Sooooooo....today was the first day...

[ctblu40]

WWTB-
You say that many of these SCABs didn't go out there with the "dreams of a pro contract" and that this was a fallacy? You are wrong.
In the New England area, the NCAA director of baseball umpiring sent a memo to all of his umpires stating, "This is a great opportunity. Working these games may even be a new avenue of approach to an MLB career."

To say that there is no difference between amatures and professionals is naive... in any respect, be it umpiring, construction, or any other field of endeavor. As for former MiLB umps filling in, there is a reason they are former, right?

Just my 2 cents.

[SCUMP]

ctblu40.....is it possible some of the former minor league umpires retired???

or chose to leave the game on their own terms!!!!! you wouldn't be so

arrogant as to assume they were all released now would you??????

like several of the amlu guys that decided not to return to work after the

strike......were they fired or did they live under their own terms??????

[ctblu40]

My brother happens to be one of those guys who left on his own after the strike. Please don't confuse my previous comment with arrogance. Most former pros who left on their own wouldn't SCAB. It's the guys who can't let go who scabbed.
BTW- I personally know 4 previously released MiLB umps who refused to work these games. I know that doesn't represent a large proportion of the population under consideration here, but thats what I got. I call 'em as I see 'em.

[SCUMP]

there you go again.....any former minor league ump that worked just can't let go huh??????

it is amazing how you can know the reasons why a guy would work or not work.....

you are amazing........a mind reader no less........

[ctblu40]

I supose that it doesn't matter what I say, you'll never be convinced that those who SCABBED undermined the AMLU in their attempt to improve their positions.
Is it possible that many of these umpires retired because they were no longer able to partake in the natural progression of life (marriage, home purchase, starting a family) because the compensation from MiLB was so abismal?
I concede that they are not all retired for the same reason. Can you concede that the SCABS undermined their collective efforts?

[wsttxump]

This is a highly trained umpire. Check out the pic.


http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs...TS07/606130425

No small ball, a staple of the Mud Hens' two previous wins over Ottawa, was necessary for Toledo to earn a 5-0 victory over the Lynx last night.

In fact, the long ball - a two-out, three-run homer by Mike Hessman in the opening inning - combined with a complete-game six-hit shutout by starter Chad Durbin to give the Hens their third win in as many games.

"What a great pitching performance by Durbin," said Ottawa manager Dave Trembley. "He threw all of his pitches for strikes, and we really didn't have a threat against him. He really had complete control of the game."

While the right-handed Durbin allowed baserunners in six of the first seven innings, he allowed just one runner to reach second base until the seventh.

In that frame Luis Terrero drew a walk, then took second on Val Majewski's single. Durbin struck out Brandon Marsters, but Hens third baseman Mike Hessman made a diving stop to keep Jason Bowers' single in the infield, loading the bases with two outs.

"He always makes great plays," Durbin said of Hessman's shutout-saving dive. "He's as consistent a guy [defensively] as I've played with my whole career."

Durbin kept his shutout alive by getting Eddy Garabito to fly out to end the seventh, then set down the Lynx in order in the final two innings. Durbin finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts and walked only two to improve to 5-3 on the year.

"[Catcher Brian] Peterson did a great job behind the plate," Durbin said. "We got ahead of a ton of guys, and the curveball was really good. We worked the ball away most of the night, and we came in when we had to."

Meanwhile the Mud Hens of-fense gave Durbin plenty of wiggle room by scoring four times in the first off Ottawa starter Brian Burres.

Kevin Hooper got things started by beating out an infield single, then moved to second on a single by Tike Redman before coming around to score on Ryan Raburn's single.

Burres seemed poised to end the threat when he got Ryan Ludwick to bounce into a double play. But Jack Hannahan worked Burres for a walk, and Hessman hammered a three-run homer off the scoreboard in left.

"That was a pretty good at-bat with two outs, and it obviously was the key blow," Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish said of Hessman's 12th home run of the season. "Hessman has been swinging the bat a little better."

Durbin's nine-inning completegame shutout was his first ever. He said the four-run cushion helped make the shutout possible.

"Knowing they're behind, and knowing I'm going to throw strikes, they're not as aggressive," Durbin said. "If we're down four, it's a little different because they take different swings."

The Mud Hens should have had another home run in the third inning when Raburn curved a line drive around the left-field foul pole with a runner on, but second-base umpire Chris Hubler overruled third-base umpire Joe Judkowitz and ruled the ball was foul.

Parrish was thrown out of the game for arguing the call.

Toledo added a run in the sixth off Burres. Hannahan walked, then was running when Hessman beat out a high hopper down the third-base line and raced to third. David Espinosa then singled Hannahan home.

[SCUMP]

Just A Dose Of The Real World Here Ctblu40......

Apply For A Job......any Job.....have Your Interview......(pro School)

Accept The Job With Its Hours, Benefits, And Yes Pay.......

Then When It Is Time To Go To Work.....stand At The Front Door With A Little White Sign And Tell Your Employer I Will Not Work Unless You Pay Me More Money.........

Hello Earth To Ctblu40........your Fired!!!!!!

The Amlu Undermined It's Self With Their Poorly Concieved Notion That They Are Bigger Than The Game......

And If Guys Working The Games Hurt The Amlu And Their Attempt To Hold Baseball Hostage......so Be It.......

If You Don't Like The Pay.......find Another Job.....the Game Will Be Just Fine Without You.....

I Guess That Was Made All To Clear Now Wasn't It???????

[BlueLawyer]

You have to waive the flies of off this dead, bloated equine to beat it.

Yet here we are.

For those who don't know, I am an unapologetic AMLU supporter. And so, I have this question: if the decision to cross the picket line and work MiLB games was purely altruistic- "For Love of the Game" as it were- why are you still digging? If you were just providing a service to keep baseball going, with no thought of self-promotion, why are you on this board sarcastically calling the AMLU guys "perfect", pointing out their mistakes and going on about how you are just as good if not better than they are?

True nobility does not blow its own horn or beat down its rivals unnecessarily.

In a classic line from one of the 200 best baseball movies ever made- Major League, "Who gives a sh!t? It's gone."