Somebody posted this on another forum, but apparently Mike DiMuro has a blog on the Umps Care website. He indicated Meriwether is retiring as well, however, due to language in the new Collective Barganing Agreement, his replacement for the vacant spot will not be announced until the end of the 2010 season. For that reason, I would guess he appears on the "DL" on the list posted on West's site. So...his spot would be the "fifth." Perhaps he is going on the DL for this season and his retirement will not be effective until the end of the season.

AAA releases were done in Oct/Nov. There will likely be a couple more self-releases toward the end of spring after the MLB promotion announcements are done.

I know. A considerable number have been released already. Most likely some who are not in the top ten after the promotions may join them.

Hate to see Chuck go because he was a relatively new MLB umpire when I first started umpiring in 1991. I always thought he was solid and I liked his mechanics. I could tell his knees had been bothering him for a few years as he seem to get slower and slower on the bases. I remember early in his career he worked the knee and I wonder how that affected him later in his career.