Two simple questions.............
If Santa could drop off a few things on your doorstep...........
What would they be?
New equipment......what would you like to have?
Personal Improvements.........what areas of your umpiring would you like to improve?
New equipment..............
Hmmmmmmmmm..........a few new hats..........I goofed up and put a moist hat in my cap caddy and closed that bad boy up for a couple of weeks during our monsoon season and wound up with moldy caps.............Ewwwwwwwwwww.........
I washed them and they came out fine........but would still like a few new ones.........
About 15-20 of those American flag patches............highly agree with Mike about that being an empty gesture.........
New shinnies...........my rivets and buckles are getting rusty...........Imagine that in the 100% humidity that we have on the Gulf Coast of TX..........grin
Improvements..................
Keep bearing down on the low strike............been pretty good the last couple of years...........I give a low one every now and than.......but not like I used to...........
MAKE SURE I HAVE GOOD PRE-GAMES WITH
NEW PARTNERS AND THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE WILL BE COVERING..........!!
i.e. - State tourney last summer...........New partner......normal pregame.........but because I had a PU PU partner that wanted to cover third on bases empty extra base hits.............I tell this partner........"I have all bases empty batter runners to 3rd"............
He looks at me and nods his head and says "sure".........
First inning..........BR hits a gapper to right-center........
Move in..........watch touch of 1st.........move to 2nd and watch the touch.....and just as I start stepping towards 3rd I hear my partner holler............"I got third!".........
I turn my head and see that he is already at third and think.........."awwwwwww.........crap"..........now I spin and cover home............
I break custom and between innings come in and remind my pard that I have the BR all the way to 3rd when the bases are empty...............he again nods his head and says "sure"...
You guessed it........2 innings later the same thing happens.........and where is my partner??
Camped at third.................arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Joel
And Mike..............like Scott..........for the right mileage prices.........we could definetely come up your way................
[Edited by Gulf Coast Blue on Nov 30th, 2002 at 05:20 PM]