OMG Did I hear this correctly?

[argodad]

Originally Posted by txump81

On the fly ball tag up, HP couldn't stay at 3B because U1 wasn't covering HP. If you watch the replay, you can catch U1 only about 1/2 way down the line as R3 scores. No way he was in position to make a call.

With bases loaded, there is no rotation of U1 home. And if U3 chased, then U1 should have a return throw to 3B.

[txump81]

4-man. U1 is not going to 3B.

[argodad]

Originally Posted by txump81

4-man. U1 is not going to 3B.

Ahhh. Didn't realize it was 4-umpires. Still, U1 isn't rotating home, correct?

[SE Minnestoa Re]

The call at first was brutal but not as bad as the one against Japan the other night. The sliding into first base apparently must make it tough to hear the ball and see exactly where the runner's hands are. I know that you have to be a great umpire to work at this level so even the good ones can have bad calls.

[shagpal]

I had a hs umpire once tell me he has never ever blown a call...."ever".

Originally Posted by SE Minnestoa Re

The call at first was brutal but not as bad as the one against Japan the other night. The sliding into first base apparently must make it tough to hear the ball and see exactly where the runner's hands are. I know that you have to be a great umpire to work at this level so even the good ones can have bad calls.

[flipper]

Originally Posted by SE Minnestoa Re

The call at first was brutal but not as bad as the one against Japan the other night. The sliding into first base apparently must make it tough to hear the ball and see exactly where the runner's hands are. I know that you have to be a great umpire to work at this level so even the good ones can have bad calls.

Unfortunately for the game of softball, it seems impossible to watch a televised game without seeing sloppy play, listening to horrible announcers, and watching the "best of the best" umpires absolutely lay an egg. The kicked calls Monday night were bad enough, but not placing the BR on 1st after the supposed runner's INT (the ball was foul) is inexcusable. There were FOUR of them on the field! Four "brain farts" at once? Please!

I don't see the kinds and number of mistakes made in NCAA baseball or certainly not MLB games as I do in almost every televised softball game. This and the low quality of play and announcing will make these games un-watchable to the casual fan and particularly a baseball fan.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by flipper

Unfortunately for the game of softball, it seems impossible to watch a televised game without seeing sloppy play, listening to horrible announcers, and watching the "best of the best" umpires absolutely lay an egg. The kicked calls Monday night were bad enough, but not placing the BR on 1st after the supposed runner's INT (the ball was foul) is inexcusable. There were FOUR of them on the field! Four "brain farts" at once? Please!

I don't see the kinds and number of mistakes made in NCAA baseball or certainly not MLB games as I do in almost every televised softball game. This and the low quality of play and announcing will make these games un-watchable to the casual fan and particularly a baseball fan.

USA, Canada, Australia, and Japan generally have very high quality of play, certainly on par with similar levels of amateur baseball.

However, I think it is past time for major international sporting event organizers to recognize the third team on the field and quit assuming they can mix and match game officials however best meets their diversity or fairness objectives and allow a team of officials to work together over the course of the tournament. MLB (since you bring them up) has umpire teams that stay together the entire season (barring injuries and allowing for time off / vacations).

Since fastpitch softball is a developing sport in most countries, it is also should be recognized that officials from those "developing sport" countries see fewer games of elite play. It would improve the officiating if this was taken into account (how, I don't know... shutting out officials from those countries won't work, either).

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Dakota

USA, Canada, Australia, and Japan generally have very high quality of play, certainly on par with similar levels of amateur baseball.

However, I think it is past time for major international sporting event organizers to recognize the third team on the field and quit assuming they can mix and match game officials however best meets their diversity or fairness objectives and allow a team of officials to work together over the course of the tournament. MLB (since you bring them up) has umpire teams that stay together the entire season (barring injuries and allowing for time off / vacations).

Since fastpitch softball is a developing sport in most countries, it is also should be recognized that officials from those "developing sport" countries see fewer games of elite play. It would improve the officiating if this was taken into account (how, I don't know... shutting out officials from those countries won't work, either).

Well, I'm going to take this opportunity to promote ASA in this field. As much as many accuse ASA of demanding robotics (I don't believe they do), there is one thing a good ASA umpire can depend upon. I should, and have, walked onto the field with partners I have never met and the pregame was pretty much, "everything by the book" and we all had excellent games. One coach wanted to know why, at a NC, they put three local umpires together on the same game. One was from the SW coast of FL and the other from Columbus, OH area. Did not meet the PU until 15 minutes before the game. The umpire from FL didn't even know our names until after the game.

I would add that some of this does disappear at the local level because the cohesiveness of the staff seems to have become somewhat flexible with a fair amount of personal preference sneaking into some training.

And that is the problem with the ISF. You can send certain trainers all over the world to help train umpires and umpire trainers, but they cannot stay there and monitor how that training info is passed onto the local umpires. And, like it or not, each country develops their own umpires for international play and it isn't always the same as the next country.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by argodad

With bases loaded, there is no rotation of U1 home. And if U3 chased, then U1 should have a return throw to 3B.

Thanks for the morning chuckle.