[bobbybanaduck]

though most of you already know this, i'll precede this post with the disclaimer for those that do not. even though i retired from the game, i am still serving as the 1st vice president of the amlu. that being said, i can assure you that this issue with the CPL is something that has been talked about among the board members. we are still in the process of getting all of the info before we address it publicly.

what i can say is that we, meaning the minor league umpires and the amlu, had NO input whatsoever on this recent development. we were not contacted prior to the agreement, and, in fact, it caught us by surprise as we heard it second hand from graduates of the schools that had attended the pbuc evaluation course. we have fielded numerous calls from our amateur brethren voicing their concerns; which were very similar to the one voiced in the original post.

as i stated above, we are still trying to get all of the info straight before addressing it, and when we do, you can be sure that we will. what i am willing to say publicly is that many, if not all, of the umpires that worked in the CPL in seasons past supported us during our work stoppage, and we greatly appreciate that fact. if this development comes to fruition, i would hope that any doubts that these guys had about not working in our stead would be put to rest as the effects of the long arm of pbuc will be felt outside of the professional ranks for the first time.

as far as solidarity between amateur and professional umpires and the goings-on of the strike in 06, these are things that the new board has been learning from and trying to roll with. obviously there were mistakes made, and hindsight, of course, is 20/20. we can't go back and change the past, but we can strive to make things better for the future. that is the mindset of the current amlu executive board, and hopefully it will spread throughout our membership.