[Jim Porter]

Mike,

I align myself with no group. I did not post the Jaksa/Roder entry, but I knew about it.

I think there has been positive input on both sides of this issue. I believe Warren has outlined all the exact reasons why we try like the Dickens to avoid a protest on our judgment. His advice should be followed.

I believe others have also provided good arguments as to why we should accept a protest if a manager perseveres before sending him to the parking lot.

What I was attempting to point out was that it is not a "must" accept situation. The rules are clear that we do not have to accept such protests on our judgment. But the advice from Jaksa/Roder, and other such sources (I believe Jim Evans is another,) is that discretion is the better part of valor. Don't chunk him, humor him.

Warren doesn't disagree with this notion. He agrees. What he disagrees with, and I do too, is that we are somehow bound by rule to accept frivilous protests. We are not.

That can be important. Sure, we humor the manager the first time around. But the second time and beyond, in order to keep control over the game, we should refuse his frivilous protest and put him out of our misery. Else, we'd be accepting frivilous protest after frivilous protest, and the game would be delayed, and the spectators would get ugly, and it would all end with some team deciding not to take the field in protest. That should be avoided.

Where I live, there's no such thing as a protest fee. I haven't had a single protest make it to committee in almost 21 years of umpiring. The few times the "P" word was used, I was able to end it right there on the spot. I think this issue is far less imortant than everyone is making it out to be in this thread.

After reading a good number of posts by so-called EWS members (what does that mean, anyhow?) and eUmpire.com writers like Warren, and Garth, somwhere along the line y'all stopped listening to each other and started talking past each other.

In my opinion, everyone needs to listen just a little more often.