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Originally Posted by JefferMC
Let me back up and say that I read that paragraph a total of 6 or 7 times. Initially, I wasn't sure exactly what to make of it. How do you, the umpire, standing behind the plate (and the catcher), "bring the ball" anywhere? My best read of that before this discussion was that this is how you should train your eyes to watch the ball. And it still didn't make sense.
Now I see that it apparently means "make the strikezone slightly shorter from both directions and slightly wider." And, it admonishes "making sure to give a good corner." How many corners does an oval have?
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It's the PLATE, not the area of the strike zone.
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Moving the lines a ball width up, down, left and/or right isn't my primary concern here (as long as its consistantly applied). Hearing an umpire say that he takes corners away from it because it's hard to hit the ball there, that is my concern.
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No such comment ever made. The interpretation is to eliminate parts of the defined zone which provide difficulty to any batter.
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And I also think that if umpires are going to be instructed to apply the stike zone this way that the Rules should be amended to describe the called strike zone.
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Do you think you've stumbled onto something new here? Well, go ahead and do it. Give us the change you would recommend and remember, whatever you come up with, there must be defined standard, focal points to be used by the umpire.
Good luck