This is Chad Fairchild (75)'s first ejection of 2012.
Chad Fairchild now has 4 points in the UEFL (0 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 4).
Crew Chief Tom Hallion now has 5 points in the UEFL's Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Correct = 5).
*The second pitch of the at bat to Headley had a px value of -0.905, in the borderline range.
UEFL Standings Update
This is the 103rd ejection of 2012.
This is the 42nd player ejection of 2012.
This is the Cincinnati Reds' second ejection of 2012.
This is Devin Mesoraco's first career ejection.
This is Chad Fairchild's first ejection since August 28, 2011 (Dusty Baker; QOC = Incorrect).
This is the third ejection in two nights for Tom Hallion's crew.
Wrap: Padres at Reds 7/30/12
Video: Mesoraco argues pitch and gets gets ejected; pokes and bumps Chad Fairchild in tirade
Pitch f/x courtesy Brooks Baseball
75 comments :
I wonder if Fairchild said something because Mesorco is not that type of person who will go nuts
Mike Everett?!
Yup, a rookie player isn't "the type" and it must be Fairchild's fault. Uh huh.
Did you even watch the video? If you did, you would not have thought that. Pitch is clearly a ball. Fairchild gave him some rope and he immediately hung himself. First, he held the pitch, which is a no-no at any level. Then, he turns around to say something to him. Arguing balls and strikes is against the rules anyway but most umpires give catchers some leeway but there is decorum to follow. Obviously, this dude wanted to catch an early shower and sit in the air conditioning. Pretty easy ejection.
hey anon 7:12 Troll when the home team announcers say the catcher has an "explosive temper" it might be time to delete your post... clowns....
get rid of the anons.. very rare do they add ANYTHING
As catcher in past and current umpire, I have found that catchers usually get the most leeway. You can ask where it was, freeze the glove, and maybe give a little turn.
Fairchild gave Mesoraco all of these opportunities, and then continued. Balls and strikes is an auto toss in my eyes and Mesoraco deserved the ejection.
http://bit.ly/M74VFW -- Fairchild plot
Pretty sound ejection here from Fairchild. Can't hold that pitch, initiated the discussion, and then continued on by ripping the mask off. He gave him enough rope to end the discussion, but he continued. Promptly ejected.
Good to see my primary score some points, finally. Say what you want about Fairchild, but he's had a pretty quiet, solid year. He had two solid calls last night in BOS/NYY, too.
""Good to see my primary score some points, finally. Say what you want about Fairchild, but he's had a pretty quiet, solid year. He had two solid calls last night in BOS/NYY, too. ""
Anyone who reads my posts knows I do not bash umpires. But this sort of thing is getting insane, IMO. Why did the catcher bump him? Well, maybe it is because Fairchild kept invading his space and got so close the finger had nowhere else to go! I like the umpires that turn and walk away, as we're taught to do. Chad is a great umpire, but I don't think he handled this situation well at all. In fact, I think he just had a Bill Hohn moment.
Fairchild is from the Cousins, Marquez school of 'shoebox' strike zones.
"Fairchild gave Mesoraco all of these opportunities, and then continued. Balls and strikes is an auto toss in my eyes and Mesoraco deserved the ejection. "
I agree he needed to be ejected for prolonging the discussion, but man, I don't think Chad Fairchild was very FAIR in how he (literally) approached the discussion. Officials are supposed to be above the contentious aspect of such things.
Seems to me that this has been a quiet year ejection wise for some of the umps who are usually more active in this regard, i.e. Hernandez, West, Drake, Guccione, Emmel, Cuzzi, Wendelstedt, Fairchild etc.
Terry Collins argues another Dale Scott call (this time on a dropped DP ball at second base in San Francisco). No ejection this time though.
I can't see how anon 7:12 is trolling because he/she did not state his/her opinion in an incendiary manner. I've read many of your posts on this site and have come to respect your opinion as a fellow umpire, but I think you're overreacting in this case.
sjr: thanks we can't agree on everything!! When i guy "wonders" it's a tactic used in suggesting something that the person usually believes. ANd he suggested the catcher is not that type of person.... HUH!! Yea sorry not retracting!!!
i wonder if the catcher is a hothead b/c of what he did.
It'll be interesting to see if this becomes a recurring theme for Mesoraco or if he calms down, like Joey Votto appears to have done.
@DDFD, Fairchild told him to cut it. He didn't. End of story. You can't prolong a discussion about balls and strikes when you have been told to end the argument.
The initial contact looked accidental but once Mesoraco got fired up there may have been more.
Tom Hallion gave Fairchild quite a shove(or so it looked)when he came in.
As an umpire,I do tend to give the catcher a bit of leeway. I don't appreciate when the coach asks the catcher 'where was that?was that a strike?' Coaches like that really grind my gears.
Call looked correct,IMO.
Brett, I would agree he definitely deserved an early shower. He'll also get a mini-vacation, or at least he should. We'll see what happens..
But I must continue to laugh at the whole idea of "decorum" with discussions at home plate. It's obvious only the catcher has one to follow; the umpires do whatever they want.
I was going to point out that even the Reds' announcers said that this kid has an "explosive personality", but tmac beat me to it. Just out of curiosity, how much rope do you guys give catchers at the high school level? I've been told that I am much too leniant with what I'll take, but I was wondering what others guys thought. Is pitch pulling and glove holding a no-go for you guys? It seems to be done at epidemic proportions where I live, and if I ejected for it there wouldn't be many catchers that would survive a game. Also, how do you guys deal with the passive-agressive stuff from catchers? I'm always looking for new ideas to quell some of the punkish behavior I run into on the field.
Fairchild is a drama queen with ZERO conflict management skills. Mesoraco clearly did not mean to touch him. Fairchild acting like a pansy over SLIGHT incidental contact is what inflamed the situation. Then Mesoraco took the "I'll show you physical contact MF" approach, and things went to hell after that.
Mesoraco was wrong as wrong can be. Fairchild made the correct call and it was a righteous ejection. Mesoraco got himself ejected by being stupid. But it was Fairchild who escalated the post-ejection situation by (1) not walking away and opting to show how tough he is, and (2) flailing about over unintentional, slight contact. Fairchild might end up being surprised at the league's response to this.
Dont get rid of the anon's. Yes, there are trolls, deal with them, they are idiots. Some of us post once in a while that do not want our names associated with the site for obvious reasons.
Fairchild is not going to let some no name punk show him up like that. Someone has to teach that kid a lesson. I wouldnt tolerate that crap either, and I am surely not backing down if the catcher wants to delay the game and argue about a call I got correct. Kudos to Fairchild, and MLB will not and should not do anything to him for this.
Curt i appreciate your views but it seems like you take the devils advocate side on each issue. That means you take the minority side to attempt to stir things up. Whether or not you are doing this knowingly is anyone's guess.
As for the anon's problem you can make a screen name.... i like tmac... or umps rule sadly those are taken.... it's not that hard and would at lend to the trolls having to do a little extra work.... You can also disable e mail options and the like so nobody would ever know it's you. While I understand there are plenty of MILB guys who read this site very few post and the anons who get off on trolling have become too many for my liking!
(grind my gears)2 good.
Yeah, keep the anon's, the pro guy's who post are worth the idiots, Plus it's easy to tell if the anon is a pro or 12yrs old.
Fairchild did have a great call at 1st last nite, espn had to show it a 3rd time to find
Fairchild correct.
Curt even if Fairchild is a drama queen (if), by your own accounts, he was correct on all counts, and you clearly put the blame in the right place. Curt your holding a grudge against Chad. You have no problem with what he did here, but yet still call him a drama queen. Why? You must be using his past, when you say he is a drama queen. That's the definition of a grudge. In this case here, there's no way he was a drama queen.
Tmac, should the umpire walk away post-ejection or not? The comments I make are based on my observations. Whether others agree or disagree is not my concern.
Fairchild never walks away. See dusty baker 8/28/11, maddon and Martinez 7/17/12, Farrell 5/4/11 (he did walk away from BJ Upton the same game, but only because bj made him).
Fairchild refuses to walk away. He puffs up the chest and does the tough guy routine. It's called escalating. And it's the opposite of what he is supposed to do.
10:48, if you want to bow up and "teach the kid a lesson," then you better be prepared to fight him. That is an improper attitude for an umpire to have. And you certainly can't start play-acting like you got assaulted when there is incidental contact.
Big Marc, let me clarify. Fairchild made the right call. Fairchild made the right decision to eject. After the ejection is where I contend his professionalism was lacking.
His past is relevant only to show that he just does not believe in walking away.
Chad Fairchild looked like a pro wrestling referee on that one, stepping into Mesoraco's finger, and then going "Oooooh, you touched me!!" and pointing at his chest. I was waiting for him to ring the bell for the DQ next.
The ejection was totally justified, and Mesoraco's conduct will earn him a suspension for sure. But I also agree with those that don't think Fairchild handled himself very well in this situation, either.
Fairchild was an excellent balls/strikes umpire that inning, had a perfect strike zone. But he did seem to get a little carried away with the post-ejection conduct. Should have pointed, "you touched me," or "that's a suspension" or whatever it is PBUC tells pro umps to do and that's it. The prolonged yelling looks similar to the mess that got Bob Davidson suspended.
@Curt: absolutely not do you walk away! There is a time to do so, but not right after an ejection happens. The manager/coach/player will not be done yelling just because you walk away. He will continue to try and come after you, even trying to get around your partners to get to you (and Chad DID try this!) You will disagree with that point, but I am telling you from experience. Chad simply noted that there had been contact made, no big deal. All a player has to do at that point is say 'Chad, I'm sorry, you know that wasn't on purpose.' I have actually written those words in a report before so that it was clear the contact was incidental. We are all grown men and should have the capability to realize that no one meant any harm in that situation; situation over. But no, he decides to have a little rant after that, showing Chad what 'real contact' is. Classy move . I think you can figure out which anon this is Curt... and Brett.
ahhhh yes curt you don't walk away.. walking away makes it much more dificult for a manager and CC to get the moron poking you in the chest away from you.
Every action has a reaction.... The catcher shows up the umpire (for crying out loud he still had the ball when he was walking into the dugout.... throw the ball back to the pitcher) he then pokes the umpire.... you DO NOT run away and hide you stand your ground as he did when he attempted to go back to his spot he was poked again for good measure. Did Fairchild embellish a little.... it's possible.. you know what this makes me think.. this catcher is IMPOSSIBLE to deal with and the umpires\ wanted to make sure EVERYONE knew there was contact...
I'd like to make another point... Take a lesson from Tom Hallion.... that is what a CC does. Proves his awesomeness two nights in a row!!
Wow is all I can say about some of these posters.
Fairchild couldn't of handled that situation better. He told him not to hold the glove and Mesoraco turned and started arguing. As far as I'm concerned unless the manager can get out there to protect his player and shut him up, I'm going to shut the player up and dump him for that.
As far as walking away from an ejected player I was taught never to turn my back on someone I just tossed. Especially a player. You let his manager and your partner/crew chief deal with them and get out when they get there.
To be honest Fairchild did a great job after getting bumped. The contact was accidental but still Mesoraco's fault. He was very calm and cool. It's pretty obvious the announcers knew what was going on too. If you listen and read Fairchilds lips after the bump he calls to Dusty Baker to get Mesoraco out of there.
There is a fine line between walking away and looking like a pussy in front of everyone and standing your ground and fighting for yourself. I tell my partners not to get involved in my arguments unless I dump someone or a second person gangs up on me and then my partner is to get rid of the player or assistant coach and let me take the manager.
Just so you know, this is coming from an actual umpire who works NJCAA, NAIA and NCAA DII baseball in addition to NFHS high school baseball. I was also trained at one of the pro schools and will be going back again this January.
It did appear to me that Fairchild overreacted to being touched by Mesoraco, but I think it was a little extreme when someone above compared Fairchild's yelling to the Bob Davidson incident.
Tmac and 1:01, I respect your opinions on the topic. It appears that the general consensus among leagues is that the umpire should walk away.
I don't have the manual used by MLB umpires, so if you do and it says something other than walk away, I stand to be corrected. The majority of manuals I have seen are clear that the umpire is instructed to walk away. One collegiate-level manual actually instructs umpires to "shut your mouth and walk away."
Walking away is also consistent with the practice of some of the most experienced umpires. Jim Joyce and Tim McClelland do it often. Even Joe West, who is not exactly known for his situation management skills, tries to walk away immediately after an ejection. I can't remember seeing a player having to be pulled off one of those guys.
Mike, having been to pro school, I can attest that there is a decorum you follow as umpire, manager, coach, and player. This decorum is not written but has been the same for many years. It is simple. If you show me up, expect some thing in return. As an umpire, I am not there to be seen. I am there to enforce the rules. In this situation, Rules clearly state that you cannot argue balls and strikes. As an umpire, I encourage catchers to ask questions and converse with me. The decorum is that the conversation will be unnoticeable to most fan, coaches, other players. Cather is the only guy on the field that wears the gear like I do and he protects me, which means we need a good working relationship. When a catcher holds a pitch, I say "Just catch it and throw it back. By the time it hits your mitt I have made up my mind." Usually that is enough. Subtle warnings usually work well but sometimes the catcher just loses it, as was the case here. Do not turn around, just continue doing your job of catching and throwing the ball back. Ask your questions without alerting everyone to the situation and this never happens. Even high school catchers do not do what this guy did.
Someone had to teach a know nothing a lesson? Not backing down?
Holy smokes you sound like a passive aggressive hot-head.
I think Fairchild's duty is to not escalate the situation and to be the adult - and that means conducting himself in a respectable manner, regardless of how much of a punk this kid is.
@Anon 9:09, Fairchild's duty is to enforce the rules. As far as I can tell the kid you are referring to is an adult as well, he is 24. When are we going to quit trying to excuse the way these guys act and attack an umpire for treating a player the exact same way the player was treating him. Nice job by Fairchild.
Fairchild handled this as close to perfectly as he could have. Nothing wrong at all with it. I would not turn my back on a player and walk away in this situation.
Also, the CCA manual is the only one that matters for college baseball, and I don't recall it saying anything about "Shut your mouth and walk away". It does say not to charge players/coaches or follow them when the argument is over, but nothing instructing umpires to walk away.
Fairchild didn't escalate anything here. It was already escalated because of the catcher's actions.
a lot of you guys with your "be an adult" and "well in college"
please do not compare amateur baseball to professional they are NIGHT AND DAY... In college you have to be a bit** and all i do is here former pro guys complain how they just take take take and can't do anything about it on the college level... Also,
being an adult .. this isn't a 13 year old kid who broke a cardinal rule in catching it's a MLB starting catcher... and umpires have to train guys to act appropiately. Apparently that is missed on some people. It is often in conversation. Also you DO NOT tell a professional player how to play or how to catch instead you might say. "hey can you give me an inch to the inside he holds his hands low and crowds it i don't wanna miss a pitch" you don't say "throw the ball back" The art of communicating takes time, games and mistakes will happen and we are always working on it. Just wanted to say that stream of consciousness after reading some of the comments!!
tmac, you are right about the pro game being different than the college game. I wouldn't say that you have to take all kinds of crap on the college level without any way to deal with it though. My comment about the CCA Manual was simply in response to *someone* who said a "collegiate-level manual" instructs something.
sorry i havent read all the comments but i saw a few that said faichild should have walked away and some saying not to walk away. The umpire does not walk away in that situation. Fairchild did a great job here post-ejection because when Baker is coming out Fairchild gets Baker on his side. Baker never even thought about getting run to protect his player bc of how Fairchild handled it.
Some of these comments are very entertaining. Chad handled this exactly the right way. End of story. If you disagree, got to pro school.
Ha...quite a conversation has spun out of this.
Fairchild may have embellished the initial touching, but his overall handling of the situation definitely seems to make Mesoraco look like the aggressor.
"End of story. If you disagree go to pro school."
Baseball gospel from another a-ball wonder.
Brett, or anyone else for that matter, here's a scenario I have now dealt with twice this year: How would you guys handle a catcher who flat-out lies to his coach about pitch location? This has happened with two catchers, where their pitcher is missing very badly. I'm talking 1-2 feet outside badly, and 6-12 inches inside badly, yet when the coach asks the catcher "where'd that missed?" they have responded with some variance of "it didn't, perfect pitch". Should that justify an immediate ejection? I normally respond, being the extremely laid back guy that I am, by quietly saying something like "you and I both know that was inside/outside/high/low". And, if it gets bad, I'll chat with the coach in between innings, and simply say something like "he's setting up so far outside that he may feel like it's a perfect pitch, but it is actually quite a ways off of the plate". This has worked well in one situation, where things then immediately calmed down, but with the other catcher it ultimately led to a coach ejection, as he continued to claim that pitches were "perfect". Anyone have any thoughts on this? I hate getting ejection happy, as I feel like I should be trying to keep people in games, but I also think that sometimes this opens me up to getting walked on a bit too.
Wif all these pros on here I thought by now somebody woulda pulled out the pbuc man. and quoted it and proved we was wrong and Fairchild was right. Come on now. What do the book say boyz? Not your pro school----the book. What does the book say?
Has ha, I've been to pro school and I can tell you that what they teach and what they do are two different things.
Straight truth gents: Everybody knows the league wants you to walk away immediately. If you don't do that and go toe to toe probably nothing is going to happen. That is...until you have an EVENT. A major hitting, spitting, shoving that gets attention. If you are the umpire that tried to walk like you know they want you to, you will get backed up by the league. If they look at the tape and see you went toe to toe, you will get backed over by the league.
Curt, if you poke me i'm going to make it known to the entire stadium that you just made contact. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR ANY PLAYER MANAGER COACH OR FAN TO MAKE ANY CONTACT WITH AN UMPIRE FOR ANY REASON! Mesoraco put his finger out and poked fairchild in the chest. Chad did the right thing at first saying you just poked me and pointing where he was poked. If chad would have walked away here that only opens him up to a bump etc. Mesoraco clearly wanted to make contact the second time while he was reaching over baker to contact chad. Chad once again made it clear to everyone watching the game from seat 30 in section 500 that there was contact made. This rookie player needs to figure this stuff out, apparently he didn't spend enough time in the milb to figure it out down there. Selig would be disgracing and spitting in chads face if he didn't at least give mesoraco 3 games for this incident. Oh and if you want to know i do umpire professional baseball and have been commended by jorge bauza for handling a bumping situation just like this.
Forget about walking away for a second. Does anyone seriously believe this incident would have escalated like it did if Fairchild had not put on a production over the non-intentional touching?
Anyone who looks at the video objectively can see that any contact was slight. It wasn't offensive or angry. It was nothing. Up to that point, was Mesoraco lunging, poking or otherwise going wild? No.
The trigger was Fairchild putting on a show, as if Mesoraco intentionally caused contact. Mesoraco did not lose his mind until Fairchild (falsely) accused him of intentionally causing contact. Mesoraco is already agitated and ejected, but not acting stupid. Putting on a big production was guaranteed to escalate the confrontation.
Fairchild was flopping, pure and simple.
Even if Fairchild doesn't walk away, he could have avoided this post-ejection incident if he had just doneI one simple thing: Shut Up. Just shut up. Baker would have collected Mesoraco and that would have been it.
@5:24, I might agree with you were your analysis not based on the false premise that Mesoraco "poked" Fairchild. Didn't happen. Watch the video. Unless Mesoraco has an index finger like stretch Armstrong that can bend and extend at that angle (while his other 4 digits are wrapped around the ball, mind you), there was no poke.
Also, Mesoraco had his arm extended across his own body when Fairchild came and struck his pose in front of him. Fairchild came and put himself where Mesoraco's arm had to cross when he pulled it back.
I don't doubt your bump story. But I am going to assume that you really did get bumped and that you were not flopping. I'm also going to assume that you did not place yourself where you were likely to get bumped. If my assumptions are correct, then your situation is different from this one.
I'm curious to see some responses for the guy who posted above about the catcher lying to his coach about location. That was a good question!
As a former catcher, there's no way in the world I would do something like that! I may signal to the coach, but not saying something especially like that! And signalling to the coach would not upset anybody because chances are if I disagreed with the umpire he and I already had comments about it.
I think if I were an umpire and a catcher was verbally doing that, they'd be gone pretty quickly. Warn him and dump him.
a lot of this is from frustration because of those big inning the reds broadcaster talked about in the video
There should be a section dedicated to tonight's decision to call the game in Boston.
Why is that? It is now 12:20 a.m. and it is still pouring rain in Boston (including Fenway). Even if it were to stop raining right now, it would still take until after 1:00 a.m. to resume the game.
Jerry Layne clearly made the right call.
If jerry layne isn't fed before midnight he gets VERY cranky.. ... on a more serious note excellent question about the catcher.. I have had catchers in pro ball lie to the manager about pitches being strikes.... It usually depends on your relationship with the manager as to what happens after... There are so many ways this can go.... Usually they will ask the catcher in A) a mound visit or B) in the dugout in between innings.... Now does the manager tell you later.. IN a mound visit he most certainly will, so you have another question to answer DO you want to shove it up your catcher's A$$ on the mound? you can call him a liar or say i'm not sure the reason but he's not being straight up with ya... Now it is up to the manager as to where he wants to take it and this all happens so fast. A manager might also talk to you in between innings while giving you a change which technically is disputing balls and strikes but is generally allowed as long as it's conversation.... I could talk an hour or two about this subject alone it is very complex.... Bear in mind i am speaking from a professional perspective only.
Confronting the catcher is usually NOT a good idea as it most certainly will go NOWHERE and likely lead into a MAJOR situation.... handles said situations sometimes is biting the bullet. But make sure one thing.. YOU DON'T miss a strike to that catcher ;)
Rat Boy:
I didn't say there weren't other manuals, and I didn't say that others may not follow local manuals. I do know that in collegiate basball, the CCA Manual trumps everything, including this one from Florida.
Funny how Curt still hasn't answered the question about how many games he has umpired. Probably not a coincidence.
This one has been an issue I've brought up with my Team. As I have umpired and reffed hockey as well as been a player, I have learned that "working an official" rarely works and in fact usually has the opposite effect. I am the #2 catcher on my team and get pissed off by our starter. He routinely shows up umpires with the holding a pitch or the "go to throw it back and do a pump fake in disbelief you didn't get a call." I don't understand what good catchers think it will do by showing up an umpire. If I'm unsure or think we should have gotten a call I will ask the umpire where it was but that's it. I'm not really sure, especially for a rookie, what he is thinking here. Yes maybe Fairchild looked like a little bit of a pansy when he got poked but I don't see a whole lot wrong with him here. Easy Ejection.
Curt, how many posts from Pro's will it take? You are the type who reads the book, and then you think you know how the game should be played, after all the rules are in black and white. You need to find a guy who has been in pro ball. Sit down with him, and just listen. You may think you know baseball and the rules of the game, but you will quickly find out how little you really know. College baseball? Ok, that's fine. The Pro game is so different, it is another game all together.
If your a real baseball man, and fan, you must learn from a pro, there's nothing that compares.
One of the Pro's posted a comment, he said someting like, "The book may say one thing, but on the field it's handled this way"...
or something to that affect...
Right there, right there, is a lesson! How can the book say one thing, but the umpires handled it another way? Talk to a pro, then you'll learn why.
I will admit that the CCA manual, nor any other college manual, matter one bit when it comes to the pro game. I was merely pointing out earlier that even if a manual says something, it doesn't mean that every situation is handled exactly like that every time.
Big Marc, as I said before, I mentioned the college manual only in passing after expressing an interest in knowing what the pro manual might say. That's it. I didn't say it applied to this situation. I just wondered if the pro manual addressed it similarly.
Interesting that no one has answered the question as to how the pro manual addresses the issue.
You are also incorrect that I have read the rules and think I know how things work on the field. I have not read this "rule," as I do not have a copy. That's why I asked the question in the first place.
As far as your assertion that it's handled differently on the field, obviously it is by some. Others handle it by de-escalating and walking away. Those others include umpires like Joyce and McClellan. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, the reason you don't see Joyce and McClellan getting into shoving matches is because they don't handle situations like your boy Fairchild. Could it also be the reason that they are not only considered to be the best of the best, but also the most *respected* umpires in the world.
Come on, man. Even Joe West makes an effort to walk away. Is he wrong too?
Maybe you're right dude. Maybe Joyce, McClellan, West and others are totally full of crap. Yeah don't pay any attention to those old guys, they don't know anything. Just emulate Punkchild instead and you'll be okay.
Let's cease the personal jabs here, guys. Doesn't matter who started it or who got the last shot in. We have many valid points on both sides of this particular issue, the Fairchild handled it correctly camp and the Fairchild overreacted camp.
The very nature of an ejection and of the QOC Quick Vote suggests we will have disagreements from time to time, some quite passionate, yet we should not allow our differences of opinion to cloud our judgment and display of decency, cordiality and dignity.
Had to delete after reading Gil's instructions.
Your lucky Curt, oops that's jab.
I think jabs should be allowed, but name calling? Punk-child? Pansy? Drama queen?
(not to curt) You ever felt like the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?
Big Marc, I will concede Punkchild. Maybe Pansy too.
But drama queen?? I might have trouble replacing that one. I presume attention w**** would also be excluded, so that's out. Prima donna, diva, attention seeker, perhaps? Those are okay, but none fit these situations like DQ.
Could go all smart and say histrionic or melodramatic, but those exceed the maximum syllable count for words used to discuss baseball.
Off to the thesaurus I go.
Three game suspension for Mesoraco.
MattAB, I feel you on this situation. Anyone who has umpired high school has been there. Your handling of the situation by telling the catcher he knows where the pitches are missing as well as you do is the first step. If it continues, you then speak to the head coach as you did. Balls and Strikes at any level is grounds for an ejection but I know in my state that you must warn, the restrict before you dump someone otherwise the will not get suspended. My next step is to warn the bench or restrict, which can be awfully good at calming a coach or unruly crowd. Ejection can follow if necessary. Most of the time if you warning and mention that I can restrict you(head coach) to the dugout, it will nip it in the bud. Do not let them walk over you.
Curt, agreed. When you have gold like "DQ", it has to be shown. It would be like putting a sheet over the pyramids at Giza. Why?
@ Curt, if any of those names you mentioned were touched by a player in this kind of situation, they too would have had a "don't touch me" gesture. One might be a little more subtle, another not so much. Timmy Mac might say "stop poking my belly button, runt." Teddy might say, "hey brotha, why you touching my Carlucci!?!" Chad's way was for the purposes of letting everyone know what happened. Everyone needs to get off this "one, and only one way to handle things" way of thinking and realize that the person on the field knows the best way to handle the situation 99% of the time. Everyone else does not know half of what actually went on down there and are merely speculating. You don't know what was said behind those masks for the innings leading up to this situation, you don't know how to handle a big league situation, you don't know much of anything when you're compared to these guys. That's not a shot at anyone, that's just because anyone who's done something for 20-30 years longer than you, knows a hell of a lot more than you about it.
To whomever stated that a Florida College Baseball Umpires manual actually says "keep your mouth shut and get away from the action" you're correct. After that it also states "your partner should step in and control the situation."
So what do you do in between? Obviously you stand there and wait for your partner.
The writers of this manual also know that it doesn't always go like that.
How do I know?
I work for this group. And I love it.
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