[Carl Childress]

Mr. Benham:

Earlier you accused someone of not reading your post carefully. I know how you feel.

I thought I had narrowed my focus to one specific point; that is, you, an acknowledged Big Dog, had not quoted the OBR correctly.

Since you insist, I’m not adverse to extending my remarks.

You go to lengths to prove a pitcher off the rubber is still a pitcher and can balk: "[It’s a balk if] the pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch while he is NOT touching the pitcher's plate; and ... without having the ball, stands on, OR ASTRIDE the pitcher's plate...." I agree.

But, Garth, he can’t do those two things ON the rubber either. So his being OFF the rubber is not the controlling factor, right? In those two instances ONLY he is an infielder pretending to be a pitcher, and that’s not legal.

In the exhilaration of your response to me, you overreached. I said 8.01(e) says the pitcher becomes an infielder. You said I had omitted the most important part, i.e., he’s an infielder for purposes of awarding bases on an overthrow. You write: "Except for the specific consideration contained in 8.01 (e) of a wild throw, the pitcher is still a pitcher."

You didn’t mean that.

You’ll agree that off the rubber he may feint a throw to first.
You’ll agree that off the rubber he may throw to a base without first stepping directly toward that base.
You’ll agree that off the rubber if he drops the ball, it is not a balk or even a pitch.

Earlier in the thread, you implied as much: “There are other rules under section 8.05 that allow him to behave similarly to a fielder if he properly disengages, but still, by rule, he is referred to as a pitcher.” But you weren’t responding to Carl Childress then.

In one of your messages to teacherspit, you also argued: "By the rule he IS the pitcher, even off the rubber...."

Once and for all, let's say it right: By RULE (black letter law), he is an infielder. By CONVENTION (ease of designation) he is a pitcher. As a “pitcher” (ease of designation) off the rubber, he may do anything any other infielder may do. But he may not pretend to be a pitcher.

You have the basics down cold. But when you (apparently) hurry your responses, you drift in and out of correctness.

If you had taken your time, you might not have felt the need to try to embarrass a registered user over his choice of member ID. We all remember your post: “teacherspit,” you wrote, "Are you misspelling ‘teacherspet,’ or are you really describing yourself as some bodily fluid released by an educator?"

I’m certain you wish you had not said that.

Remember, "spit" is also a skewer. Perhaps where he teaches, he sometimes feels he's on one. If so, I'm certain that feeling has intensified after the going over you gave him.