Mick

Did Clara have one foot outside of the voting booth?

At the plate meeting I'll say, "When you have a substitute, approach me. I want to make sure I get it right. Let's take those extra few seconds. Yelling it in passing across the diamond doesn't work for me".

But........the red part..... the runner was not attempting to advance beyond second base. His intent was to steal second. As I see it, the infielder was being a smarta$$, trying to obstruct the runner from having second base. He wasn't trying to prevent him from going to third. It all makes me wonder.... how much more of a beating can this poor old dead horse take?

@ElkOil.... I'm with you on that one. Still, however you slice & dice this one, there's sure to be an argument coming from somebody.

Ok, Johnny..... how about moving it to "Free for All"? Yes, indeed. Free double hernias for everyone! I'm on my fourth day of recovery (it wasn't lapoarscopic; I was cut. twice.), I'm hobbling about, slowly healing. I've had some very odd swelling in certain places. I could post pics that would surely illicit some hearty laughs, but also get me kicked off this site.

NFHS: Rule 2, Section 22, Art. 1: obstruction can be verbal if it hinders the runner or changes the pattern of play. It's obstruction without a doubt in HS. However, an extra base award? I don't like it in this case, but it looks like a 'yes'. Rule 8, Section 3, Art 2 says the baserunning award is "one base beyond his position on base when the OB occurred". I think if the runner were to stop between 1b & 2b and return, he sould be awarded 2b because of the verbal obstruction (there's no rule against being dumb). In the case sited, however, the runner was clearly on 2b when obstruction occurred. Awarding 3b might be debatable, since the runner was already there (at 2b), and verbal obstruction or not, he wouldn't have a chance for third. So did it change "the pattern of the play"? If it was me.... I think I would've rolled the dice and just awarded the runner second base.

Sorry.... after I realized I posted it here, I didn't know how to move it out. Having said that, there's no double hernia like a CDP double hernia.

Good morning from upstate NY. Expecting 8"-14" tonight. Presently recovering from a double hernia operation... will get some snow-blowing help. Dang.... the doc said chill for 4 weeks. At last I'll be ready when the season starts.

Has anybody here had surgery for a double hernia? Had it done yesterday; the doc said stay out of the gym and any real physical work for 4 weeks. I'll be healed and ready for late March scrimmages and then the start of the season. So, for those who have gone under the knife for this.... any pointers, advice, or stories of things you shouldn't have done during recovery? Thanks. Mick

ka-boom! good point.

Good morning from the Albany, NY area. The huge NE storm missed us completely. In the meantime, I hear NYC and Boston are getting hammered.

Uh.....huh-huh-huh

When I went for the second time, week #7, I was automatically assigned the same cabin as I had in week #4. Last year was my first year there. Could that be something new? Did you go to CDP in years past? Will you be going this year?

No. You're already assigned to a cabin, which will have a bed for you. You may have to, like I did, look around inside to find the last available one, but it will be there.

It's a lot of fun. When I arrived for the first time last year on Saturday morning, the first thing that caught my attention was all the players full of energy, running around, having a blast. Some were at the supervised batting cages, some were doing fielding drills, and one group was playing a pickup whiffle ball game. They're trading pins all over the place, non-stop. Can't say I saw a single bored kid. I recommend when you get your trading pins, visit your sponsored team and give the captain one pin per player. Keep the rest for games; I gave them to the catchers when I did the dish. When you get a chance for a break, I highly recommend Kelli Jean's Steakhouse, a few miles north from the park on 28. They will read the riot act to the umpires on the first day of your week. Dreams Park doesn't tolerate ANY unprofessional crap from anyone. Their standards are very high, and that's a good thing. It's a great learning experience, and lots of fun for any baseball lover. So far this year, I'm in for week #6, and I'm looking for 2 more bookings.

The infield fly rule would apply with only a runner at first. Why set up the potential for letting the ball drop to get a double play?

Keith Hernandez would not be allowed to talk.

Most of the guys I've worked with dress in the parking lot. I dress at home. If doing the dish, I'll don the equipment there, but show up dressed. I think it's just my paranoia. With my luck, I'll be just about ready to slip on my heathers when and elderly lady, first time at the park, walks by, points at me & screams. There's enough other issues to deal with when it comes to the fans....

It was a week-long tournament for 12 year olds; 6-inning games. A mercy rule was in effect: 12 runs after 4 complete innings. After 4 hapless innings, the score was something like 11-1. So, we play on. In the fifth inning, the leading team scores another 10 runs. Upon completion of the inning, we call the game. The losing coach approached me. "What are you doing?", he asked excitedly, "The Mercy Rule is no longer in effect!" "Excuse me?" I asked. "The Mercy Rule says that you have to have a 12 run lead after the FOURTH inning! This is the FIFTH!!" "Uh.... it doesn't work that way, coach....."

The guy in our area who does commercials for "Quick Response": Dick Wood. [really.... why not go by Rick or Richard...?)