[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Like a fine wine or a beautiful woman, they both have their places.

The heave-ho is beautiful when a player/coach manager crosses the line, is loud and overbearing. There is little point to calmly dumping a guy who is engaged in an F-bomb laced tirade. Eject and walk away...get the game going once the mope is out of earshot.

That said, I've also ejected coaches who actually asked if they had been ejected. I would say yes and they would say that I 'didn't make the big point to the exit'. I would ask if they wanted me to do it or just let them leave with some dignity. On those occassions, the cause was enough to warrant ejection but not enough to escalate it to hystrionics. "Coach, are you done?" Yes. "Okay, then hit the shower, because I agree." No finger pointing or dirt kicking needed. If the others have to question what happened to the coach, then it was a pretty good job of rage control. Sometimes the coach wants to get run and needs the big heave to rally his team. Sometimes I comply and other times I say, "Carl, (or whatever his first name is) You're done here and I won't let you do this to the game. Now get off the field before this costs you." You may not be able to do this and this is not appropriate for all levels of baseball, but it works for me. I treat them with respect 99% of the time and work hard to earn theirs. Without fail, we both know if we've crossed a line.

A while ago, I posted a note on dealing with trouble. I received a couple of responses that said that they like that I alluded to police officers handling arrests. In other words, maintain control, ask questions and escalate your response in direct correlation to the threat that is perceived. Keep your voice low, that makes the other guy look like the aggressor, maintain eye contact (you are in charge after all) and communicate your beliefs. Just because the coach comes charging out spitting and steaming doesn't mean the guy is going to get run. Be aware that your response is even more critical than his. The NCAA has some great video on handling situations. In most cases, Yeast compliments the umpires on their restraint. He even says that the umpires may have been justified in ejecting the offenders even though they didn't. That is not a candyass, that is a pro in NCAA blues.

Dump him how you see fit; the Olympian arm throw or the simple wrist flick are both appropriate and preserve your authority. Use them well and hopefully not often.