1.   At their meeting in Philadelphia last week, West added, some umpires favored taking the even harder approach of saying they were resigning this weekend.

2.   But when the umpires took the bat, that was only the beginning of the series of charges and countercharges.

3.   I felt the umpire took an at-bat away from me.

4.   Many Sox fans still say the umpires took the series away from them.

5.   Summoned for a conference, the umpires took no action.

6.   The odd thing about this dust-up is that for the first time in memory, the umpires are not taking a hike over money or working conditions.

7.   The umpires took that action last Tuesday after the union filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

8.   The umpires do not take kindly to the suggestion they are accomplices to lousy pitching and long games.

9.   The umpires took his bat, and he was suspended.

10.   The umpires took pride in making better hitters out of hitters.