Minor league blues

Friday, May 12, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

Delmon Young's meltdown in an International League game last month notwithstanding, minor league baseball's use of replacement umpires this season has only been a minor distraction, according to Las Vegas 51s officials.

More than 200 members of the Association of Minor League Umpires, who are seeking increases in wages and money for meals, have been on strike since the beginning of the season. In their place, games have been officiated by college, junior college and high school umpires.

At Cashman Field, umpires working the Las Vegas 51s' Pacific Coast League games primarily have come from college and junior college ranks, team President Don Logan said.

Despite the lack of professional experience in many cases, the replacement umpires who have worked 51s games have not sparked the type of on-field antics displayed by Young, who tossed a bat at the home-plate umpire April 26 after being called out on strikes. The bat hit the umpire in the shoulder and Young, a Florida Marlins prospect, was later slapped with a 50-game suspension by the International League.

Last weekend, the manager of the Double-A Birmingham Barons pulled his team off the field during a Southern League game against Jacksonville after three bench-clearing brawls in the same game. Barons manager Chris Cron blamed the incidents on the replacement umpires' inability to control the game.

"I think they are doing a great job," Logan said of the replacement umpires who have worked 51s games. "I think that the games have moved along well."

Jerry Royster, 51s manager, said he was unfamiliar with the striking umpires' demands and was hesitant to discuss the replacement umpires.

"My comment is that I think people are worried about the wrong thing when it comes to replacement umpires," Royster said. "The (important) thing is that we have an entity of minor league baseball that's not there - that being our umpires. The sooner that they can get back, the better off everyone is."

On May 2, the striking umpires rejected by a 2-1 margin a proposed contract that would have given them a 12 percent pay raise. Negotiations were called off, and no talks have been held this month.

According to the AMLU's Web site, umpire pay currently starts at $1,800 per month in the short-season Rookie League and reaches a maximum of $3,400 per month for the most senior umpire in a five-month Triple-A season; per diem ranges from $20 at the lower levels to $25 at Triple-A. The salary and per diem have been unchanged since 1998, according to the AMLU.

Logan, a veteran of 23 seasons in the 51s' front office, said he has noticed one upside to having the replacement umpires work games at Cashman Field.

"The amount of players looking over their shoulder at the umps is no different this year than it has been in any year," Logan said. "One of the things that umpires have been doing the last few years is that they get a little heat from a dugout or from a player and instead of just walking away ... they kind of go and exacerbate a situation.

"These (replacement umpires), if you have an argument or whatever, they don't incite it; they certainly don't back down, but they don't go looking for a fight. I think that's a real big positive."