In the interest of keeping the game moving, we do not allow defensive conferences between innings. This includes the coach gathering his players in front of the bench before they take the field, and the players gathering around the pitcher after taking warmup throws befor the first pitch of the inning. Some coaches insist on talking to their players, but we make the pitcher and catcher take their positions immediately.

This certainly makes sense, but I'm not sure how this got started. I can find no rule to support our position on this matter. Would this be an appropriate suggestion for addition to the speed-up rules section of the rule book?

As long as they don't delay the game, I don't see a problem. The pitcher gets ONE minute (or 8 pitches) to warm up. If he doesn't exceed the one minute, no problem. I told the teams that gather around the pitcher that they better be ready by the time I brush the plate, or no more "meetings".

Bob