y now, most of us have put away our gear for this season. It's that time of year that is really the cornerstone of our umpiring. Not unlike other sports, we rarely have time for reflection, recitation, or preparation during the regular season. I'm lucky to get 5-10 minutes to look for a play in a case book. But the off-season is different; we can spend the time needed so that we'll be better prepared for next year. There are a lot of things we need to take care of, but for this part we'll stick with the physical side of the equation

Continued...