BT_Blue

Grew up a Giants fan. When I started playing I loved to watch Robby Thompson play second (hard nose and pesky). Then when I started to play catcher I tried to model myself after guys like Kurt Manwaring. Ive always liked defensive oriented and hard nose players.

you forgot about playing poker... its the only thing out of the list above that I still have... and I dont even have that so much ;)

Quite possibly one of the best reads and also one of the funniest books I have ever read. I once went to an Oakland A's game and sat about ten rows behind the plate. In between innings there some guys that were giving Durwood some grief. At first chance he took some shots back at them and it went on for the whole game. Needless to say, it was classic!

Heck, with any luck I might be able to attend a Salem/Keizer Giants game or a Portland Beavers game before the season is over. Hey a man can dream right?

the area I played Big League at was kind of small. So we actually had the one team I played on from my home town. Add to that two teams from a larger town and then one team each from about 3 or 4 other towns.

Here in SoCal (though I am hoping its easier to move up in the Portland area) it is getting increasingly hard to move up beyond D3 without pro school, or even more so pro experience. A lot of the guys that are working D2 and D1 out of the conferences that work here in CA have had some kind of minor league experience. Personally Im going to keep working cause I would like to get up to D2 and NAIA level (working mainly JuCo and D3 now) but I know how tough its going to be. As for the tests... true, for the most part they do seem to be for D1 and such. However, even the JuCo association I worked with over the last 4 years is moving towards the standardized NCAA test as a measure of the umpires in the group. It is only possible to work playoffs by scoring over 80% and you have to have at least that to get any number of games besides picking up the scraps others dont want.

I thought something wasnt right about the post but I couldnt put my finger on it.

Ive been thinking about doing this for some time. Was told this offseason I should really work on attending the 3 man camp (its one of the ones in Peoria I think). Will have to wait till at least next year though since I dont have the money for this year.

I have the disadvantage of being on the west coast so its a bit of a trip to make it to Omaha. However it is definitely on the list of things I really want to do.

Honestly... the HP umpire did kick it. Maybe not with the ball/strike call or meriweather's out call (no problem there... he was just doing his job at second... especially with the strike? call at home). I will just say we have all done this before. Our brain and body want one thing and out of no where our mouth says something else. Its just normally we dont see it from the big boys. The EJ probably came after he told Cox to stop demonstrating and he wouldnt. That part of the ejection was correct but he should (and did) take an earful from Cox for his mental boo-boo.

Sadly, as the article from the San Francisco Examiner says, Mr. Briggs isnt talking... so we may never know.

Wait, wheres the fun in that? Couldnt we have just moved the shin guard thread and kept the movie quotes?:yippie:

Thats what he said in his blog and on this forum. I for one was not much of one for the logos and I honestly hate that Honigs has gone to a patch with their names on it just below the collar of their shirts (Im also not a fan of their fit which is why Jim will be getting all my shirt orders in the future) rather than the old way of the smaller embroidered name in the same place. I see the labels as a necessary evil for the quality of equipment that they come with. An example are the reebok or the new balance plate shoes. They both have white on them even though a lot of us are required to make them all black. However I wouldnt give up for the world the comfort of these products... so I deal with the labels.

Nope but there could be:cheers: One of the only worth while characters on that show. I would watch it just for him! I GOT MAIL I GOT MAIL!!! HA HA HA

Do you like movies about gladiators?

I saw the word "blue" and I thought they might bring back the navy shirts just for one day. Hey I like kicking it old school (Im the one that just once wants to wear the ebelco shirts for one day... crazy I know....)

Still waiting to see what happens to the husbands job! This lady also needs to spend some time in county.

Very thoughtful and made some good points. I also posted a comment on the story that one should look at the NASO site for more instances of bad sportsmanship.

Im starting to discover that there are more and more places that do not have a batter's eye. The worse ones are where when you drop into your stance you notice that the ball is coming out of a clear blue sky behind him.... or worse, a grey cloudy sky.

You know, its cheating to vote for the Phillies right now? I think they already won!

And remember... warren is premed! (And yes I know there was already a post about it but someone beat me to this line so I had to throw it somewhere else:kissass:)

My favorite parts of the film is: Guerilla fighters walking through the metal detectors with all the guns and what not and then the security guards grab the old lady when the alarm goes off. Striker having issues drinking has always made me smile Elaine giving (you know) to the blow up automatic pilot The explaination of what happens to all the people that eat fish and Capt. Over is doing everything exactly as the doctor is talking about it. Leslie Neilson constantly walking into into the cockpit saying "I just want to let you all know, we all are counting on you" The nun singing to the little girl and of course... Passanger: "Miss, are you telling us everything?" Elaine: "We are also out of coffee." and the whole plane goes nuts!

Ok thats pretty classic. Did the guys get what you were referencing? What about the kid (being in college it should be required to see Animal House as well as some other classic college films)

exactly. And if you REMOVE the problem there is no need for you to consider CORRECTING it.:question1:

I do not use nor personally like the combo pants. To me they are to small behind the plate and to big on the bases. But thats just my opinion. As for shirts, for monitary reasons if you have them, I recommend the navy shirt with red under (you can also go with navy but red is usually the way to go) and the heather pants to start with. If you are committed to doing the umpire thing long term go and get more shirts since it will help with having options on shirts (I know it kind of annoys me to have the choice of only one shirt cause my partner doesnt bother with the other colors). Especially with the warmer weather coming.