Rabbit Ears?
 

I'm BU - Coach generally moaning and groaning about the strike zone. I'm ignoring it for the most part since hes just a whiner, I already know he is a whiner, and hes not directing it at anyone.

FTR my PU partner is a damn good and experienced umpire and his zone was just fine.

After a few innings of this hes talking with his coach, hes in 1B dugout and I'm in A - the stuff said obviously loud enough for me to hear went about like this

"Why do we even play this game if they are just going to take this game away from the girls. I cant teach my girls to swing at that"

"They enjoy cheating the girls they laugh about it later" "Oh I know they laugh about it. They love cheating girls. If they knew how hard these girls work they wouldnt cheat them like this."

"Thats probably why they cant keep wives, they cheat little girls and laugh about it".

Thats about the time I'd had it, so I told him that was enough and I wasnt hearing more from them.

Of course I got the drooler water brained coaches answers "What i'm just talking to my asst coach blah blah"

I told he was going to be finishing the conversation in the parking lot, because they were both going and I wasnt going to play his game anymore and that was it.

Other than low key moaning and groaning that was about for him. He didnt go farther.

The jerk then shakes our hand at the end of the game and tells us good game.. :rolleyes:

So I get up to the umpire area and my UIC is there.. and you know what that piece of crap had done?

He had sent a runner to complain to the UIC that I got ticked off when he and his asst coach were having a conversation about their wives.

My partner was probably more livid than i was. I know this team and coach and organzation well and he knew us. I dont like lying dirty snake pieces of crap garbage.. so I know now.. and I dont hold a grudge.. well anyway.

So what do you think? Too much rabbit ears or are there things said in the dugout "between coaches" but obviously meant for you at some point part of the show and addressable?

Or should I have dumped his stupid @ss?

Sounds like you have some passive-aggressive coaches who want to play a game of "oh, we weren't REALLY talking about (or to) you. Honest!"

BS. They were showing you up. They knew you could hear them, and if you could hear it, so could the girls. Pull the head coach aside (and no one else) and tell him to either man up, shut up, or pack up.

Sounds like you handled it.

Coach moaning, groaning, then crossing the line.
You step in and addressed it.
Coach basically cuts it out.

Sounds like a textbook case of good game management.

When they whip out the " I was talking to ____" my standard reply is if I can hear it I will address it.

I've worked hard on game management and the most important lesson I've learned is........

The sooner I deal with it the sooner it stops.

I agree, though that is the #1 thing I'm going to work on this year (I always pick specific things to work on every year/season).

Though I don't think that's something you can ever learn once and be done with. The game is always evolving.

I had the same thing yesterday. The inning after some passive-aggressive comments about my strike zone I pulled him aside and stated, "You are really disrespecting the game, the girls, and the fans with your comments. Close calls are part of the game and you have probably had as many go your way as against you in the course of your coaching career. As far as the strike zone, its fine and you will stop making comments about it whether directly to me or your passive aggressive comments to your pitcher".

I have viewed a lot of 1st year umps this year and the crap they are getting from coaches is unbelievable. I quickly talk to the coach and put a stop to it and then discuss it with the ump after the game.

In the words of Debbie Lauderback, "over recent years, we umpires have allowed coaches to disrespect the game far too much. It is time for this to stop".

Stolen. :)

even a deaf rabbit
 

""They enjoy cheating the girls :( ... They love cheating girls. ... :(

"... they cant keep wives, they cheat little girls ..."." :mad:

"Coach, who is taking over your spot?"

Used this quote on a major slowpitch player once, and boy did he shut up. Matter of fact, it was so quiet the only thing you could hear was my partner's indicator clicking, LOL.

I wouldn't take it as a statement of cheating for or against one team or another, I'd take it as a statement of "taking away from the game." Not much better, but it's less of an attack on the umpires' integrity.

Only problem is... What if they choose Door #1? They're the ones with the bats! :D

When in this situation I've replied - if you weren't speaking directly to me, then you must have been trying to incite the crowd/dugout. Either way it's improper. It's stop or go time.

Consider this line stolen, too!

Bats yes...brains, hmmmmmm.... :D

I use one of two stock responses to "I'm just talking to ...., not you", depending on the level of the game.

If a youth game, I have been known to tell the coach that his explanation meant that I was equally permitted to talk to my partner within the hearing of his parents, and that I was considering telling my partner that I heard he had been having an affair with one of the mothers on his team, and that we should see if we could pick out which one by looking at which player he treated better than the others. For good measure, I might wonder if the stories about the child being included were true.

In a more adult setting, I have been known to say that meant that I could verbalize to my partner what I thought about him and his team, as long as I wasn't talking to him directly, and that would certainly be okay with him, I was sure.

In all cases, I make sure they understand that they were accountable for anything said loud enough to be heard; in a way that absolutely gets their attention.

*on my knees bowing* :D