kwiggie

Major Brain-Fart by me! I realized this morning that I pulled the 10.1.4 "coachescaptains may ask..." quote out of my 2008 rules book.

I was browsing another forum tonight and you called out a Coors drinker and offered to send him some Schlitz. Re: Bottle in the car -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote: Originally Posted by MCLEOD36 LOL that is coming from a Coors drinker... I am gonna buy you some Schlitz... Please provide some aspirin as well.... ouch... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You are a Cheesehead at heart, because nobody other then "our kind" offers to send someone Schlitz. In the rest of the lower 48' I believe there can be misdemeanor charges brought on you. This did however, bring a tear to my eye (you living in Miami) as I wondered "How does my fellow Sconi live without brats, cheese curds (you know the real ones... FRIED!), and women that drink beer by choice (and have the beer gut to prove it) and not fruity alcohol kool-aid?" I might be willing to send a care package if you are going through withdrawls. As far as the aspirin comment above, send him Hamms, you can hold on the aspirin but you're gonna want to send him that complimentory bottle of "Stool Stiffner" that comes in every 12 pack.

10.1.4; the coach or captain may ask that the correct ruling be made. Am I missing somthing?

This is what I thought, being a NL guy I felt we got ripped.

Let me clear somthing up, and add some detail that I left out in the OP; The BU has not asked for help at this point. Seeing this the visiting team's players focus all the attention to me with their asking for an appeal. I state "That was not my call guys", they respond with "Well he isn't listening to us, we have been asking for the appeal", this is when I made the "appeals must come from a captain or coach". My gut knotted up when I heard the "well in that case, uh ya... I would like to ask for an appeal then" come from the B3 line. Now we huddle and correct the call since the visiting coach has officially asked for the appeal and BU wants my input.

How do you guys handle HS teams that want to ask for an appeal but just don't know how? example: Game the other night I am PU, a routine play fielded by F6 throwing to B1 for the put out on batterrunner. The BU calls "out" on a closer than should of been play at B1. A couple of the visiting team players (at bat) start yelling for a pulled foot by F3, which there was from my view at home. During summer ball I have yet to meet a playercaptain at any of our pre-game meetings so I nor my Partner are looking for any players who can ask for an appeal. We just have a bunch of players looking at me and the BU asking for an appeal. I take a look up the B3 line and see the visiting "coach" staring at me waiting to see what is going to happen. The asking is now turning into yelling (not out of control but getting hotter) by the visiting team players. All attention is now focused on me and no one has yet asked for an appeal properly. As a result I say "Only coaches, and captains may ask for an appeal!" So with that said the visiting coach, who was staring at me blankly pipes up and goes "Oh sure... I would like to ask for an appeal then". The appeal was made and the call was corrected, pulled foot batterrunner safe. Home team coach gets fired up saying "You gave them that blue, if he (the visiting coach) doesn't know how to get an appeal you ain't here to get it for him!" After thinking about this the Home coach has a very valid point, and it still bugs me because I do feel like I did "get it" for the visiting coach, which is why I am probably posting it here. How do you guys handle this situation? 1. Inform the teams of the appeal process? (like above) 2. Ignore the yelling, play stands... "let's move on" (after a minute or two) 3. As PU jump in and meet with BU to correct the play without an official appeal by coachcaptain? (I would not like this as an option, credibility of BU at stake IMO) 4. Mention the appeal process during pre-game conference? (have never heard of this but...) The BU and me did not have a hand signal to let him know that I had "information" that he might want to hear... we will next time.

That would suck! and so would BU having to wear a lid! For that matter the fact that coaches have to wear helmets sucks! IMO I was watching a program (some months back on one of the 24 hour news networks) that stated, "after a year long study the University of ______? was going to suggesttry to implement (in that state) that all infielders of youth baseball wear helmets and face guards to protect against concussions, and "debilitating facial injuries" as a result of fielding unpredictable bouncing balls... IT'S BASEBALL!!! Along with this "study" they also suggested that parentscoaches of youth soccer not allow their playerschildren to "head" the ball until rules are put in place to make such actions illegal in the game... "it may cause long term brain damage in our study". YOUR "STUDY" GIVES ME BRAIN DAMAGE!!!! thinking about the $30,000+ grant spent on it. Did anyone else happen to catch this story? Has anyone seen this implemented?

Number 4 is GREAT!, can I use this with out paying royalties?

I gotta agree with this, Here in the upper Midwest we only have a couple of months to take in the sun before the "white sh*t" comes again. Shots just hurt worse in the cold!

Is this the Champion CP I have linked or is there another style that I don't know about?

Here is an alternative to the GD and the iX3: This is the Champion CP that a lot of guys are high on from another thread on this site and it is comparable in price to the GDiX3. http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Champion%20P180%20Professional%20Umpire's%20Chest%20Protector:2000842053 I looked at this CP when I purchased my protective equipt. this year, but I found the iXp (like I stated before) to fit my frame better then the others. This is the same basic make up as the iXp with the inner plastic, shoulder pad and such. The Champion sits a little higher on the shoulders from what I can tell. I will say that the iXp is very "forward facing" CP and is a little hard to get use to but is a good CP in the end. That is my 2 cents, hope it helped!

I wear the triple knee version of these shins, the toe is velcro so it comes of easily. I like mine, a little bulky but comfortable. They have protected me well in my experience.

I sat a couple of days on this one (late last week) and it still bugs me so here it is! New partner (PU) shows up late, no time to pre-game confrence, got to hit the field. After the top half of the 1st inning he motions me in to go over a few things down the B1 line. PU: "Ok, here is my IFF signal, I will cover this, you will cover that, etc. etc. and make sure that if you go out on a outfield fly YOU STAY OUT!" 3 innings later: from the "A" position I go out to cover a trouble ball down the right field line, no catch, I turn to the infield to see PU standing three strides up the 3B line with his mask on looking at me like... what? Pet Peeve: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!

FED case book example (summerized): R2 is on the move, B1 at bat attempts to bunt, the ball goes directly into F2 mitt. It then rebounds out towards F1 ,who is charging, catches the rebound on the fly. *This is a Foul Tip, runner may advance since ball was caught by F1 and is still alive.

I wear the Diamond iX3 CP: I work Pony Ball through Varsity HS as PU. It has worked GREAT for me, I am a smaller build (5'9", 145lb.) across the chest and this CP conformes well to my body type. It has more then proven it's worth in the protection department this season at the HS level for me. This is the combo kit I picked up this season... very happy with it! http://www.homerunmonkey.com/homerun-umpire-equipment-combos.html I think Ump-Attire has it as a stand alone for about $70.

Will work my last game of the week on Fri. then me and my boy's will spend the weekend watching Men's League (Home Talent) games in our area. I predict the consumption of "Beer & Brats" in my immediate future.:smachhead:

I am going to go back on my first statement to this entry... is that allowed? Anyways, A poor F2 at the LLPony levels is a product of poor coaching IMHO. After reflecting on this post I made I feel it was unfair to all the "quality" F2's that I have sat behind this year (I think it is easy to forget the good and remember only the "bruises" sometimes). Starting at the LLPony league levels in my home town (pop.800) these teams are coached by actual coaches who are on the clock and get a pay-check at the end of the season... it shows! Their catcher's are sharp, savvy and knowledgeable. They are very skilled (for their age) and all of them have been groomed for several years prior to reaching these levels. They understand that F2 is a hustle position not a "squat and catch anything thrown right at you" one. I cannot say the same about all the visiting teams that have come through. I just want to give out a "BIG THANK YOU!" to you coaches out there that get it. You identify your catchers at an early age, work with them, and groom them up through the ranks yourselves or through mentors. This canshould apply to any position on the field I suppose but I for one really... really...appreciate a well coached F2. Sorry for the rant! I had a Jekyll and Hyde set of F2's tonight in a HS game, guess which F2 was "groomed" and which one was "not"... my thigh still hurts.:smachhead:

What type of "preventative officiating" could be used for what is apparently (although major league "Bush" IMO) a legal play according to FED and OBR?

What part of the "Great State of WI" do you work? GO BREWERS!

I agree! Working PU behind a HSmen's league catcher is much more comforting then a LL catcher. True story; PU a month ago and took a direct shot to the mush... dead on, peelded the mask d@mn near off my head. No flinching as a result, not even worried. Couple of innings later took a shot to the cup in flight, untouched by the catcher. Head flinched like crazy for the rest of the game. What is that all about....? When I get "flinchy" I try to relax and remind myself to "Trust Your Equiptment" as mentioned in previous posts. This helps me get through a rough inning or three, usually. However,This didn't help at all during the "cup shot" a month ago. I am, going to try the BRASS system as an experiment tommorrow behind the plate, sounds logical.

A couple of you mention a mental "check-down" list. What does it consist of how does it flow?

Thanx Nate, I just spent the last hour watching "You Tube" vids because of your insert...d@mn ADD.

F1 who needs to "Dig to China" during every warm-up play. I usually let them know that there is a shield about 3" down from bottom of rubber (field I work a lot), they usually smile and keep digging. 3 inches later: "How's that pivot foot digging in now?" So we get to watch him fill it back in, tamp it down, etc. Even worse is when F2 starts the game out by digging in two foot holes for him in the box, and proptly moves up a foot for the rest of the game... "Thanks for the trenches son!"

I completely agree with the pitch count statement! I also agree with teaching the "Breaking Ball" grip. Communities need to pony up and pay a little money $$$ to ensure that they have "coaches" and not "wanna be coachesparents" at the youth levels, it is good for the game, the players, and the battery in general.

no kidding!...