- Jun 22, 2008
- 3,438
- 48
It's a double-edged sword.
As a coach ya stay silent and the educated crowd on your side gets cranky.
Make a fuss then the umpires get uncomfortable with you, for bringing up the very uncomfortable rule they would rather forget about, and then the majority not-so-educated folks in the opposition can get very upset.
I HATE the ambiguity around this rule. Either ya get the umpires to be consistent with this or ya get rid of the darn call. How many years in a row is this topic going to be a battle?.........
And what happens when that occurs? We saw it before, the world goes crazy and do the players, coaches or instructors catch the flack? When the THs note how ridiculous it becomes, where do they lay the blame? Hell, read the OP and see where that was headed.
I got news for you folks. Most are rude, crude and socially unacceptable when it comes to this discussion. There is so much bull thrown around, anything to divert the attention from the revered coaches to the superstar players and it all lands in one place.
JUST ONCE I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR A COACH SAY, 'YES, WE KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM AND WE ARE WORKING ON FIXING IT' as that is at least 50% closer to the truth than what most want to say or hear. But instead, it is the umpire who is doing the job s/he was instructed to do taking the flack because the coaches elect to accept responsibility for what they know to be true.
However, I agree. Call it or get rid of it, period. And when it is called, the coach needs to correct the pitcher, not whine to the umpire.