[UmpJM]

Originally posted by Dave Hensley

I think that translates, roughly, to "yes, OK, fine, that would be a balk to second base."

A feint or throw to attempt to pickoff an R2, without the required step ahead of the feint/throw, would, in the commonly accepted jargon of the game, constitute a "balk to second base."

IIITBTSB is a useful training maxim to rein in the "Balkin' Bob" wannabes. It doesn't need to be completely and totally accurate to fulfill its purpose.

Dave,

That's kind of how I took it too. But, I didn't want to get "tossed" for trying to "show up the umpire", so I just dropped it and "returned to my dugout".

At the risk of justifiably being accused of attempting to "resurrect a dead horse", not to mention "irresponsible use of a scarce resource", since it has come up on another thread, I'm going to make one more comment on this subject.

Having thought about it a little more, I just wanted to say the following.

In the final analysis, I believe that your comments regarding "IIITBTSB" are more intelligent than either mine or Tim's.

That is, a proper understanding of what really is or is not a balk is all that really matters. If it helps one individual to have the proper conception of what constitutes a balk to consider "IIITBTSB" an absolute assertion and helps another individual to consider it a nearly absolute assertion, then the end is properly served in both cases.

From everything I've read that Tim has written on the subject, his conception seems quite sound. Though I've never actually seen him umpire a game, it would not surprise me if his proved to be more sound than my own.

Respectfully,

JM