During the last two weeks:

[Rich]

Originally Posted by CoachJM

While Tim may be somewhat "terse" in his posts on this board at times, he couldn't have been a more gracious host to this particular rat during my recent visit to Portland.

In regard to the game, I would say the officiating was of a markedly higher caliber than the play (not to mention the coaching, lah me).

After the game, Tim was pretty self-critical of his strike zone during the later innings. Personally, I saw exactly ONE pitch that I would have had an issue with had I been coaching in the game.

And, on the two plays when the BU went "out" on fly balls to the right/center gap, I've never seen a PU (that would be TEE in this case) exhibit better hustle in getting out to the working area for the possible impending play at 2B.

All in all, a most enjoyable evening; my only regret is that we didn't have more time for conversation after the game (due to my early flight the next morning).

JM

You would find that being self-critical like this is a characteristic of all really good umpires.

I visited with Tee on my last trip to Portland, and he is a most gracious host. We've lost our customer out there, so I haven't had an opportunity for a return visit, but I'll get back.