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Originally Posted by mbyron
Daryl, I understand your point, but I have some sympathy with Rich as well. FED wanted to move to something closer to the NCAA rule, but they couldn't just adopt that rule as it is (tried and true). So they came up with something that's difficult to interpret and apply.
One way out of the difficulty is simply to apply the NCAA rule that is the model for the new FED rule. I believe that's Rich's approach. I also believe that this is the direction that FED will ultimately take in sorting out the problems with their current rule.
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My problem with this is, in practicality, it's impossible to enforce.
R1, pickoff. I pivot, watch the play, and have to decipher immediately whether R1 has some kind of access even though F3 is blocking somewhere between 50 and 100 per cent of the base.
Same on the play at the plate. I have to watch for a runner, the catcher, the ball, the play, and I have to decide whether the runner had some access to a part of the plate that would be completely undesirable for him.
What was the point of changing the rule at all if this was how we were going to enforce it?
I called obstruction on a play at the plate where F2 didn't catch the ball and we had a huge train wreck. Did the runner have access to the plate? Not based on the actions of the catcher. Is this really what the NFHS wants me to determine? F2 blocks the plate without the ball, tries to catch the ball, fails, the runner runs into F2 (who was blocking the plate without the ball) and I'm supposed to care if the catcher gave the runner a sliver of the plate, no matter how much of a disadvantage it would put the runner in if he were to choose that sliver?
I'd bet money this will get fixed next season. Till then, it's broken.