[Andy]

I found that a while back, I was getting into a bad habit of making a decision on a pitch by the time it was halfway to the plate. I got burned on this a few times, so I started to force myself to concentrate on the whole pitch until the time it hit the catcher's mitt, then make a decision.

The byproduct of this of this is that I couldn't tell you if the pitch was a screwball, curve, drop, etc..., I could only tell you if it was in the strike zone or not.

I have had coaches ask me about a pitcher's ball movement and such during inning breaks...I just give some generic answer like "Gee, coach, I really can't tell."

I figure that I'm out there to call balls and strikes, not be an assistant coach.