Didn't we beat the crap out of this subject in the spring?
And, yes, when it comes to positioning, those teaching NCAA mechanics are turning their blues into robots. We saw it demonstrated in the NCAA Championships where umpires were so driven to get into the prescribed position, they almost missed a play or placed themselves in the middle of it.
Now, if the NCAA folks want an umpire to be in a particular place, that is their business, but not at the cost of not being able to make the appropriate call. Anytime a mechanic is placed above the call, something is wrong.
AFA signals, ASA isn't even close to being as anal on these as they were 10-15 years ago. Yes, there are basics and if that is what an umpire wants to use, who the hell are we to criticize a person for following direction.
Remember when the strike/out signal included reaching high and drop to the hammer? Well, that's gone, but I still use it in the school. Why, you may ask?
Because it is a good exercise to train umpires on how to get to the hammer. By the end of the session, we have them going right to the hammer. Unfortunately, many umpires' hammer lacks crispness because the get lazy. Too many believe just raising the fist with the elbow never leaving the side is hammer enough. IMO, that looks extremely lazy and sloppy.
And who really cares about the players' opinion on an umpire's mechanics? How many times has a player told any of you to get into position and tell you where that is?
We are talking about people who think the guy who announces his game from behind the plate is the best umpire in the world, but don't care for the guy who is doing his job as trained? Yeah, there is a valid authority to provide critique
JMHO