Must be PU's call on all bases ... Steve told poor Dan to just look at the ball, all the time. :)

What Steve told him to do was to look at the ball and glance at the runners as they touch. Isn't that what you do, Mike?



Tim.

No, really what I said was that he should watch the ball, glance at the runner touching bases, then back to the ball on base hits to the outfield. I didn't tell him to "just look at the ball all the time."

I also told him that it is far more important to know where the ball is than whether or not a runner touched a base. That is directly from the General Instructions To Umpires page of the OBR rule book.

Just trying to be funny. I suppose I failed. :)

(And if I'm taking Steve literally, I think I would say I don't focus SOLELY on the ball, but try to keep the ball at or near the center of my vision and see as much as possible. You will not see OBS if you're just looking at the ball without making the effort to keep runners inside your peripheral vision ... but that is NOT what I meant by my post. I was just diggin a bit - sorry if the joke fell flat).

Mike, I was just trying to get the kid through his first 90ft. game without getting himself crucified. I didn't mean it to be an actual clinic with great detail. It was raw and basic. I probably should have used different phrasing, but I didn't want to spend too much time on it.

Fair enough. No harm.

today
 

Went good. I had fun working this fall ball game. Prolly going to do more too :D Game was very boring however, the teams...well...sucked :rolleyes: But now i know how to work a 90' diamond. lol

I'm glad you left that little LOL at the end of your post, Dan. One game of Fall ball on the big diamond does not a big diamond umpire make. It'll take you quite some time, maybe a year or more to get a true understanding of how to work the big diamond effectively. Good luck in the learning process though, we'll be here to help you as you progress.


Tim.

Who is "Prolly?" Your next partner?

Don't some of your students use this new cyber shorthand, Garth? You know what I mean. Like omg ur so kewl Ill prolly see you tmorrow at Lnch.


Tim.

Nope. I have heard some uneducated people pronounce "probably" this way in the past, but I have not seen or heard it in the mainstream of educated people, regardless of age. If this is becoming widely used, it hasn't made it to my corner of the world yet.

It's "chat speak." I catch my sons doing it quite a lot while they're using instant messaging, and it irks me to no end. My feelings are if they're going to be using a keyboard to communicate then they need to learn to use it properly. Grammar, punctuation, shift key and all need to be included.


Tim.

At the very least, one needs to be aware of his audience and present himself accordingly. "Prolly", if it is a "word" utilized by semi-educated youth, should probably remain in that arena. When addressing educated adults, it would be wise to communicate appropriately.

God, it's hard to shut down the teacher mode at night.

One game and you know how to work the 90' diamond?

Well, Grasshopper, practice makes perfect (or rather an Umpire)! You did a game that, as you say was boring ans sucked. Let's see how you feel when you get two teams that really play the game!

Excuse me for my "chat talk" there. Well anyhow i now have a basic understanding of the 90' feild.