and blows up big. 🤯
  19. Of course it is! Same goes for hats. I can get a plain black ballcap (Richardson, even!), embroidered with a custom set of letters, or vector artwork for less $$$ than these New Era -brand hats we had to purchase for… certain associations.
  20. Which mask is your primary? For us in the amateur ranks, the FM4000 Steel & Magnesium models (as well as the Rampage Magnesium, TBH) present a complication, because their forehead volume is brief. It’s a challenge to wear a 6-stitch cleanly, without contact between frame and hat bill. A 4-stitch is more in order. Well, the All-Star Skully has that briefer bill ideally suited for these magnesium masks. … it just… still… has the con-cushion turned the wrong direction!!! 😫
  21. I concur with @noumpere… by using standard B (in 2-man), your window is much larger, as the thrown ball passing you is your trigger to turn. Drop step (R), cross over step (L), look in at the ideal angle so as to see ball arrive, fielder receive & tag, and R1 begin a slide in. Ideally, we should not be (finally) looking at R1 already at or in close proximity to the bag, nor should we be missing how & where the fielder (F4, especially) has set up to receive. Our window to see it, because of the passing throw, is that much briefer / smaller the further towards B-deep we go, alá 3- (as U3) & 4- man (as U2).
  22. <scsm> Jewelry was… Eye-black now is… Wrist-readers on belt remains… </scsm>
  23. Hint: MLB owns “half” of Rawlings. The MLB guys have access to items you and I commoners never will. And won’t, because no one thinks us a profitable market (at least that’s what Wilson tells ‘em). With that said, I have a hunch that if I asked you, “Why not an All-Star Skully”, or one of the All-Star -made skullcaps / earless batting helmets… I can already anticipate the response. 🫣
  24. Right. However, are you (All-Star) going to make small-batch sky blue pads for a marquee university baseball program with sure-fire TV coverage, shelling out millions of 💸 (hey hey hey! Texas A&M is reportedly going pay Jimbo Fisher $75M not to coach)… … or to sell to an amateur umpire somewhere in Palookaville, USA? Even @Thunderheads doesn’t have that kind of pull.
×
×
  • Create New...