As a rule I never criticize umpires in public.

The plate umpire in RI v IA (LL World Series) gets his calls right, but he looks untrained. <i>Very</i> untrained.

Am I wrong?

He's from Montreal, so Blaine isn't to blame.

"gets his calls right" sounds good from my side of the fence ;-)

No, you're right.

Doesn't stay down on the pitches....calls them before the catcher catches it, among others...I could go on.

But, they ARE volunteers. I'd do it for free, too.

What a great game anyway.

Aw c'mon Peruvian - add the punch line.

"Ok, where was that pitch at, a$$hole." Marty Springstead said it was a line delivered to Durwood Merrill.

And Jocko Conlan.

And Bill Klem.

lol....I don't get it.

"Where was that pitch?" is correct English.

So the catcher didn't actually correct his English, you see?

Yes. You're wrong about him "getting his calls right." His strikezone was very erratic, which was fairly obviously attributable to horrid plate mechanics including a crouch so low and not in the slot that he was constantly guessing at pitches because he couldn't see around the catchers' heads, and timing so quick, when he wasn't guessing, he was predicting.

Given his apparent age, I expect his appearance at the LLWS is a reward for probably decades of volunteer service in his local league and district. As laudable as that is, it's still a shame he didn't pick up any actual umpire training along the way.

Dave: I posted my remarks at the end of the seocnd inning or so. At that point, he had been getting most of the pitches right. He did call one that appeared to be about a yard outside, which prompted the "talking heads" to point out that the LL strike zone was much different from what we're accustomed to.

I had to leave the game. I suppose that's when he blew up.

Dave, You hit it. LLWS is reward for time of service. In Florida, they try to make sure we are competent as we work the different levels, but that doesn't mean it is worldwide.

Carl, the two things I noticed that supports your observation of lack of training was the really quick timing and the verbalized swinging strikes, which may have been attributed to timing.

As far as the zone, he had the basic LL zone. BIG & W I DE. He seemed to be consistent, until he got hit on the wrist late in the game. Then he definitely tried to hide behind the small RI catcher. Iowa's catcher was huge...looked like he was 15.

The guy from Europe on the 3 PM Eastern game (Wash v Texas) seemed pretty good...between naps on a 3 hour 6 inning game...Glad I wasn't honored to do RF line on that one...lol

Another note I have is ESPN needs to kill the mic when the umpires discuss a call in "private". The play in which the plate guy got hit in the night game was a debatable foul ball. You could hear the double sound on the TV...I think it was mitt-wrist. Runner advanced, so D appealed. Plate guy goes to U3 and it was a quick "foul ball" from U3. In real time, the aluminum is pretty distinct, so I have to say U3 must have had alum-wrist. But my point is, I would not want a TV audience in my huddle with my partner with live sound, especially with H. Reynolds claiming an "overrule". Plate guy made the reverse call himself, as he should have if he deemed U3 to have the correct call. But with the mic in the huddle, and H.R. in the booth, the masses hear way too much.

[Edited by TBBlue on Aug 22nd, 2004 at 12:11 AM]

It is entirely possible to get into the Little League World Series without a lot of years of service, but it is indeed a far tougher task. You are also correct about umpire selection not being worldwide. Umpire selection for the LLWS is regional.

He might not've been the worst I've seen at LLWS
 

BUT, if you held a roll call of the "LLWS cream of the crap", I think he'd make my top 10.
He pretty much hid behind the catcher the whole game. He was moving around before the pitch arrived. He called every pitch before it even reached the batter. He called every swinging strike (which even our local league umpires know not to do). He called several balls down the line "foul", before they ever passed 1B or 3B. Not once, but twice he went to BU3 (who was PU for the TX-WA game) for "help" on a foul ball call. The first one (which he should've been able to call on his own) appeared to be foul, but the second one sure appeared to catch nothing but the catcher's mitt, then PU's left wrist, after the batter swung and missed it. He sounded like a doofus, "It hit me on my wrist; It must've been foul." He really crawled in the catcher's back pocket after that shot.
If he shows up on the plate for anymore games, Andy Konyar and Steven Keener, weren't paying attention..........

Incomplete evaluation. You're slipping a little.

Harold Reynolds made a funny comment about not having to wait around for the umpire to make the call, his timing was horrible. Harold said something about him calling the pitch before it was in the glove. Personally I do not think the LL WS umpires are all that great as a whole, I have noticed a lot of blown timing calls and things like that.

AS we learned as kids, "actions speak louder than words."

The continuing tragedy known as LLWS umpiring illustrates that quality umpiring is not a priority of those in charge. If it were, it would be a simple matter to fix.

It really is sad that LL teams go through so much to guarantee that the best arrive to play and then they are faced with much less than the best who are chosen to officiate.

Again, it would not be, from a mechanical standpoint, difficult to fix this mess, but, apparently, from either a political standpoint or just getting someone to care, it is next to impossible. So sad.

Then why did you?

"As a rule" is simply a way of saying that "never" isn't exactly right. If you want me to answer your rather cryptic question, email me at [email protected] and I'll let you know. The "why" is my affair unless I choose to reveal it. Right?