Quote:
Originally Posted by mbyron
My BRD (2008) has the second part of what you say: the umpire MAY charge a conference if he judges that the coach is conferring with his players, no matter where to coach is on the field (OFF INTERP, §148 Conferences).
The first part of what you say does not logically follow from the second part, nor do I see it in the BRD. Specifically, nothing permits the coach to "change his mind" after having asked for time. If you could point me to the relevant passage, I'd be interested to see it.
In the meantime, I'll enforce this as I was taught: if I call time at the D-coach's request for a conference, then he's charged with a conference whether or not he uses it.
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This is what constitutes a conference by rule:
A charged conference is a meeting which involves the coach or his non-playing representative and a player or players of the team (2-10-1).
And, the wording of the interpretation in my outdated copy of the BRD (2005) leads me to believe that as long as the coach does not confer with his players, that he would not be charged with a conference if he changes his mind.
I sure wouldn't charge a conference without an actual conversation taking place. They only get 3 for a 7 inning game to start with, and I'm not going to rob the coach of one of these valuable commodities if he doesn't talk to anyone.
If the coach confers with a player in foul territory, it is a charged conference and the conference ends when the coach initially starts to return to the dugout (3-4-3). Following this logic, the conference cannot begin until he actually starts conferring with a player.
If the conversation took place in fair territory, the conference is concluded when the coach crosses the foul line (3-4-3). He can, before crossing the foul line, turn around and return to the mound without being charged with another conference. Following this logic, the conference cannot begin until the coach crosses the foul line.
If I have a coach request time and then changes his mind before actually making a trip, I am certainly not going to be a hard-a$$ jerk and charge a conference for no good reason, other than to be a prick. It most certainly is not a trip in OBR if the coach changes his mind, and I can't see any reason to be punitive in a FED game.