BrianC14

I'm not trying to be an egotist here, Deuce, but if you'll go back & read my posts you'll see that there is ONE time / situation when the base umpire comes in to cover the plate.

Part of my "improve" process this season is to copy that page (mine will be laminated) and hand it out to each guy I work with. :)

Dates? My season's just starting (first scrimmages 2/28 - - WOO HOO!) and will run from now to September.

Yep, hickory is standard, and I have plenty of that on hand, but I cannot and will not be without my apple tree clumps. Apple & pork = bread & butter. I haven't delved into too many of my own BBQ sauces, but that is a project for this spring/summer. I am stirring around an idea with some of my own Irish Ale, but I'll be darned if that's as far as the recipe gets! I do like like to use the injector marinades, though, and those are usually done up on spur of the moment... bit o' this, some o' that sort of thing.

Warren: Get a copy of Mills' book. 17th Street never over-sauces their meats. The best seasoning in the world comes in a single shaker-bottle: "Magic Dust". Mmmmmmm.... I may have to get some ribs going for this weekend. Now, where can I find an apple tree with a few broken limbs? That might go well with the Trippel I kegged this past weekend....

Who waits for spring? I make sure to keep a good-sized plastic shovel on the deck, just outside the door. That allows me to shovel a path to the smoker/grill all year 'round. Cold? Go stand next to the fire box - it'll drive you back into the cold! I use a Char-Griller Pro with a side-fire box. www.chargriller.com It's worked really well now for (knock-on-wood) 5+ years. Secret learned from Mike Mills: Never, never, never, EVER use charcoal briquets. Only hardwood lump charcoal. Cost more, but it doesn't have all those chemicals that briquets have.

Heck, Dave, if you have people ready to bankroll you, let me have the name of a good realtor, and I'll move there! I've got some restaurant experience (own a part of a place here that's been humming along for 7 years now) and I worked my way up in a couple during my college days. :)

Get the book "Peace, Love and Barbecue" by Mike Mills. He's the only 3-Time World Grand Champion of "Memphis in May". He gives away most (if not all) of his secrets. http://www.peaceloveandbarbecue.com/ His first restaurant (17th Street Grill) is located in Murphysboro, Illinois (my wife's hometown) - your description of your dream restaurant is just what his is like! Anytime we're visiting her parents, we stop in there. I haven't had the chance to meet him yet, but next time I'll have his book with me for an autograph. The book is combination biography / cookbook - and the anecdotes he writes are hilarious! My fave: "For every beer you drink, throw on about six lumps of charcoal or one small stick of wood." :)

Bingo, POLO! I've had differences of opinion on some rotations during pre-game, and it has helped a great deal in those cases to have the CCA manual right there in my car to make sure we both see the graphics that point out who is supposed to be where.

Pretty cool, Dave! There's no shame in showing off one's culinary skills. I'm a home-bound cook myself - there's NEVER been a jar of Ragu or other store-bought sauce in my house since we moved here 16 years ago. Lately I"ve been working on my BBQ skills (that's REAL BBQ, not grilling) and smoking. I'm not fantastic at it, but it's a fun journey, and it goes well with my beer-brewing. :(

From my earlier post: If base umpire comes in, he's got the runner all the way to 3B. There's no way the B/R is going to beat the base umpire to 3B on this. Think about it - as base umpire, you: Pause. Read. React. So in the latter case, you come into the infield - you're already ahead of the B/R - (you come in, make your pivot, watch him touch 1B, glance to the ball, slide through the working area behind the mound, watch B/R touch 2B, slide to your left some more, glance to the ball, watch runner proceed to 3B, and you're now in position to make a call. UIC, during all this, has read his partner... he sees him come in, then he moves up the line "to the library" as some guys call it, (about 1/3 of the way up the line is sufficient); then he simply reads the play/runner's actions, and retreats to home plate when necessary (I usually time this to coincide when the runner has rounded 2B). At NO TIME should the UIC go up to 3B on this. The reason I wait for B/R to round and commit to 3B is that I will still be 1/3 of the way up the line in the event that B/R breaks off his try for 3B, and ends up in a rundown - then I can easily move up to 3B and take that end of the rundown. Only at that point would I tell my partner "Bob, I've got this end of it" or "Bob, I'm here at third".

That's correct. If anyone is working the bases in 2-man, and they start in 'A', and the base umpire doesn't go out (read that: base umpire comes IN to take the runner) and then you hear UIC say "I've got 3rd" in this situation, then the UIC has poked the pooch on the play. At no time should the base umpire come to cover the plate on this. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Read the play and use the proper rotations, and all works out well.

Agreed. Calling a balk on that is Booger Picking 101. I've seen pitchers with their glove up high as Polo has described, and at the most, what I look at is whether or not there's a complete stop prior to the pitch being thrown. (Some have tried to sneak that by, similar to the pitcher that brings it all the way to the belt without a stop before pitching). Otherwise, leave that stuff alone.

With no runners on base (and I'll assume that Base Umpire does not go out) - this is base umpire's call all the way. Nothing unusual about that rotation. CCA Manual, Page 61. If Base Umpire does go out (should only go out on a trouble ball hit to R/C gap and toward the RF foul line) then UIC has runner all the way to 3B, and Base Umpire will make his catch/no catch call, then high tail it (in foul territory) to home plate. There are no other times when the base umpire would cover the plate in 2-man system.

Are there runners on base? If so, where are the runners?

Yep, agreed here... I've booted my share on calls that are 100% mine - - one that stands out from a Legion game last summer... ouch! R1 stealing, and I'm out of position, and all I see is "arseholes and elbows"... "OUT!" I try to sell it, but never even had myself convinced. The guy may well have been safe by a mile, but what are ya gonna do? "Try not to suck." :)

Colorado high schools: 2 - man crews for all games in regular season. 3-man crews for the playoffs.

Too cold to do that in Woonsocket last week, wasn't it? (I was there on biz). :wave:

Last summer I had one coach whine about a pitcher putting the ball behind his back and F1 was twirling it in his hand.... "Hey, Blue! THAT SHOULD BE A BALK!" he yells... (with his volume hitting a peak as he says the final word) "Time!" says I, and politely but firmly tell him to refrain from using that word, and if he yells something else that CAUSES F1 to balk, then he will then have entered "The Ejection Zone". (e.g., I provided he and his team with a warning). Then I politely mentioned to him that, 'No, rolling the ball behind his back is not a balk.' (Having been a pitcher in a previous millenium, I was left wondering how any F1 would get an advantage from that maneuver. :)

NCAA, yes (obviously) but in FED, the 'gorilla arm' is not allowed.

My $0.02 on: Ejections: I confess to not understanding what a "low-key" ejection is. In the past, we've discussed on this (and other) forums that coaches and players eject themselves, we umpires merely provide the "when". If a coach/player ejects himself, there should never be a doubt as to the fact that he has been ejected. I keep myself out of the gutters they are in - - if they get personal, I don't provide some clever commentary prior to the ejection, as I don't think it's necessary, nor do I find it professional. A simple " (insert coaches name here, or player's number) you're done.", and walk away. On 'Kicked Calls': I recently attended a DII game in which U1 was in "B". There was a banger at first, and he was straight-lined on the play; he called the B/R 'Out', to much disgust from the offensive team. In my view from the stands, (I was sitting 1B line extended), F3 never touched the bag, nor was there a swipe tag. Offensive manager asked that U1 get help... and the three umpires convened, and after 1/2 minute of discussion, the call was corrected to "Safe". As Larry described it, U1 came away from the conference, and gave an emphatic 'Safe" signal. Now, it's the Defensive coach's turn to get his word in.... the play was described to him by U1, and he left, apparently satisfied; he never put up much of a squawk, I suspect, because the play took place right in front of his dugout. He may not have liked the reversal, but it was the right call, and the crew worked together to get it right. That's just one of those times where a crew conference was beneficial to all; after the game, I spoke to U1 (member of my HS association as well) and he said that he allowed himself to get caught in the working area, and should have taken a few steps to his left so as to avoid being straight-lined on the play (the throw to F3 was high and to F3's left/glove side).

That's a great picture AND a wonderful logo on the ball. Posts to the contrary are from those that are obviously over-filled with envy. :wave:

The 'gorilla arm' is where F1 bends over at the waist while in the stretch, and his arm is dangling, sometimes even swinging slightly.

I simply wouldn't have done the game - especially if the request had come from a member of my family. Just my $0.02.