JHSump

haha...probably more of a Morlock, since those guys were interested in the machine. But, I like to think I'm more like a Leonard --- I'll let you try to figure out that reference (hint: it's not someone from that movie, but it does involve the time machine).

Too late! I already did a "Buy Now!" on that Time Machine from the original movie with Rod Taylor. Can't wait to try it out!

I am puzzled by this whole story. Seems too made up. Too pat. Too unlike any baseball game I've umpired. Did this really happen? Or, happen this way? Is this a movie script in the making? But, let's accept it as what happened. In that case, whoaaaa --- certainly not what I would have done, at almost every turn. For example, when the coach first told me he has a player that wants to leave or get ejected, I'd look at him in disbelief (just as in the OP), but then I would just chuckle and leave it at that. If he does something to get ejected, he's gone. He's not my problem, and he won't be screwing around with the game. If he gets out of line, he's gone. Too bad, so sad. End of story. Finally, I think this whole idea of playing along with the coach to keep his player in the game can leave an umpire open to being set up --- big time. Don't play games like this with the coaches!

It would be interesting to know what magic word(s) Bochy said which got him immediately ejected. Any other clips from another angle?

Yeah, pretty much. A slur either way.

"No way he's f**king out! He beath the tag by a f**king mile! That's horseh*t!" Ok, not there yet... "You're here for one GD reason, to make $" Now, he's gone. Implies I have no professional integrity. It's a statement about me personally. "He beat that f***ing throw by 3 GD feet! That's horsesh*t!" Ok, not a problem yet... "You're here for 1 GD reason, just to f**k us outta this game." Gone. Again, implies have no integrity, and may be even be cheating to f**k them over. He won't even have to get to the "You're horsesh*t!" comment. I respect these lines. I would definitely weigh the situation/gravity of the game/level of play. Higher levels, important games, closeness of the play, etc. While I've never had a coach go to these extremes, a simple f bomb in conversation between men is ok with me, so long as it's just he and I in earshot. I think we pretty much agree.

"No way he's f**king out! He beath the tag by a f**king mile! That's horseh*t!" Ok, not there yet... "You're here for one GD reason, to make $" Now, he's gone. Implies I have no professional integrity. It's a statement about me personally. "He beat that f***ing throw by 3 GD feet! That's horsesh*t!" Ok, not a problem yet... "You're here for 1 GD reason, just to f**k us outta this game." Gone. Again, implies have no integrity, and may be even be cheating to f**k them over. He won't even have to get to the "You're horsesh*t!" comment.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to have an umpire guest once in a while. But don't hold your breath!! :)

I don't care how quiet the coach is, if he uses those words he's gone and I mean the words "You're" and "you've" unless they are accompanied by sweet nothings like "you're the best umpire I have ever seen." Certainly not the case in the post.

Excellent point...which they didn't seem to understand either! Why doesn't ESPN, Fox, etc., just give them a little training session on these sorts of things? They could even hire an umpire to run through the basic most common issues! Then the trained announcers would be so much better and sound so much more authoritative.

"...they can decline the penalty..." As regards the ultimate outcome, that was the announcer putting his mouth in gear before engaging his brain.

you beat me to it haha, yeah that horse has been beaten...

Vin Scully --- I hope all other announcers revere him as much as we do. Someone should make a video collection of his best moments. Not sure who would do it, but it would be instructional for all announcers. Heck, I'd watch it just for the pleasure of it.

...unless it's an article about umpires or umpiring! In addition, not sure I want to hear any more about whether a swing at a IBB pitch (4 feet off the plate) is a strike or not! But, I am a bit interested to know if this thread has set a record for the most replies. If not, what thread did?

View new content. And of that, if there is a clip from Thunderhead I view that first --- a video is worth thousands and thousands of words! Then I look at specific threads I've been following or contributed to.

In this case would a greater distance be of help? That way you can switch from glove to BR's hand/base without much movement of the eyes --- everything is almost in the same view to begin with. I know you should be closer for tags than for a standard force play at 1B. But just asking what might have helped in this case.

Don't you know? Those necklaces regulate the "energy flow" and "electricity" in your body! So, when you are making decisions about INTs or EJs, these necklaces give you that extra "something" you need! It's all in the "Aqua Titanium" technology! Pick one up at your next tournament! (I've seen tables where they are on sale.) But why settle for titanium? Go for Aqua Gold! You can get it in a lotion --- so you don't need those silly looking necklaces! And you can trust these products to work --- this is a special "aqua" technology, not a snake "oil" technology. (Wink wink. Which reminds me: where can I find the list of possible emoticons and how to enter them?)

I agree, don't let them pull the wool over your eyes. But, hmmmmm... in this case it's not clear to me that the catcher actually moved in an unusual fashion to create the INT. Some years ago I attended a baseball clinic (not umpiring clinic) where a college catcher demonstrated exactly the sort of move the F2 makes here: upon catching the pitch, right foot moves to left foot's location as left foot moves forward. He called it an L move. He said this was a good, fast, throwing technique on steals. Not sure this is a common technique, but it seems to be a possible technique. I think I'll look at some other catchers in action to see how common this move is. It might be worthwhile following up on this, from the point of view of interpreting a possible INT.

I've been hit below my WV gold. 55-foot curve that he F2 failed to block in any way. Hit me straight on in the stomach, below the CP. Some fans told the catcher that he made a nice stop! It stung a bit, but was not an issue of any kind after that. It's almost anatomically impossible (I think) to keep your torso straight up while getting down into a reasonable crouch --- unless you squat all the way down like a catcher will sometimes do --- hamstring on calf. So, you will be bend over a bit, at least, at the waist. That compresses the region below the CP, and tilts your torso. Both effects reduce the chances of being hit below the CP. And, any straight on shot will not hit you flush, but at an angle, since your torso is tilted, and the ball will deflect down. Really, the only balls that can easily get to your stomach will be bouncers that are generally slower pitches (e.g., a curve), and have lost some momentum by hitting the ground. In the end, it's pretty hard to cover all your ribs down to the very bottom. On me there is about a 4" gap between the bottom of my ribs and my pelvic bone --- on my *sides*. If you tried to cover all the way down to there, you'd have a hard time getting into any stance. But you don't need to cover those ribs all the way downon the side if you stay square and tuck your arm across or elbows in. I tuck in my elbows against my sides so the only thing exposed, really, is some part of my stomach below the WV Gold.

If you can get the Internet you can get the OBR. If you parse OBR 8.01(a) and ( B) you will find that the starting free foot position does not determine what the pitcher will do as long as it is not behind the rubber. There are other things that will let you determine what the pitcher will do such as a stretch to a stop but OBR allows a wide latitude for the pitcher. "you will know it when you see it" works for the higher levels of baseball. Unfortunately, OBR is used at levels where the participants and the umpires won't know it when they see it and also will try and use FED rules to determine it. http://mlb.mlb.com/m...eball_Rules.pdf Is there a reason they provide the 2011 OBR at the MLB site, and not the 2012 OBR?

I agree. I swung wood until my senior year in HS. -3 is a very good compromise for the "modern world." By the way, I still have an aluminum bat from the early days of such bats. It says "Aluminum" on the barrel. A "Tennessee Thumper." I took it to the post office a few years ago and weighed it. It's a +2 !!!!!! (34 inches, 36 ounces) I was never a big strapping guy, and yet that is the kind bat I used. Yeah, I know the world has changed. "In the old days I used to walk barefoot to school, in the snow...uphill both ways."

I like, " These kids have been working so hard." Ever heard that one? Yeah, I've heard that one also! Here's the perfect answer: "Oh yeah? So then why do you think it's acceptable to scream at them like you do?" (It's a perfect answer, but I have to confess I've never used it.)

My answer to the OP question is that's my experience also. What I've learned: 1) Local league 10U games are where you learn first hand about obstruction, interference, and all sorts of weird happenings. 2) Tournaments are where you learn first hand about game management and ejections. Some tournament coaches will give you the answer to why they are behaving the way the do --- their arguments will include phrases like, "We've driven all these miles..." or "We've paid all this money..." In the heat of the argument they give away why they think they deserve a call, or more calls. But, of course, their reasons are irrelevant. I actually ejected a head coach after he used that argument (miles), and would not stop arguing his case when I told him his reasoning was irrelevant and "that's enough."

I looked around for some authoritative discussion online. Not sure if this one qualifies, but here it is. I think opinions may differ, but this pages says the Flag Code explicitly says any *representation* of the flag is also a flag. So, you don't need to wear an *actual* flag to be wearing the flag. The flag code is at http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagcode.htm All of the following text is from http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/faq.htm Are flags on T-shirts, ties, etc., really flags? Yes . According to the Flag Code, a flag is anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag." The words "flag, standard, colors, or ensign", as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America. Source: Flag Code, Section 3 Therefore, a flag includes any representation of it of any substance, with stars and stripes of any number. This would include T-shirts and ties. Other references in the Flag Code relevant to this question are: The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. (section 8d) It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like (section 8i) [it should not be] printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes (section 8i) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. (section 8g) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. (section 8j) The Flag Code states that the flag should never be worn. (Section 8d): "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel."

Never mind whether balls and strikes can be argued, or any other baseball issue. Just on the face of it, the argument by the announcers is completely illogical. They say Mattingly is not showing up the umpire because he is not talking to the umpire, he is talking to his players, Yet, they clearly can tell Mattingly is arguing with the umpire, not talking to his players.