dumbdumb

Annnnnd, how many stee/ball calls have you done? Remember, even just a flinch counts, just like a flinch for a balk. Oh yes, I've done it too. This is a timing issue. Just remember, nobody's (ESPN1-infinity, Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, or whoever has the contract) going anywhere till you call it.

Yes, one strike was near the top of the zone and one strike at the bottom of the zone, but so what. And the called 3rd strike was better than the called 2nd strike. Swing the bat. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2010/06/things-get-heated-for-dodgers-but-not-against-the-yankees.html http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?s_type=3&sp_type=1&batterX=70&month=06&day=25&game=gid_2010_06_25_nyamlb_lanmlb_1%2F&year=2010&pitchSel=121250&prevGame=gid_2010_06_25_nyamlb_lanmlb_1%2F Of course pitch f/x by brooks baseball is not the same as the one used by MLB to rate the umpires. The systems are similar but not the same and Brooks system may have a more lenient top and bottom zone. Here's another one http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers/post/_/id/4849589/rangers-upset-at-the-umps http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?s_type=3&sp_type=1&batterX=24&month=06&day=25&game=gid_2010_06_25_houmlb_texmlb_1%2F&year=2010&pitchSel=119215&prevGame=gid_2010_06_25_houmlb_texmlb_1%2F Once again, called 3rd strike was better than called 2nd strike. However, this by no stretch of the imagination is to say umpires never miss calls or pitches. Look at the pitch way up high that the crybaby Kemp struck himself out on. Waaa! Waaa! http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?s_type=3&sp_type=1&batterX=69&month=06&day=25&game=gid_2010_06_25_nyamlb_lanmlb_1%2F&year=2010&pitchSel=121250&prevGame=gid_2010_06_25_nyamlb_lanmlb_1%2F And here is how to field when you aren't striking out, and umpires are making all those bad calls. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9365411&topic_id=8879838&c_id=mlb Here was the pitch Eric Cooper took to mask in his game in Texas last night. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9363113&topic_id=8879838&c_id=mlb

Seems the R1, R3 ---B, has changed from what a friend told me years ago. Also, it seem like it went to R1, R3 ---B, only with 2 outs (optional) first, before going to R1, R3 ---B that it is today.

Step balk "Garza referred to it as a "weird situation" and said the umpires claimed that he and Shields weren't advancing on their deliveries. Garza felt like he advanced, moving from the right side of the rubber to outside the left. The right-hander said with a straight face that the umpire "misconstrued" Maddon's frustration with Garza as arguing the call." And here is the one that Hickox (HPU) called the previous night. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9295023

Ah you pretty much got me, but, since they usually side with the players they are called "rat announcers" (just like a rat player) and some in the booth moved there from the field.

And that's why they are called "rats".

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9142505 This will be a good instructional type video, with our more experienced guys helping out the less experienced guys. I will take a stab from what I have "read" from you more experienced guys. This is not intended to preach about how good/bad the call was and everyone's personal opinions of the umps involved or the MLBU in general. Remember, we are all the MLBU's at our respective levels. Let's help keep this example an instructional tool and let the younger guys get the opinions (no right/wrong arguing) from the experienced guys. I admit I should not be leading off or even in the line-up by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever but I will. Let's hear the mechanics and positioning that would occur for your level and the young guys can figure out how they can adapt by using all the ideas singly or combined. I believe since the play was past the 45 foot line at the 28 second mark this becomes Mr. Vanover's call to make originally. He should have given the safe sign first if he did not see a tag and then asked for help at the end of the play from the plate umpire (or whatever the MLBUM mechanic is). If they worked out a special (I did not see it) sign like when you are blocked out on a fair/foul the plate umpire should have picked up on the special sign and made a out/safe call. It should not have been the type of silent movie thing that happened, with nobody making either an out call or a safe (no tag) call. Of course, no call let play continue. Should the plate umpire come straight up the line to help on swipe tags or should he straddle the infield grass with one foot on the grass and one on the dirt or should he straddle the grass in foul with one foot on the dirt and one foot on the grass? Not positive what his position should be as the play develops by technical mechanics, or if all 3 are OK as long as you get into position to see the tag. Even without the above, the base umpire must watch for the b/r running out of the lane or more than 3 feet to avoid a tag in addition to watching for the tag on this play. Even if the base umpire did not see the tag which apparently was made at the 38 second mark, the runner had definitely run too far out of the baseline to avoid the tag (from the infield grass in fair territory to the infield grass in foul territory) and the first base umpire should have originally made the out of the baseline call for the out anyway. Oh well, that's my 2 cents. Either way, he was out both ways (on the tag and out of the baseline) in my opinion, and an out was the decision reached. And here is another one http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9300349&c_id=phi

Believe they switched from QuesTec http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/sports/baseball/01umpires.html?_r=2&ref=sports&pagewanted=all

Agreed. Although MLB may use Pitch f/x, there was an article where MLB alluded to the fact they have built there own version or use a better version of the Pitch f/x than we get on the net. On the other hand, for those using the version we can all see on "brooks baseball", everyone should be happy that it shows that Mr. Davis missed only 4 (oops, I said 2 originally) pitches last night on Mr. Strasburg. One was a knee pitch, that was 2 inches above the knee that he called a ball and 2 were under the letters. I also did not count the pitches he called a ball that just barely ticked the out-side part of the line on Pitch f/x. There were 3 of those. The strike missed, was a first pitch 99 mph fastball that missed outside to Carlos Quentin in the 4th inning. Mr. Davis was not terrorized into calling any worm burners or have the worms holding up flags for strikes, nor did he get terrorized into calling a hook or deuce that bounced in the dirt a strike either. Once again, this system is not the exact one MLB uses for the umpires, but one can get a feel for what it might be like at this website.

Just a few thoughts. Although I am not really worried and it doesn't really matter one bit, I was surprised Mr. Gonzales did not know that 96 umpires were selected to work the Regionals rather than 50. Once again no big deal. The biggest thing that struck me though, and I have to admit I dropped the ball on this one, is the fact they do not let the CWS guys work a Super. I thought College worked a "true merit system" which is what everyone says MLB should do, where the top umpires should work all 3 events. The top 96 the Regionals, the top 32 out of that, the Supers and the top 8 out of those, the CWS. None of this sharing or getting future umpires prepared, or working to many pressure games in a short period crap, would pass muster with the "merit" crowd. Guess Collegiate thinks along the lines of MLB. And of course it goes without saying, a big congratulations to Mr. Gonzales. Mr. Gonzales is working his first plate game and is in a rain delay in the South Carolina vs. Oklahoma game with the score 3-2 in favor of Oklahoma in the bottom of the 6th.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jun/18/local-umpire-ready-work-college-world-series/

Remember, if the rest of the crew had seen a catch there would have been no reversal. Also remember, the umpires are being evaluated on their performance during the year, which will affect their post season assignments, which are based on merit.

Probably ammonia and cold water special formula, fixed up by the trainer in a bucket, with a towel or sign put on it so nobody drinks it.

This is a good video for instructional purposes. We need those on this board to tell us how to handle this situation from the beginning in both the amateur game and the professional game. It sounds like many on this board have been to clinics, etc, that bring up these situations. Let's help others with what should have been done. What did the batter do, as the coach asked? It was hard to tell. If the batter said something, what should have been said or done back to him. What if he just kept staring at the ump. Would that be showing up the ump? What should the ump have said when the manager asked the question of what his player did. It sounds like after the 1:18 mark he questioned the strike zone which should have gotten him ejected pronto, but the ejection did not come till another few words later. Should the umpire not answer the question and just start walking away? What should the base ump have said or done differently at the amateur level and the pro level? What happens when they throw equipment. What if there is no grounds crew?. What if he had thrown 1st and 2nd base in the outfield and there was no grounds crew to put them back and no players put them back. What if the manager just comes out and sits on the mound or something and refuses to leave. How do you make a guy leave that will not leave. What magic words are said so you don't have to forfeit a game when the manager will not cooperate no matter what. What magic words do the amateurs use and what words do the pros use. What happens at the amateur level and the pro level? What about the profanity issue which was used from the beginning at both the amateur level and the pro level? The word "you" was not used in conjunction with that profanity many times. Oh yeh, at the very end the sissy was looking for that nail clipper and wanted someone to get it for him. What a puss.

It was brought up in the interview that it may not last through a Boston/New York marathon game and they both laughed.

From a TV interview, Joe West has applied for a patent on a protector that holds an icepack like device from the 50 Degree Company on the inside to keep you cooler for 3 hours.

The latest filings, open and go to page 7-8 schedule 990 Part VII, also schedule J page 2 & 3, you may or may not find that interesting, but at least you know. http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/231/688/2009-231688231-05c0e121-9.pdf

Mr. Bellino was admitted as an attorney to the State Of Illinois by the Illinois Supreme Court on May 4, 2006 and also received his MBA while in law school. He worked the NYP League in 2003 & 2004, the FSL in 2005, Eastern League 2006, and then PCL in 2007. Quite a rapid rise. He worked his first MLB game as a call-up June 28, 2008 in Chicago with the Cubs against the Orioles. He worked 3B with HP Marvin Hudson, 1B Brian Knight, 2B Hunter Wendelstedt. In 2009 he worked 31 call up games.

Go to the 3rd post (Big Red) for this article. It expired on me here. A former pitcher himself http://www.freep.com/article/2010060...ional-scrutiny Taken from the 2005 Mid-American Conference Baseball Record Book "Mid-American Conference All-League Selections" 1976 First Team P-Bob Owchinko, Eastern Michigan P-Bob Welch, Eastern Michigan P-Kip Young, Bowling Green P-Mike Rachuba, Toledo C-Jerry Keller, Eastern Michigan 1B-Emil Drzayich, Ohio 2B-Les Ream, Ohio 3B- Bob Brenly, Ohio SS-Glenn Gulliver, Eastern Michigan OF-Demetrius Sanders, Ball State OF-John Northrup, Central Michigan OF-Len Matuszek, Toledo DH-Marty Frank, Toledo Second Team P- Tom Sharon, Ball State P-Dave Dusellier, Western Michigan P-Mark Knust, Western Michigan P-Jim Joyce, Bowling Green 1B-Dave Lewis, Central Michigan 2B-Bob Utter-Kent State 2B-Dan Hall, Miami 3B-Bob Brannock, Ball State SS-Jerry Tyson, Toledo OF-Dave Krauss, Kent State OF-Jim Millward, Western Michigan OF-Bob Grandas, Central Michigan DH-Mike Ranier, Ohio And this is a crying shame-guess who is not on the list? http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...S2eASNZfDeEu3g My apologies for originally putting this in UIC's "Umpire News From Around The Web Area".

Hmmm, seems like there was a happening years ago in which Mr. Crawford was the plate umpire. It involved a knuckleball pitcher, probably Phil or Joe Niekro and the catcher. Those who can remember this from way back in the day, could probably help me out here and bring us up to speed on that happening. Or, for those that go to camps where Mr. Crawford helps out, maybe you could ask him about this???

Sorry for this question at the end, but, for those of you in the know, why has Joyce not been picked as a crew chief? Does that Gossage mustache bother Jimmie Lee Solomon and Mike Port that bad? He worked the WS in 1999 and 2001 which is almost back to back. He has not returned since. Maybe now, with the way he just handled himself, they will consider him worthy, if one of the 4 people that might retire next year is a crew chief. What's the scoop here?

Apparently he is being fast tracked. Made it to AAA by his 5th year in 2007 and worked his first MLB game in 2008. A law degree plus an excellent umpire. They would not want to lose this guy if he can do the job, which he apparently he can. Could be in the hunt for one of those 4 possible positions next year, even if he does not have the most call up games worked. Have to wait until everything shakes out next Spring to find out.

Congratulations to all 2010 NCAA Post Season and ABUA Umpires! 2010 NCAA DIVISION I BASEBALL REGIONAL UMPIRE ASSIGNMENTS 1 Alden, Craig 2 Arnold, Darrell 3 Asher, Jacob 4 Assmann, Kevin 5 Baker, Linus 6 Bennett, John 7 Benson, Phil 8 Bruns, Randy 9 Buck, David 10 Bullock, John 11 Burleson, Joe 12 Busse, Charles 13 Cacciatorre, Joseph 14 Cannon, Fred 15 Carilli, Anthony 16 Catton, Timothy 17 Cerra, Michael 18 Chambers, Barry 19 Chapman, Mark 20 Cline, Scott 21 Collins, Daniel 22 Condon, David 23 Conlin, Michael 24 Corvi, Steven 25 Coskey, Chris 26 Costello, Perry 27 Cox, Jack 28 Ditsworth, Mark 29 Doy, Jeffrey 30 Droll, Michael 31 Duffy, Michael 32 Durham, Kenneth 33 Erby, Scott 34 Everett, Daniel 35 Garman, James 36 Gillis, Mike 37 Gonzales, Kelly 38 Graham, Edward N. 39 Graham, Scott 40 Greer, Harry 41 Guillie, Paul CC 42 Haggerty, John 43 Head, Thomas G. 44 Henrichs, Jeff CC 45 Howard, Gregory 46 Hungerford, Bradley 47 Jackson, James CC 48 Jenson, Blake 49 Jones, Heath ACC 50 Katzenmeier, Travis ACC CC 51 Kennedy, Russell S. 52 Kovach, Theodore 53 Leible, Raymond 54 Letendre, Scott 55 Lewis, Johnnie Marc 56 Lostaglio, Anthony CC 57 Luker, Dale 58 Lyon, Chuck ACC 59 Manders, Steven ACC 60 Maners, Tony CC 61 Marion, Joseph 62 Marshall, Chris 63 Mascorro, Daniel CC 64 Mattingly, Steve 65 Mele, Mitch ACC 66 Mobley, Terrence 67 Neves, Frank 68 Norris, Anthony 69 O'Toole, Timothy 70 Perrotti, Carmen 71 Riley, David 72 Riley, Patrick 73 Rodriguez, Gustavo CC 74 Rogers, David ACC 75 Rogers, Jason 76 Savage, David CC 77 Scarbery, Rickey 78 Schaly, James ACC 79 Schepis, Joshua 80 Schultz, Michael 81 Sealey, Darrin ACC 82 Shields, Michael 83 Smith, Grady 84 Spieler, Patrick 85 Street, Greg ACC 86 Svehla, Thomas 87 Sylvester, Frank CC 88 Uyl, Mark 89 Van Raaphorst, William 90 Venzon, Jason 91 Vessey, Timothy 92 Walsh, Robert A. CC 93 Wetzel, Randy ACC 94 Wiley, David 95 Williams, Douglas 96 Woodall, Lawrence------------did not work Alt Carey, Timothy Alt Gimbi, Dave Alt Goller, Donald Alt Grace, Mike--------------------worked for Woodall Alt Oros, Gregory Alt Sanders, Steve Alt Wendel, Andrew Alt Winters, Mark CC = Crew Chief ACC = Assistant Crew Chief Note: All assignments subject to change Note: All CAPS indicates an umpire change. SUPER REGIONAL UMPIRE ASSIGNMENTS 1 Asher, Jacob 2 Benson, Phil 3 Burleson, Joe CC 4 Catton, Timothy 5 Chapman, Mark 6 Cline, Scott 7 Collins, Daniel 8 Conlin, Michael CC 9 Corvi, Steven 10 Costello, Perry 11 Erby, Scott 12 Everett, Daniel 13 Garman, James CC 14 Graham, Edward, N. 15 Head, Thomas, G. 16 Henrichs, Jeff CC 17 Jones, Heath 18 Katzenmeier, Travis 19 Lyon, Chuck 20 Manders, Steven 21 Maners, Tony CC 22 Mascorro, Daniel CC 23 Mele, Mitch 24 Rogers, David 25 Schaly, James 26 Sealey, Darrin 27 Street, Greg 28 Sylvester, Frank CC--------did not work 29 Walsh, Robert A. CC 30 Wetzel, Randy 31 Wiley, David 32 Williams, Douglas Alt Cannon, Fred---------------worked for Sylvester Alt Droll, Michael Alt O'Toole, Timothy Alt Rogers, Jason Alt Woodall, Lawrence 2010 NCAA DIVISION I BASEBALL CWS UMPIRE ASSIGNMENTS 1 Coskey, Chris 2 Ditsworth, Mark 3 Gonzales, Kelly 4 Guillie, Paul CC 5 Jackson, James 6 Lostaglio, Anthony 7 Rodriguez, Gustavo CC 8 Savage, David Alt Katzenmeier, Travis Alt Mascorro, Daniel Alt Mele, Mitch Alt Wetzel, Randy Umpires Eight umpires will be assigned to the Men’s College World Series. Six umpires will be assigned to the regionals and four umpires will be assigned to the super regionals. Four umpires will be assigned to each tournament game, except six umpires will be assigned to the Men’s College World Series Finals. If different umpires are assigned to the continuation of a suspended game, the umpiring fee will be divided equally among the officials. The umpires must report to the tournament director one hour before the game they are to work and be on the field 15 minutes before the start of the game. An umpire shall not work more than two games in one day except in an emergency situation. It is recommended that the host institution for regional and super regional competition provide seats for nonworking umpires. Umpires for regional and super regional tournaments and the Men’s College World Series will be selected by the baseball committee based on recommendations of conferences and a review of the umpires by the national coordinator of umpires, and the Division I baseball committee. Each umpire will receive $1,380 for regionals, $945 for super regionals and $3,685 for working the Men’s College World Series, plus coach airfare or 50 cents per mile. A $45 per diem is also provided. The NCAA will reimburse the umpire for the above expenses. Each crew chief should collect the completed NCAA Officials Expense Forms (provided by the host institution tournament director) for each umpire on their crew and return them to Chad Tolliver at the NCAA national office via fax (317/917- 6710) or e-mail (ctolliver@ncaa.org). The host instiution tournament director should make all hotel lodging arrangements for any umpires working at their regional/super regional site. While the quality of lodging for the umpires should be consistent with that of the student-athletes, the umpires should not be housed in the same property as any of the participating teams. The host institution should be responsible for the umpires’ lodging costs (room and tax only). The host institution should work with the hotel to set up a direct bill back to the institution for these charges. Policies. A sports committee or games committee may not require membership in any specific officials’ association as a prerequisite for selection to officiate in an NCAA meet or tournament. Officials shall be selected and assigned by the sports committee or games committee, which shall ensure that officials adhere to the Association’s policies relating to gambling activities and drug and alcohol use. Furthermore, officials must conduct themselves in a manner befitting intercollegiate athletics. Failure to do so may result in termination of the officiating assignment. Please note that again for the 2010 championship, the conference umpire coordinator or baseball administrator from a particular conference must have attended the annual umpire coordinator’s meeting the previous year (e.g., 2009 meeting for the 2010 championship) in order for that conference to receive an automatic umpire assignment for the championship. Comparison with women's NCAA D-1 Umpires Three qualified umpires will be assigned to all games. The umpire-in-chief and the NCAA representative will assign regional umpires. If different umpires are assigned to the continuation of a suspended game, the umpiring fee will be divided equally among the officials. The umpiring crew shall be dressed alike in powder blue, short-sleeve, pullover shirts (major league baseball style button placket with navy and white trim); navy blue slacks and socks; and a plain navy cap. The ball bag and jacket and/or sweater must be completely navy blue, and shoes and belt must be black. A T-shirt is optional to wear under the powder blue shirt; however, if one is worn it must be white. Four umpires (one of which will be designated as the umpire-in-chief) will be chosen for regional and super regional sites. All of the umpires and the umpire-in-chief may use air travel or ground transportation, not to exceed jet coach airfare. The Women’s Softball Committee (or it’s designee) will select all umpires. The regional umpires will receive a flat fee of $1025 (UIC $1125) and the super regional umpires will receive a flat fee of $800 (UIC $800), each. The committee (or its desginees) will select six umpires to officiate at the finals competition of the Women’s College World Series. All of the umpires may be reimbursed for air travel, or ground travel to the site, not to exceed jet coach airfare. In addition to the six umpires, an umpire-in-chief will be named to coordinate the umpires. The umpire-in-chief and umpires will receive a fee of $3,000 each plus per diem reimbursement. Travel/Per Diem. Travel expenses for the officials will be paid according to the actual mode of transportation, not to exceed jet coach airfare or 50 cents per mile, but not including terminal or other local transportation. Officials who receive approval for air transportation must make flight arrangements through the NCAA travel service, Shorts Travel, 866/821-8547. Hotel expenses (excluding incidentals) for officials required to stay overnight at the championship site shall be paid by the host institution and later reimbursed by the NCAA. Officials will receive a $45 per diem allowance for meals and incidentals for each day of the championship, beginning with the day of arrival and ending with the day of departure. (Officials not required to remain overnight at the site also shall receive a per diem of $45.) Mens playoff compensation is same as last year. D-1 basketball just got a 2010 per game fee raise for March Madness from $700 to $1000 for round of 64 and 32. $1000 to $1400 for round of 16 and 8. $1400 to $2000 for semi-finals and finals. Nice to get a 40% raise in one year. They also get 75 per diem rather than 45.

Will be interesting to see who the 4 retirees are and who the 4 new Triple A hires will be. __________________ Dan ============================================================== Well let's remember, West's quote says "plan to retire", so who knows, the 4 could come from anyone on the staff. Here is some information per retrosheet dot com. There are 4 umpires left that were signed in the 70's. Cousins, Crawford, Reilly and West. West is the youngest of the group. West just became the WUA President and negotiated the new contract. Joe would probably work through the full contract and not retire until sometime during the new contract that will be negotiated for 2015. The next group of umpires that were hired from 1980-85 are Davidson, Davis, DeMuth, Hirschbeck, McClelland and Welke. McClelland is the oldest at 58, with Davidson and Davis at 57, Hirschbeck is 55, DeMuth 54, and Welke is 52. The only question with someone in this group retiring before the 2015 contract "would probably be health issues". Only Hirschbeck (that I can find on the internet), so far, has alluded to the fact in an article in the New Haven press (Nov. 20009) "I'm 55, and I don't plan on working a whole lot longer". He also mentioned that he found out he had testicular cancer Aug. 23, 2009, and missed the rest of the 2009 season, after missing the entire 2008 season due to back surgery. Hirschbeck has also mentioned in a radio interview that he had 6 concussions so far in his career. Of course there could be others with "health issues" not mentioned in a public forum. At the end of 2010, all of the above group with the exception of Davidson of course, will have the maximum number of years (27), to acquire the full amount of compensation and benefits allowed under the old contract, and unless they added to the number of years, probably the current new contract. The next group of umpires were signed from 1986-89. They include Darling, Hallion, Hohn, Joyce, Layne, Scott, and Tschida. This group would probably not retire "unless health issues force their hand", until sometime in the 2015 contract, or in Scott and Tschida's case (hum and maybe Welke from the 1980-1985 group??), maybe not till a contract in 2019 or 2020 since they got to the bigs at 26 years of age. Apparently, since West says 5 umpires retired in 2010, Chuck Meriwhether "will retire" after this year on the DL list, like Poncino did after his year on the DL. Meriwhether had said in an Interview with the Tennesseean that it was "probably over" for him. So it looks like Knight will "probably" get that spot. The AAA guys with the most MLB games going into this season after Knight are Angel Campos (259), Mike Estabrook (229), Todd Tichenor (227), and Mike Muchlinski (150). The 4 new ones will probably come from the guys working the most games this year, which could include someone that is not in this group with the "most" games so far, and they will probably fight it out in Spring Training 2011.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/29/sports/la-sp-shaikin-20100530 I am adding the article that includes more information and mentions West's comments about the retirements. The original article above was not the full article. http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/05/29/1454424/baseball-playoffs-not-always-a.html