[Rich]

Originally posted by Carl Childress

It's easy for me to take the FED citation and apply it in an OBR game. I can always say that "taking his place on the pitcher's plate" can't possibly happen until I make the ball live.

Why would an umpire want to stick it up a team's backside in this manner? Furthermore, if the guy who took a warmup pitch isn't a pitcher, why would I want to have him throw pitches at me?

Your attitude here is symptomatic of one problem we have in amateur baseball, i.e., selective enforcement of rules.

You won't force a kid to become the pitcher because it's, as you colorfully put it, sticking up their backsides.

R3. Pitcher in the wind-up. His coach yells, "Curly, pitch from the stretch." So Curly slowly and deliberately steps off the rubber with the wrong foot. I argued in an article that since everybody knew the pitcher was simply changing positions, the umpire should not call a balk.

A gentleman named, uh, you, followed me around telling me how stupid that was. "That's a balk, and that's all there is to it."

Well, that guy is now the pitcher, and that's all there is to it.

Oh, the first baseman-now-pitcher isn't going to be throwing "pitches at you" unless you grab a mitt and squat behind the plate.

Here's what I think happened. You didn't know the rule, you despise Rich Ives (whom you've never met) because he's a coach (rat), so you chided him for having to quote the MLBUM. Now, after I pointed out the rule in the OBR and FED books, you're stuck having to defend the indefensible.

When that happens to me, I just say: "Hey, I screwed up." I say that on the internet, I say that on the ball field. Much less often on the ball field. (grin)

On the other hand, if you truly would not require the guy to pitch, in spite of the screams of the other mkanager, would it be fair for me to ask for a list of other rules you have no intention of "sticking up their backsides"? [/QUOTE]

I selectively enforce a lot of rules. Would you like a list? I'll start with going to the mouth on the mound in an OBR game. It's not enforced here and why would I want to be the only one to do so?

I'll give you a list if you want, but I suppose you're just in the mood for a soapbox.