bruce was only out a step or two,paul was next to the plate,i still think bruce had the right call,but i agree in it looked weird.Paul had to stay home for the runner coming in,so really U2 should have come over.Either way,in the end the right call was made.

I agree, the right call was made. My point was that it's not often you see these guys miss a rotation or mess up a mechanic.

Something like this makes me feel better about my own screw ups!

Once it falls, though.....

It's a toughie cause, you're right, the plate umpire doesn't really have a whole lot of time to get up to make this call.

U2 is expecting a catch, so he may have a lousy angle on it and not have time to slide over. Although, with R1 and R3 he'd have a tag at first. Once it fell, though, he was probably thinking about the force at second.

Sometimes an unexpected result leaves a hole in the coverages, I guess.

This is strictly from memory:

I remember a game in the late '90's. It was a FOX Saturday National game of the week. Harry W. (U1) was the crew chief and Hunter was U3 as a MiLB call-up.

Game was in St. Louis. Mark McGwire (sp?) had already been tossed (balls and strikes), followed by LaRussa, and coach Duncan, which caused a mini-riot in the Stadium (fans realized they weren't going to see a McGwire homer that day) which, in turn, caused a delay for the grounds crew to clear the field of debris...as I remember.

Then, as I remember, (St. Louis batting) a bloop was hit out behind shortstop, with multiple fielders converging. Hunter and (U2) (Rieker, I think) made opposite catch/no-catch calls. This in turn led the runners to have no idea what to do. The other team (which I can't remember) threw the ball in and attempted to retire another runner for a double play.

No one knew what was going on...Harry got the umps together and they ruled a double play had occured. Acting manager Lachemann didn't even argue much...I'm guessing at this point he thought the whole crew was a "lost cause" and out to screw the Cardinals. I remember a shot of him standing on the dugout steps waving his hands in disgust.

This is all from memory...and since I'm usually in the middle of my afternoon Saturday siesta while the FOX game is on the tube, it is possible I have incorrectly remembered some of these "facts"...I welcome corrections.

Proper mechanic for a 4-man system in this case is for U2 to slide over, ESPECIALLY with runners on base. UIC has to stay home for touches and plays there. U2 has plays at first AND second.

JJ