Nafxos

I'm going to bring it up at our association meeting tomorrow night. My partner (40+ years experience) was pretty adamant after the game that I should have checked with him. I politely disagreed. I wasn't rude to the coach or unapproachable. I simply told him that it was my call, I had the angle, and I clearly saw the foot off the bag, so there was no need to get any more "help". I'll let you know what kind of feedback I get at the meeting.

After paying my dues for a few seasons doing mostly sub varsity high school games, I've finally got a decent number of varsity assignments on my schedule this year. I'm excited to be "moving up" and trying not to look too much like a newbie out there as I get higher quality games. Today I had the bases for a pretty good varsity matchup. I had never had either school before (even at the sub varsity level) so I didn't know either coach and they didn't know me. In the bottom of the first, we had a potential inning-ending DP ball but I called the BR safe when F3 came off the bag to field the throw from F6. The defensive HC asked if I could check with my partner on the pulled foot. I told him that it was my call, I had a great angle, and that I clearly saw daylight between F3's foot and the bag, so there was no reason to get help. He persisted a bit and got a little whiny ("Why can't you just ask him? He's right there,") but I held my ground and didn't go for "help". Part of the reason was because I knew I had seen the entire play clearly, and part was because I didn't want to set the tone that I would be conferring with my partner on every close call. I didn't hear a peep from either coach the rest of the game. After the game I asked my partner what he thought about getting help there, and he said I should have gone for help just to appease the coach. I was surprised, and we eventually agreed to disagree, but I'm curious what others would have done. Go through the motions to keep the coach happy, or just say "it's my call, coach. I don't need help on this one"?

And I just realized I never posted the pics I promised. Here are my favorites:

Final shameless self-promotion, I promise. Guess who got a nice little writeup in the newest Referee Magazine?

I think it was a good no-call. There was no tag attempt until after the runner had moved onto the infield grass. Anybody else think it took an awfully long time for U2 to eject? The manager kicked his cap AND drew a line in the dirt and still didn't get run until later.

The 12th Annual 100 Innings of Baseball Spectacular will be taking place this weekend in Quincy, MA, to raise money for ALS research. I'll be umpiring for the first time, but my shift doesn't start until Sunday morning, when they'll probably be around inning 80 or so. http://www.bostonbaseball.com/100innings.php It's a cool event and a great cause. Give it a look and please donate if you can.

Awesome pics. It was pretty cool to watch - especially the way the stars behind the moon became visible when it went dark.

Is telling your team to bunt repeatedly "instructing them to play poorly"? Or is it practicing a skill that your players may need in your semifinal game the next day? And what about not advancing on passed balls and wild pitches when you're up by 15 in the 3rd inning? Is that an ejectable offense now, too? Honestly, this may be the stupidest, least-enforceable rule I've ever seen. There are two easy ways to fix this. Either play all of the final pool games simultaneously (so nobody has the advantage of "going last" and knowing all of the other teams' outcomes), or eliminate pool play in favor of single or double or even triple elimination.

It's long, but here you go. I saw only one example of West bunting foul with 2 strikes. Lots of ground outs, but no way to tell from the play-by-play if those are bunts are not. And only 4 strikeouts total. The more I read about this, the more I think Little League owes the West team a huge apology. I won't hold my breath. Top of the 6th · West WESTSE3.Ball, Strike 1 looking, In play, Gestson, #7 grounded out to SS, (hard ground ball) [A Ennis, K Hales] 082.Foul, Ball, Ball, Strike 2 looking, In play, Anderson, #3 grounded out to 2B, (ground ball) [E Wilhelm, K Hales] 081.Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike 1 swinging, In play, Winckler, #6 grounded out to 3B, (ground ball) [K Morton, K Hales] 08Score Bottom of the 5th · Southeast WESTSE4.In play, Mann, #11 grounded out to SS, (hard ground ball) [M Gestson, M Miller] 083.Ball, Ball, In play, Hales, #6 grounded out to 2B, (ground ball) [A Jacobson, M Miller] A Ennis advanced to 2nd 082.In play, Ennis, #10 singled to CF, (hard ground ball) [J Anderson] 081.Ball, In play, Simmerson, #9 grounded out to 2B, (ground ball) [M Miller, A Jacobson] 08Score Top of the 5th · West WESTSE5.Strike 1 looking, In play, Jordan, #9 grounded out to P, (ground ball) [T Walton, K Hales] 084.Lineup: Sub E Strong, #4 for M Erling, #12 (Third Base), Strike 1 looking, Strike 2 swinging, Ball, Strong, #4 hit by pitch [Walton, #7] 083.Lineup: Sub A Jacobson, #13 for P Schultz, #11 (First Base), Ball, Strike 1 looking, Strike 2 looking, Strike 3 looking, Jacobson, #13 struck out looking [Walton, #7] 082.Lineup: Sub M Miller, #8 for K Jameson, #1 (Second Base), Strike 1 looking, Ball, Strike 2 looking, Strike 3 looking, Miller, #8 struck out looking [Walton, #7] 081.Lineup: T Walton, #7 to Pitcher, K Morton, #12 K Morton, #12 to First Base 08Score Bottom of the 4th · Southeast WESTSE8.Strike 1 looking, Strike 2 swinging, Ball, Ball, Strike 3 swinging, Keller, #4 struck out swinging [Jordan, #9] 087.Lineup: Sub J Vaughn, #5 for K Dowling, #13 (Center Field), Ball, Foul, Ball, Ball, Ball, Vaughn, #5 walked [Jordan, #9] E Wilhelm scored, T Sanborn advanced to 3rd, K Morton advanced to 2nd 086.Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike 1 swinging, Ball, Morton, #12 walked [Jordan, #9] E Wilhelm advanced to 3rd, T Sanborn advanced to 2nd 075.Ball, Wilhelm, #8 stole 2nd, Ball, Ball, Ball, Sanborn, #3 walked [Jordan, #9] 074.Lineup: Sub T Sanborn, #3 for E Yang, #2 (Second Base), Lineup: Sub E Wilhelm, #8 (Special Pinch Runner) for T Walton, #7 (First Base) 073.Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, Walton, #7 walked [Jordan, #9] 072.Ball, In play, Mann, #11 lined out to RF, (line drive) [S Penrod] 071.Ball, Ball, In play, Hales, #6 flied out to LF, (popup) [T Ard] 07Score Top of the 4th · West WESTSE3.In play, Penrod, #10 grounded out to 3B, (hard ground ball) [K Hales, T Walton] 072.Ball, Ball, Ball, In play, Ard, #17 grounded out to P, (ground ball) [K Morton, T Walton] 071.Foul, Foul, In play, Gestson, #7 grounded out to P, (ground ball) [K Morton, T Walton] 07Score Bottom of the 3rd · Southeast WESTSE5.Ball, In play, Ennis, #10 lined out to SS, (line drive) [M Gestson] 074.Lineup: Sub L Simmerson, #9 for M Spicer, #1 (Right Field), Ball, Keller, #4 advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, Strike 1 looking, In play, Simmerson, #9 doubled to LF, (fly ball) [T Ard] C Keller scored 073.Lineup: Sub C Keller, #4 for E Wilhelm, #8 (Second Base), Strike 1 looking, Ball, In play, Keller, #4 reached on error by P [B Jordan] to P, (line drive) [B Jordan] 062.Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike 1 looking, Strike 2 looking, In play, Dowling, #13 grounded out to 2B, (hard ground ball) [K Jameson, P Schultz] 061.Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike 1 looking, Foul, Strike 3 swinging, Morton, #12 struck out swinging [Jordan, #9] 06Score Top of the 3rd · West WESTSE4.Strike 1 swinging, Foul, Strike 3 looking, Anderson, #3 struck out looking [Morton, #12] 063.Lineup: Skip to J Anderson, #3 062.Ball, Ball, Strike 1 looking, Foul, Foul, Foul, Hubby, #5 struck out bunting foul [Morton, #12] 061.Ball, Foul, In play, Jordan, #9 grounded out to 3B, (ground ball) [E Yang, K Hales] 06Score Bottom of the 2nd · Southeast WESTSE5.In play, Yang, #2 flied out to CF, (fly ball) [J Anderson] 064.Ball, Strike 1 looking, Ball, In play, Walton, #7 singled to SS, (ground ball) [M Gestson] 063.In play, Mann, #11 hit sacrifice fly [J Anderson] A Ennis scored 062.Ball, Ennis, #10 advanced to 2nd on passed ball, Ball, In play, Hales, #6 grounded out to 3B, (ground ball) [M Erling, P Schultz] A Ennis advanced to 3rd 051.In play, Ennis, #10 singled to LF, (hard ground ball) [T Ard] 05Score Top of the 2nd · West WESTSE3.Ball, Foul, In play, Erling, #12 grounded out to 1B, (ground ball) [K Hales, E Wilhelm] 052.Ball, In play, Schultz, #11 grounded out to 1B, (ground ball) [K Hales] 051.Strike 1 looking, In play, Jameson, #1 grounded out to 3B, (ground ball) [E Yang, K Hales] 05Score Bottom of the 1st · Southeast WESTSE12.Strike 1 looking, Strike 2 swinging, Ball, Ball, Ball, Foul, In play, Spicer, #1 flied out to CF, (fly ball) [J Anderson] 0511.Strike 1 looking, In play, Wilhelm, #8 doubled to LF, (fly ball) [T Ard] K Dowling scored 0510.Foul, In play, Dowling, #13 doubled to RF, (hard ground ball) [S Penrod] T Walton scored 049.In play, Morton, #12 grounded out to 2B, (ground ball) [K Jameson, P Schultz] L Simmerson scored, T Walton advanced to 3rd 038.Walton, #7 advanced to 2nd on defensive indifference, Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike 1 looking, Foul, Foul, In play, Yang, #2 flied out to 2B, (popup) [K Jameson] 027.Foul, In play, Walton, #7 singled to RF, (fly ball) [S Penrod] K Hales scored, L Simmerson advanced to 3rd 026.Lineup: Sub L Simmerson, #9 (Special Pinch Runner) for C Mann, #11 (Catcher) 015.Ball, Hales, #6 advanced to 3rd on passed ball, Mann, #11 advanced to 2nd on last play 014.Ennis, #10 scored on last play 013.Ball, In play, Mann, #11 singled to LF, (fly ball) [T Ard] A Ennis advanced to 3rd, K Hales advanced to 2nd 002.Strike 1 looking, Ball, In play, Hales, #6 singled to 3B, (hard ground ball) [M Erling] A Ennis advanced to 2nd 001.Ball, Strike 1 looking, In play, Ennis, #10 singled to CF, (fly ball) [J Anderson] 00Score Top of the 1st · West WESTSE6.Ball, In play, Penrod, #10 grounded out to 3B, (ground ball) [E Yang, K Hales] 005.Foul, Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, Ard, #17 walked [Morton, #12] 004.In play, Gestson, #7 flied out to RF, (fly ball) [M Spicer] 003.In play, Anderson, #3 grounded out to 1B, (ground ball) [K Hales, E Wilhelm] 002.Lineup: B Jordan, #9 to Pitcher 001.Lineup: K Morton, #12 to Pitcher 00

I decided to delete the post you were quoting, because after looking at the box scores and play by play, I don't think it's true. The only game it could have applied to was the game that Iowa won 7-0 vs. Canada, and that game was only 4-0 after four innings.

deleted

I've read an awful lot about this story over the past 24 hours, and I honestly don't find it as outrageous and shameful as many others do. That doesn't mean I agree with the Washington coach's decision. I think it sends a terrible message to his own team that he was scared to play the Iowa team again. But I see lots of coaches do things that I think are terrible ideas, and as long as they aren't breaking any rules, there's not anything I can or should do. The big question is what rule did Washington break, and is it "against the rules" to lose on purpose? Or, if they had been more subtle about it, would that have somehow made a difference? My understanding is that going into the game in question, Washington could advance by either a) winning the game or b) losing but not scoring more than 2 runs. If they scored more than 2 runs and lost, they would be eliminated under the complicated "defensive runs allowed per inning" tiebreaker. The bigger picture question is, in a tournament, what is the ultimate goal? Presumably, it is to win the championship while playing fairly within the rules. If the coach thinks his team will have a better chance to win the championship if they lose their last pool play game, and they can afford to do so because they have already "taken care of business" by winning their first 3 games, that's his decision to make. Perhaps it would have been cleaner if they had just forfeited,but I really don't see what's wrong with "locking in" your spot in the next round rather than risking elimination unnecessarily. I realize that people don't like it because a) it's kids and b) they were apparently so obvious about what they were doing, but at the end of the day, how different is it from an NFL team essentially "losing on purpose" in Week 17 by not playing it's best players when they have already locked up their playoff spot? That happens all the time, and often it impacts other teams' playoffs chances. But the consensus there is that you should take care of business in Weeks 1-16 so you don't have to worry about getting help from other teams on the last day of the season. I honestly don't see much of a difference between that and what happened here. Iowa had a chance to "take care of business" against Washington and lost. Washington was 3-0 going into the final game and could afford to lose, so they did. And Iowa didn't like it, so they got the rules changed mid-tournament. Frankly, that bothers me more than what Washington did. If you don't want teams to have an incentive to lose on purpose, maybe you need to eliminate pool play and just have a double-elimination tournament. Because anytime you get down to esoteric tie breakers like "defensive runs per inning", weird sh*t is going to start to happen.

I hear you. And I honestly have no problem with grabbing an out here. But I also think that if BR had been in the running lane, and then come out in the last stride or two to touch first, the throw still would have hit him in almost the exact same spot.

I'm always trying to get better, so perhaps I am misunderstanding the rule. But I've always had "it must be a quality throw" drilled into me when it comes to RLI. F1 fields the ball halfway between the mound and the plate and has plenty of space to throw to F3, either at the bag on or to the inside towards F4. Instead he bounces it short and on the line, where it hits the runner in the foot. That doesn't scream "quality" to me.

I'm in Massachusetts, so we don't use FED rules ever. I think I'd have nothing here. Throw was wide and in the dirt.

It's just a question. I was taught it had to be a quality throw to call RLI. Just wondering if people here think that throw would qualify. And would it matter to you what level of play we were talking about (i.e., would you use a different standard for a pre-shaving game vs. HS varsity vs. NCAA or pro)?

Anybody have "that's nothing" here because it wasn't a "quality throw"? It definitely would have bounced before reaching F3.

Me from last year:

This was the morning view from my "temporary" home after getting divorced a few years ago. I rented a tiny cottage on the beach during the off-season.

Call strikes. Slow down. Have fun. Don't suck.

I promise this will be my last post on this topic. The "professional" race photos arrived today and they look pretty awesome. Thanks again for all your support.

Here's one more shot of me and Tim Wakefield. It looks like I'm getting ready to eject him.

Here's me crossing the plate yesterday at Fenway Park. I ran 9K in full plate gear (except for the shoes) in 56:42 and raised over $1,000 for the Red Sox Foundation and the Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, which supports veterans with "invisible" war wounds such as brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.

I don't see a balk there. Just a throw to an occupied base with F3 playing in. If it's not illegal to throw it to the base when F3 is playing in his normal position (e.g., the wild throw the other day), why would this be illegal?

My assigner called me this morning and asked if he could switch me from a 12U baseball game to a softball game, because he was short umpires and scrambling to cover games. I told him I'd never done softball before and wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but would do it if absolutely necessary. It ended up not being necessary (thankfully), but it got me thinking about what would have happened if it had. If I had just a couple of hours to prepare, what are the rules/mechanics differences I'd need to be aware of? I don't even know what ruleset the softball game would have been under. I'm assuming it would have been girls somewhere between the ages of 12-16. And I probably would have been working solo.