[QUOTE=PeteBooth]
Quote:
I commented on the following statement
As mentioned perhaps the reason JM came up too quickly was because there were men on base and maybe a steal attempt in progress etc.
I do not think I am out of gourd on this one.
When working SOLO "something" has to give. IMO, it is not a flimsy exuse for poor timing but a matter of circumstances. You cannot possibly be everywhere when working solo so some aspect of the game will suffer.
Yes you first need to call the pitch but as you mentioned for the most part these types of games are at the modified level so it's not like the pitch is going to "drop off the table" or something like that.
I am simply saying it is difficult to "rate" someone not impossible but when working SOLO inevitably one will develop bad habits because you do have to 'cut corners"
Pete Booth
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And I'm simply saying that it is not "inevitable" to develop bad habits. It is possible, but certainly not inevitable. I don't cut any corners when I work solo. I give it my best effort. If someone is stealing, oh well. The play is still either going to be safe or out no matter where you call it from. You don't raise up early on steal plays. You come up and give it the lean and look when the catcher comes up throwing.
I have worked solo games where the pitching was first class, and the ball did drop off the table, and the pitchers were throwing in excess of 85 to 90 mph. There are one-man Colt and Palomino games here that have great pitching. You still don't umpire differently than you do with a partner. You just have to get the best distance and angle you can on each play. The coaches know this and are theorhetically supposed to cut the umpire some slack, especially on stolen bases. I find working solo easy as pie. No pesky check swing begging, no "ask the other guy" crap, just you VS them.