Banter

[SF]

I don't tell catchers to frame a pitch. To me, it seems like instructing the players. I think there are exceptions, though. For example, there was a situation this past season where the catcher would catch outside pitches and attempt to "pull" them into the strike zone. I informed her quietly that action was not going to change my call from "ball" to "strike" on an outside pitch. After she stopped fooling around with the glove (which was getting her coaches all worked) we had a nice game. I considered that comment to be well worth it and not out of bounds.

I'm not going to go out of my way to start conversations with players or coaches, but I will certainly be polite. Between league play and tournaments I see many teams many times over the season, and in those situations it is hard to avoid a couple sentences of friendly conversation.

[mcrowder]

SF - I have no problem with such a comment, and it makes sense to do so, especially when catcher's actions are simply making things worse.

Your comment is, of course, the exact opposite of what Michael is saying and I am disagreeing with, and thus makes a helluva lot of sense.