The Playing Rules Committee early last month officially implemented several changes to Official Baseball Rules.

You can read the implementations here.

Question:

On a force play, if a fielder has the ball in his bare hand but tags the base with his glove, would that still record the out?

Yes. Whenever a fielder is able to tag a base for a force out, he simply needs to tage the base with any part of the ball, ball in glove, or his person.

A few quick questions about the interplay between the home plate umpire and the catcher (whose difficult and often forgotten roles on the baseball field I've always appreciated the most).
I've seen umpires steady themselves with a hand placed on the catcher's back. How common (or rare) is this practice? Was it more widespread in the past? Is it discouraged among umpires during their training today? Do catchers ever object to it as a distraction?
Do some catchers have good habits that make the umpire's job easier? (or bad habits that make the umpire's job harder?)
I've always been intrigued by the little-known microcosm inhabited by those two indispensible men behind the plate, the catcher and the umpire. Feel free to answer any, all, or none of the questions above, in whatever length, brevity, or detail you prefer. As always, thanks for your unique perspective.

Putting one's hand on the back of the catcher is a rare practice, and one very few of us do. I've never employed this style, and it is strongly discouraged in professional umpire schools. At the professional level, catchers won't usually complain about it. I have no idea whether amateur umpires run into problems when doing this.

Every umpire when working the plate has experienced both the good and the bad when it comes to catchers. For example, some hop around a lot--getting set late--making it tougher for us to call pitches. Others open up the slot so much that our job is that much easier. Some have personalities that are, shall I say, rough, while others are quite talkative and friendly.

It is an understatement, indeed, to say that a good relationship with a catcher makes for a good plate game overall because our job is easier during the game as a result of this positive relationship.

One more:

If a runner tries to steal a base on a 3-ball count, and the pitch is called ball 4, but an appeal is made to first/third base for a check swing, and it is ruled that he swung, is the ball live? I.e. can the runner be tagged out if the home plate umpire has called a walk, but the base umpire later reverses it?

In the rulebook, a tag is defined to be "the action of a fielder in touching a base with his body while holding the ball securely and firmly in his hand or glove." Can you explain how that extends to include any part of the person (body, equipment, clothing) ? Thanks.

Yes, the ball remains live, as it always does on a base on balls award (one of only two situations where the ball remains live during an award of bases). The runners must remain alert that a called ball may be reversed by a base umpire who is asked for help, and if his call makes it a strike, a runner can be tagged for the out instead of being pushed up a base via his batter getting a walk.






You are forgetting that a fielder can tag either a runner or a base (on a force or batter trying to reach first or a runner who left early on a fly ball). When he tags the former, he must tag said runner with the ball or the ball in mitt combination. When he tags a base, he simply needs to have secure possession of the ball immediately before, during, and after tagging the base with any part of his person not detached from its proper place. If this wasn't the case, then a simple ground out would require the fielder to tag the base with the ball or ball/mitt and not just step on the base as they do 99.99% of the time. So, let's say there's a sharply hit liner to the first baseman, who falls down to glove it. He can't possibly get up and step on the bag, so while the ball's in his mitt (left hand here), he reaches over with his empty right hand and touches first base before the batter-runner reaches it. Ruling: he has tagged the base; the B-R is out.

Edited for clarity.

When a runner is attempting to steal home, does the ensuing throw from the pitcher to home plate count as a pitch? Does the pitcher have to step off first for it not to be a balk?

If the pitcher is throwing home while his pivot foot (right foot for right-handed pitcher, left foot for left-handed pitcher) is in contact with the rubber like it is in the Windup or Set, then it's a pitch; otherwise, it's a throw. If the former, the batter has the right to swing at it; if the latter, he does not.

If the pitcher is pitching the ball on a steal attempt at home, he can commit a balk in the same manner as any other balk, but one of the most common in this situation is usually his not stopping in the Set, most often because he sees the runner trying to steal and tries to rush his delivery. From the Windup, he's probably less likely to balk. Of course, it's not impossible.

Most true steals of home occur when the pitcher is doing a normal pitch to home; however, a runner can, of course, attempt to steal home when the pitcher's off the rubber, but that is both exceedingly rare and far more difficult.

Hi Ump, I'm just a casual baseball fan so this question may seem rather basic. But recently I caught part of a televised game between Boston and Oakland, and there was a double-play which the announcer described as "5 U 3". I know that "5" referred to third baseman Eric Chavez and the "3" referreed to whoever the A's first baseman was. But what does the "U" mean? I've never heard that before. And while we are on the subject of double plays, it's not very often that I've seen them involving just two fielders like that, they usually seem to involve three players, like 5-4-3 or 6-4-3 or other combination. But maybe a two-man double play is actually more common than I thought?

My understanding of scoring is that U is only for unassisted plays where one player makes the out without throwing it to another player (for example, a fly ball caught by the left fielder would be 7U). For the play you speak of involving the third and first basemen, then it would just be 5-3.

Yes, that's what I would have thought too, Joe...just a '5-3' double play, without the 'U'!

I became curious about the frequency of the various combinations of double-plays, and found this on Answers.com. Interestingly, the 5-3 DP (with or without the U!) mentioned above didn't even make it to the list.


For every 100 double plays that go 6-4-3, there are:

83 which go 4-6-3
53 which go 5-4-3
27 which go 6-3
20 which go 1-6-3
19 which go 4-3
9 which go 3-6-3
5 which go 3-6-1
4 which go 1-4-3
4 which go 3-6
1 which goes 3-6-4

I don't know if this has been discussed yet, but...

What is your take on the use of instant replay? Do you think it would help "get the calls right" or do you think it would be an insult to umpires around the league?

Edit: Fair enough.

It was, actually... earlier in this very thread, and about half-way down in this post under THE RUNNER (7.00).

What's this all about? I was at the Jake and saw the PU used two different plate stances in the game. For RH batters, he was heel/toe as perfect as any newbie from Evans or Wendelstedt. For LH hitters (every one), he squared up his feet and shoulders, and actually put both hands on F2's back, on either side of F2's backbone. It looked like he was working over the shoulder of F2, and both F2's were bigger than he was. I wish I could ask him why he did this, there was no reason to use two stances.

Third, twice during the game he made it a point to talk to F1. Once, as the Indians came off the field he roamed up the 3B line past his normal postion betweeen innings and intercepted the Cleveland F1. They talked for about 30 seconds. Why, I wonder? Later in the game, after a Cleveland 2B, he walked out to the mound, inspected the ball, threw it out and handed the Sox F1 a new ball. There was no reason for him to go out, nobody asked him to inspect F1. Strange thing he did.

Fourth it was interesting to see his strike call, he used four different ones during the game. Most swinging strikes were a fist and extended arm at waist level forward. To RH batters, he would use a hammer, or he would use a point to his right. To LH batters, his strike call was right hand pointing across his body to his left, turning his head and shoulders. I wonder why he did this.

After every pitch, he put his hands behind his back, until he got set for the next pitch, and the only time he gave a count was 3-2. I really liked his foul tip call, he took two big steps back from F2, rubbed his RH across his L arm twice, then made a hammer. Looked really good. It is not how I was taught to do it, but I am going to try it.

I also liked where he went on infield plays. At pro school we were taught to go straight up the 1B line, following the BR, or the 3B line when required. The PU today was about 5 steps inside the line running parallel to it. Obviously, U1 had any overthrow resposibilities, and balls in front of the plate he can't do it. But in a 2 man crew this is a great place to be if you decide that on 1B overthrows the PU covers the BR. Also, some fields are crowned or the baseline is a pain to deal with, running inside is a good idea. The PU also did this when he had to rotate to 3B when U3 went out or rotated to 2B. I'm going to try this.

The only other thing I wasn't sure about mechanically was what U2 did on ground balls. His gig was to find a perfect angle to see the 2B play. He did find that angle, but he turned his back away from the throw, every time there was a force play at 2B started by F5 or F6. Nice if you can get away with it, but even MLB guys throw balls inside the baseline badly, and he would get drilled and never see it coming. But, he got his angle.

I loved U2's hustle on every fly ball. He did get almost too close to F4 or F6 on a great catch by Cleveland's F6 on a blooper in shrot center. But it was
instructive how he always wanted a 90 deg. angle on all OF throws/plays at 2B he had. And he always got there.

It was also instructive for our s******s, that the only time in the game any of the four guys met between innings was when U1 and U2 met the ground crew guy who brought them water in the mid 8th inning. That is not a lot a lot fo talk, even for MLB crews. Talk only when you need to.

Just a few thoiughts, any reactions?

Tim, I will address the above questions/comments this weekend. I ask for your patience, as I am really wiped and half asleep at the present time and on the way to bed. I'll check back in this weekend with my response, since your post isn't exactly one that will garner a one-word answer. I hope you don't mind.

BTW, what year did you attend umpire school?

What are the rules for continuing a suspended game? Are you only allowed to use players that were on the roster when the game was originally played? What about if the player was sent down in the interim, but has since been called back up?

While roster eligibility is not exactly under our purview (that really doesn't fall under the playing rules per se), I can address what happens when a player not in the original lineup wishes to play when the suspended game is resumed. If someone was not on the team's roster and therefore not in the lineup when the game started, they are allowed to enter the game when it resumes provided they're simply an eligible player.

Any player who has been ejected or removed from the game when it began is done for the game, and that includes when it is resumed at a later point. Consider the game as one continuous contest and not an original one and a resumed suspended one. The only major difference is who is eligible at the resumption compared to who was eligible at the start.

I hope this answers your question.

UPDATED Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Jerry Crawford
Brian O'Nora
Charlie Reliford
Larry Young
Bill Hohn
Laz Díaz
Ted Barrett

Bruce Dreckman (assigned to another crew)
Derryl Cousins (assigned to another crew)
Mike DiMuro (assigned to another crew)
Mike Everitt (assigned to another crew)

Remaining Crew Vacation schedule:

9/10/07-9/16/07 (current):

Derryl Cousins
Hunter Wendelstedt
Randy Marsh
Dana DeMuth
Sam Holbrook
Kerwin Danley
Bob Davidson
Doug Eddings

9/17/07-9/23/07:

Brian Gorman
Gerry Davis
Fieldin Culbreth
Tim McClelland
Paul Schrieber
Mike Everitt
Marty Foster
Paul Nauert

9/24/07-9/30/07:

Dale Scott
Jeff Kellogg (1/2)
Hunter Wendelstedt (1/2)
Randy Marsh (1/2)
Mike Reilly (1/2)
Sam Holbrook (1/2)
Ron Kulpa
Andy Fletcher (1/2)
Paul Emmel
Eric Cooper (1/2)
Dan Iassogna
Bob Davidson (1/2)

Note: If I remember correctly, in the final week of the season, what happens is that, the two crews who got shorted of a full week's worth of a crew vacation the week of the All-Star Break split the second crew vacation spot. MLB UMPIRE, is that accurate?

Any idea what's up with any of these guys? Any info on ETA's for returns to the field for any of them?

You want to know "what's up" with twenty-three umpires? Or just those listed as "assigned to another crew"? And for that matter, why? What difference does it make if they're on another crew or their regular crew? Umpires do have vacation time during the season, you know. So it might be decided that for certain crews it's better to add a veteran umpire as a replacement than to use a less experienced substitute. Seems like it's no big deal.

Larry Young told a friend he's on the DL. Knee and heart problems.

Hey Ump, I was just wondering what your opinion is on the Milton Bradley/Mike Winters incident today in the Padres/Rockies game (if you'd like to give it that is).

Additionally, what do you do to try and diffuse an incident like that?

Truthfully, not having heard what was allegedly said by either party, I cannot say who is at fault. I'd like to think Mr. Winters didn't say what Bradley alleged that he said. I sure hope he didn't. It's unprofessional and unacceptable. I haven't spoken to Winters about it, either.

As far as what I do to diffuse such situations, I try to remain calm and not make anything personal. Perhaps that is why I generally don't have a lot of ejections or problems. When one's temper gets hotter, it's easier to say or do something that could be regretted later. I'll ask what someone's beef is and give my explanation. Of course, if they make it personal, then that is a different story.

Is it my imagination or are there an increasing number of these confrontations? The Mets had 3 players ejected in about a week's time recently.

MLB suspends Umpire Winters for remainder of season.

IMHO, if he did what he was accused of doing, then the suspension was deserving.

Hey MLB Ump - thanks for taking the time to answer this question. I'm not an umpire or anything, just a fan, but I noticed in today's game at Coors Field that right before Brad Hawpe hit the double that scored the Rockies's first run, third base umpire Jim Joyce was making visual contact with the second base umpire. Joyce then tapped his palm on the top of his own head and pointed to left field. What was he signaling? Just curious, and sorry if this question is not as "intelligent" as some of the questions from actual umpires.

Also, the Rox fans really gave the home plate guy hell today on some of the ball/strike calls late in the game. How does an umpire calling balls and strikes feel when the crowd is noticeably booing his calls, particularly since the fans are up to 100 yards away? Is he aware of this, and does the umpire take into account the fact that the fans are so wrapped up in their team's success in a game of today's magnitude?

What you saw there was Jimmy telling Tim where he'd go for fly ball coverage for balls hit to center to the left field line. When the second base umpire is inside, he gets NO fly ball calls. The responsibility is split between the two wing umpires, who often will remind their crewmates that they'll cover a certain area. We also signal each other for various other situations as well (when an Infield Fly potential exists, etc.).



We ignore it. We hear it, but we don't listen to anything. We have to maintain our focus and literally ignore all that extraneous stuff. We're quite aware the crowd is really into it, as it was yesterday in Colorado and Philadelphia, for example, but we don't let it affect to us. Easier said than done, I admit, but that's why we go through a lot to get where we are.

I would tend to agree more with the first part of your statement, Joe. A couple folks a while back PM'd me with links and excerpts from other sports and/or officials forums where this same individual asked, rather strongly I might add, the same question. He was being quite insistent, too.

On a related note, I used to post the crew assignments for special events (All-Star and post-season) when all MLB umpires were notified, which is always before the information is released to the general public. (Our contract with MLB stipulates that we are told of such assignments at certain times, on a certain schedule.) I had gotten away from this for no other reason than I often got so busy that by the time I popped in here, the information was released to the public anyway.

Having said this, here are the four crews for the Divisional Series beginning this week:

♦ Division Series Crew A

Bruce Froemming (CC) - Plate
Laz Diaz - 1B
Ron Kulpa - 2B
Fieldin Culbreth - 3B
Gerry Davis - LF
Jom Wolf - RF[b]

[/b]♦ Division Series Crew B

Dale Scott (CC) - Plate
Jim Reynolds - 1B
Chuck Meriwether - 2B
Jeff Kellogg - 3B
Derryl Cousins - LF
Ed Hickox - RF

♦ Division Series Crew C

Gary Darling (CC) - Plate
Dan Iassogna - 1B
Brian Runge - 2B
Ted Barrett - 3B
Tim Tschida - LF
C.B. Bucknor - RF


♦ Division Series Crew D

Ed Montague (CC) - Plate
Sam Holbrook - 1B
Greg Gibson - 2B
Mike Everitt - 3B
Mike Reilly - LF
Mark Carlson - RF

It's just that, quite frankly, I find MLB to be extremely hypocritical. I know the administrative members of another officiating forum have a contract with at least NFL and MLB to get advance notifications of what is, to the best of my knowledge, otherwise confidential, information (or so it's advertised as such). When it comes to a legal type situation, is a professional sports league (in this particular instance), allowed to publish one thing as the rules for the general public, and, yet, just be okay with making exceptions whenever, and for whomever, they darn well please?

Didn't the government create something called the FOIA? MLB UMPIRE, wouldn't a situation such as this fall under that?

When others are given particular exceptions to an otherwise strict law, that's when I just get so frustrated.

OK, now I'm finished venting.

Comments, anyone? Serious candidates only need apply.

Hey Ump:
In the game-winning play in the Rockies-Padres series it looked like the runner never tagged home and the catcher eventually tagged him. Seemed like a missed call to me but how did you see it?
Jim

MLB.com is getting awfully lazy.

MLB UMPIRE forgot to post this one:

Six-Man Crew to Work Wild Card Playoff at Colorado
By Rick Roder

Six umpires who finished the MLB season in the western U.S. will work the one-game wild card playoff game today between San Diego and Colorado at Denver.

MLB Vice President of Umpiring Mike Port explained that regional “tie-breaker” crews were on stand-by based on the city they were working in for the last series of the season. Three crews were so designated, one in the west, one central, and one in the east.

Port said that the decision for regional stand-by crews was necessary since so many clubs were still in the playoff hunt as the last weekend of play began.

Tim Tschida and Jim Wolf finished the season working the bases in Colorado and will remain to work the playoff. Tschida will work second base and Wolf right field. Both are assigned to Division Series.

Tim McClelland, who is not assigned to a Division Series, will work the plate Monday night. He finished the season Sunday at Oakland working third base. His season crewmate Fieldin Culbreth, who worked the plate at Oakland, will be in left field at Colorado. He is assigned to the same Division Series crew as Wolf.

Ed Montague, one of four crew chiefs in the Division Series, will work first base. He was at second base in Seattle on Sunday.

Chuck Meriwether, who worked second base Sunday at Dodger Stadium, will be at third base in Colorado. Meriwether is also working the Divisionals.

MLB UMPIRE, would you be willing to comment on the other two stand-by crews that were put into action, that turned out not to be needed (e.g. who was part of them, etc.)?

Furthermore, the one thing the union's site wasn't clear on (which, mind you, is where everyone had to get the info re: NL Wild Card playoff and LDS umpire assignments) was, which crew was assigned to each series. Would you be able to comment on this?

Thanks!

It is the policy of professional sports leagues, Major League Baseball included, to not release to the general public too early the names of officials scheduled to work such games. Joe in Philly is, truthfully, quite accurate in his statement that alludes to gambling. Other factors come into play, but permit me to be intentionally alarming: we're talking some big money in professional sports. Professional sports officials are under intense scrutiny, more than I can explain here and more than anyone may understand. There are real security issues at stake.

Each respective league's central office chooses when to release the names of its officials who are scheduled to work games, including special event games. I admit that it often seems odd that this information isn't supposed to be released too soon, then a week or two before the Super Bowl or World Series or NBA Finals the official announcement is made that so-and-so is working. But I do not control policy; I just try to follow it as best I could.

Many MLB Umpires are asked by dozens, if not more, minor league and amateur umpires as well as non-umpire friends for our schedules ahead of time so that they can come watch us at a specific park or get a ticket or two to a game. MLB over the last few years has really tightened up on this, adivising us to not share this information ahead of time. Of course, MLB also realizes that we tend to not be completely tight-lipped about it; but we do try to be careful. Other than family and a few close friends, I tend not to share my schedule with anyone. The fewer eyes that see it, the fewer problems there are likely to be.

And to answer your question, no, this is not an FOIA situation at all.




Probably the way most of the viewing public saw it, Jim. I cannot deny that the replays seem to show that Holliday never touched the plate. However, I find a couple things interesting: (1) There is one angle from which the viewing public is blocked, and that angle is the one Tim McClelland had; and (2) I was told that Barrett and Bud Black this morning both commented that they thought the runner was in there, that he got his hand underneath Barrett's shoe.

That may never be known. Suffice it to say that no umpire wants a game to end that way.

Hey Ump, et. al.:

Interesting article about McClelland and the call.

FYI...

Umpires assigned to the 2007 League Championship Series. "CC" denotes Crew Chief. Positions listed are for game 1, the beginning of each series.

ALCS
HP- Randy Marsh (CC)
1B- Kerwin Danley
2B- Brian Gorman
3B- Paul Emmel
LF- Gary Cederstrom
RF- Dana DeMuth

NLCS
HP- Tim McClelland (CC)
1B- Mark Wegner
2B- Larry Vanover
3B- Tom Hallion
LF- Angel Hernandez
RF- Jim Joyce

MLB UMPIRE, in regard to two distinct instances I've noticed throughout the playoffs to date, would the relevant games have been protestable for the sole reason, in each instance, that I'm about to outline below?

1) The NYY/CLE ALDS game with the midges (based upon NYY's belief that Froemming/Díaz could have used better judgment in stopping play when the bugs came)

2) The COL/ARI NLCS game with the debris (based upon the fact that COL MGR ultimately pulled his club off the field, to allow for the most expeditious clean up job by the grounds crew)

1. No protest will be allowed in such a situation. The rule is clear and emphatic: the crew chief is the sole judge as to if/when a game is stopped for reasons such as this.

2. Same answer basically. While this isn't exactly an issue related to weather or nature like #1 above is, it falls under the purview of the crew chief Tim McClelland.

I can assure you of this, though: we don't take such definitive actions in a special event game (All-Star or post-season) without consulting with the Commissioner's Office. If he isn't present at a game, we'd turn to one of his representatives present, or even our supervisor to advise him of the situation. The crew chief might stop a game, but he'd leave its ultimate outcome in such situations to Major League Baseball.

Wait, I thought George Steinbrenner was in charge!

MLB UMPIRE, would you possibly be able to comment on professional mechanics, particularly as far as positioning goes, for a six-man crew, which is, as you're well aware, I'm sure, reserved for special events (e.g. All-Star Game, one-game playoffs, League Division Series, League Championship Series, World Series, etc.), in MLB?

The reason I inquire is, I've seen, ever since this year's NL Wild Card Playoff game, that I can think of, a good three or four incidents where, following a, six-man, mind you, crew conference, I have disagreed with the crew's ultimate decision, based solely upon TV replays. I attribute my disagreement with the decisions to, in my judgment, poor positioning by, in particular, the two outfield umpires. Of course, they're the ones who are getting the big bucks, and I'm just simply viewing the game on a large television screen.

I guess, bottom line, my question is, do you ever see instant replay becoming a fixture at some point in the future, in MLB? If so, to what extent do you believe it will be used? What would be your general thoughts on the prospect, assuming it ever did come into play?

I'll leave the official announcement for MLB UMPIRE, but, MLB PressBox at MLB.com already has the WS umpires listed. I told you where to go, in general, but, do you really think I'm going to make it that easy? If you do, well, I'm sorry, quite frankly, but, you're just as dumb as a bucket of rocks. Sorry, couldn't resist that Judge Judy euphamism! Forgive me if you're in any way offended.

All I'll spoil here is that, Bruce did not get his, probably well-deserved, swan song, farewell gift.

With that, let the guessing and seeking begin!

Been busy, so I couldn't respond right away. As far as whether I see instant replay being introduced to Major League Baseball--quite possibly, but in a very limited fashion. Mr. Selig is planning on bringing this up during the winter meetings. It's been suggested that it be used in situations involving whether the ball was fair or foul when it leaves the park near the foul pole, helping to determine if it was foul or a home run. Similarly, it's also been recommended for situations like the one that occurred in Cleveland the other night when the ball hit the top of the yellow padding line and caromed back into the field.

On another note, here is the list of umpires scheduled to work this year's World Series (game 1 beginning position):

Plate: Ed Montague (Crew Chief)
1B: Laz Diaz
2B: Ted Barrett
3B: Chuck Meriwether
LF: Mike Everitt
RF: Mike Reilly

MLB UMPIRE, could you please go back to my original question, and address proper positioning techniques for a six-man crew, particularly for the two outfield umpires? Like I said, I've disagreed with quite a number of the respective crews' ultimate decisions, since the beginning of this postseason (including the NL Wild Card playoff game). They seem to all have been after, mind you, not just the plate umpires bringing the base umpires in for a four-man conference, but bringing the outfield umpires in, as well.

Since, in my opinion, even six guys can't get several calls right over the course of a total of 25 games (to this point), I must ask this follow-up question: Is Questec and/or something with a fairly similar purpose currently installed now at all 30 stadiums?

Finally, looking ahead to next season, based upon the '06 off-season's agreement reached by the union, to bring Hallion and Hickox back full-time beginning in '07, in exchange for MLB umpires agreeing to work the next WBC ('09?), as well as agreeing to mic up the plate umpires on national telecasts, would I be correct in saying that three changes in the staff for '08 would need to occur, in order for any of the Spring Training's used guys to have a shot at a full-time job? We obviously know there's already one, if not more.

Questec is just for balls and strikes, so it would have nothing to do with any missed calls in the field or the umpires conferring over a particular call. And, of course, umpires never have conferences over balls and strikes. (If I recall, it's still not in every park, which I think is wrong -- if it's going to be used it should be used everywhere.)

It would take too much time and space, more of the latter, to review 6-man mechanics here on this board. Moreover, there are variations to consider both among crew and among levels. For example, I know that under NCAA 6-man mechanics, both a line umpire and a base umpire--in particular the second base umpire when he's on the outside--will often go out together to cover a deep fly ball. This is discussed when I participate in amateur clinics during the offseason. However, because it's under the NCAA's preferred mechanics, I do not focus on it.

Generally speaking, which, remember, means there may be some slight style or rotational variations among crews, the line umpires are responsible for balls hit into the area surrounding them, from their immediate vicinity outward. This area extends for the most part to right field for the RF umpire and LF for the LF umpire when the second base umpire is on the outside. When 2BU is in, the line umpires will split coverage. This reduces rotation by the actual base umpires.

As far as your other question(s) regarding the contract status of certain individuals: I am not at liberty to discuss this in any greater detail than what is publicly reported.

I was only trying to get a clarification on all of the public reportings about contract statuses, to make sense of said public reportings, in a sense. PR's get written in so much legalese, that, you practically need a J.D. to understand it all, as a lay person. That was all my concern was related to. Sorry if I came off differently about that particular part of things.

Crews and eligible AAA's released for 2008 yet?

EDIT: The crews now just haven't hit MLB dot com with the appropriate A-Q designations; instead, the list provided by the union was in order by when each respective crew chief became one. (UPDATE: Now, finally, they have, with the A-Q designations; took them long enough!)

On that note, I will say this: There were lots of interesting changes as far as the crews they did come up with, however.

Some (mainly Yankee fans) are saying that today's hullabaloo could have been avoided without the quick ejection of the Yankee pitcher in the bottom of the first. I was just wondering if there are any thoughts on this...

My feeling is that both teams were warned before the game started that any tomfoolery would not be accepted. I thought it was a great attempt by Fairchild to take control of the game right then and there, regardless of whether or not the throw was intentional (though, kind of odd that Pettite gets scratched... and they throw to six Rays regulars before plunking our star prospect). It might have ticked off the Yankees, but they knew it was going to happen.

In last night's bizarre finish to the Pittsburgh-Atlanta game (Atlanta scored 5 in the 9th to tie it, thanks in part to some Pirates' wildness and bad fielding; the Bucs scored 3 in the 12th and nearly gave up the lead again) there was a point where Pirate manager John Russell apparently signaled for an intentional walk, then yelled at his catcher to "go talk to him," meaning the pitcher. Plate ump Joe West then stopped the game and called Russell out for a chat, then said something to the Atlanta bench before resuming play. It seemed that (according to the Atlanta announcers) Russell was being charged with his first visit to the mound -- important because had he come out again the pitcher automatically would've had to be taken out of the game. Russell never left the dugout, nor did any coach. Is that an actual rule, that they can be charged with a visit to the mound because he told the catcher to call time?

The answer is "yes,"--sort of. Permit me to explain. A manager or coach is permitted to tell the catcher to go deliver a message to the pitcher, but in order to avoid a trip being assessed, the manager must not approach the catcher. In other words, a trip will be charged if the manager or catcher approach each other and talk then the catcher goes to confer with the pitcher before a pitch, play, or appeal occurs. Simply yelling over to the catcher who then goes to the mound would not constitute a trip.

Not having been within earshot of Joe West, I am unable to confirm if to what the Atlanta announcers alluded involved a trip being potentially charged.

Hope this information clears it up a bit for you.

Regards...