Thursday, July 15, 2004
Ask the Assignor
(Editor's note: Ask the Assignor is a new semi-regular feature in The Indicator. Questions for the assignor can be submitted to Rich Connors, NBUA Secretary)
By Rich Connors
Secretary
Q: Leslie, I don't understand why so many "good" games are open games. It seems like these games should be distributed as soon as you receive our availabilities. Why don't you do it that way?
A: I would love to assign all the games all at once. Unfortunately, things don't work out that way with NBUA. Here are some of the things I have to contend with:
- Teams making schedule changes
- Turnbacks of games from umpires
- Rescheduling of games rained out
- New leagues submitting schedules
- Tournaments
When I schedule games, I assign every game I have, attempting to match the level of the game with the availability and tier level of the umpires. The list of games that show up under "Open Games" all come in after I have made assignments for the period in question.
Q: Leslie, I am an "A" level umpire. If I am scheduled to do a Sandy Koufax game tomorrow night, and I see a Connie Mack game listed under "Open Games", is it ok if I email you to see if I can switch?
A: You bet. I want you to contact me if you are willing to switch to a better game and you are qualified for the game. In your email, please remind me that you already have a game scheduled, so I can make that game an "open game". The same thing goes for "B" umpires. If you see a better game listed under "open games" that you are qualified to do, let me know by sending me an email.
Q: Leslie, I am a "C" umpire, and I keep emailing you to say I will take games, and I never hear back from you. Why don't you like me?
A: I try to get back to everyone, but some days, especially the rainy ones, it gets pretty busy around here. Another problem is you keep asking me for the community college and Connie Mack games. In the past, when I have called you back, you refused to do the Sandy Koufax or Mickey Mantle game I proposed you take. I need to respond to the umpires that are flexible and realistic in their game selection first to make sure we get all of our games covered. My recommendation to you is to email me about games you are qualified to take. There will come a time when I can put a "C" umpire on a higher level game, and I will look first at umpires who have been the most cooperative.
Q: Leslie, I miss talking to Jack. Is there some way we could go back to the old way of phoning in for games?
A: I love talking to all the umpires, but with all the time it takes to load a particular day into the web based program, it just isn't productive. No, we will not go back to the old way any time soon. This year has been a very successful transition year from the way that worked so well with Jack to a more automated way. We have been constantly tweaking our new assigning program to better satisfy the needs of not only our umpires but our customers as well. As we move into next season, the Board and Leslie will be working together to adopt new policies that will mean that NBUA will continue to provide more services to the umpire at a substantially lower cost. With all the money you will save on assigning fees, you can take Jack to lunch and have the best of both worlds.
Do you have a question for our assignor? Please email rich@nbua.com . We will keep your identity hidden for you shy types. No question is a dumb question, so get out that email. We will publish this feature as we receive appropriate questions.