[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Originally posted by GarthB

I don't know what that's in reference to. It isn't raining where I am currently enjoying my vacation.

If you read my post you know that I was not commenting, despite what Arizona Pete and Dave Davies assumed, on my opinion of assistant coaches. I was commenting on how our alleged attorney umpire had to resort to the an argument of the extreme and using strawman arguments to attempt to support his position. It reminds me of how junior high students and many politicians attempt to justify their position.

I'll be happy to give you my opinion on assistant coaches if you really want it.

That's okay Garth, I think we all know what you will write. I tried to write something similar - I usually ignore coaches (head and assistant) unless they can be of assistance to the game. I imagine that you probably have developed a similar tact.

I believe that Pete's point was that TAC wrote in "Black and White" on this issue. Few things in this world are absolute. Pete provided one absurd and a couple of plausible situations where an assistant would be worthy of more than a head nod. You dismissed it as buttressing his contention and I agree that the cardiac arrest was a bit much. However, he did make a valid argument about allowing these coaches to help make your job easier (injury to you) or that they may be acting civil and demand the same. Telling others to never entertain assistants is about as old school as saying that you will never confer with a partner in order to get the call right.

Times are changing and umpires act very differently then they did years ago. I used to give what I received on a college ball field. Now, the assignors and evaluators tell us to avoid confrontation and have a partner get in the middle of it. It used to be a badge of honor to F-bomb a coach and then dump him. Now, you'll get dumped if you do it. The fact is that old school mentality has little room on the ball field anymore. I know, I'm feeling older and older watching these young guys do their thing.

The one comment that TAC made that made me laugh - that assistants don't have access to him. Unless he's wearing invisible UA, I don't know how he does it. When I set up outside the baseline, the home team assistant has to run by me every inning. I'm pretty sure he sees me. If he says hello, I'll probably say it back.