...get the job, so I get to stay on-line and harass everyone.

Below are those selected as the new National Deputy Directors of Umpires:


Jim Craig (Presently UIC for Reg 2)

Phil Gutierrez (Presently UIC for SoCal)

Julie Johnson

Larry Montgomery (Presently Southwestern Reg (6) UIC)

Kevin Ryan (Former Director of Umpires)

The mans keeping you down.

Better luck next time mike.

It is a loss to ASA and the country that you won't hold that position but our gain here.

Then again, you never know what tomorrow holds.

Any chance someone who knows these folks could be informed about this forum and asked to peek in occasionally? I think it would be invaluable to THEM in their new jobs, and invaluable to US as well.

Unfortunately, I've been "talked to" about my posting on the internet. I know some folks in the OKC office check in every now and then, but, to the best of my knowledge, not those on the umpire's side except when they do a Google search on their own name to see what is being said about them. That is why you haven't seen me post anyone's name since I "heard" about including Kiven Rayn's name in a post on this board about this time last year. (sp intentional)

Personally, I believe internet is a tool not utilized to it's fullest. I think some are afraid of it. I have offered folks in the ASA office my services should it ever be necessary to disseminate information without tagging it directly from the office.

well personnally, I've found this board to be invaluable for learning the rules and the wealth of knowledge amazing.. especially you mike but others as well.. working in a smaller area I find most and i do mean MOST umpires are not even close to the level of knowledge I find on this board.. so the ASA office in OKC can bite me... but then again I have no desire to be some big wig in ASA.. I just want to learn and be as good an umpire as I can be for the lil ole things I do..

I do not understand the fear of the internet thing.

I was "talked to" 2 football seasons ago after posting the names (in a congratulatory manner, no less) of the football officials who worked the nationally televised game between Southlake Carroll and Denton Ryan. Names I got from the box score in the paper, by the way. Public knowledge if anyone cared.

I just don't get it. This is such a POSITIVE influece, most of the time. Not as much on the baseball side - lots of smitties that are out of touch with reality and afraid to adapt/learn/admit they were wrong/etc. But over here most threads are cordial, and even if there is disagreement in the end, I find that I am a more knowledgeable umpire from visiting here.

I also think that for the most part, the group of posters/lurkers here are posting/lurking with a geniune interest in improving their craft. There would be much to gain from someone high up A) reading our discussions (it may be that a rule is worded in a funny way that causes confusion to the lay-umpire, but the higher ups have no idea the confusion exists) and B) providing input "straight from the horse's mouth" if you will.

We often have a pickle that gets discussed and not quite resolved. Someone will invariably say, "I'll email Joe Blow, Head Honcho at the ABCDE Associaion", and then post a reply. But we don't know that the reply is what was actually said, and we don't know that the question was really framed correctly.

Even if it was just some sort of weekly "Ask Mr. ASA" column/thread format where we could post questions, and he would answer once a week. Anything along these lines would be of benefit.

Perhaps someone in charge of this website could pursue this/persuade this into happening...

It has been stated to me that umpires should avoid posting opinions on rules interpretations on the internet. As I understood the rationale, it was that the opinions are not official, could be misunderstood, or used to cause problems in actual games.

To quote an old TV commercial, "To this I politely answer, 'Bunk!'"

One highly placed umpire that I greatly respect, when asked by coaches about rules questions - I'm talking away from the game, not during - will usually ONLY pull out his rule book and read the applicable rule, providing little or no further commentary.

I really don't understand the reluctance by some to offer views, and I very much don't understand the resistance to recognize the huge benefit to training, self-improvement, and dissimenation of official interpretations between rule book printings that the internet is.

Perhaps it is related to "internet culture." I was doing some research on proper web site design (nothing to do with softball or officiating) and came across a consultant in the field who categorizied 3 kinds of internet cultures:

1) natives
2) immigrants
3) foreigners

Natives do not know life without the internet. For them it is relational - used for social interaction like those before them used the post office, telephone, the back-yard fence, and social gatherings. It is where they tend to go first for information.

Immigrants have adapted to life with the internet. For them, it is mostly a tool, used for information when needed.

Foreigners don't understand, don't like, distrust, and don't use the interent.

I suspect many of those fine people in the upper levels of our avocation fall into the foreigner category, or are immigrants who look with suspicion on the natives.

What will be the role/duties of the Deputy Directors?

So...are Jim and Larry still on the NUS as Regional UICs?

I can confirm that from my own personal experience. I have had the word passed from up high that I be "talked to" about informational postings. Not on the umpire side, actually, but we all answer to the same top two.

Steve,

Your region has the only umpire computer geek at the national level. I don't know how he doesn't get frustrated with the others.

One of my suggestions was to use the ASA site for instructional communications to the local level. Don't know what will happen with that, but if you look at the "Plays of the Month", they were nearly two years old the last time I checked.

As best I can tell, that has earned him the position of unofficial secretary; that is as much use as they can think to make of his PhD in computer sciences.

Henry was the only one who thought it was valuable enough to bother; the age of that matches him leaving as Deputy Director. To be honest, if someone (you, for example) would come up with the plays and pass them on, it may be that they would utilize them.

Actually, during my non-interview, I mentioned that communications is really what most umpires want and that the demise of the "Play of the Month" could be detrimental to the local umpire's perception of ASA's Umpire Program.

I would have no problem doing that, but I doubt that will happen. That would mean that they would have to recognize my interpretations or assign someone to sit on me :)

I agree with the comments that the internet is a powerful tool, and should be used to it's fullest extent. But there is one concern that I have heard that made some sense to me. I am not trying to say this is a good enough reason to not partcipate in discussions about rules, and IMO if you are one of the 5 members listed below that is one of your most critical jobs...making sure rule interps are made correctly!

But one concern that I have seen more than once personally! People hear what they want to hear, and remember want is favorable to their current situation. A local umpire and I went to a clinic where Henry Pollard was the clinician and 3 months later I was umpiring a game this other guy was coaching.....believe it or not he disagreed with a call I made, brought up something Henry had said in the conversation about it. Needless to say, as we all know, SB has some small differences that make a huge difference in the correct interp. He was looking at 2/3 of the situation and that part matched the situation Henry was talking about.....problem was the other 1/3 that he was conviently forgetting to take into account changed the situation all together.

I guess my point is (I know you have been trying to find it) softball rules have a lot of conditions, if A,B,C,D and E happen then "this" is the 100% correct ruling. Problem is it might be 3-6months (years) before you see a situation close to that where A,B,D and E happened.....and without C the interp is incorrect. Problem is a certain level of umpire / coach will remember that 2nd situation as 100% the way Henry, Julie, Jim, Phil, Larry or Kevin said it and they will have the wrong interp for that precise situation. The example I gave above was a conversation made in person face to face and the guy remembered the wrong interp.....we all know that there is a loss of communications when we go from verbal to written communications, no emotion in the typed word, so if these people did join these forums there becomes an even greater chance of having the "Henry, Jim, Phil, Larry, Julie and Kevin said....." running around incorrectly applied.

Now that being said I still think it is important to get information out to umpires like those on this forum that work hard to apply the correct interp to the correct situation! We can only do that if we know the correct, in this case, ASA interp to start with. Preface the reply with "in this case, with A,B,C,D conditions...." to me that is better than to not give info at all!