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Originally Posted by GarthB
This post contradicts your ealier "contrarian" position. Good.
Your goal as expressed here is not at all compatible with your earlier expressed support of sloppy and incorrect mechanics. Around here, at least, the college evaluators are even more nitpicky about performing the expected mechanic correctly. Perception and the expected level of professionalism in college umpiring does not allow for flippant attitudes about doing things "the right way." We have lost a few otherwise good college umpires who didn't consistently demonstrate their understanding of the need to follow the CCA mechanics to the letter.
Of course, there's always the possibility that they just don't care at the college level in Wisconsin. Or that you can turn on and off your "focus on being a solid umpire" depending on the level of game.
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It depends on what people care about, I suppose.
I care about doing a good job on the field. I don't feel the need to be preachy about minor mechanical deviations off the field. Or on an Internet message board.
In this original situation, I would've fit right in -- I wouldn't have called anything cause I always give my PU partner plenty of time to make the call on his own. There's nothing I hate more than a base umpire quickly letting the world know there was a ball off a batter (and usually echoing the PU for no good reason).
But the BU calling FOUL instead of TIME isn't a reason to make the world stop spinning on its axis. Does the CCA manual actually have that level of detail? Mine's in the car and I'm not going to the garage now to look.
But do I deviate from the crisp college mechanics and mannerisms when I'm working a youth game I assigned with a good friend in the summer. Damn right I do. We talk, laugh, have fun, point out GLMs and MILFs in the stands and all those other things that would seem quite out of place on the college field.