Batter up

For the next few days, you'll hear variations of this phrase over and over: Judges are like baseball umpires, they apply the rules, they don't make them. Several senators have invoked the baseball analogy already -- and the Sotomayor hearing has just begun.

The analogy comes from the 2005 confirmation hearing of Chief Justice John Roberts, held up by conservatives as one of the best Supreme Court candidates in years. And of course, liberals have criticized both Roberts and his analogy.

What Chief Justice John Roberts actually said was this: "Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire."

He later added: "I will remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat."

Liberals have said Roberts' idea of judging is incomplete at best.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., also used baseball to make his point in 2005. "We all know that with any umpire, the call may depend on your point of view. An instant replay from another angle can show a very different result," he said.

"Umpires follow the rules of the game. But in critical cases, it may depend on where they are standing when they make the call. The same holds true of judges."

-Jesse J. Holland, AP reporter, Supreme Court