In a departure from years past, the league will not be handling the distribution of time slots this year to teams. Teams are responsible for securing their own time slots (details from Iser), and the league will now accept 6pm Weeknight Games on the schedule.
This was voted on at the end of year meeting last year, and affirmed again today by the managers. This change was precipitated for two primary reasons:
1) I will no longer be running around to get permits from 9 places for the 12 teams in the league. Somebody had to do it. It is easier for each team to be responsible for securing their permits, as they are the first contact for any insurance, rain-out, or scheduling issues that arise.
2) Scheduling in general has become far too complex on the weekends. Teams do not want to play 2-3 games each weekend. Teams would prefer to have some games mixed in during the week. The opening of the 6pm time slot allows for the possibility of 10 slots (up from 5) to be played in during the week, and 8 time slots on the weekend. Additionally, most fields do not have lights, and the opening of the 6pm time slot allows us to play on more fields than in the past.
Teams are being required to get two three-hour slots per week (ex. Tuesday 6-9 and Saturday noon-3pm) so that the league schedule can schedule games without making teams play 3 games in 3 days. Additionally, the home team is now responsible for rescheduling any rain-outs, and they will need the additional slots for that purpose.
Related posts:
6 pm games are gonna suck balls.
oh wait, i won’t even be playing in them, nevermind… but i still feel bad for people trying to make those games after work.
League played 6pm games in 2006 for sure, and I believe in 2004 and 2005 as well. Yes, they aren’t convienient, but if a team would rather play 6pm on weeknights as their homedate instead of 3 gaems on a weekend, then so be it… there are only so many weekends to get in games!
Your gonna end up running this league into the ground with 6 pm weeknight games. You thought you had problems with forfiets over the past two seasons???? Ha…..wait til you get a showing like you did in this past seasons all star game….and that was weather related problems…..now your going to get into problems of players not being able to show because we are all adults and actually have jobs and careers. The re-alignment into three different divisions is gonna bring this league down for sure….but 6 pm weeknight games will definitley be the catalyst of he pittsburgh naba folding….just as the fed league almost folded a few years ago…….so much for this league being a recreational league and making it easy for everyone to be able to play ball….
“The re-alignment into three different divisions is gonna bring this league down for sure”
really?
really?
the only catalyst of the league folding is going to be when joe steps down as commish because nobody else is going to step up to run the league as well as he does.
unless of course another sexy asian steps up to the plate.
yes really…..what does splitting the league into these different leagues honestly gonna do……intertwine 3 different seasons???? what sense does that really make if this is already a rec league anyway.
and i agree…..when joe steps down that will be a major blow….
but your not seeing the point of available players to actually have a league when weeknight games are held at 6 pm when most guys are just getting out of work….or just getting home from work.
the 9 pm games gives every player that does hold a job, time to drive home thru rush hr traffic, take a shower, eat, get to the field, stretch and warm up, and then play the game……i played in the fed league….and all we had were 6 pm games…..and the hassels that it took in order to get from work to a game by 6 pm were tremendous….we were constantly palying with 8 guys and waiting for a 9th to show…..our league already has issues with teams not havin enough people showin up to games and forfeiting….what are 6 pm games when people are working going to do…
Actually, forfeits have improved over the past two seasons. Last year was the best year yet. In 2005, and 2006 whole teams folded due to forfiets and league dues.
As for 6pm games… we used to play them. I banned them in 2007 for the reasons you listed. They are being allowed this year because now the home team is responsible for scheduling. Since the league has been getting fields the past three years (with apologies to the Owlz and Rebels), it because increasingly difficult to find fields at 9pm on weeknights, or fit all the games in on weekends. Now teams can choose what time they play the plurality of their games. Perfect? No. But less work for an understaffed league office, and more flexibility for teams. And as of right now… no one has approached me (or Dustin) about scheduling 6pm games as a home date.
We have lost an average of 50 players a year the past three years. That’s 3 teams a year. Nobody has picked these players up because of their “Skill level”. It is a recreational league, but that doesn’t mean teams don’t want to add players to help them win. Guys with less experience don’t get picked up. We even had people who payed last year who were never placed on a team. The hope is that this gives everyone a place to play.
BTW – Thank you for the post. These topics and more were covered at the league meeting on January 25th. There is another one February 13th.
ok maybe the comment on the three divisions bringing the league down for sure was the wrong choice of words…….i think it’s that i feel that it’s unnecessary movements…..too much of a headache when you could just say …… if you have a team…..sign them up….and play ball……one league …. two divisions….24 games…..one champion…..its that simple….why make it harder than what it needs to be…..especially right before joe plans to step down as the commish anyway….
so why dont those 50 guys that got dropped but wanna play….make up two more teams that can be added to the league…
i’m re-reading my posts and i hope your not getting the impression that I’m being pissy or dissing our league in anway….that is definitely not the case here…..i love our league…..thats why i dont play in the fed league anymore….more teams, more fun…..and better availability of playing games….i.e 9 pm games compared to 6 pm games …..
Honestly, I’m hoping this makes the league stronger, and allows for the addition of another 3 teams. If not, we just go back to a single “A” league. Your thoughts, and those of other teams, are appreciated and discussed prior to a decision being made.
Keep in mind, the three division format will require enough teams/players to make it happen. Otherwise, we just play as per usual.
The plan is to make two teams from all of those players however…
The skill level of the players that have been left in the FA pool is well below the present league’s average. The guys that have been around for a while will tell you the quality of play in the league has been improving.
To make a team of “Rookie” level players and pit them against the Owlz would be a waste for both teams. Hence, a Rookie Level, and a “AA” level. The “AA” teams would not play the “Rookie” Teams. “A” teams would play everyone.
i guess i look at it in a way that….. more than half of our squad works jobs that dont enable them to be home until 630 7 pm…..so when our team is not able to show to an away game being held at 6 pm….we are forced to forfeit…..and if i’m forced to forfeit….what the hell am i paying a couple hundred bucks to play in this league for anyway…..and what the hell are my teammates paying a couple hundred bucks to play in this league when they may not be able to show to those 6 pm games…..
i understand about the home teams getting the field permits and the time slots and everything…..but if you get a 6 pm time slot….but dont have enought players to actually play in the game….whats the point of having that time slot in the first place….or even making that time slot availble in the first place…..
sorry for the two different topics being discussed at one time….my main argument was the 6 pm games compared to the 9 pm games….but i guess i struck a nerve about the three divisions….sorry
i guess….from an un-informed pov….is that it seems like the league will be spread thin……too much movement…..
we were in the champioship last year….so we will be in the AA league the following season…..now if we go and have a terrible season this year….your tellin me that we automatically drop down to the A league…..based on our record???? what does that do for the other teams that may not be as talented as our team when we are in the A league??? it just seems like the future problems of re-aligning the league this way are not being looked at fully
Teams do not like playing 2-3 games over the weekend. #1 complaint last year. With rain-outs, it makes it even worse. Hopefully, your team would only have 1 or 2 6pm games if a team chooses 6pm home games.
As for being FORCED to forfeit… the schedule will be out at least two weeks prior to the season opening. This should provided adequate time for teams to make adjustments to their personal calendars and get 9 guys to the game. Rescheduled games are subject to the approval of both managers, so no game should be rescheduled unless both teams consent (and have 9 I would hope).
And please let me emphasize, that I personally do not think this is a great option. But it is an OPTION, and the more of those the teams have at their disposal, the better for the league as a whole. Ideally, we could get more lighted weeknight slots, but those are like albino Burmese pythons – expensive and rare.
also….with the A teams playing both AA and rookie…..how do you go about having a playoff format……so rookie league teams will play mostly rookie teams and some A teams…..AA teams will mostly ply AA teams and some A teams…..but what baout the A teams that play all three leagues? do they only play the A teams the same amount of times that they play the AA and rookie teams??
All movement in subsequent years would be subject to a managers vote.
If the BSOX are the worst AA team this year: Yes, they would automatically drop to the “A” division, while the “A” champion automatically moved up. However, managers can vote on realignment at the March meeting prior to the draft, and re-shuffle the teams if that move is not the correct one for the balance of the league.
It’s not that we haven’t discussed these points, you just haven’t heard about it because they get discussed at league meetings.
so your saying that all this topic is, is options for teams right now….nothing is set in stone????? well then i apologize….i have been majorly mis-informed…..
Information on the 2010 season:
http://www.eteamz.com/pittsburghnaba/handouts/
Set in stone? No. Everything is subject to interest in the league and the decisions made at League Meetings. However, the move was made by the managers last August to try for a 3 divisional format and re-open the possibility of 6pm weekday games. Will it happen? We will know for sure in March.
also after seeing that the majority of complaints is playing too many games over the weekend….then i’m one of the few that are off the reservation…because i actually prefer to play double headers on saturdays and sundays…..especially if the weather is good…..getting four games in over a weekend would be awesome…but like i said and what many other players around the league feel…..i’m a nutcase
thank you for the link
I’d play 4 games in a weekend also. Of course, I’d play 14 games a week if I could in the summer. Doubleheaders everyday. Te Quiero beisbol!
also another good point you brought up…..i’m not a team manager and dont attend the league meetings….so i should probably just keep my big mouth shut….wait for april to come….and just play ball…….glad we could have this convo and help me put my attention to other matters that i should be worryin about…….I’ll see you on the field…..and dont be a punk doin pitch outs….call a fastball and throw me out on your own…..ha ha…..i’ll see ya
Lol, FLO!
i was thinking about it…..and after reflection…..i would like to say….that if the league went through a re-alignment before last season….the hurricanes would not have been in the AA league…..so how would they have had the chance to go after the championship the way that they had…..completing an awesome turn in record from the year before???? and dont even suggest that there will be three different championships for each of the three leagues…..because that only furthers the idea that this thought process is pointless.
if every team makes the playoffs…..whats the point of playing the season??? seeding??? BULL because it wont matter what seed your in as long as you have a strong game in the playoffs
three different playoffs for each league????? what the hell kind of sense does that make????
or is this a shot in the dark because some teams throughout the league are upset that they just aren’t good enough to get to the playoffs or get through the first round of the playoffs???
so yes…..i will go back to my original comment in saying that splitting this well rounded league that you have already built up…and already established as a well runned league into a patty cake league just so that everyone gets a chance to win????
everyone does have a chance to win with one league and two divisions…..its called show up and play the game….quit bitchin that there are other teams such as the owlz and us and the hurricanes that show up believing that we’re gonna win every game…..if that takes the fun out of it for you then dont show up……
at the end of a baseball game there is always a winner and a loser…..and if people are gonna bitch about losing and not getting a chance to play for a championship thats their own teams problems….do some recruiting during the off season….go work on your hitting….go work on your pitching….
instead of players bitchin about how the same two or three teams are always in cintention of the championship….do something about it……. show up and play the game….and if you cant beat us….thats your problem….there has to be a winner and a loser…..if you dont agree with me….then lets just hand out a trophy to everybody and say good job
grow up….man up….play ball…..if you cant beat us….. you cant beat us…..if you can….you can…..but thats why we play the game……dont be a bitch a cower down to a better team by playing in a different talent level…..in order to be the best you gotta beat the best…..and if thats the owlz, us, the hurricanes, and the warriors every year….then so be it…..its not like those other teams out there havent given us a run for our money at one time or another….
and if you guys feel that you wanna be A league champs instead of AA league champs or champs of the whole damn league…..then your cheating yourself and lying to yourself….and you know it…..
one league….two divisions…..everyone plays the same amount of games….everyone gets a shot at every other team in the league….the teams that EARN their way into the playoffs deserve to have the right to play for a championship……and if you cant cut it…..then you cant cut it…..at least you got to have some fun playing ball…..since that is what you wanted to accomplish anyway…..right????
if your here to play rec league baseball and have fun….then show up and have fun…..nothing in that statement said anything about winning a championship……so show up….play ball…..have fun….and when the playoffs come….go enjoy your off-season…..
Dont go and down play the league that Joe, Craig, Ben, Kenny, and others have built up so well…..those guys have worked hard into turning this league into what it is….and it has the potential to grow even farther and stronger……but not if you go and take the competition and meaning out of it…..
if there are guys that are geared towards just showin up and playin some ball and having fun….then let them….winning obviously doesn’t matter to those guys, so let them pay their league fees and get to play twenty some games in a season and call it what it is…..but to some of us….the competition is the fun….its what makes us wanna play harder….and have those rivalries in which you try and get all of your friends to come to the game between the BSOX and the DUCKS and everyone is yellin and screamin and gettin involved……the competition is what makes baseball BASEBALL……if you dont like the competition factor of it….then pay your money….show up….take your swings….and leave it at that…
i dont see the pirates asking to become a AAA minor league team so that they can have a chance to win games
i didnt hear the devil rays and orioles bitchin that they gotta play against the yankees and red sox more times than other teams in a season…..
they showed up knowing they were the underdogs and played….now whether they showed up to just have fun and play the game and not care if they won or lost or whether they showed up and played to win would be up to them now wouldn’t????
if your argument is about it bein a rec league and bein fun and that you dont care about winning or losing…..then theres no reason to re- align the leagues…..let the guys show up and play….
if your argument is that you want to win but dont think you can do it by playing on the same field as some of the better teams in the league….then you might wanna ask yourself if your doing everything you can to make your team better?? I know kenny and i have done everything we can to improve our team in between seasons…..and we all know that bob holloway definitely did his job as a competitive manager by improving his team and going form worst to first…..whihc is what he wanted to do….bob is a competitor and so is every player on his team…whether they are a huge talent or just a guy that wants to show up and have a good time…..that teams goal was to win and they did it…..so whos to say that every other team cant do that…..
i’m done now…..i’ve said what i felt……thanks
I agree with FLO. I think the league should remain the way it is. One league with 2 Divisions of 6-8 teams a piece. The league has had great games the last few years. Y change???
If anything, keep the league as is but create the Rookie league of 4-6 teams that just want to play baseball… If there were 50 free-agents last year, thats 4 teams for rookie ball and if the players in the Rookie ball are too good for it, then they can become a free-agent and get into the regular league.
No need to expand into A and AA.
The two divisions that have been around the last several years has been a good format…
http://www.eteamz.com/pittsburghnaba/files/Playoff.Brackets.2010.pdf
The link above directs you to the proposed 2010 playoff bracket.
According to this there are three divisional championship series. Yes, technically there are three divisional champions and if you win won of those championships you get the two first rounds of the playoffs off. You start out in the quarter-finals. The way I see it winning a divisional championship is kinda like winning your division in MLB. Everyone knows there are divisions in MLB that aren’t as good as others but they still get a chance to prove there worth their weight in the playoffs.
I know talking about seeding kinda seems like a cop out sometimes but it really makes a difference. True, anything can happen 9 innings on the diamond, but if your sitting two games because you earned it as divisional championships, thats two games you don’t have to use your best pitchers, you only have to win two games and your in the championship series. If you look closely at the bracket you’ll even see there are first round byes for the 5th and 6th seeds.
Does all this really sound so bad? I mean people have been crying about something like this to happen in college football since the BCS was started.
My comment from weeks ago was big brothered?
I think the Flo commetns were somewhat staged but, yeah, I jsut play to have fun. The Gray Bats were the most popular 3-21 team in NABA last year because we had fun with whatever hand God gave us. Play to have fun. Not the dreaded Owls, but I won’t waste any time on that issue.
I mean, Dave Wallis getting beaned in the head in the first practice and being Lifeflighted by helicopter over Pie Traynor field after the rest of us misfits resumed practice was a scene out of some movie and soemthing I’ll always remember.
I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but we’re basing roster decisions on it, so lets get it figured out. I’m a baseball purist in that i want series of games, to decide the champion, not a huge ass tourney. I think if we start setting it up now, we could have a nice inter-league tournament after a champion is crowned like we tried to do last year before we got sucked into that black hole of a butler tournament. I think we need to look at how the NHL nearly ran itself into the ground trying to please too many people instead of keeping the core group of fans intact.
or intra-league, i guess. whatev.
If you knew anything about me….or even talked to me for thirty damn seconds …..you would know instantly that i dont bullshit anyone….i let you know exactly how i feel…..i dont have any comments that are staged……my comments are based on this league being as strong as it is and then turning itself into a pussy league so that everyone has a chance to say that they are winners…..last time i checked we havent played in little league for about 20 years…..if you wanna be in the playoffs….earn your spot….if you wanna win….play the game between the lines and win….if you wanna have fun….show up and have some fun….
also ….. the weather during the first two weeks of august is not garaunteed to be pleasant…..if we honestly try having a huge ass tournament as the one drawn up right now….and then we have rain outs….this tournament (not playoff) will last til september……
you guys want to make everything easier for everyone….but your not looking at all the problems that may arise from changing the structure of a league that is already doing pretty well on its own….
if you honestly dont think that htis league has been run the way that it should be…..then lets ask kenny and gwin and craig and everyone else that has been here since 2003 and 2004 ……ask them what the league was like back then and what its like now…and i will promise you that they will say that it is 100 times better and more competitive than what it was when guys were wearing t shirts tennis shoes and playing with metal bats
if you dont wanna play in a competitive league such as the one that these guys have worked hard on building…..then maybe its time you put down the wood and go pick up an aluminum softball bat….i heard they let females play on those teams too….you might have fun playin with those bitches….since your looking for a league that doesnt take competition so seriously
and i agree with eskimo (is that gwin??)…..we ARE basing roster decisions from this…..its time to figure this shit out…..time to figure out what kind of league you actually wanna play in (see last posted comment in case your confused)
and absolutely no offense to joe….but if your honestly stepping down as commish after this season….why even try messing with it and then not honestly seeing it through to make sure that it works?????
I think Sorosky once proposed throwing all names into a proverbial hat and picking from there…?
As it stands, looks like Black Sox and Hurricanes in AA, maybe the Ducks, Owlz not entering team, then everyone else. Doesn’t seem balanced.
Maybe just a mixing up of divisions is all that’s needed. Mon and Allegheny.
Flo’s right – 6 pm games will be tough. Weeknight games in general are. Poor lights…etc.
Key is get at least 9 guys inspired enough to make all 24 games, from April through July.
20 years ago I was 2.
so your sayin that you played in the younger generation leagues that forced everyone to get a chance to play and where everyone got a trophy and there were no winners or losers and scores and stats were not kept and everyone just showed up and after the game mommy and daddy made sure to tell you how good you were no matter how many times you struck out or missed an easy fly pop or ground ball……but as long as you showed up you were a winner right???????
sorry…..needed to lash out cuz im an [individual}.....ha ha.....but you can at least see my point ......nothing personal....please dont take it that way....
[this post was edited by commish]
actually i was trying to be funny.
FLO your a {unintelligent individual}. you cant make a personal attack and then on your next post say nothing personal. unless of course your homocidal psycopath. Whats your {major} problem? you say you wanna play competitive baseball then you say you dont want to split the leagues up? whats competitive about beating a bunch of rookies 40-0. you must be a {former} penn st {grad} bc you play a bunch of putz like temple and beat them by 60 points and then complain when you cant play for a national chapmpionship.
You say that if they wanna have fun let them play and dont complain? whats fun about getting your {backside} handed to you against a team completely out of your league especially when they are a bunch of {fine gentlemen} like the black sox.
Whats your {major} problem? {please} grow up.
[this post was edited by commish]
and im not apologizing for lashing out because i only lash out on {not nice people} that deserve it
[this post was edited by commish]
Easy on the language fellas. I fully support the discussion, but the language and personal attacks are not necessary. Some posts above have been edited for content. We have other people reading these…
And LarryZ, I don’t believe your post was deleted… i don’t recall what you’re referring to, but feel free to repost. I wouldn’t edit content, just language.
haha, nice edit, sorry joe
your right…i am an asshole….i however was also tryin to be funny…..i wasnt tryin to get personal…..its hard to get the actual feeling addressed in words written on a screen…..what i was tryin to clarify in my following text was that it wasnt a comment directed towards you beaver…..im sorry it came across that way and im sorry that in my attempt to explain myself that it actually didnt come across the correct way…..sorry bro…..
and your right…..im not in this league to go and beat on people 40 – 0…..if there are enough teams to hold a rookie league i agree with that…..let the rookie league pl;ay only rookie league teams and have that as a Pittsburgh naba rookie league…..however….splitting the rest of the teams into 2 other different leagues is the stupid part that im tryin to address……i guess that im typing too fast and my thoughts are moving even faster so the thoughts and the words being typed arent exactly being corrolated correctly…..
but like i said my man….i wasnt attacking you personally….and i tried instantly clearing that up….it just didnt come out the right way…….i’m sorry
and sorry for the languge joe…..but you know and everyone else in the league knows that my vocabulary is horrible….and yes…..i’ll be the first person to admit…..I AM AN ASSHOLE…..ask my wife
and homicidal psychopath…..yes…that fits me too……most people that can actually stand bein around me or consider me somewhat of a friend love me and hate me for the same exact reasons…..because im straight up with everyone….theres no hidden agenda in anything i say….i shoot straight form the hip and let you know exactly what comes to my mind……there is no liking me …..you either love me or hate me….and as i said the ones that know me best….love me AND hate me……i know ….i should seek mental help…..if ya know anyone that ya can refer me too….i’m all ears…
i’m not wading through all these words to see if this was already stated or not, but i’m pretty sure joe said that we will only go to 3 separate divisions if we have enough teams to support it. if we have the same number of teams as last year (which as of now, it looks like we will), then there probably wont even be a rookie league.
as for A and AA.. it has been brought up at several meetings without much objection. maybe the manager need to send their more vocal members of their teams to the meetings, because i don’t remember anyone speaking up on much of anything.
i deleted larry’s initial response to this post, as well as my comments to him. we get a lot of traffic to this blog from random people looking for information on summer baseball in pittsburgh. we dont need them reading about “the downfall of the naba” or people bitching back and forth at each other. i like the debate though.. this post got out of control while i was away from my computer so i’m glad joe was able to edit some of it.
“…we get a lot of traffic to this blog from random people looking for information on summer baseball in pittsburgh. we dont need them reading about “the downfall of the naba” or people bitching back and forth…”
You finally agree with me Mike… :0 When I said this same thing last year people were crying free speech, etc. What I said pales in comparison to what Flo has mentioned above.
But some people can’t make it to meetings but care about the NABA and use the blog as a tool to do that. Which is great when it’s constructive . can’t blame people for wanting the league to be the best. More than I can say for about 98% of evreyone else. The league should be inclusive, not exclusive. And seeing that there probably won’t be enough teams for a rookie league, we’ll end up with what we had last year.
In the end, it really doesn’t matter to me. I will rip anyones tits because I am Kenny Powers and I am the f-ing man!!!!
6pm games do suck!!!
Forgot to mention , busybeaver…chalfin owns you!!!!!!!!!
boo hoo! I’d be psyched to see people cared enough about there amateur league to have a 50+ post discussion on a blog. The Ducks will do everything they can to get a 6pm time slot only for the games we play against the Black Sox. Quack Quack Quack… If there are teams who can play at 6 they should if you can’t get guys on the field at 6 than let it be known and you won’t be scheduled at 6 that one seems simple.
Kenny Powers, Guthrie owns you!!!
ben
Haha Ben. It is more like I own Guthrie!
i told myself never to to step to the “blog level” but here we go….
first of all put your real name up so we know who we are dealing with. i will say whatever needs to be said at the next meeting for those of you who heard silence at the last one.
i dont agree with AA and A divisions, or with every team making the playoffs, or with these dumbass blogz.
the divisions should stay the same or just tweek them a little, but it was fine the way it is.
if we are going to change anything it should be that all the kids that havent played since little league or high school should be shown the door and lead in a different direction. u should want to compete and win every time, otherwise why would you waste your time.
i do agree with just about everything “flo” said, if thats who i think it is, i’ve always been cool with him even though he’s been calling 1 of my boys to play on the b-sox. its all good though i’m not mad at you.
your coach though….. now thats a different story….. also this is my 1st and last blog…
“dumbass blogz” haha
“if we are going to change anything it should be that all the kids that havent played since little league or high school should be shown the door and lead in a different direction.”
that is the point of having a rookie level division.
“Stoop to blog level”? There’s nothing wrong with communication for the betterment of the league. Not sure what you mean Bob. I appreciate the Bulldogs and Ducks blog.
There’s not enough players to necessitate a rookie league and I don’t think many players would want to be put in that category. NABA should be inclusive not exclusive. People who pay $250 have a right to play. So your team ends up 16-8 or 12-12 instead of 24-0 because some of the less talented players get in the game. Big deal. Is winning really that critical to a having a complete and satisying extracurricular activity such as recreational baseball?
You’re starting to sound like an Owlz member that shall remain nameless…
so what your saying larry is that if there aren’t enough players to make up a rookie league….you agree that players should just join to play ball….pay their money, show up, play, and have a good time, and not worry about whether they win or lose…..am i understanding that correctly???
and yes bob….this is ron florian….shortstop….black sox…..and yes….a player and i have been talking with one of your players…..and it was not just talking about him joining our squad….there were also talks about me joining your squad….
however….things in life spring up and it wouldn’t be beneifcial for a move like that to be made right now
To respond to Flo, well can NABA refuse to allow someone with $250 to play, even if they aren’t in the “elite” class, like say, the Monroeville Militia now claim?
That is, if we don;t have a rookie (translation: “you kinda suck”) league.
Does NABA want to be an elite league only? The more the merrier I say. Rookie League or not. Everyone would like to win, but I don’t think the majority would care if they were on a 12-12 team or 20-4 team. Most just want to have fun.
thats what ive been saying……im not saying we should show anyone the door…..im saying that if u wanna play…..come and play……but the league should leave the league the way it is and quit trying to change it around so that the middle of the road teams can claim to be champs of an A league…..if there are enough teams and players to hold a rookie league….then is should be done…and the rookie league should be in house rookie league vs rookie league only….no mixing games or mixing in teams for the playoffs….rookie league will be rookie league only…..every other team that is in the NABA should stay the way it is and just play……the more the merrier is exactly what i say too….just dont bitch that your team may not be of the caliber of other teams….supposidly everyone is going to make the playoffs anyway….so who cares what your overall record is….or what the caliber of teams that you have to play against are……i honestly feel that this A league is being thought of because of those middle of the road teams know that they arent the cailiber of team such as the hurricanes the warriors or our sox….so in order for them to finish the season with a better record and a better feeling of self worth….they are trying to change the league around so that they dont have to play against the better teams…with that said…..is it about having more fun…or is it about having a better chance at getting a better record and seeding in this all team tournament that we call a playoff system….
The idea is to be inclusive… not an “Elite League”. Of those who have voiced their opposition to the format (which only occurs if the numbers support it)…
One team hasn’t picked up a free agent since I’ve been around.
One team Jettisoned half their roster and restocked with “Better” players in 2009.
One team is on the fence on why they are playing (to win it all vs. have fun).
One guy who I don’t believe is playing in the league this year.
And I firmly believe managers should be able to manage however they want to manager without interference from the league…
None of the people opposed to it would be picking up the people that have been getting passed over IN-SEASON. A Rookie League would allow the league to add players to the Rookie League teams at will… and in theory give teams in the other divisions a look at prospective free agents. Anybody that wants to play could, because I would be in charge of those rosters, not a manager looking to improve for the postseason.
Players could easily move up out of the rookie league simply by a manager consenting to add them to their roster.
This idea has not been floated by teams looking to win an “A” championship. In fact, most teams would prefer to play at the highest level possible. The change was precipiated by wanting to get the approximately 50 people in each of the past two years I have in the free agent pool onto a team.
We shall see what the interest is and go from there… right now I have 9 paid free agents. That’s more than I’ve ever had on draft day, let alone 4 weeks from draft day. And I have free agents who registered for every type of league. So far so good.
Then how about doing the logical thing and taking those 50 players and building two new teams to put into the league………..problem solved
IN LIGHT OF TODAYS MEETING………..
Joe asked me to enter this blog entry in light of the issues and ideas that were discused at todays meeting. I would like to start by saying that I am now more informed on the reasons for having an “A” and “AA” league. (I’ve already expressed that I am for a Rookie League) As many of you have read or know from holding a conversation with me, I am a person who doesn’t hide his feelings or opinions. I’m a very up front kind of person, so for those of you who feel that I’ve been bitchin, go ahead and htink what you want. I’m a fierce competitor and dont feel that I should need to step down my style of play because some people or teams dont like getting beat. In my previous entries I have spoken out strongly that it was my initial opinion that splitting this league up into two different leagues was so that the middle of the road teams could have a better chance at achieving a better record by playing weaker competition, and thus call themselves “A” league champions. However, the true reasons for splitting up into these different leagues, (as I’ve been notified today) is so that the lower level teams such as the Oilers actually stay in the league instead of quitting altogether and deciding to leave the league. I have always wanted to have the most possible teams in the league. I feel that this league is a hundred times better than what it was 5 years ago and I wish for it to keep building up into an even better league than what we have now. I have never wanted to cause people to not want to play. Yeah, I understand that people dont want to show up and get their heads beat in every time they come out. (I’ve been there trust me, I played for C.I.T. in the Fed league for 4 years in which my team only won 4 or 5 of those games over those years….and we played 28 game seasons…I know about playing for fun while getting my ass kicked…..as do most of the players that I’ve brought over to the B-sox who played with me at C.I.T.) Coming to the field game after game and coming up with loss after loss is not fun for people, but it is what you make it. With that said, and being informed of why people feel the way they feel, I can understand how Joe is trying to build a league that is fun for the people that just want to have fun, while also making a competitive league for everyone. In order to do that, the tougher teams need to play against the tougher teams more often, and the weaker teams need to play against the weaker teams more often. This will then result in in people and teams such as the Oilers to want to stay in this league. So yes, I am agreeing with the concept of a “AA” and “A” league (if the number of teams support it).
However…..it is my opinion that when the regular season is over and the playoffs start, there should be NO “AA” championship, “A” championship, or Rookie league championship. (There aren’t enough teams in our league to support this style of format yet) Since every team is going to make the playoffs anyway, I feel that the playoff tournament seedings should start with the “AA” teams based on thier records, then the “A” teams based on thier records, and then the Rookie league teams. Intially the idea of seedings is based on the teams overall record no matter what league they are in. But I don’t agree with this. If at the beginning of the season, a team is placed in the more competitive “AA” league and thus forced to play a harder schedule than that of the less competitive “A” league teams, then they should be placed in the top seedings in the playoff bracket. (With 4 teams in the “AA” league, it would be the 4 first round bye spots) Once these tops seedings have been given to the “AA” teams, which they have earned by playing in the more competitive league, the seedings should then be issued to the “A” teams based on thier overall records.
Now I know there are gonna be some people out there that are gonna say…..well what if the first place “A” team has a better record that the last place “AA” team??
My explanation to that argument would be that the first place “A” team had a lesser competitive schedule than the last place “AA” team. If we are going to make these two different competitive leagues based on playing ability and experience, then the teams that are forced to play the more competitive schedule should be awarded with the top seeds in the playoffs. especially if at the beginning of the season they are being labeled as the better teams in the league anyway. We can’t just split up the leagues and say that we are making it more fair for the lesser competitive teams without making it somehow fair for the more competitive teams that will be playing a harder schedule.
So to recap—-
I was not fully informed on the reasons for splitting the league into 2 leagues, but now that I am, I agree with the concept. In doing so however, the playoff format should be adjusted accordingly.
So for you guys that think that all i was doing was bitchin alot….i was just tryin to express my feelings that this league is way better than what it used to be and i didnt want to see it start to move in reverese just to spare the feelings of some players and teams that just cant cut it against certain teams….however….now that its been explained to me in a point of view of the league….i see where those teams were coming from….however…..its still no excuse to not come and try to win every time out and play every pitch as if it were your last….because you never know when it might be…..so when you step on the field against me and the rest of the sox you better know that we aren’t playing down for anyone…..and if you cant stop us from scoring thirty runs on you….that ain’t our fault….you might wanna step up your defense or score some more runs
just from working closely with joe on the web portion of league recruitment and being involved with the draft in the past, i hope that the whole A, AA, and/or rookie league is able to get more people out on the field.. like joe said today.. i know there have been a lot of free agents that arent drafted or picked up by other teams, just because they havent played baseball in several years, or never played baseball in college. these guys want to play and are willing to pay money, but just dont get picked up.. i’d rather have them play in our league somewhere, than have them go find some other league to play in. i feel that i was lucky to get into the naba 5 years ago when the league was small. as things stand now, i probably wouldnt have even been picked up onto a team..
glad some things were able to be cleared up today and hope that everything goes smoothly at the next meeting…
Thanks for the recap Flo. Good job. Nobody’s faulting you or the Sox for trying to win. Yeah AA teams play each other maybe more than the A teams,.
AA teams as it stands now can only be Sox, Canes and Ducks. Militia?
that’s 4, leaving what, 7-8 teams for A league? A little dispropotionate.
And if anyone doesn’t like what Flo has to say you can ‘kiss his grits’.
Go figure out that one.