In the interest of peace & harmony

[Ump20]

The umpire is a lonely man
Whose calls are known to every fan
Yet none will call him Dick or Dan
In all the season's games.

They'll never call him Al or Ed
Or Bill or Phil or Frank or Fred
Or Jim or Tim or Tom or Ted
They'll simply call him names.

Author: Milton Bracker ©
Published: 1962
Appeared In: The New York Times

I have noticed that from time to time on umpire discussion boards and LISTSERVS it is common practice to use personal attack as a method of responding to "fuzzy thinking". Of course some of this frustration is borne out of past conflicts that the two parties (otherwise known as umpire kinfolk) have had either here or elsewhere. Respectful disagreement is sometimes lacking. If you are new to this group or umpiring on the Internet in general I would simply suggest you "ignore" those posts or those parts therein that are attacks. Someone once suggested we would probably all get along better if we were discussing these "differences" over a Coors a Foster's or a Bud in a nice pub. Why a Pepsi or a Coke is just fine too as long as no one greets me with a "wasuuuuuuuup?" Jim/NYC

P.S. You rookies have the first round!

[Warren Willson]

Originally posted by Ump20
I have noticed that from time to time on umpire discussion boards and LISTSERVS it is common practice to use personal attack as a method of responding to "fuzzy thinking". Of course some of this frustration is borne out of past conflicts that the two parties (otherwise known as umpire kinfolk) have had either here or elsewhere. Respectful disagreement is sometimes lacking. If you are new to this group or umpiring on the Internet in general I would simply suggest you "ignore" those posts or those parts therein that are attacks.

Good advice, Jim, but on this board there is also another alternative for any registered poster. If you come across a post which you believe to be a personal attack, whether on you or any other poster, you may email the board Moderator at [email protected] and he will examine the offending post and take what action (if any) he deems necessary. To make his task easier, please quote the thread or post ID's as they appear in the URL shown in the Address box of your browser. For example, the URL of this particular post is http://www.officialforum.com/newrepl...y&postid=16269. This can be found by hovering the mouse over the "Quote" option at the bottom of the post and reading the resulting URL from the activity bar on the bottom of the browser, OR by clicking on "Quote" and reading the contents of the Address bar on your browser from the subsequent Reply window.

BTW, there are those who believe that poking fun at another poster is acceptable. IOW, such posters contend that as long as they use humour to ridicule another poster there can be no harm and no foul. That is clearly a false premise, especially if you happen to be the person being ridiculed. I find the best measure of acceptability in personal content is whether or not I would personally be offended if the object of that humour were me. That is not to say that we cannot enjoy any humour on this board. It's just that I believe as fellow officials we ought always to be especially careful that our humour isn't at a colleague's expense. We've all been on the receiving end of "Jump up and down, Blue, yer eyes are stuck" or similar, and can appreciate the humour in that. I venture that none of us would find it funny to be labelled a liar, a fraud or a cheat, no matter how much humour was applied in conveying the message.

Cheers,

[Edited by Warren Willson on Mar 18th, 2001 at 05:59 PM]

[Ump20]

Originally posted by Warren Willson

Good advice, Jim, but on this board there is also another alternative for any registered poster. If you come across a post which you believe to be a personal attack, whether on you or any other poster, you may email the board Moderator at [email protected] and he will examine the offending post and take what action (if any) he deems necessary. To make his task easier, please quote the thread and post ID's as they appear in the URL shown in the Address box of your browser. For example, the URL of this particular post is http://www.officialforum.com/newrepl...y&postid=16269

Cheers,

The attacks are often not vicious and innuendo is commonplace especially since we have some erudite posters in these environs. My point really was to suggest that we all step back a pace or two and realize that we are all in this together. Our experience levels may be different but each poster should be treated with civility. It is obvious that some lurkers have now taken the plunge but I think there are others out there who are ready to ask the challenging questions that can improve everyone's game but may hesitate to do so when they see threads that get a little threadbare.

With that said and done is my friend from Down Under ready for the return of winter? Jim Simms - The Big Apple

[Warren Willson]

Originally posted by Ump20
With that said and done is my friend from Down Under ready for the return of winter? Jim Simms - The Big Apple

Absolutely! I get to call District League (ave. Minor A-AA standard) without having to travel miles to get to a game, and I can watch your MLB on Fox when I'm not on the diamond myself. It's the best of both worlds, really! (grin)

I have been following the progress of a couple of my former District League and State League charges in Spring Training. Chris Snelling and Craig Anderson have been called up for the Seattle Mariner's in a couple of Cactus League clashes recently. Snelling is an exciting outfielder who has managed to bat well on debut and looks certain to make AAA this year, with a late call to the Majors not entirely out of the question. Anderson is a quality pitcher who made the Minor League All-Stars last year from his Short Season A League, and looks like moving up to AA or AAA this year. I wish them both well and I'll be looking for them on the box. I also have another former charge who is a new signing for the Mariner's organisation this year. Keep the name Ryan Rowland-Smith in mind for the future.

Cheers,