Another classy move by the AMLU

[His High Holiness]

All,

I would like to correct one of the entrys. I was assigned games under the umbrella of Nick Zibelli. After his name on the list is written "...lied to his umpires to get them to work."

That statement is itself a lie. Nick Zibelli wrote each of us a long email outlining the possibilities of working Minor League Baseball. He theorized on where this might be headed. It was clearly an opinion and in no way can be construed as a lie.

I liken it to an economist who forecasts 3% inflation for next year. When inflation comes in at 4.2%, we do not say that he lied. Only an idiot would claim that the economist lied. Nick's statements were clearly labeled as opinions about possible future outcomes. Each of the readers with IQ's above 80 understood that Nick was outlining his opinion of what might happen in the future. Reasonable men of average intelligence understood that Nick has little control over the future just has economists have little control over inflation. Only if the econonmist happens to be the Chairman of the Federal Reserve does he have control of inflation and even that is tenuous. Only if a man is Commissioner of Major League Baseball does he have control of baseball labor relations and even that is tenuous.

Peter

[GarthB]

I guess the email they've received worked. The page is gone.

Or, perhaps the number of complaints that Steven Tellefsen, CEO of Babe Ruth, received may have played a role.

It's amazing that a Babe Ruth League would allow their site to used in such a way.

[BenedictArnold]

Hey SCUMP....aren't these the same teams you worked during the strike? It's OK Dave, I'm sure they aren't talking about you. There is no way that a guy who worked the Atlantic League would have had trouble in the Carolina League. Hey Dave, if you like the press so much, why not give everyone your real name. I can do it if you like. Then you can thank me for the free press.

Nick Zibelli did lie in his message. If you don't feel comfortable calling him a liar, there are a few other names that come to mind which he also earned.

You know what the best part of threads like this are...in every thread about the post strike at some point it comes out that the players, managers, fans and everyone else are relieved to see the real umpires back, you then resort to point out that they only made a few extra dollars. That is the only leg you have to stand on. What a joke. You guys will never be as good as those guys, so you cannot claim that they are inferior umpires. You guys are pathetic. The bottom line here is that based on umpiring, you guys aren't even close.

Remember where you stand in this process...third choice at best. You know who is really laughing now, me. I just can't believe that you guys still think you belong. Hey, I hear there may be a move made in the big leagues in the next couple weeks...every scab should keep their phones close, that call may be coming.

Maybe they will even call a guy like me. Sure I haven't umpired in professional baseball for about ten years, but these AMLU guys just aren't as good as us amateurs. I think I got a shot...Nick Zibelli told me so.






Boys in blue welcomed back
June 16,2006

You hear it at every ballpark at every level, the cry of the eternally disgruntled fan: “Hey ump, you’re missing a good game!”In the first half of the Carolina League season, it would’ve worked well in reverse: “Hey game, you’re missing a good ump!”

Only a few games have been played since minor league baseball’s umpires returned to work this week, and the reviews are already rolling in.

Nothing against the anonymous guys who filled in until the strike was resolved, but rarely have baseball people been so glad to see umpires.

“Just their presence,” Kinston manager Mike Sarbaugh said when asked the biggest difference between the replacements and the pros. “You see more confidence, just a feel for the game with positioning on plays — just overall approach. Even the first day back, you noticed a difference.”

Indians first baseman Stephen Head agreed, citing the new and unusual practice of complimenting the guys everyone loves to hate.

“We’ve even said in the dugout (after a close play), ‘He was on top of that call,’ ” Head said, referring to the pros. “Whether or not he missed it, you could tell he had his own point of view; he wasn’t guessing.”

Said Indians third baseman Matt Whitney, “These guys just seem relaxed, like they’ve been there before.”

But positioning isn’t where the pro umps really stand out. It’s clear they’re more comfortable out there, but the real difference has been situational.

Take a May 27 fiasco in the Indians’ game against Winston-Salem. That night, a throw from second base pulled (or didn’t pull) Warthogs first baseman Chris Kelly off the bag, and the base umpire called the batter, Brian Finegan, out.

After a conference, the plate umpire (again, these guys were anonymous) overturned the call. Winston-Salem manager Rafael Santana bolted onto the field for an animated argument that lasted about 10 minutes. No less than seven Warthogs players surrounded the two umpires near first base and Kelly, his shirttail hanging and arms flailing, joined Santana to put up an argument that would’ve made Earl Weaver blush.

Still, amazingly, not one person go the the thumb.

“Maybe they knew that they screwed up and they didn’t want to make things worse,” Santana reasoned that night, surprised they didn’t at least run him.

Looking back, Sarbaugh said the pro umps wouldn’t have tolerated the display for long.

“There would’ve been probably at least two guys gone by then,” Sarbaugh said Thursday. “I just think (the replacements didn’t know), at times, how professional situations are handled.”

And take last night, when a pair of pro umps quickly diffused what could’ve gotten ugly after Kinston’s Brian Barton was plunked by Lynchburg’s Yoann Torrealba and both benches cleared.

That’s why it’s nice to see professional umpires once again doing a professional job with professional players. It wasn’t so much that the replacement guys were bad; it’s more a testament to the fact that the professionals — the guys who do this 140 nights a year — are actually good.

Even the pros make mistakes, but there’s way more to umpiring than balls, strikes, safes and outs. In the minor leagues, being a quality umpire is as much about knowing the nuances of the professional game as it is being able to make a fast, informed decision from the proper angle.

Still, Sarbaugh said, the replacements deserve some gratitude.

“I give them credit for coming into a situation that, at times, wasn’t a great environment,” he said. “But they hung in there and did the best job they could. We can’t play without umpires, so you’ve got to thank them for coming in in a tough spot.”

“These guys, they came out and 95 percent of them really tried,” Epperson continued, “and they did the best they could.”

Whitney agreed.

“It was just overwhelming for them, I think — the speed of the game and the other things surrounding it.” he said. “But they had to do what they had to do. I think it was all right.”

But it’s good to see the pros back where they belong.

[SCUMP]

Hey Arnie The Porker....onk Onk

I Never Worked In Kinston, Just Myrtle Beach.....i Worked 23 Games There.

I Spent Three Years With The Atlantic League
1 Year With The Northern League

Evans Academy 2000 At Age 38

Had A Blast Working....no Regrets, Would Do It Again, If You Don't Like The Fact That I Worked Guess What.....i Don't Give A Rats A$$

When Ever Your In Myrtle Beach If Your Feeling Froggy.....well You Know The Rest

Now Smile And Get Back To Your Slow Pitch Beer League Would Ya!

[NIump50]

Originally Posted by BenedictArnold

Boys in blue welcomed back
June 16,2006

“Just their presence,” Kinston manager Mike Sarbaugh said when asked the biggest difference between the replacements and the pros. “You see more confidence, just a feel for the game with positioning on plays — just overall approach. Even the first day back, you noticed a difference.”

“We’ve even said in the dugout (after a close play), ‘He was on top of that call,’ ” Head said, referring to the pros. “Whether or not he missed it, you could tell he had his own point of view; he wasn’t guessing.”

The AMLU member who authored this piece is really reaching.
In other words- All College umps are guessing on their calls. And are mindless robots with no point of view.
But suddenly, if you go to pro school you are given a 'point of view'

The first time one of the pros boots a call in favor of Head's opponent, I want to hear his quote. "It's Ok, I don't mind the pro booting the call, it's his point of view that matters"

Originally Posted by BenedictArnold

Still, amazingly, not one person go the the thumb.

“Maybe they knew that they screwed up and they didn’t want to make things worse,” Santana reasoned that night, surprised they didn’t at least run him.

Looking back, Sarbaugh said the pro umps wouldn’t have tolerated the display for long.

“There would’ve been probably at least two guys gone by then,” Sarbaugh said Thursday. “I just think (the replacements didn’t know), at times, how professional situations are handled.”

Amazing, the first time I've heard a rat complain he didn't get tossed.
Had there been ejections, this AMLU author would have found a quote by someone saying had the pros been here they would have found a way to diffuse the situation without tossing anyone.

Originally Posted by BenedictArnold

Even the pros make mistakes, but there’s way more to umpiring than balls, strikes, safes and outs. In the minor leagues, being a quality umpire is as much about knowing the nuances of the professional game as it is being able to make a fast, informed decision from the proper angle..

Earlier the author was implying the replacements were guessing and had no point of view. Now he's implying they made fast, informed decisions, but just didn't have a handle on the nuances of the game. I'm confused.

No matter how you look at it, this AMLU author has total disdain for the amatuer umpire.

[pdxblue]

I watched a AAA game the other night with a bunch of umps. "We" all noted a few problems.

1 - Nobody on, ball hit down the first base line. U1 signals fair, then follows the ball down the line (at PGE park, there is an area that is in play down the line that you cannot see unless you go down there, so anything on that line you go out!). Anyway, plate ump never left from behind the plate, when clearly the mechanic is that he follows the batter runner. Had their been a throw back at 1st base, nobody would have been there to call it!

2 - Plate blue was VERY fast coming up on called strikes, and especially fast on called third strikes! We noted that MANY batters were "turning" on his calls, and about 5 throughout the game stayed to "jaw" on him. Interesting. I didn't get that many looks, nor had that many turn on me when I did the plate. But that is another story!

3 - We gave up guessing which side of the mound U3 was going to be on with runner on first, less than two outs. Generally, he would be in deep B, EVEN when a left handed batter was up. But, we also seen him go to deep C with a right handed batter up. We seen him change positions in the middle of the at bat twice. It made no rhyme or reason, and I tell you what, I would NOT want to be that guy on the strong side of the batter making a check swing call being out of a good position to call it. Anyway, he generally looked like he didn't really know WHERE he should be. Oh well.

4 - We observed that the plate ump sure seemed to be looking for trouble after any close call he made. He ALWAYS looked over at the dugout the call was against. To tell you the truth, it looked like he was baiting them to say something to him. Classy!

Overall, I didn't see this crew do anything "better", or look any sharper than any of the replacement crews I worked on. I certainly seen a few replacement guys call MUCH better games at the plate than this AMLU guy did!!! Every time I worked the plate, I got a compliment and a "thanks" from both catchers. I seriously doubt this guy did!

[BlueLawyer]

This thread will last about another 5 posts before it is locked.

And then pdx or SC will start another one with the general theme of "We were just as good if not better". Which will be locked within 96 hours of its first posting.

Here's an idea: go start a new website- I have a suggestion: amlusucksbecausewewerebetterandbesidesourwivesorgi rlfriendsarehottertoo.com.

The horse just keeps on getting deader.

Strikes and outs!

[SCUMP]

Hey Lawyer......how Ya Been? In Case You Haven't Checked I Nor Pdx Started This Thread.....

No Wonder You "want To Be An Umpire....hell You Are Blind!!!

As For The Wives/girl Friend Thing.....are You Married To Some Ole *****y Fat Broad That Hen Pecks You And This Is Your Only Avenue To Vent? I'm Sorry. Tell Bigarella I Said Hi!!!!

Oh You Gotta Go Your Wife Just Called.....whats That Yes Dear!!!

Bye Lawyer......

[BlueLawyer]

QED.

Strikes and outs!

[pdxblue]

You know lawyer, you will NEVER find a place where I ever claim I am "better" than any AMLU umpire.

I took a freakin' beating on this board because I claimed one of my reasons for "scabbing" was to see if I could do that level of ball. I was attack viciously, and guys that have NO idea how good or not I am claimed I sucked as an umpire, and proceeded to use fan web blogs as "proof" as to how bad I am.

Not only was there NEVER anything in those blogs about the calls I ever made, you will find NOWHERE any critisism about the crews I worked on. Visiting players often told me our crews were "pretty good" compared to elsewhere.

The point I keep making is that AMLU guys are FAR from not stinking up the joint! Many outstanding umpires were "let go" to make room for the current batch, and you can be assured that many guys that deserve to still be in Pro ball are not. Many of the current pro umpires can not perform at the same level as many of the guys released.

So, this whole silly arguement that the best available are currently doing pro ball is total rubbish!

Frankly, I have worked with some AMLU guys, both past and present. All "solid", but so far, none of them are as good as MANY current college umpires I work with who have no pro experience.

It isn't the fact that you went to the school! It isn't the fact that you did a season or two or 10 in the minors!

Good umpires are going to be good umpires! PERIOD!!!

The AMLU guys post biased article after biased article about how "bad" "amature" umpires are (funny, I am SURE I have made FAR more money umpiring than about 200 out of the 225 current MiLB umps have! and have supported myself many summers in the past JUST off of umpiring!). You can see their overblown ego's in every game you do with them.

What is funny is that I managed to get through around 16 AAA games without anything serious going down, and get many compliments from players. I helped keep a LOT of people working in their ball park jobs. I pretty much showed these AMLU guys that while they may be good, they are certainly not so good that they can shut down baseball simply because they choose not to work.

I really believe that had I gone through a pro school 10 years ago, I might have been on strike this summer. I can hold my own in any professional game with any AMLU umpire!

So whatever Mr. Lawyer whoever! I will continue to post mistakes I see AMLU guys make on the field, simply because of the fact that they liked to do the same when I work! They are FAR from being above scrutiny in the job they do!

[LMan]

Originally Posted by BlueLawyer

This thread will last about another 5 posts before it is locked.

Wrong.....

[BenedictArnold]

I can see why calling someone a SCAB would be upsetting and inflamatory. But we are umpires and we have been called names several times before. I guess the difference is that each time someone calls an umpire horrible, that umpire knows that they are not horrible in their own head. So, when someone calls them a SCAB, that umpire knows deep in their own mind that that is exactly what they are. I have said it before...the truth hurts. The hardest arguments I have ever been involved in have dealt with me missing a call and having to defend it. This is no different. These SCAB umpires are in a position where they try to defend their decision to work. They can't compete with the AMLU guys in performance, so they undercut the end result of the dispute. Big suprise there, that is all they have left.

Again, like I said before, every SCAB umpire can sit at home and know that along with being a SCAB they were also baseball's third choice for working their games. And don't go fooling yourself saying that you did a noble thing because little Johnny at the concession stand needs a job too. These teams told their coaches to be ready to go out there and call games from behind the mound. The games would have been played regardless.

So, along with being a SCAB and baseball's third choice, you also know that you are one step ahead of a coach calling pitches and plays from behind the mound.

This is seriously the easiest argument I have ever been in. You guys remain pathetic and you will forever live in the armpit of baseball. Just remember to tell the truth when you give your resume. You are not a professional umpire in the minor leagues unless you went to school, got selected, and earned a job. Otherwise you are an independent league umpire, amateur umpire, or (as unfortuante as it is that this term hurts) a SCAB.

I would end this with something like "Peace" but I know my audience here. There is nothing peaceful about any of these guys defending the SCABS. They are vindictive and demeaning. So take your cheap shots at me, but remember the type of umpire you are talking about. I didn't sit back and talk about going to umpire school. I am not sitting here saying that if I went years ago, I would be somewhere else. I went to school. I got a job. I worked for many years and earned my way to AAA. I was a crew chief in both AA and AAA. I know what I am talking about and I got my answer from baseball. I earned that answer. And for the record, when someone asks me about my umpiring, I tell them that I am a former professional umpire. Not a current one. At the present time, I am an amateur umpire. I am working a few games here and there, but I am no longer being supervised by MLB or MILB umpire supervisors. And no SCUMP, the independent league supervisors don't count. They are not going to promote you if you perform well. At most they will invite you back because you do a decent job. It is not the same as MLB or MILB.

Until you work under that pressure and perform well, you won't know what I am talking about. And that is why these SCABS are so clueless. You believe you did the job just as the AMLU guys. But, you didn't travel for six months away from home, you didn't change hotels and ballparks every 3-4 days. You didn't have the players and managers treat you as equals. They knew what you were and they knew they had no choice but the deal with it. But read between the lines. No one is asking that you guys come back. You were a joke to baseball because you believed them when they said you were an asset to the game. You were nothing but a bandaid. Now accept that and forever know that you took advantage of a group of guys that fought against baseball. Just as quick as you slipped through the back door, the AMLU guys through their performance have thrown your asses out the front door. The truth hurts!

Now take your shots boys...I am a big boy and I can take it!

[BlueLawyer]

Originally Posted by LMan

Wrong.....

Neither the first nor the last time.

Then again, I wasn't good enough . . . oh never mind . . .

Strikes and outs!

[GarthB]

Boys in blue welcomed back
June 16,2006

You hear it at every ballpark at every level, the cry of the eternally disgruntled fan: “Hey ump, you’re missing a good game!”In the first half of the Carolina League season, it would’ve worked well in reverse: “Hey game, you’re missing a good ump!”

Only a few games have been played since minor league baseball’s umpires returned to work this week, and the reviews are already rolling in.

Nothing against the anonymous guys who filled in until the strike was resolved, but rarely have baseball people been so glad to see umpires.

“Just their presence,” Kinston manager Mike Sarbaugh said when asked the biggest difference between the replacements and the pros. “You see more confidence, just a feel for the game with positioning on plays — just overall approach. Even the first day back, you noticed a difference.”

Indians first baseman Stephen Head agreed, citing the new and unusual practice of complimenting the guys everyone loves to hate.

“We’ve even said in the dugout (after a close play), ‘He was on top of that call,’ ” Head said, referring to the pros. “Whether or not he missed it, you could tell he had his own point of view; he wasn’t guessing.”

Said Indians third baseman Matt Whitney, “These guys just seem relaxed, like they’ve been there before.”

But positioning isn’t where the pro umps really stand out. It’s clear they’re more comfortable out there, but the real difference has been situational.

Take a May 27 fiasco in the Indians’ game against Winston-Salem. That night, a throw from second base pulled (or didn’t pull) Warthogs first baseman Chris Kelly off the bag, and the base umpire called the batter, Brian Finegan, out.

After a conference, the plate umpire (again, these guys were anonymous) overturned the call. Winston-Salem manager Rafael Santana bolted onto the field for an animated argument that lasted about 10 minutes. No less than seven Warthogs players surrounded the two umpires near first base and Kelly, his shirttail hanging and arms flailing, joined Santana to put up an argument that would’ve made Earl Weaver blush.

Still, amazingly, not one person go the the thumb.

“Maybe they knew that they screwed up and they didn’t want to make things worse,” Santana reasoned that night, surprised they didn’t at least run him.

Looking back, Sarbaugh said the pro umps wouldn’t have tolerated the display for long.

“There would’ve been probably at least two guys gone by then,” Sarbaugh said Thursday. “I just think (the replacements didn’t know), at times, how professional situations are handled.”

And take last night, when a pair of pro umps quickly diffused what could’ve gotten ugly after Kinston’s Brian Barton was plunked by Lynchburg’s Yoann Torrealba and both benches cleared.

That’s why it’s nice to see professional umpires once again doing a professional job with professional players. It wasn’t so much that the replacement guys were bad; it’s more a testament to the fact that the professionals — the guys who do this 140 nights a year — are actually good.

Even the pros make mistakes, but there’s way more to umpiring than balls, strikes, safes and outs. In the minor leagues, being a quality umpire is as much about knowing the nuances of the professional game as it is being able to make a fast, informed decision from the proper angle.

Still, Sarbaugh said, the replacements deserve some gratitude.

“I give them credit for coming into a situation that, at times, wasn’t a great environment,” he said. “But they hung in there and did the best job they could. We can’t play without umpires, so you’ve got to thank them for coming in in a tough spot.”

“These guys, they came out and 95 percent of them really tried,” Epperson continued, “and they did the best they could.”

Whitney agreed.

“It was just overwhelming for them, I think — the speed of the game and the other things surrounding it.” he said. “But they had to do what they had to do. I think it was all right.”

But it’s good to see the pros back where they belong.

Is there a by-line or date-line available for this piece?

Bottom line: No one, and I really mean no one, expected amateurs to step into AAA ball and perform peferctly. Hell, AAA umpires don't step into AAA ball until they have at least five years experience working "pro" ball, and then, they don't perform perfectly.

Are AAA MiLB umpires better trained and better equipped to handle AAA ball than amateurs. Of course. No question. They are also better equippend to handle AAA ball than A and AA MiLB umpires, so what's new?

Amateurs, from what I saw first hand, did no worse than the "pros" at the long season A level. And that makes sense. Most of them had more experience than the Single A pros.

The argument was not, is not, and six years from now, will not be whether Amateurs are as good as AAA umpires. (They are not) The argument was, is and will be that managment found the difference in quality acceptable. That is the issue AMLU should begin working on. If they concentrate on blasting the amateurs, they will only succeed in guaranteeing that even more will sign up next time.

The AMLU needs to cultivate a relationship with amateurs, not continue to insult and degrade them. But that will take leadership, an item, apparently, in very short supply at the AMLU.

[BlueLawyer]

Originally Posted by GarthB

The AMLU needs to cultivate a relationship with amateurs, not continue to insult and degrade them.

On this point, Garth, you could not be more right. And I know that there were AMLU guys behaving in precisely the opposite way from what you suggest. I also know that there are AMLU guys who behave in precisely the way you suggest- it is not a monolithic organization, as amply demonstrated by the one third of AMLU membership who voted against the contract.

This is by far one of the most intelligent posts on this subject, and a point I should have been making all along. Whether or not the replacements were just as good or better is irrelevant at this point. What matters now is how does the AMLU go forward. I'm guessing that relationship is not going to be fostered with the kind of "we're better" rhetoric going both ways.

Strikes and outs!