[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Willing umpires is indeed the appropriate terminology...not qualified.

This whole thread is pathetic. Not because PDX tries to justify why is his working as a replacement, but rather because he feels the need to do it on the bulletin board.

There are many umpires who are working as replacements. You paint with a mighty broad brush. I can think of at least a dozen that were formerly MiLB umpires. A handful have time in the Show. I would say that they are infinitely qualified.

I am also familiar with about the same number who carry regular D1 schedules and have done so for many years. Two of them work in the SEC and another in the Pac 10. If you work those conferences, you are familiar with any pressure that you will see as an MiLB umpire. The mistakes made in those contests not only cost you schedules but may blackball you in an entire area. I have attended a couple MiLB contests since the strike. I watched a crew that had only High School experience do a terrific job on an A field. Hell, the guys playing were only a few years removed from their Senior years themselves.

For such a pathetic board, the amateurs that play here have certainly found that the behavior of the AMLU professionals is reprehensible. PDX may find the need to justify himself to his peers, but how do Andy and the gang justify the Scab board at the AMLU site? For the record, getting access to that board is pretty easy if you know someone who lends you a password. Believe me, more than a few guys are upset at the way things are falling apart. They ARE speaking their minds and telling a story much different than the unified front that is being ballyhooed. They are passing along private messages and already discussing options. It can't last much longer...