Play that haunts me still

[cbfoulds]

Originally posted by gordon30307
So you're saying it would be better if the plate umpire made the safe call. Even though we have two different calls. That way the mistake could be rectified. With the justification that it was plates call to make. The question is now where do you place the runners? You could make the arguement that the runner on third would have been out at home. Or you could assume the runner on third would have scored and the batter runner is out.

No, I'm not really advocating for either approach. I can see sorrow coming my way from the 9.04 path, as HHH suggests [H3 also points out, correctly, that 9.04 is an unavailable woulda/coulda/shoulda in the original post: there was no conflicting double-call]; particularly since I am disinclined to "assume" anything.

If I had to deal with a two-calls situation like this, I am probably only making an award to BR (1st) if he wasn't actually put out during the play. If someone else scores or gets put out, I am probably leaving that alone. Everybody else stays where they stand.

Is this a quality outcome? Nope: thus the "let the idiot eat it" option. Of course, my hapless partner can come to me for "help" and maybe change his call; then we are back to where to place the runners. I'm probably coming down the same way [BR on 1st; everybody else is how they actually ended up]. Is this a good result? Probably not.

Of the two, I think the 9.04 route leaves the least opening for a sucessful protest. Probably the only path that cannot [at least by the book] be protested is if FU makes the only call and refuses to correct it. Then it's JUDGMENT. Of course, if I am the senior guy & UIC and let that kind of obviously wrong call [even a judgment call] by the wrong guy go uncorrected, I probably take a hit on my reputation and with my assignor.

If I'm actually on the field, I'm probably going to have 9.04 to work with, since I always (automatically) call and signal "NO CATCH" when there is a drop or bounce like this. Being the devious lawyer-b@$tard that I am, I MIGHT intentionally set up a 9.04 "conflict" to be able to correct an obvious horrible brain fart by my partner: at least I have a rule to support my decision and runner placement becomes a matter of judgment. Mostly, I am going to be wishing that there was a rock on the field I could crawl under or hit my partner on the head with, 'cause for sure the rest of the game has just gone south.

-- Carter

[Edited by cbfoulds on Aug 6th, 2004 at 05:07 PM]