View Single Post
  #8 (permalink)  
Old Thu May 24, 2007, 05:34pm
IRISHMAFIA IRISHMAFIA is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: USA
Posts: 14,565
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrowder
Mike, the rule as written is riddled with grammatical problems (worse than the rest of the book), and is CERTAINLY unclear.
""If the obstructed runner (1) is put out after passing the base which would have been reached had there been no obstruction OR (2) advanced beyond the two bases where the obstruction occurred"
Quote:

What noun is "advanced" referring to? Why an "OR". What does "Beyond the two bases where the obstruction occurred" mean? I know it means "beyond the two bases BETWEEN WHICH the obstruction occurred", but it doesn't say that. It's just a messy sentence, prone to being misread.
Give me a break. It's a damn rule book. I'm sorry, but I don't see the problem. As we have been through so many times, I'm typing this while sleeping, this is not a grammatical publication. It is a group of rules compiled to control the manner in which a game is contested. Neither the book, or it's contents, stand alone as a sole entity. It is a published piece that exists in conjunction with the appropriate schools, clinics, case books and published clarifications. This is a method of communications which requires full knowledge of it's contents to understand. As I previously noted, there is absolutely no reason to reiterate the specifics of every rule in each entry which compliments, supplements, clarifies or notes exceptions to that rule.

Oh, BTW, in this case, it is a conjunction and the noun to which "advanced" is associated is "runner".

Modified to clarify sentence.
__________________
The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.

Last edited by IRISHMAFIA; Fri May 25, 2007 at 07:21am.
Reply With Quote