Smitty Time!

[TussAgee11]

Today, I worked with a Smitty!

There were times when all I could do was laugh to myself, other times when I wanted to ring his neck out.

Baloon raft. Best part though was the HSM with the balloon. And, a throat guard. It was like Dali meeting Da Vinci. Didn't know what he wanted to be...

Between innings, throat guard slipped into the pants and the HSM dangled on his butt. Raft went to the ground. Way too much weight to carry to the cooler.

Each pitcher got as many warm ups as necessary on a change or between innings. We got one out, runner on first! PLAY BALL!!!!

Pitch was called before it even got to the glove. "0-1 Count!" with hands raised well above the head and out... arms maybe at a 45 degree angle to the ground, completely extended.

Then, things got bad.

R1 R2 3-2 pitch 2 outs. Single to right... R2 scores easily, I'm in the saddle. See that the cut off man is going to want to try to get the B/R out, who rounded first a bit too much. I move over, get a nice angle, somewhat close play. As I start to come up with a good strong out, I notice out of the corner of my eye our good friend coming up the line. I became quiet, trying to avoid the double call. I just knew he was going to call something.

He slowly started to put up his out sign. Yes, there was a thumb involved. I outdid him and yelled out and gave a quick sign.

Another play, R1 and R2. Single to right, R2 coming home. Somehow, PU ended up between the pitchers mound and the plate to call this play. I do think he got it right, and was shockingly in a decent position to see the swipe tag. But he never would have seen the plate.

Last play: bags juiced, 2 outs. Groundball to F6 ranging to his right, who flips to F5, who is not yet on his bag. I wait, wait, wait and wait some more. He never touches the bag, instead straddles it. Tries to tag the runner, who slides into the glove. The glove ends up in the cheap seats, and the runner on the base. Big cloud of dust. I'm still waiting to make my call, just to make sure that the ball did indeed come out. Not so sure why I waited as long as I did, but just wanted to make sure that I saw what I saw.

Here he comes, up the line. Force play, Force Play. "Crap" I say to myself, and come up with an out on the force. I should have stuck my neck out a bit here and came up with my call. But, in order to keep some uniformity between us (at least the allusion of uniformity, he did not have any of the proper patches on his shirt), I took the easy way out. 3rd base coach wasn't pleased, because he was smart enough to know I didn't have that force out with the way I waited.

Today, I worked with a smitty!

Now, what to do next. I take a good amount of games from this assignor. I have never once asked not to work with somebody again in the future. I don't want to make any more trouble for the assignor, and make him think that I am tough to work with (he's actually never even seen me umpire). Just don't want to be that guy

Assignors, would you want to hear about this stuff. Remember, I'm 21, 4th year in the association. Don't really have alot of seniority. Should I just keep the trap shut the way I did when ole Pops up on the hill yelled at me today "THAT ISN'T THE HIGH SCHOOL RULE!" (By the way, it was, and we were playing OBR to boot, but that is a horse of a different color).

Thanks for letting me vent a bit...

Tuss

[mick]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

... I'm in the saddle. .

Tuss,
I don't know where you are when your are in the saddle.
I assume I've been there but didn't know it.
Where is that?
Thanks

[BigUmp56]

Did you have a "talk" with Old Smitty after the game?


Tim.

[BigUmp56]

Originally Posted by mick

Tuss,
I don't know where you are when your are in the saddle.
I assume I've been there but didn't know it.
Where is that?
Thanks

I'm guessing that with two outs and R1 & R2 he was in "B", Mick.


Tim.

[mick]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

I'm guessing that with two outs and R1 & R2 he was in "B", Mick.


Tim.

Thanks, Tim.
Can the saddle also be "C" ?

[danreeves1973]

Guess he was on his high horse at that point...and thus in the saddle...

and I'm trying to envision someone shoving the throat gaurd down their pants as a way to hold the HSM...I jsut can't see it...or maybe don't want to

[BigUmp56]

Originally Posted by mick

Thanks, Tim.
Can the saddle also be "C" ?

Like you, I honestly don't know where "the saddle" is, Mick. I know that we're taught to use B with two outs and R1 - R2. I know other associations that leave B or C up to the umpire in this situation.

Tim.

[mick]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

Like you, I honestly don't know where "the saddle" is, Mick. I know that we're taught to use B with two outs and R1 - R2. I know other associations that leave B or C up to the umpire in this situation.

Tim.

Would it be too much trouble to explain why "B" is better than "C" ?
I know it's used, but I am cannot figger out why.

Is it because the next routine call is likely to be at 1B ?
Is it because PU can help at 3B and still be in a better postion to cover the plate?

Thanks.

[BigUmp56]

Originally Posted by mick

Would it be too much trouble to explain why "B" is better than "C"

Is it because the next routine call is likely to be at 1B ?

Actually it's because the most likely play will be at either first or second and you've split the difference on making a call at either base. With R1 & R2 it's not very often that you'll see either a steal of third or a play at third on a ball hit to the infield. You can make the call at first just as well as you can from C, but to me it's more comfortable to make the call from B.


Tim.

[waltjp]

Tuss, whether to talk to your assignor or not depends on how much capital you've built up with him over the years. If you've only worked a handful of games then it's probably best to keep quiet. On the other hand, if you've worked 2 full seasons or more, enough for him to get some positive feedback on you, then you could probably speak up.

[mick]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

Actually it's because the most likely play will be at either first or second and you've split the difference on making a call at either base. With R1 & R2 it's not very often that you'll see either a steal of third or a play at third on a ball hit to the infield. You can make the call at first just as well as you can from C, but to me it's more comfortable to make the call from B.


Tim.

Thanks again, Tim.
I can do that, but I will worry about the surprise play, the double steal, with a close play at 3B and how I may wish for that other 20 feet toward the play.

[TussAgee11]

What I meant by the saddle was a working position behind the rubber to where I could get to anywhere quickly.

I started the play in B. R1 advanced to 3rd on the play, so I had to respect the idea that we could have a play at 3rd. I also realized that B/R rounded 1st a bit too far, and they could throw behind them there. So, not knowing where the play would be, I ended up in the saddle, the working area behind the pitcher.

When I realized that the play was going to first, a took a couple of steps to get an angle and close a bit of distance down, stopped, and was ready to make the call.

2 man mechanics, a system of compromise. Heck, even 4 man would have this play a bit abandoned if the bases were full.

[mick]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

What I meant by the saddle was a working position behind the rubber to where I could get to anywhere quickly.

I started the play in B. R1 advanced to 3rd on the play, so I had to respect the idea that we could have a play at 3rd. I also realized that B/R rounded 1st a bit too far, and they could throw behind them there. So, not knowing where the play would be, I ended up in the saddle, the working area behind the pitcher.

When I realized that the play was going to first, a took a couple of steps to get an angle and close a bit of distance down, stopped, and was ready to make the call.

2 man mechanics, a system of compromise. Heck, even 4 man would have this play a bit abandoned if the bases were full.

Thanks for new term, Tuss.
Yeah, I've found myself there from time to time during a play. It's a tough place to be. And stoopid wrong-way infielders can make me look stoopider.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Tuss,

If this guy is terrible, your assignor needs to know. If you explain it to him from a knowledgable standpoint, explain your knowledge of positioning, appearance, mechanics, etc., then he should respect your opinion of ol' Smitty. You sure can't tell these old timers anything knew, they'll just blow you off and tell you that's the way they do it and that's that.

You have every right to scratch this dude off your assignment roster. I've scratched a few over the years, and a few people had me scratched as well. Sometimes it's just a matter of personality clashes, and other times it's a crappy partner. But you've been around long enough to have enough pull as to get rid of an undesirable partner. Hopefully, he will get enough complaints from other umpires to where someone will sit him down and straighten a few things out.

[TussAgee11]

SDS:

This is the 2nd season I've been taking games from this guy... are we sure that is enough time put in?

And, did I mention that he called an IFF on a soft line drive?