Kevin Finnerty

I would never approach a known ass to try to have a reasonable conversation regarding anything. That does nothing but make you something of an ass. If the ass wants to approach me, he will probably leave with at least some serious regrets, and at most a permanent limp. Coach encounters of a contentious nature away from the field are an absolute taboo, period. Just remember the more the ass blathers, the bigger the ass becomes. Let the ass become as big as it wants to.

I'm with JM. Black ball bags match any shirt, and navy ball bags only match navy and h.s. powder. I would never call for navy behind the dish, so I never have to worry about my ball bags. But if I ever do get stuck wearing navy, I'll wear black ball bags. I gave my navy ball bags away to a PONY umpire I'm mentoring. And I am down to one presentable navy cap. If---like I fear may happen today---I need to wear navy, I will always wear a navy cap, of course.

Since it is no longer a popular practice to wear a jacket behind the plate and since it is no longer a popular practice to tuck a jacket in on the bases, the open-bottom without the drawstring option is about to be a thing of the past. The +POS that I sold to a lucky Empire regular had the drawstring to make it a sort of convertible tuck or don't tuck. It was perfect. I only tucked it when I had a partner who tucked. The new Majestic full-zip is the answer, because it is designed not to be tucked.

If you get this set for less than $250, you're essentially getting the best CP and the best shins, with a pretty good mask thrown in for free. Good package I would say.

I relegated the Reeboks to lower-level-ball-only status due to three severe toe shots that I felt way too much. If I move up to something, it'll be the NB 460s. I have never felt a thing with the NB 450s

My son was a DH/reliever in high school and the first year of college. It was a pretty cool role. Then he became only a pitcher in an effort at becoming a starting pitcher rather than a short reliever. It didn't really work. He's still a reliever. When he's done, he'll coach college, rather than play in the minors. I think the reason he's still at it is that he didn't let it finish him mentally and emotionally when it reached that time that he realized he wasn't going to make the big leagues. He immediately changed his plan to what would be the most likely way to play through college, and he just kept grinding. It really is a rough road. A lot of guys just want to be a kid the one time they're young in this life, so they stop playing. I fully understand. My kid bypassed a lot of teenage thrills to remain on teams and keep playing. I never pushed him in any direction, because I didn't want him to have any regrets. He was the one who wanted to play all year and go all over the west. I just... allowed it. But I too would have been devastated if he had hung it up early, and I am thankful as hell that he didn't. I love being around the game and I am thankful that he stayed at it. Like I said, it's a rough road.

Excellent! Tip of the [creased black six-stitch] cap to you, Hawk! Great stuff.

Wow, Rich! I swear on my mother's grave that this is my story, virtually word-for-word. In fact, I will re-write it with the subtle changes that are needed, and see if there's much of a difference. It is remarkable. You'll see. Here goes: I always played some sort of ball from the time I was 8 9 until I was around 30 32. Then came kids and the playing stopped. [absolutely true!] I coached while my son played through little league, Babe Ruth, PONY, travel ball, etc. Through it all, I guess I was the typical coach who thought most of the umpires sucked and I could do better. I always said I would think about getting into it after my kid s were was done playing. My son played through high school is still playing, and after his final second year of high school, I decided to take the plunge. I never thought it would become such a passion! I absolutely love it and can't believe I waited till my late 40's before I started this. Oh, and I was right. I can do this better than a bunch of those guys that umpired while I was coaching my son. Okay? It is that similar. I love it!

Bob, I for one am frustrated and somewhat pissed that you still haven't told us which of the three disciples got the interpretation wrong. So, in your case, all this name-dropping is pretty rank. And SH*#storm is a compound word, not two words. ;)

A special thank you to Ed Hickox! I love Wilson's superior line of protective gear, except for one thing: I wish it would cost more. Now, thanks to you, Ed, it will!

I agree with everything Hawk said, except asking the coach what he has. I virtually never ask a coach what he has. I make him lower his voice and stop pointing and waving his arms, and then I tell him what I have. What he has from a bucket 50 feet away is usually irrelevant anyway. And it certainly isn't going to change anything. It can be done in a way that doesn't compound his frustration, but I treat it as he came out to get an explanation, not give an explanation. Now, a rule misinterpretation can be a little different. I will allow a coach to explain a rule just so he can look foolish in public. That I allow. My favorite is when I ask a coach, "So, how did he balk?" So far, not one coach has ever been able to explain the balk he claimed I missed.

The weld points.

Or like my Wilson titanium that dented last week with a high school pitcher throwing low-70s. That is rather readily at standard velocity if you ask me. I guess I'll back off on that contention then. I suppose even a Wilson titanium can bend at standard velocity. Mine only bent when it really got drilled. The first one was at 94. It bent the U-bar on the forehead. The second one got two good bends in it before I retired it. Both of those shots were 90 or so.

I have never done anything but the hammer, and I am thrilled that it's on its way to becoming the standard mechanic. I do a crisp hammer at shoulder height for called strikes, and I do a step back and soft hammer for swinging strikes. I prefer the hammer, because it feels good, keeps me facing the diamond, and it's less of a show to just stand up and hammer a strike. The point is something that I have practiced and intended to try, but every game that I go out there determined to try it, the kid throws the pitch and I automatically hammer it. I can't help it. So I guess that if it's becoming the standard, I'll wait it out and hammer away.

I guess I was busy when that show was on and all those movies came out.

Not true. A quality mask needs a certain blend of angle and spin and velocity to make a dent. A horsesh!t mask will dent rather readily at standard velocity, like the +POS magnesium I described.

It's easy to see why some people skip this tax-paying nonsense altogether.

The Mizuno $200-plus hollow steel mask: There really is a sucker born every minute.

The Diamond doesn't bend, but it does crack. I have seen one too many do this to call it a freak occurrence. It may be safe from this at low velocity pitching, but I would deem it unsafe at high speeds. The other one to avoid is the +POS magnesium, which dents with virtually any impact. I have now seen two of my brothers go through three of these masks, and all three dented with the first blow they took. One of them took a second shot and it made a second dent. And when these two guys tried to contact that Parsons character for some sort of remedy, of course he wouldn't respond. And as we all saw a week ago, he's selling those unsafe resin masks on ebay---the same mask whose epic failure doomed the company originally. Truly unbelievable. I do own a +POS official's tote bag that has proven to be safe to use so far.

Not to kick this off track, but what is the proper reciprocal signal for a rotation? I am pretty diligent about signaling from the dish, but I have a set of "usual" partners so signaling back is not a regular thing (for the rotation). In HS ball I usually get a nod of the head or some sort of random signal from my partner. If I see any sort of response this is usually good enough for me, but when I have the bases I normally respond with a slight nod. The first sign of the day and he nodded. We never worked before, we never even spoke before. And usually when I flash the sign and get a nod from someone I don't know at all, it means something like, I-saw-the-sign-and-I-have-no-idea-what-it-really-means. And this was definitely the case with this guy. The knowing nod from a knowledgeable partner is a whole different kind of nod, and is generally given if the plate umpire flashes his late.

Wow! They realized their heads are up their asses, and they want us to help them see the sun again.

That's a great idea! I like the pop-up mesh hamper, but the odor-controlling bag is a superb addition. Work in progress, baby.

Suit slacks: 31.5 Base slacks: 32.5 Plate slacks: angled from front to back 32.5 to 33.5

All I can say is, Vanover struck Ross out without a single strike being thrown. A couple of the ones he called were not even close. The last one wasn't really that close. Well thrown, well caught, well out. This is the big leagues. More is expected. That trite little swing-the-frickin'-bat reasoning does not apply to strike calls like that at any higher level than high school. That was a high school zone he was calling in a big league game. Brutal. Larry Vanover is near the bottom of the list of ball & strike umpires.

Less of your hand and wrist is exposed if you slide your hands back a little to behind your mid-thigh area. You look great the way you're set up.