However, the objective behind this year' s format was to expand the league in 2011 into two sepearate leagues, with indepenent playoffs.  This would lead to regular season divisional champions, and overall league champions.  Pittsburgh NABA Champions from the first 7 years of the league would essentially be "AA" Champions.  To be sure, 2010 is a transitional year.

Top AA teams, and bottom end A teams should not be facing each other more than once a year, if at all.  With the admittedly imperfect 3 division format this year it at least assured AA teams that they were playing the A teams no more than 2 times during the season.  In  hindsight, this certainly was preferable to the following format:

3 Games versus teams in own division; 1-2 games vs. Teams in opposing division

Allgeheny Division
Hurricanes
Warriors
Bulldogs
Matadors
Oilers
Titans

Monongahela Division
Black Sox
Ducks
Militia
Eagles
Maulers
Knights

This would have created a scenario where last year's champion would have played the Oilers and Titans 3 times a piece, while only playing some other AA teams once.  It's a difference of about 3 games in terms of difficulty.  The format used for the 2010 regular season assured a more difficult schedule for final four teams from last year (Canes, Sox, Ducks, Warriors), while allowing the A teams to play 9 games ( instead of 4-5) against teams of similar ability.

I am pleased with that arrangement.  Could the playoffs be structured differently?  Perhaps, but that' s why these things getting voted on in the off-season.

Next year, it is imperative that we  increase the number of teams in the league to go to the following type format (More teams, more games against evenly matched opponents):

AA: 8 teams; 24 games.  (3 games in division, 10 games AA, 5 games A)
AA playoffs: Rd. 1 - #1, #2, bye; #3 vs. #6, #4 vs. #5, #7, #8 are out; Rd. 2 - #1 vs. #4/5, #2 vs. #3/6; Best of 3 for Championship

A: 5 teams; 24 Games (8 games AA, 16 Games in division)
A Playoffs: #4 vs. #5; Rd. 2 #1 vs. #4/#5, #2 vs. #3; Rd. 3 - Best of 3 for Championship.

There would be a AA, and an A Champion in 2011.  The A champion would automatically become a AA team for 2012, while the worst team in AA would move down to A.  The idea is to achieve competitive balance while placing important on both the playoff structure, and regular season.

Division Champions (Allegheny and Monongahela) would achieve the top seeds in their playoff.  The last place teams in each division would either be out altogether, or be placed automatically in the worst playoff position.  The middle seeds (3-6) would then be determined by overall AA record (as it is this year).  This allows teams to stress games within their own division as a priority, instead of an equal emphasis on all games during the season.

The thing I have liked about this year is the acknowledgment of "Big Games".  Ducks vs. Black Sox, Hurricanes vs. Bulldogs, Oilers vs. Maulers, Black Sox vs. Militia, Matadors vs. Hurricanes, etc.  Managers knew those games were more important to their seasons than games against non-divisional foes.  I personally felt that part of the schedule was a success.

No team had clinched their division until the last week of the season.  No team was out of the divisional running until mid-July.  That 3 months of the 4 month season that teams still had a shot at their division title.  For the playoffs, you can' t be sure that you've seen the best a non-divisional opponent had during the regular season; the game was not a "must-win".

In general, I think the 2010 regular season has been a success.  Only the Eagles, and the extenuating circumstances of their management were a sore spot in my mind.  The Titans and Knights learned lessons this year, and figure to be back in 2011 and compete for the A Championship along with 2-4 new teams.  Scheduling is beginning to be ironed out, and I expect good things in 2011.

To summarize what has taken place at the league meeting regarding the  new "Leagues" and subsequent changes to the playoffs goes like this:

1. It is driven by a desire to increase the scope of the league, as we are losing players every year.

2.  Having "Rookie" level teams play some of the more established teams in the league presents competitive problems.

3. The new "Leagues" would only occur if there were enough teams to support the format.

4.  The Playoff format was devised to both reward regular season achievement, and provide for a fun, exciting way to end the season (and avoid forfeits).

Topics for this week include: Scheduling Policies (6pm games!), 2010 Fees (No increase? Really?), Roster Rules, and the all-important collection of Deposits.

More information about the upcoming meeting can be found here. All are welcome to attend, and if you attend you should at least review the previous meeting's minutes, as well as the new field scheduling policy we will be discussing.

While realignment is not on the agenda for discussion this week, I think I have a good idea what's going to be discusssed on this thread, just like the last one....

Happy Posting!  Discussion is a good thing.

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.

Managers - Please post below any date and time you need a player.
Players - Please post if you plan on attending a game which a manager has requested players for.

Fall – Every effort will be made to play between 8-11 games this fall. If we get rained out for a fourth straight week, expect some games to be made up on weeknights and Sundays. With all the planning, I really didn’t expect four straight weekends of unseasonable weather. I will be out of town this weekend, so I’m leaving our League Webmaster in charge… Mike Martin. Managers will need to assist him in determining if fields are playable this weekend.

Winter – There will only be a Session II from January through March. I expect the price to be the same as last year ($115 per person). Registration starts December 1st, and we are limited again to two teams of 8 (16 total players).

Other notable events – This week marks the birthday of a few notable people in the Pittsburgh NABA. Be sure to send a birthday wish to the League Treasurer, Vinny Gala (16th); Black Sox manager and Fall Umpire, Kenny Rayl (20th); and Ducks and Blues pitcher extraordinaire, Nick Homa (18th).

A hat vendor based in Irvine, California earlier this year charged $820 to the league for hats totaling $120. Not only did they overcharge, but the league never did receive the hats (they were for the umpires). Yesterday, an arbitrator ruled in our favor and credited the league with the full $820. While the company can still dispute this ruling, they are without a leg to stand on.

Three teams have already been in contact with me regarding entering a team in the league for 2010. The most promising of these is a group of gentlemen from Manchester.

The General Manager of this Manchester team, has been actively asking me questions since early August, and has already assembled a tentative roster of 14 guys, developed a budget, researched uniform options, and begun the process of acquiring a field for 2010.

I met with four of their team members last night in Manchester, and the asked questions ranging from rules to scheduling to equipment. They already have assembled a roster that features a former Penn State player, and two top of the rotation type guys to head up their staff.

They plan on having 50% of their fees collected for 2010 by November for each player, and have been practicing since late summer in preparation. They are organized, motivated, and ready to play some baseball next summer.

As for fall ball, I am crossing my fingers that the weather for the past 10 days is just for the past 10 days, and not a sign that winter is coming early this year. Its tough to play baseball in the snow, and with only 2 games in so far, another weekend of rainouts would be pressing our luck in getting in a full slate of games by early November.

Reminder to teams: You must secure your own field permits in 2010. I no longer have the time to run around to 8 different offices to get them for you. Only the Rebels and Bulldogs/Warriors last year secured their own permits. If you need help, let me know!

In which case, we need to find another field.  In this business, its more about who you know than anything else.  Who knows somebody with access to a field?

In meeting with the umpires this past evening, their chief concern was quality communication.  This has to occur with the scheduling, and the cancellation of games.

Other issues that were addressed:

Pre-Game meeting will include reminders of ground rules, personal conduct policy, drug policy, lineup and official book verification, collision rule, and identification of non-runners.  The manager who attends this meeting is the only person who may argue a call with an umpire.

Umpires go through a PIAA certification process, and our league will help promote their association while in turn, they will help promote our league.

Umpires Evaluation forms are online and everyone agreed it would be great to get that feedback from managers after games.

Umpires felt the league has improved markedly since its inception.  Better quality play, and most players have a good, repsectful repoire with the umpires working the games.

NOTE: Articles in this section of the blog represent the opinions of Mr. Graff, and are not the opinions of the Pittsburgh NABA, nor of the Pittsburgh Bulldogs franchise. For more information on this visit “The President’s Blog”.

As a bit of background, the Pittsburgh NABA has struggled since its inception to find a quality, reliable umpiring service for a affordable price.  Early years saw members of the Pittsburgh NABA umpiring games with no formal agreement in place to provide umpires on a regular basis.  As the league expanded beyond 8 teams, it became difficult for our internal umps (Craig Boley and others) to cover all the games every week.

Last year, by about the 1/3 point of the season, about 25% of our league games had gone without coverage.  By vote of the managers, a change in associations was agreed upon.  Big League Umpires agreed to pick up our existing contract (approx. $15/game cheaper than any other association) as is in exchange for the 2010 contract.  The 2010 contract would be at the same rate other associations were offering for 2009 ($100/game).

After Big League Umpires picked up the contract, there were no more reported issues of umpires not showing to games, and no documented issues with their association whatsoever.

However, I am sure there are some things that people would like addressed.  I'd be happy to address any of your concerns this evening.  The BLUA has its own evaluation form for individual umpires, and they have expressed that they would like those filled out, none of which were done by NABA teams this year.

Please be aware that this is not a forum to bash individual umpires, as their is a means by which to properly evaluate their strike zones, knowledge of rules, game management, etc.  For more information on the BLUA please visit their website.

NOTE: Articles in this section of the blog represent the opinions of Mr. Graff, and are not the opinions of the Pittsburgh NABA, nor of the Pittsburgh Bulldogs franchise. For more information on this visit “The President’s Blog”.

Two of the three games were very close, and the one that wasn’t featured a whole team of players new to the league.  That team (the Royal Has-Beens) was without their top two pitchers, and represented the first organized baseball game many of them had participated in since high school.

The Has-Beens are a fun-loving group of guys looking to enjoy America’s Pastime.  I would like to see more teams like theirs in the league.  We had over 70 people on our free agent list at the end of the season, and about 30 of them are now playing in the fall.  Those 70 players could easily have formed a 3-4 team Rookie League, and my hope is that a Rookie League comes to fruition in the summer.  Hopefully the Has-Beens stick around for the summer.

My early pick to win it all is the Jackets.  They have pitching depth, and a solid core to their order.  They lost to the Nuggets Saturday, but that might have had more to do with an error by their replacement catcher (#13 on the Nuggets), and bad luck than anything else.

The umpires are solid citizens.  Craig and Kenny have done a lot for this league, and I’m proud to have them as fall umpires.  They represent the league well, and by all accounts do an excellent job behind the plate.

I am working to get each team 11 games, but I need one more field on Saturday mornings, and I have not heard a definitive response from Avonworth.  Anyone with an idea on that is welcome to send it my way.  Otherwise, it will be only 8 games.  I plan on having a single game playoff for the top two teams in the regular season.  No prizes… sorry kids.

NOTE: Articles in this section of the blog represent the opinions of Mr. Graff, and are not the opinions of the Pittsburgh NABA, nor of the Pittsburgh Bulldogs franchise.  For more information on this visit “The President’s Blog”.

Often referred to as the “Commish”, Mr. Graff actually serves as the President of the League, and appoints Commissioners to each league and division with the approval of the Executive Committee.  Those commissioners are the first stop for all in-season rule and policy questions from league managers.

Articles in this section of the blog represent the opinions of Mr. Graff, and are not the opinions of the Pittsburgh NABA, nor of the Pittsburgh Bulldogs franchise. 

For official rulings and positions of the Pittsburgh NABA, please visit PittsburghNABA.com, download the Managers Rulebook, and the official minutes posted there.

For information regarding the Bulldogs franchise, please visit the main page of the PGHBulldogs.com site.

Thank you for your interest in this section of the blog, and happy posting!