Thank you, Jeff Nelson!

[Dakota]

You've finally killed the myth for all time!

We now know without a doubt that the hands are not part of the bat.

It's the bat that is part of the hands!

[SRW]

I saw that as well... Dye didn't even react to any kind of pain. If it had hit him, wouldn't he have said something like "ouch" - and rubbed where it hit him?


Chicago White Sox's Jermaine Dye leans away from an inside pitch from Houston Astros' pitcher Dan Wheeler during the seventh inningin Game 2 of the World Series in Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005. Home plate umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Dye was hit by pitch to load the bases. The next batter Paul Konerko hit a grand slam off of Chad Qualls, who relieved Dan Wheeler.
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

[Dakota]

Lighten up jack... I suppose you're some kind of "big dog" as they say on the BB board?

It was a joke, plain and simple. Like you.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by orangeump
you guys are seriously going to bash a major league umpire on a softball board? I assume with twenty people in the stands and the 14 year old girls you work it is fairly easy to disinguish the bat sound (Ping in softball cause of the bat type) and the hand (the whining sound as the girl is barely hit in the hand and acts like she just gave birth!)

I can understand now where you get off making fun of Jeff Nelson. Carry on.

Don't you just love it when the baseball guys come on here and show their ignorance of the game of softball?

[SRW]

An article by MLB Umpire Mike Everitt

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...04/1003/SPORTS

I know many are asking why the plate umpire ruled that the ball hit Jermaine Dye and awarded him 1st base. All I can tell you is that in real action it is a very difficult call. While you are watching the ball the catcher comes up in front of you and you must rely on sound. I know what a tough call that is first hand. If you umpire long enough at any level you know how tough that is.

[Dakota]

Again, I was just having a little fun (admittedly at the expense of Mr. Nelson) with the "hands are part of the bat" nonsense.

However, since the issue of the call itself has been brought up a couple of times, here is my take.

1) The highly esteemed MLB umpires have not acquitted themselves very well in the games involving the White Sox so far. On the U3K in the ALCS, whether or not the call itself was correct was moot to most umpires discussing the call. It was the ususual mechanics (or changed call, depending on our point of view) by the plate umpire that was at issue. One of the BB "big dogs" has written an article on the free portion of Officiating.com that concludes that the issue was the PU was incompetent, and that had he made this same call the same way in his final AAA game, he would never have been elevated to the bigs.

2) With respect to the HBP call, I fully understand how difficult the call can be. This is no doubt made even more difficult with all the body armor the "tough guy" MLB batters wear these days. However, if the PU was not sure of his call, what is the call to be? Surely "not sure" would equate to "foul ball" rather than a base award. Therefore I can only conlude the PU was sure but wrong (which renders moot all of the discussion about how difficult the call is - he was sure!). Either that, or he was unsure and made the call to award the base anyway.

Bottom line: how could he have been "sure" unless he saw something that did not happen?

If unsure, why did he award the base?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by orangeump


And to IrishMafia, dont you love when some 90 year old softball umpire start trash talk a Major League umpire?

I haven't seen anyone on this board talking "trash" about anyone in particular. The reference was to an article submitted on the baseball board by a baseball guy, not softball.

As noted, most of the discussion on Eddings wasn't the call, but the subsequent mechanics.

What gives him more right to do that than me coming on here and standing up for a baseball guy?

Who said there was? My comment was that you did what is often done by baseball people trying to fit into softball. Your post was cynical, some may say disparaging, in nature and showed that your presumptive knowledge of softball is weak.

If you want to ***** about bashing a MLB umpire, who BTW are not beyond criticism, try going to the baseball board.

[Dakota]

Originally posted by orangeump
this has to be some kind of joke, right?

Not this time.

Originally posted by orangeump
If he is "unsure" he did the right thing!

Not in my view. Maybe he "became sure" with Dye's reaction, but in my watching of the play, Dye was more trying to avoid getting hit than reacting as if he had gotten hit.

Originally posted by orangeump Dye started toward first, albeit not holding his arm or anything. He told you he was hit by the pitch, why not believe him? Has Dye ever done anything to make you NOT believe him before is the first question you have to ask yourself.

The pitch had NO business being at his body anyway, no business being that far inside and then the batter starts toward first. Well, you can go ahead and guess that the ball hit the bat randomly even though all signs indicate that the ball hit Dye, but I am going to go ahead and take a stab and give him first base and defend it afterwards. See who, in that play, ends up with more problems.

MLB players never try to spoof the umpire. Is that your claim? Sure, umpires many times look to players for clues to the call, but they have to balance that against what they actually DID (or did not) see and hear. But, my original posting was not a criticism of Nelson, but rather a joke at his expense. The way you reacted, it makes me wonder ... Are you his mother or something?

Originally posted by orangeump
As far as Doug Eddings goes, that has nothing to do with this play at all really.

If I recall, you're the one who made this into a broader discussion

you guys are seriously going to bash a major league umpire on a softball board?

with your attempt to disparage softball for not being baseball.

Originally posted by orangeump
And whomever the "big dog" or "tough guy" that you call the guy that wrote the article on this site is CLUELESS, unless he has been to triple A or even evaluated triple A games for a living, then there is no way he knows what Major League Baseball wants!

Here is the article: Third-World Plays Happen Only to Third-World Umpires The author posts regularly on the baseball board. Go tell him that yourself, "tough guy." While you're at it, go over there and tell the author of This article he is clueless, too.

Let us know how you make out.