Question for the Blues

[WildRoseCoach]

Let's say you have a very aggressive team running the bases. R1 on 3rd and getting a huge lead on every pitch. F2 is instructed to hold the ball and take a couple of steps up the 3rd base line. You have the runner off 3B and F2 holding the ball in front of the plate.

At what point do you attempt to speed up the game, and who do you talk to (defense or offense) to help you speed it up?

[Bretman]

Not really much you can do. The defense is allowed to do what they're doing and the offense is allowed to do what they're doing.

I don't see too much of this extended cat and mouse game at the older levels, but do see quite a bit of it at the younger age levels and in lower level rec ball. As the players get older and more skilled, they realize that the best way to get the runner to commit to a base is to fire the ball back to the pitcher in the circle as quickly as possible, maybe after a pump fake or two by the catcher.

There are only two situations where I could even begin to imagine interjecting myself into this. Neither is what I would call "standard operating procedure", or something covered by the umpire manuals or guidelines.

1) If the catcher was just standing there and the runner was just standing there for such a long extended period of time that it became a kind of absurdist Mexican standoff, with neither making any sort of move, I might call time or at least say something like, "Come on, girls, lets go". This would have to go on long enough that it was obvious the catcher wasn't going to attempt a play and the runner wasn't going to retreat or advance. It would have to be something markedly different than the usual cat and mouse game that goes on and eats up five or ten seconds.

How long would I wait? Twenty seconds? Thirty? A full minute? Can't really say as I've never had it come to that point in one of my games. But if it got to the point where it became absurd enough to violate the spirit and intent of the game, I might step in. I guess I'll know what that point is if I ever see it!

2) If we're in a time limit game and it becomes obvious to me that the defense is using this as a tactic designed to delay the game and gain some sort of advantage with the game clock, like running out the clock to prevent another inning from being played, I'm going to address that. I've never had that situation come up either.

Generally, you let the players play the game how they want to. Keep your trap shut until some actual rule is being violated that you are forced to address or the action (or lack of action) gets taken to some ridiculous extreme.

[MTR]

I'm not going to be as patient as Bretman.

I'll give both teams a few seconds to make a play, but when any further delay is just a waste, I'll kill the ball, clean the plate and move on with the game.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Not really much you can do. The defense is allowed to do what they're doing and the offense is allowed to do what they're doing.

I don't see too much of this extended cat and mouse game at the older levels, but do see quite a bit of it at the younger age levels and in lower level rec ball. As the players get older and more skilled, they realize that the best way to get the runner to commit to a base is to fire the ball back to the pitcher in the circle as quickly as possible, maybe after a pump fake or two by the catcher.

There are only two situations where I could even begin to imagine interjecting myself into this. Neither is what I would call "standard operating procedure", or something covered by the umpire manuals or guidelines.

1) If the catcher was just standing there and the runner was just standing there for such a long extended period of time that it became a kind of absurdist Mexican standoff, with neither making any sort of move, I might call time or at least say something like, "Come on, girls, lets go". This would have to go on long enough that it was obvious the catcher wasn't going to attempt a play and the runner wasn't going to retreat or advance. It would have to be something markedly different than the usual cat and mouse game that goes on and eats up five or ten seconds.

How long would I wait? Twenty seconds? Thirty? A full minute? Can't really say as I've never had it come to that point in one of my games. But if it got to the point where it became absurd enough to violate the spirit and intent of the game, I might step in. I guess I'll know what that point is if I ever see it!

2) If we're in a time limit game and it becomes obvious to me that the defense is using this as a tactic designed to delay the game and gain some sort of advantage with the game clock, like running out the clock to prevent another inning from being played, I'm going to address that. I've never had that situation come up either.

Generally, you let the players play the game how they want to. Keep your trap shut until some actual rule is being violated that you are forced to address or the action (or lack of action) gets taken to some ridiculous extreme.

Interesting about the time limit ... I guess the clock should be stopped while you go talk to the defensive Coach though, since that would have been their intent to begin with ...

[Bretman]

That's one of the possible glitches when you are forced to address a stalling tactic in a time limited game. Addressing the coaches can eat more time off the clock!

Let's just say that in the few rare instances I've had to address stalling I've been quick about it. I got my point across and got the game moving along with the shortest possible delay. It seemed that the few seconds I took to address the stalling took up less time than if I had let the stalling tactics continue unabated.

Stop the clock? An umpire could, I guess, but there are ZERO written rules covering that in a softball game. If the discussion with the offending coach takes an inordinate amount of time I'm not going to let him profit from it. I suppose I might be inclined to add whatever amount of time the extended conversation took to the end of the game time. I would consider that possibility to be at my discretion and up to my own sense of game management.

But those are unchartered waters since I've never let such a conversation get to that point!