[sbatten]

Hi, all --

I'm a new ASA umpire, going into my second season, and I'm thinking about how to handle one of the recently passed ASA rule changes:

Rule 4 Section 6 C 1: Removes the penalty of disqualification from the Substitution Rule.

Comment: This only removes the disqualification portion of the rule, the balance of the penalties still apply. The unreported substitute is now in the game and all rules regarding reentry still apply.

I like this rule change, but I'm wondering if it leads to a situation in which a coach doesn't have to worry about reporting substitutes for pinch runners.

Previously, if a coach threw someone on base to run for someone without reporting the sub, and assuming that it was an eligible substitute (for example, somone on the substitute list who hasn't yet been entered into the game), and a pitch was thrown and then it was discovered, that player was disqualified and removed from the base (because of the DQ), with the coach having to replace her with an eligible player.

Now that the disqualification penalty is removed in 2009: after a pitch is thrown, if it is brought to the umpire's attention, I assume(?) the player is not removed from the base because she is not DQed. Instead, I assume the offending coach is made to report that player as a sub, and also the player is considered to have entered the game (i.e. she is no longer available to be subbed somewhere else in the lineup).

It's almost as if it didn't matter that Coach failed to inform Blue prior to putting the player on base, because the outcome is the same. Irish or anyone else on the inside -- do you know if any penalty will be written in Rule 4 Section 6 for an unreported pinch runner?

Thanks,

Scott