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I fall into Rich's line of thinking on this issue. A curve ball that is caught below mid-calf is not a strike, especially if the ball or glove touches the ground. The catcher that sets up inside or outside who must reach is glove across the plate to catch the pitch is more of a nuance. If the catcher is able to reach but still catch it within his frame and freeze his glove so the coaches can see it, it's a strike.
I call alot of strikes in my games and I work up to Division Two. I find that calling strikes tends to make the game go smoother with a minimum of griping. But the umpire's credibility is an important element in the making of a gripe-free environment. We're REQUIRED to call the high strike, so our credibility exists in the coaches' confidence that we'll call it both ways and consistently. But if either catcher makes the pitch look ugly, like letting that outside strike deflect off his mitt and travel behind him, it's a ball every time for both sides.
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