Criminetly! This is not hard.

Can the change be entered on the umpire's lineup card when the coach announces the change?
Yes... not a projected sub.
No... a projected sub.

Is this the official interpretation of the NCAA? BFOM; I don't officiate NCAA.

Have the rules writers and interpreters and clinicians screwed it up?
Yes.

I don't disagree at all [with you]. One can only work with the interpretations handed down.

Last year's NCAA ruleset/interpretations did require this. For example, if the 4-5-6 batters were due up in the inning, Coach could not sub for B5 until her turn to bat. It was not intuitive, slowed the game, and complicated things with respect to DP/Flex. IMO, they fixed it, which is why I said earlier that I think this is a positive rule change.

However, Teebob, if the Defense coach wanted to pull his shortstop when she tanked a play, even if she's due to bat 5th in the upcoming at-bat, we still accepted that change. Go figure.

I found this post confusing. I'm not sure in what way it's a however. Let me restate my understanding.

Play: F6 commits a throwing error which results in a run scoring. The third out is recorded later in the same play.
NCAA last year: F6 cannot be replaced until she is due to bat.
NCAA this year and every other 4 base code: F6 can be replaced now even though she won't be up to bat until 5th in the inning.

Is that how we all understand it?

IMO, this is a result of a complete misunderstanding of alleged softball people of the definition of a projected substitute.

It is easier than understanding the effect of an infield fly. I believe there is too much emphasis placed on a player's defensive position or batting order slot. Making a change is not that difficult and when you make it, the change is effective immediately. Not next inning, not whenever the coaches ask it to be or any other time.

Again, it is not hard to understand. It doesn't delay the game or affect the flow. At least it hasn't for over 80 years of softball.

Going in any other direction can only set up the umpire and coach for possible failure at some point in the game.

I don't do NCAA, so haven't followed this thread that closely. But the comment about "F6 cannot be replaced until she is due to bat" simply makes no sense at all. That eliminates ANY defensive substitutions.

What would happen if a defensive player were injured? Or a coach wanted to make a multiple position swap by moving the current pitcher to another defensive position, removing the player at that position, and entering a new pitcher?

I don't mean to further confuse the issue, but apparently this thread doesn't need my help to do that. :rolleyes:

Old Rule:
8.5.1.1 Any player may be substituted for at any time when the ball is dead as long as she immediately participates in the game.

If F6 does not come to bat in the next half-inning, the substitution can take place when her team takes the field on defense.

That didn't help.

A defensive substitute is immediately participating in the game. The change can come in the middle of a half inning.

Not sure what you mean by "if F6 does not come to bat ..." If F6 is scheduled to bat 7th next half-inning, we don't know if she will come to bat in the next half-inning or not.

Making a change is not that difficult and when you make it, the change is effective immediately.

Making a change is not that difficult and when you make it, the change is effective immediately.

Making a change is not that difficult and when you make it, the change is effective immediately.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

the comment about "immediately participating in the game" is what I think most complicates what is an incredibly simple rule.

A player is "participating in a the game" by just sitting on the bench, waiting for her at-bat, which could be as many as 8 batters away.

For a DP, she is "participating in the game" while she sits on the bench as her team is getting beat up on defense for a 1/2 hour, and her at-bat is up to 8 batters away.

If she's in the batting lineup, she's "participating in the game". Period.

Notice in my play, the third out was recorded on the play. As such, in the old NCAA rule, F6 could not be removed until due up to bat or when she was returning to defense. In other words, the NCAA messed up the concept of a substitution by claiming that players waiting to bat but not actually at bat were not participating in the game. This year they fixed it and it works like every other code. But they did it in a way that is still leaving some people messed up on the subject.
(Or my understanding of what's up is wrong.)

If a player is in the batting order, the player is a game participant

Exactly!

I agree. What I can't tell is if you're trying to disagree with something I said or just make a point about how utterly ridiculous the previous NCAA interpretation was.