Minor League Umpires Return to Bargaining Table

From the Huntsville Times:

The umpires are going back to the bargaining table with Minor League Baseball on Wednesday, with a federal mediator in Cincinnati trying to help end a strike that began with opening day.

“It’s a start,’’ a striking umpire told The Times Monday. “At this point, anything is a step in the right direction.’’

For the old news: “The (replacement) umpiring has been flat-out bad,’’ said Stars manager Don Money. “If you had to rate them 1 to 10, you give them a 1 for showing up.’’

David Jenkins of the Chattanoogan thinks that it’s time to end the “veil of silence” about the replacements:

The last time I looked, Class AA baseball, which is the level being played in my hometown of Chattanooga, is considered professional baseball. These players are attempting to make a living just like the big leaguers, and the striking umpires aspire to the majors the same as the players. These replacement umpires aspire to make a quick buck and to remain unknown so that they can continue to make a quick buck without any repercussion save their own individual conscience.

Their anonymity is a joke. The leagues know who they are, and by extension the teams know who they are. Likely as not, the managers and their parent organizations know who they are. There’s also a pretty good chance that the striking umpires know who they are; early in the season, umpires on one picket line were spotting employing cell phone cameras during a game in an apparent attempt to get photos of these guys.