maven

Preventive umpireing. Be careful here: what exactly are you preventing? A baserunning mistake? Isn't that unfairly assisting the offense? I try to do nothing different when a runner misses a base. As PU I have touches at 3B and HP and responsibility to rule on properly constituted appeals at those bases. If the offense makes a mistake, then they're liable on appeal. If the defense cannot appeal properly, then they won't get the out. Not my place to prevent any of that. If you're thinking of preventing something else, I apologize for misinterpreting your point but would like to hear more.

For me, with no runners on and F1 using the set, I'm sending a warning out with F2 (or, as BU, talking to F1 myself) that he STILL has to come set. Maybe 2 warnings. why would you do that.... HE DOESN'T NEED TO COME TO A STOP WITH NO RUNNERS ON... YOUR BOOGER PICKING HERE... BUT THEN AGAIN WHAT DO i KNOW? Dude, what's with the shouting? Mike and I are talking about FED, where the rule is different, and he DOES need to stop with no runners on. I apologize for the thread hijack.

JK, your first premise is correct, but alas your second is false. When F5 gains possession of the ball in LBT, anything that happens next is his responsibility. The fact that he was moving in a certain direction because F1 threw the ball that way doesn't change that. If he merely deflects the ball while trying to gain possession, then we have to rule on whether F1's throw would have been sufficient to take the ball into DBT. That ruling will dictate 1 base or 2. But that issue is not exactly whether we have "another added force," but rather whose force propelled the ball out. It's the same issue in the OP, and F5 supplied the force.

Game management is often the most challenging part of officiating and always what distinguishes the best officials. Here's something you might consider trying: a lot of folks will tell you to let the coach have his say first. Lead with, "Coach, what did you see?" This is good advice, and allows you time to focus your response and replay what happened in your mind. When the coach stops or begins to repeat himself, it's your turn. Here's something that works for me: start your turn with something the coach got RIGHT. In your case, I might have said, "Coach, you're absolutely right, that slide was illegal. However, by rule that illegal slide is a FPSR violation only when it creates illegal contact or alters the play. In my judgment, we did not have either of those here, so the BR stays on 1B." What's left to discuss? You politely listened to and agreed with what he saw. You nailed the rule. You clearly and respectfully articulated your judgment. The conversation is over, and coach gets to decide whether he's around when we play on.

Agree with JM. The position of the feet is restricted. No restrictions on the shoulders. If he's open like that, watch that a pickoff move to 1B gains distance and direction to the base. Failing to step — THAT would be a balk.

For me, with no runners on and F1 using the set, I'm sending a warning out with F2 (or, as BU, talking to F1 myself) that he STILL has to come set. Maybe 2 warnings.

Why? What rule has he violated?

Sounds as if U1 helped by echoing your most recent post, too.

Nothing wrong with the rule. The illegal slide constitutes a FPSR violation only when there is illegal contact or it alters the play. FED 8-4-2b Sounds as if you WERE calling it by the letter of the law.

Rich is quite right: not every injury is evidence of MC.

OBR, correct (8.01b COMMENT). Obviously, that's what applies in the OP. FED, no. The definition of the set position makes no exception to the requirement to come set.

maybe this one??? <iframe src="http://mlb.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?width=400&height=254&content_id=23233743&property=mlb" width="400" height="254" frameborder="0">Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe> or this one http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10591941&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_10591941&v=3 I've got both runners safe.

Disagree. It's a balk for starting and stopping, or a double set. If something is stll moving, it's not stopping or coming set again. I would like to see any rule or authoritative case justification for your ruling.

Hope you sold the heck out of that one, waving your arms and shouting "Foul!" all the way to the plate probably!

Coming to a complete stop during delivery is a balk in all codes. Your justification, "starting and stopping," is correct. But remember, for this to be a balk, absolutely his entire body must be completely still. If he turns his head, wiggles his glove, etc. it's legal. He would need to stop for a long time for me to balk this at that level. He didn't get any advantage from it.

You've already reported the call: "Infield fly if fair!" So, I'm gathering that the ball landed on foul ground between HP and 1B and then rolled fair, resulting in a fair ball. Call already made. At lower levels you might have an inexperienced OC come out to quibble about this call. Tell them that IFF protects the offense, and then ask, "don't you prefer the one out to the cheap double play, coach?"

No run can score if the BR makes the 3rd out before legally acquiring 1B. It's the same reason the run doesn't score in the OP, just takes a little longer.

I don't do LL, but I do know that, in baseball, all arms are 3 feet long and all lines are straight!

Two points: 1. Mechanically, you don't want to signal safe, because R3 wasn't. He touched the plate after the half inning ended. If you want to announce that no run scored, that's good communication. 2. Process your options ahead of the pitch. Did you think about what might have happened on D3K there?

Gonna need a few more bags of diamond dry....

The protected fielder is entitled to the benefit of any doubt and then some regarding whether he has a reasonable chance to field the ball.

Agree with Rich.

This is the part of your reasoning that I reject. I'm awarding the base that nullifies the OBS. I don't care where the other runners are or what they've done (they're not protected, of course, so in that sense I care, but irrelevant here). BR cannot be put out at 2B, because he's protected to there. Once he's tagged there (if that's what happens), I'll kill it, award him 2B, and bump R2 to 3B.

The rabbit times the interval between half innings.

If he didn't, the gremlins bumped his brim down!