Mike, I have already admitted to my mistake. If you are joining the party late please try to read everything.

I agree THE HANDS ARE NOT PART OF THE BAT. My mistake for saying that.

You are correct - I apologize for the overzealous venom. :)

So, the hands are part of the bat, right?







:eek:

Steve,

That is correct:

JM

Yes, Steve, and the foot is part of the base, the head is part of the helmet and the butt is part of the base line.

And if you give me a little time, I'll find something that the testicles can be part of!

:eek:

And you, sir, are out LBW.

ozzy, funny you should say that, the foot is part of the base it seems.

saw a play last weekend in the College Semi-regionals (at least I believe it was the semi-regionals). Anyway, R1 on second, R2 on first. RHP in the setup, see's R1 head for 3rd. Pitcher steps off and runs toward R1 driving him back to second. It seemed as though Pitcher waited to long to throw the ball to whoever was covering second (lets just say it was SS). SS had his foot in front of the bag and R1 slide into and was touching SS foot, not the base as SS got the ball and touched R1. U3 had a great angle, saw the whole play and still called R1 safe while only touching SS foot.

At least these guys got it right.

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | CIN@WSH: Desmond is ejected after throwing his helmet - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

What guys and what did they get right? Joe West's a disgrace? Well, maybe they got that right.

The umpires got the call right by calling the runner out as his foot did not remain in contact with the base. It remained in contact with the fielder's foot. See the post by BK47.

I know you don't care for him, but what do you think he did wrong here?

I guess I'm a disgrace, too. I'd toss someone for throwing his helmet like that in any game I work.

Nothing specific, just Joe West's a disgrace to umpiring. They got that right.

I love the game and I love umpiring and I respect both immensely. So how could I possibly approve of Joe West and the manner in which he defames both the game and the umpiring profession?

If he is not a disgrace to umpiring, I guess I am missing something. Try to list some of the ways that he is not a disgrace to umpiring, rather than condemn me for bringing it up, or assume I am biased against the guy personally, which I am not. As a person, I both liked and spent time with the guy in past years. But this is now, and he is now a disgrace to umpiring. There are literally hundreds of qualified umpires dreaming of a shot at a spot he is filling in a way that is a colossal embarrassment to the profession.

Seriously, can anyone please list the ways that Joe West is not a disgrace to the umpiring profession. Everyone who defends his umpiring does so with an emptiness that is quite glaring.

I'm not even asking to list glowing attributes, just some things that make him less than a disgrace as an umpire.

I asked about his handling this situation, not his entire body of work.