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Old Wed Dec 26, 2007, 02:25pm
GarthB GarthB is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Spokane, WA
Posts: 4,222
Quote:
Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
My # 1 is waking up this morning to find my Holiday Wishes thread closed because instead of being used to promote a joyous season's greetings, it got used for a petty argument.
After all the scraps you've been involved in, after all your posts that have been deleted by management, this is your number one?

Wow. I'm flattered.

That said, Steve, I do apologize to you and other posters on this forum for letting my intolerance of lying get out of hand.

My respect and appreciation for MiLB umpires and what they endure to remain MiLB umpires precedes my son's involvement in the professional ranks. It goes back to my first fill-in at a MiLB game 70's. After witnessing what great young men those umpires were on and off the field, I was both impressed to learn what they went through, how they lived, and how hard they worked to get to where they were and where they hoped to be.

My intolerance for lying has been with me all my life, but was amplified after a subordinate's lie cost my company and me personally, thousands of dollars and the loss of several clients. And, make no doubt about it, misrepresentation of the truth, is a lie.

When one adds a title to one's signature, whether it is MD, PhD, EdD, Attorney-at-Law, whatever, it is perceived as part of a resume and statement of "This is what I am." People can perform all the moral and verbal gymnastics they want to justify misrepresenting themselves in this manner, but it is what it is. (Grandpa Appleton once told me "You can put perfume on a cow-pie, but it's still sh!t.")

I know from many emails, that I am not the only one annoyed by Michaels use of MiLB in his signature. I am, for better or worse, the only one who gets annoyed to the point that silence is not an option.

Michael, and anyone else who inflates his signature, for that matter, know exactly how it is interpreted. They apparently need that kind of validation in lieu of real ability, or lack of confidence. If he were truthful, he write, "MiLB-fill in", if he really is or was.

If he were confident in his abilities, he'd write nothing. I know of at least six, and counting Michael, maybe seven posters here who have worked as fill-ins at the one MiLB level or another. Guess how many feel the need to list what they have done or continue to do?

I have filled in for a friend who teaches an evening class in Jazz History at a local university. He is a full professor with PhD and that is the rank and education required for his position. Should I include "Professor of Jazz Studies" with my signature even though I do not qualify for the title and don't have the required training?

I suppose reminding people that Michael is, at best exaggerating, isn't really necessary. One only need to read his writings on rules and mechanics to see that he doesn't have the training or knowledge to an MiLB umpire.

With that off my chest, I'll go back to just being amazed at how brazen he is, in silence, and understand that his track record indicates he can't be trusted.
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