What is going to happen to MiLB now?

[JIGGY]

QUOTE=WhatWuzThatBlue "If AMLU disappears, the PBUC system will still be in place and the umpires will still receive training and promotion. Candidates will still have to attend professional school and be evaluated before signing on."

WOW, THIS MAY BE THE ONLY INTELLIGENT INSIGHT ON THE ISSUE YOU HAVE EVER HAD!
Let me address these issues, and specifically JUSTME's list:


Gentlemen, lets be honest with ourselves here:

First of all lets understand that the job the Scabs are doing now, is not the same job as the AMLU umpires do season after season. An AMLU umpire doesn't get to hide his identity, refuse the press, or have MiLB threatening doom and gloom to those players and managers who argue on the field or speak badly about the umpires off of it. An AMLU umpire doesn't get to work when it is convenient for him, in the same park night after night, in his home town where he gets to go home to his family at night. The AMLU umpire makes less money per game, and has to try to eat on $20-$25 per day. His job is in jeopardy every time he steps onto the field, because unlike the Scab umpire who can make glaring mistakes in rules applications, basic mechanics, or handling on field situations on a nightly basis without any fear of being released (because MiLB is going to and has said the scabs are doing fine regardless, not to mention if they boot the Scabs, who would work then?) An AMLU umpire is a professional who is held accountable for his mistakes and is personally responsible for not making such mistakes; if AMLU umpires made many of the same mistakes that are being made on Minor League fields this season with great frequency, they would be out of jobs (I'm not saying there aren't mistakes made by AMLU umpires, just that they are held accountable, the scabs aren't).

Acknowledging that fact, one would logically ask the question:

If the Scabs aren't able to hit the mark in the situation they are in now, a "kinder-care" version of the real job, what makes anyone think they would be able to do the job for real?

The simple fact is, there aren't 220 "other" guys out there right now who could step in and do the job as well as the AMLU umpires. There may be 220 guys who could be trained to reach that level, but that is a developmental process and one that would be impossible without significantly compromising the quality of umpiring overall in the Minor Leagues for many seasons to come. There aren't 220 Rookie and Short A slots open any season, and putting an umpire in over his head doesn't make him any better at it- just look at the scabs who are working now! They have been working all season and still aren't even close to being "up to the level of the game". While you may improve on what you are doing with experience, umpires do not learn what to do by just going out on a field night after night. The statement that "as the strike continued the replacement umpires would become more able to fill in for the strikers" is asinine at best and has clearly been proven wrong.

There also seems to be a misunderstanding as to the roles of PBUC and the AMLU. The AMLU is a union charged with representing the umpires as a group of workers. To make statements like "(MiLB will)...probably restructure their entire umpire training/selection program possibly causing the demise of the current union." makes no sense whatsoever. One doesn't really have anything to do with the other. PBUC is a MiLB program, not an AMLU one, and as such PBUC on MiLB's direction has set the standards for hiring, training, developing, and releasing Minor League umpires, not the AMLU. Why would MiLB scrap their own program which they created and continue to run? This argument implies that MiLB will simply say "let's lower our expectations of Minor League Umpires by scrapping PBUC and letting local High School and College guys to take over." That is not even a remote possibility, and a really ridiculous speculation at best.

For those of you who insist on entertaining the idea that the AMLU will be "broken", that is your uninformed opinion. But to think that this labor dispute will somehow result in a change in how Minor League Umpires are hired,trained, developed, and released, or what level they are expected to perform at is just plain ignorant and one would be a fool to try to convince others of this nonsense. (hint- the group of guys who suddenly think that at 45 years old, 15lbs overweight, and without umpire school training that they will be given "a shot" because of the strike are very very sadly not in touch with reality.)

[Sal Giaco]

Originally Posted by JIGGY

Why would MiLB scrap their own program which they created and continue to run? This argument implies that MiLB will simply say "let's lower our expectations of Minor League Umpires by scrapping PBUC and letting local High School and College guys to take over." That is not even a remote possibility, and a really ridiculous speculation at best.

...But to think that this labor dispute will somehow result in a change in how Minor League Umpires are hired,trained, developed, and released, or what level they are expected to perform at is just plain ignorant

Jiggy,
When it comes down to it, it's all about the almighty dollar. Umpires are an expense, not an investment to MiLB. Why should they dump any more money than they have to - afterall, they are not the ones that reap the benefits of umpire development.

I think they have made it pretty clear as to where umpires are on the priority list (MiLB said they have the money but don't want to spend it on umpiring). I think they crunched the numbers and figured out that they could cut down on expenses by busting the union and then rehiring them as independent contractors. They can also save money by getting rid of PBUC and letting MLB worry about ultimately developing umpires for the big leagues.

Will the quality of officiating suffer by "outsourcing" the umpiring in MiLB? Absolutely. But you know what... they probably don't care as long as they're saving money, not adversely effecting the game and ofcourse, not losing any fans in the seats.

[JIGGY]

Originally Posted by Sal Giaco

Jiggy,
When it comes down to it, it's all about the almighty dollar. Umpires are an expense, not an investment to MiLB. Why should they dump any more money than they have to - afterall, they are not the ones that reap the benefits of umpire development.

I think they have made it pretty clear as to where umpires are on the priority list (MiLB said they have the money but don't want to spend it on umpiring). I think they crunched the numbers and figured out that they could cut down on expenses by busting the union and then rehiring them as independent contractors. They can also save money by getting rid of PBUC and letting MLB worry about ultimately developing umpires for the big leagues.

Will the quality of officiating suffer by "outsourcing" the umpiring in MiLB? Absolutely. But you know what... they probably don't care as long as they're saving money, not adversely effecting the game and of course, not losing any fans in the seats.

I agree that there are dollars and sense at work here, I disagree that MiLB doesn't care at all about the quality of umpires they put on their fields long term. They care because the players care, the managers care, and most importantly the Farm Directors care. This is the very essence of the ambiguous relationship between MLB and MiLB. It could be argued that MiLB is holding out and allowing this circus of scabs not just to break the AMLU but also MLB, a sort of backdoor way to press the issue of funding from MLB for umpire development. (for all of you who will want to chime in and give a history of the UDP and MLB's funding of it, please don't. I am well aware, that's my point.) If MLB again began dumping money into umpire development, MiLB and more specifically PBUC and the AMLU wouldn't seem so far opposed.

[Sal Giaco]

Originally Posted by JIGGY

I agree that there are dollars and sense at work here, I disagree that MiLB doesn't care at all about the quality of umpires they put on their fields long term. They care because the players care, the managers care, and most importantly the Farm Directors care. This is the very essence of the ambiguous relationship between MLB and MiLB. It could be argued that MiLB is holding out and allowing this circus of scabs not just to break the AMLU but also MLB, a sort of backdoor way to press the issue of funding from MLB for umpire development. (for all of you who will want to chime in and give a history of the UDP and MLB's funding of it, please don't. I am well aware, that's my point.) If MLB again began dumping money into umpire development, MiLB and more specifically PBUC and the AMLU wouldn't seem so far opposed.

I didn't know that MLB was funding UDP. Did they stop when UDP became PBUC?? MLB is ultimately the one that benefits from umpire development so I think they should be the ones to kick in the "few extra dollars" it takes to keep the umpiring system going at the MiLB level. The problem is, according to one big league umpire who I spoke to regarding this, MLB is yet to realize the importance of umpire development - even at the big league level they are reluctant to fund the resources necessary to make more improvements

[lawump]

Originally Posted by JIGGY

(for all of you who will want to chime in and give a history of the UDP and MLB's funding of it, please don't. I am well aware, that's my point.) If MLB again began dumping money into umpire development, MiLB and more specifically PBUC and the AMLU wouldn't seem so far opposed.

I remember being pulled aside by older umpires and told not to worry about UDP changing to PBUC. That it was only being done so that they could get rid of Ed Lawrence without being accused of (racially) discriminating. That the only thing this change would do is get rid of Ed and bring in Fitzy.

I think they were wrong about that being the "only thing".

[JRutledge]

They will not care until there is a play, a series or a playoff opportunity that is totally screwed up and it might in their mind cost someone a win of a series or a playoff spot. Now one of the issues here, on this site and other places on the internet is the only place this is even being talked about. The national media does not care about this issue right now either way. I have been saying for years that most people do not have an emotional attachment to baseball in the Minor Leagues. Unless you live in right next to a Minor League Park this might never be something you would even talk about or hear about with people face to face. I live about 20 minutes from a Minor League park and I cannot tell you anything concrete about the team but the fact that Dontrell Willis and Josh Beckett once played there. This is not like any other type of strike; no one knows most of the names or faces to this story. I think when people try to make this all gloom and doom, they are not being very realistic if you ask me.

Once again we will not know what happens until this situation is over. This can last all season and we still will not know. Just because some replacements are working (BTW many are paid more than the regular umpires and the same umpires are working all the games) does not mean the union is not going to get what they want in the end.

Peace

[Justme]

Originally Posted by JIGGY

QUOTE=WhatWuzThatBlue "If AMLU disappears, the PBUC system will still be in place and the umpires will still receive training and promotion. Candidates will still have to attend professional school and be evaluated before signing on."

WOW, THIS MAY BE THE ONLY INTELLIGENT INSIGHT ON THE ISSUE YOU HAVE EVER HAD!
Let me address these issues, and specifically JUSTME's list:

Wow, you took all that time to address just my issues......very flattering thank you

I'm not against the strike. I hope that the striking umpires get the deal that they want BUT, they aren't in a very good position. Like it or not that's the facts.

In the job market supply and demand dictates how much a position pays. Just like the supply and demand of gas dictates how much we pay for it. The MiLB umpires are not a big demand item, due to the fact that there are many umpires out there waiting to take their place. Plus the job that the MiLB umpires isn't that important in the overall scope of the country's needs (in fact not even MLB's needs it seems). Bottom line is low need equals low pay and when there are many people waiting for one position then the employers can get away with offering less money.

It might not be fair, while some believe that the MiLB umpires are deserving of more money, they are not to the people that matter. No matter what you and I think is fair the games will go on, with or without the striking umpires.