[Don Mueller]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I don't know the person who wrote the OP, but I give the person the benefit of the doubt as to truthfulness.

I said nothing about truth or untruth, only perspective.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Are you implying that coaches are incapable of the objective reporting of a given play?

Generally yes.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

He didn't say anything about dust clouds or gloves behind feet, or any other unusual situation. He said that the runner beat the throw, and that the runners foot was on the base. Are saying that he's lying?

I'm saying that from 95' away and a different angle he may not have seen the glove behind the foot or better yet may not even know what an "unusual" situation looks like(from an umpires perspective).
What you don't know you don't report.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I see a problem in a fielder calling the play,

That's my point. Because of perspectives we don't really know if the ump was influenced by the rolling of the ball.
And instead of telling this coach that there may be reasons for the delayed call other than indecisiveness or incompetency you went straight to gullible.
Hence my comment about the bus.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

and rolling the ball away before hearing anything from the umpire. That is the part I find the most disturbing here.

You find it disturbing, that's well and good, I find it amusing especially if R2 is safe.
It's gamesmanship. I ususally don't take offense, in fact, I like a ball player that tries to work the angles and has that much competitive spirit.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I don't like base coaches signaling "safe" either, which tempts me to call "out" just because they felt the need to "help out." This is the same thing. No way does F6 get the call from me after showing me up by making the call for me and not waiting for my call before discarding the ball.

For me it's a HTBT call in terms of being shown up.
If you have a good F6 and a good umpire and both know it's an obvious out and I'm just waiting to see if he has control, I don't see it as showing me up if he rolls the ball before I call it.
Nor do I have a problem when F2 fires the ball to F5(prior to my call) after strike 3 when the pitch was in the zone I've been calling all day. When he does it on a marginal pitch however is when I will take exception.