Quote:
Originally posted by WestMichBlue
"Then I would ask him/her what s/he was doing out near the SS's position"
Where should I be? Foul territory? Inside the diamond? Closer to 3B or 2B? Pitcher's circle?
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As everyone knows, you don't run directly toward a catch, but at an angle which means I would probably stay in foul territory, but not past 3B.
Quote:
"PU placed himself inside the diamond and possibly in the middle of the play"
There was no one on base; if caught we have routine out. Otherwise assume a double and ball returned to 2B. What allowed the runner to continue so far was (a) speed, (b) very high hit, (c) deep - near 250'(way over the fence on normal women's field), and (d) a little extra time for F7 to find and p/u ball after F8 fell on it.
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But those are things which an umpire must be aware during the play.
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"it was noted that the BU and PU ended up standing next to each other"
Not true. I was near the baseline; BU was 10' - 12' inside base line moving towards 3B. Note that I said that I yelled at him to go home. Had I tried to back-peddle I would have been chasing a runner that is way faster than me.
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IOW, you were out of position.
Someone could make the argument that having your back turned to the infield means it turned to a one-umpire format, but I wouldn't buy that due to your proximity to the diamond.
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It is interesting that my partner and I were OK with the play, and other umpires on this board have applauded. But two UIC's have been critical. You guys sure are hard to please. 
WMB
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Well, apparently your partner wasn't OK with the play or you wouldn't have had to "yell" at him to adjust his coverage. I, also, noted that you should be lauded for your hustle and effort in covering the fly ball.
HOWEVER, the UIC has other priorities than that single play. As I noted before, the mechanics are there to get the umpire crew in the best position to provide the widest array of coverage without putting themselves in jeopardy of interfering with a play or being injured.
I have been trained in the exact mechanics which occured as this play unfolded, just that my partner would not have been that far out, called for the play at 3rd and the BU would automatically head for the plate.
The problem with this is what happens when you yell at your partner and s/he isn't there? Ocassionaly, an umpire in the A will get boxed outside, especially on a speedy runner. And we all know how goofy some of these fielders can get. By the time this umpire navigates the players, it may be too late for her/him to variate on the play and get to a good position to make a call at home.
I know the mechanic you described works most of the time, but the one time it doesn't may not be the best time for it to breakdown. Imagine what your UIC would have said if it didn't work out?
Like it or not, UICs are supposed to be representing the sanctioning body and their way of doing things. I've worked for some UICs which had their own ideas of how to do things and inserted situational variations within a couple hours of game time. Some umpires pick up on them and others do not. Well, we all know how discombobulated a crew looks when a member of the crew is on a different page that his/her partners.
As many senior umpires have reminded me over the years, the mechanics are developed for the training of 40K plus, not the 1% percent who work at the upper levels of the game.