[JRutledge]

To both of you I understand where you are coming from. But I am telling you that umpires who I know personally, have talked to about many things, do not agree with your handling of this. Not to say that an ejection is never in order, but I have had umpires tell me of things they did and there was no ejection involved. And I am not just talking about some LL umpire or someone doing the lowest of levels of HS ball making those claims. I am talking about NCAA and Minor League guys and individuals that have attended pro school. And these conversations have been in meetings and at the bar or resturant afterwards. So it is clear that many handle this in differnent ways and I really do not see what is wrong with that? And I have never taken and dispute over balls and strikes as "automatic" either. I usually give them a chance to understand what they are doing and if they want to press forward, then they have hung themselves. Just my style and the way I do business. And the fact that you cannot show me any evidence directly from the NCAA or FED, tells me a lot. That tells me that they do not use the mentality that the pro game uses for their game. And just because we can come up with some instructors that say to do one thing at the lower levels, does not mean that there is agreement. Because for the guys that have never been pro umpires or ever attended pro school, they are not going to adopt something that automatically because one person tells them. It would help if those bodies put it in writing if that is what they want.

Peace