Quote:
Originally posted by Whowefoolin
Do not patronize, do not be all-inclusive, just try to learn the game.
Without the internet a couple of years ago...who were you? So with that in mind, everyone who is taking all these "big-timers" who just sit around and post all the time, please read the rule books.
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My credentials for Carl bashing are unmatched on the internet. (Just ask any of his "buttslappers" as you call them. We used to call them "buttsnufflers", a term invented by Yaworski.) Over the last few years, I have taken great pleasure in mixing it up with Carl.
However, your idiotic post causes me to put aside my pot stirring tendancies for a moment. To wit:
I first heard of Carl Childress in 1989, well before the internet became available for public use. He was a well establish baseball author at that point.
I first heard Carl Childress described as "the number one baseball rules expert in the world" in 1994. This was before there were any umpire internet boards that I am aware of. That's why, in all my flame wars with him, I never argued with him about the rules.
For myself, I first published in 1999 a long internet article on working the plate for the umpire.org website. It's still there, I believe, because I still get email from people thanking me for its insights.
So Mr. Whowefoolin, who are you fooling with your name? What are your credentials?
Several months ago, I wrote a series of articles for eumpire entitled "Third World Plays Only Happen to Third World Umpires". It was built around the following play which has a direct bearing on this discussion:
George Washington University (an NCAA D1 school) was playing a home conference game. At that time, GWU was coached by a man who was known for going crazy on the field. He may have set some kind of record for confrontations with umpires.
The game was being umpired by a three man crew, all of whom were senior, big, big, dogs. The biggest dog of all was the crew chief. The crew chief was known for being an a$$hole and liked to patronize people. He liked to put people in their place, the bigger the dog, the better. (At the time that I wrote the original article, a reader privately emailed me and asked rhetorically. "You mean he was like Carl Childress on the internet?")
Anyway, onto the situation. It was a very windy day (as is common in NCAA games in March) and the fielders were having trouble fielding fly balls. Bases loaded, 1 out. The a$$hole crew chief was in C position. (3 man crew) GWU and their maniac coach are on defense.
Pop up into the infield. The fielders are having difficulty getting under the ball. The big dog a$$hole crew chief decides to adopt "whowefoolin" mechanics and not call an in-field fly. The other two umpires decide to let the patronizing crew chief hang out to dry because they don't like him and so they say nothing. (Normally, in a well oiled crew, a real NCAA umpire would bail out a partner with a brain fart.)
The ball drops to the ground and is picked up by a fielder who throws home for what should be an easy play at the plate and a possible double play. The offensive coach is already headed out of the dugout at a full gallop and the play is not even over. However, the gods of little league are present that day, and the ball gets by the catcher. Run scores, and safe all around.
The offense coach does a 180 and quickly heads back to the dugout. He has just decided that the umpires made a great call. The maniacal GWU coach is headed to the field at a full gallop. He ends up getting ejected (DUH!)
One other fact that I left out. The NCAA umpire conference supervisor was sitting in the stands watching this abortion. He was totally pi$$ed. The super big a$$hole dog got a butt chewing after the game for not calling an infield fly. The NCAA umpire supervisor uses the offensive coach's initial perception of the play as his primary ammunition in his insistance that an infield fly should have been called. In the next meeting, the entire association got instructions on calling infield flies. Even though this was several years ago, no one has let this big dog forget his major foulup. The big dog a$$hole has become a much nicer person now. Humble pie serves medicinal purposes. I enjoy working with him.
By the way, in a side note to Carl, I have known some 12-13 year old boys who go out on dates with indecent intentions. That means that the infield fly should be called there as well.
Peter
[Edited by His High Holiness on Oct 21st, 2002 at 10:06 AM]