Foul line umpires
From what I've sseen so far, too many of these guys, calling the lines, are getting way too close to fielders making plays on the ball. There might be something said for having an umpire on the spot, but not when he's right in front of a fielder that makes a good catch, and then has to double pump on his throw back in, because the umpire is right in his way. Why do they seem to think they have to get so close? Who knows, but I've already seen enough to know they're not adding much value to the games.
QUOTE rfom Cowboy:I think the biggest problem I had was in a game with the Iowa team (I think). Last inning, right handed batter swung and missed. Catcher missed the ball and it hit off the umpires wrist. Runner advanced to second. Plate ump said it was a swing and miss but the 3B blue came down and said it was a foul ball. I have a problem with that as, other than the blue on the left field line, he has the poorest angle to see that. Replay showed it was a swing and miss. If 3b blue had a foul ball then he should have killed it immediately (he didn't)."
I think you're wrong here cowboy. BU3 only came in after PU was asked by defensive manager to check on a possible foul ball, which I also thought it was not, and replays verified.
When BU3 came in, PU said "it hit me on my wrist, it must've been foul." (Yeah, that makes a lot of sense...NOT) I think BU3 just went along with him, since he couldn't have possibly seen or heard it. Earlier in the game PU had asked BU3 about another foul ball, which should've been easy for PU to call on his own. This PU was definitely the worst I've seen so far at this year's LLWS. He was BU2 last night, and his calls on the bases were just as fast as his calls behind the plate, which means he was calling them before they happened. I was hoping he'd get bitten by the old "out-safe" call. I'm sure he's had that experience plenty of times in his career, based on what I've seen from him so far.
Prediction: that dude will screw the pooch (and some team)big time, before the tournament is over with.
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