riting the final draft of an interview is always frustrating. There are always so many more quotes, thoughts, and ideas available for use than there is space available. This was especially true in the interview with Chad Buckalew, a former minor league umpire.

After some pleading from me, my editor gave me permission to try an experiment: this article. This will be kind of like those "out take" clips you see on TV, except no one falls down, swears, or forgets their lines. This will be a montage of leftover comments and thoughts from Chad that weren't included in the article but seem relevant to what's being discussed on the Internet. They are written in no particular order and with no unifying thread.

Legal or Illegal?

R.S.: There's been discussion recently on the Internet of umpires changing decisions. Any thoughts?

Chad: Basically, I've been trained to do my damndest to get it right before making the call. I would hate changing a call. It looks bad to the crowd and to the supervisors, but if it is necessary, sometimes, in certain situations, it can be done

R.S.: An Internet writer listed five situations where this is legal. Have you seen a list like this?

Continued...