Yup. 1)They went to half the foot on the rubber, what, 2 years ago? (Judgment that half is on the rubber)

Half a foot on the line. You can get enough of a view and get the pitch. Work on it.

2) Back of Heel has to be on the line. Hamilton turns her left foot towards 1st base and the toe is maybe on, maybe off and that is difficult to see. Get the heel on and the rest of the foot is probably inside and any advantage is greatly diminished.
Of course, you guys are going to complain about can not see the heel. However, if a little is out, they have not gained as much as they are now.

I was thinking something very similar to the rules concerning placement of the feet on the rubber. Hamiltons foot is completely out of the 24" lane with the exception of the tip of her toe hitting the line (occasionally). The advantage of being out of the pitching lane is still there with an occasional consequence.

They need to make it so that the lane can be enforced consistently. Right now it leads to more discussion on the field than what the lines were intended to do.

btw as seen this weekend when U3 is rotated its acceptable and a focus for that umpire to be able to make that call too. However when not working 3 man I agree its hard and has to be pretty obvious even with the lane that disapears after the 1st or 2nd inning for anyone to call it. The bottom line to all of this is the fact that its a tough call to see anyway you look at it and no matter what umpire calls it ( U3 when rotated or PU) its tough to make even with a line becuase you have plenty of other responsibilities(although its easier for U3 when rotated)I am going to call what I see no matter what and hopefully if the pitcher is out of the lane I will be able to call the illegal pitch when it happens.

stood up and played with foot on a line. No part of heel outside line.

fixes everything. line goes away, umpire judgment. that is the fix i propose. :D:D

Just like a liberal! Whip up a frenzy, complain how terrible something is, demand a change, but never having a solution. ;)

Bottom line she pitched illegal many more times than she was called. Their first game Saturday she was only called once, but was illegal many more times. Like the rule/hate the rule -- it is the same rule as before only now there are lines. Oh and Cat don't leap either.

These umpire are better than me, they have shown that simply by being there, they still make mistakes and goofs (did you see the plate umpire get bowled over by the catcher trying to make a catch on a pop-up? What was she looking at? Same umpire blew the home run cal in the first GA/WA game yesterday). But the part I hate most is that they appeared to not have the courage to make the right call (illegal pitch) all the time and consistently.

Did you see the base umpire wonder in while the PU was getting chewed out for the batter getting hit by the pitch, looked to me like the pitch was a strike when it hit her? But why in the world would your partner cam wondering in and talk sideways to the coach (just like the CSI Miami guy)? The coach said, "She doesn’t need your help!" and he was right.

She didn't, Cat crow-hopped.

What makes you say that? Just because the TH said so? Unless you were standing on the line at the pole, you don't know that.

Maybe they were too busy attending to their other responsibilities. Or maybe they were told to make sure it was extremely blatent before making the call. I'm not saying they didn't call it enough, but that is just one tough rule to enforce, with or without the lines.

He was being a good partner and covering his partner's back like he is supposed to do. The coach was being an ***. You come out, voice your opinion/displeasure and move on. What do you think was going to happen, the call get changed?

Maybe the coach was getting some friendly advice to help keep the coach in the game.

Cat knows how to pitch legally. Saw it on video when she was playing in the professional league. She pushed and her foot dragged on the ground starting at the rubber when she pushed off. Why could not the college umps get that? Mike has already stated why he thinks it is so--coaches rule. They have to separate control of officials from coaches. It will take time but it needs to happen. May be all the talk about this situation will prompt these yahoos to take decisive action.

Get to big time, world cups, ISF or whatever (ASA nationals), and those guys don't care two hoots who you are. If it is illegal, you will change or they will call it every time. At least that is the impression I have gotten.

Wrong or right Mike or others?

Wow, Mister political. I am far from being a liberal. I am not demanding a change, but I am saying it is broken.
For discussion, umpires thoughts on how it could be better is always healthy.

Well, SRW and I know five umpires we could call right away who would make it a very, very unhealthy discussion.

...got a few of them programmed into speed dial on my cell phone! ;)

Who said that the lines needed to be 24" apart?
Why not draw them 36" apart and if any part of the heel touches the line - BANG!

It would defeat the purpose of the rule