Friday, June 29, 2012

ModCare

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”…Albert Einstein


Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court's upheld the health care law championed by the President that many have dubbed ”ObamaCare”. It’s a controversial law where Democrats are celebrating millions of Americans getting access to insurance while Republicans railed against what they contend is a dangerous expansion of government.

This decision affects how Americans get medicine and health care and also provides new court guidelines on federal power. The ruling prohibits insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and allows parents to keep their children on family policies to the age of 26. The most controversial provision -- an individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance - is valid as a tax, even though it is not allowed under the Constitution's commerce clause. In other words, the federal government does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance, but does have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance.


Whether you agree or disagree the bottom line can be summarized by Obama's quote "I know the debate over this law has been divisive," It should be pretty clear that I didn't do this because it was good politics. I did it because I believe it is good for the country." He is tryong to help by taking a controversial stance without regard to gaining a political advantage. This is admirable and honorable.

Softball has its own version of "ObamaCare" which I have dubbed "ModCare" and as a self-appointed guardian of 10 Man Modified Softball I am also taking a controversial position for the greater good without regrad to gaining an advantage.

Before I continue I would like to say that I have discussed this issue in this forum for years at nausem and was resigned to not discuss it anymore becuase of all the jockeying, hypocrisy, and manipulation involved until I read the following highly intelligent comment left on one of my blogs regarding pitching

"Teams paying pitchers = Overachieving. Teams without paid pitchers = last place. Paid pitchers mask an otherwise average team.”


That statement really hit home because teams have for quite some time now have engaged in an arms race to acquire top pitching without regards to modified pitching rules. After years of warnings, this can clearly be seen in The Central Park Big Apple League where the floodgates have opened. The league seriously needs some "ModCare" as they rules are as follows:

(1) With respect to the legal pitching motion. Any pitcher who uses a modified fast-pitch motion is approved to pitch in the BASL. The BASL specifically prohibits "slingshot" or "windmill" pitching motions as set forth in the BASL Rules and the ASA Rulebook. The pitcher MUST start with one foot in contact with the pitching rubber. The pitcher MAY take a step back with the lead foot prior to moving forward provided that the rear foot remains in contact with the pitching rubber. The pitch shall be delivered on the throwing arm side of the body and not behind the back or between the legs.

(2) No restriction of the position of the ball on the back swing or on the downward motion + during the complete delivery (ASA rule 6, sect. 3 F1). On the forward swing of the pitching arm, the elbow must be locked at the point of release, + the shoulders + driving hip must be squared to home plate when the ball is released (ASA rule 6, sect. 3 I2, Please note: No mention of breaking the wrist is currently mentioned as their appears to be no restriction on ball position in the hand (big mistake).
Pitchers in this league not following these rules and are on several modified pitching ban lists throughout NYC are as follows


1. Armondo – on my team The Rangers. More on this below
2. John Brown
3. John Miranda

4. Cedric

5. Langer

6. Rocker

7. Ramish

8. James Parker

9. I am missing at least 2-3 others


I specifically mentioned Armondo b/c he is on my team and is not a modified pitcher. He is a classic example of what almost every team in this league is doing which is escalating an arm race by adding dominant pitching without regards to modified pitching rules. He and everyon eon the list mentioned above, may not sling or windmill, but they certainly are not modified as they either:
  • Break their wrist in throwing the ball or
  • Throw sidearm or 
  • open their shoulders and/or hips at some point in their motion
These pitchers all belong in 9 man softball leagues with bunting and stealing. Do not call yourself a modified league if they are allowed to pitch.


Team in this league are are frustrated. For example, perennial championship contender West has stated "We feel we are being punished for using modified pitching" and Revolution ace Chris Lutkin was quoted as "I feel I shouldn't even be pitching in this league anymore". There is a deep problem here. Solid teams without non-modified pitching like Revolution and Gotham have suffered with poor records of, 1-12 & 3-11, respectively. They are no where near that bad. Not even close. Despite the beautiful venue this league enjoys this schism in the pitching will destroy a league as struggling teams will eventually drop out and go elsewhere.

To be fair, the league is supposedly employing a Pitching Ombudsman, who acts as an independent expert to determine the legality or illegality of pitching motions used by any and all league pitchers. but its July already and nothing I mean nothing has been done. In fact, things have gotten worse.

It’s time for “ModCare” don’t let mediocre minds tell you otherwise. Something has to be done for the greater good.

62 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree more Ricky.
    peace
    jack

    ReplyDelete
  2. Damn good read and nothing but trooth!

    ReplyDelete
  3. In the Tuesday league at Hecksher , PM division , they banned the "non-modified " pitchers , and now that div. is watered down significantly .

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Ricky,

    Above, anonymous states that the PM division has been "watered down significantly" since we banned non-modified pitching.

    Anonymous could not be more mistaken. I am one of three commissioners in that league (New York Show Business League) and I also a manager/player on a team (Turtle Rock) in that league. The banning of what we call tournament style or non-modified pitching has resulted in a rebirth of our league.

    In previous years (until 2009) non-modified pitching had become a big problem for the league. We were losing teams all over the place. Every year we had to dig up new teams. And the result was a league that existed to serve a small number of teams that had access to one of these semi-pro type pitchers. But that was not and never had been the philosophy of the Tuesday league.

    The NYSBL exists (like a lot of amateur leagues) to provide the best playing experience for the greatest number of players. When you let non-modified pitchers into a modified league you have something else entirely. The same teams end up in top contention every year. And the regular season just becomes the means by which these teams compete at the end of the season for cash prizes and bragging rights. The teams which abided by the modified rules simply become cannon fodder.

    The losers in that scenario were all the many players who show up on their day off or take time from work and want to enjoy a game of softball. They do not want a small number of teams with access to high level pitching to continually have a competitive advantage. So we made the 2 PM Division a modified division and the Noon Division the anything goes division. The result was the Noon teams without the high level pitching were continually shut-out by the John Browns, Cedrics or Rockers, etc. And the quit. And I understand why they quit. They were told it was a modified league but, because of lots of pressure and in-fighting over the years, we did not really enforce that rule or we grandfathered certain pitchers.

    In 2010 we took a vote at a managers meeting and a huge majority of managers voted to strictly enforce the pitching rules of our league.

    The result has been extremely even competition for the first time in years. As recently as 2 weeks ago the Noon Division had a 4 way tie for first place a third of the way into the season. In the post above, anonymous talks about a watered down division without defining what that means.

    Another result has been raising the importance of the other positions on the field. With a non-modified pitcher like those mentioned above, your team does not have to really be that good. You can have a mediocre defense. You can afford not to score a lot of runs. Because your pitcher is going shut down the competition. Pitching should be a component of the game. It should not be the whole game. Now, in order to win, you better have a few bats, some speed, and a good defense. Because your pitcher is NOT going to do all the work. That means, more participants being more involved, having their contributions count more. Now we have entire teams competing and not just nine guys with an illegal pitcher.

    Our goal as an athletic organization was never to have the highest level of competition possible. It was to provide a level a playing field for players of all abilities to compete and to provide the best playing experience for the largest number of participants. Why should so many players pay money to play all summer if the rules are twisted to ensure that their teams cannot succeed. The truth is a level playing field is not possible when a few teams have the advantage of non-modified pitchers.

    We also got rid of cash prizes which were jacking up the "need" to win and providing an incentive to pay pitchers. That change has helped us to keep our team fees lower.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Correction to the above. The 4 way tie was in the 2 PM Division.

      Delete
    2. teusday league is ruined so that a few 90 yr old can hang on another yr! sorry tom but its not fun comin out to hit against bill mccue!!!! ANG!!

      Delete
    3. Excellent post, Thomas. Every pitcher mentioned by Ricky is propping up his team. Almost every one of those teams would have several more losses if not for stellar pitching. Some of them downright suck without the pitching. It's a fucking disgrace. BASL, do the right thing and follow NYSBL's lead!

      Delete
  5. This is right on, RR.

    If a pitcher can dominate within the legal limits of a particular league, then, good for him or her and their team. Otherwise, let the team recruit, train and teach people to be better, smarter pitchers.

    I also loathe the situations where a team will have a "ringer" pitcher play EH or another non-pitching position the minimum of 5 games, then come playoff time...all of a sudden the opposition is facing competition that has no relation to the teams that played 12/15/18 regular season games.

    It's one of the reasons--other than he's a good guy--that I admire Jose on our W & H team. He by no means blows guys away, but his ability and smarts enables him to consistently "dominate" good teams.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could not agree more about the "ringers". On Tuesday we are working hard to make sure players have enough appearances to qualify for play-offs, especially pitchers.

      Delete
    2. And I have no problem if a pitcher actually, ya' know...pitches! (Legally). It's when teams essentially "hide" a player until playoff time. Pitchers A & B pitch all the games, establish the level of competition, and then...Randy Johnson shows up on Great Lawn #2!!

      Delete
  6. I have been saying this for years, that the league has changed dramatically and not for the good, allowing superstar pitching to become the norm. There are certain people (I won't name names)who say they welcome reverting back to the old days, but do nothing to change the status quo because their team would be adversely affected. Superstar pitching goes beyond the desire to make this a more competetive league (which it has always been), and has a more of a cut-throat feel to it. It saddens me to see the fun draining out of one of the best leagues in the city.

    ReplyDelete
  7. (And thanks as ever for setting up this space for dialogue, RR).

    ReplyDelete
  8. How exactly is Parker illegal???

    ReplyDelete
  9. if you aint cheating, you aint trying

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And if you get caught, expect and accept the consequences without a lot of bitching and moaning.

      Besides, the idea that it is okay to cheat because it is a sign of how dedicated you are to winning is the most convoluted, self-serving bunch of crap imaginable.

      It is an idea circulated again and again by managers and teams that are looking for an easy way to win. And so they market cheap phrases like the one above to the rest of us depicting themselves as admirable because they are so thoroughly committed to winning. But cheating is, in fact, just the lazy man's way to cheap victories. If you subscribe to the idea that anything is okay as long as you win, you are subscribing to a philosophy that elevates winning above all the other aspects of athletic endeavor, particularly sportsmanship.

      It is a sign of the general decline of our culture that winning has superseded sportsmanship as a laudable goal. It is the same current that helped create the "era of steroids" in MLB.

      But you only have to be a parent to get to the heart of this argument. Ask yourself what character traits you want to pass on or model to your child or children. Do you want them to understand the importance of good sportsmanship or do you want to teach that that anything goes including cheating as long as they win? How you answer that question will be a determining factor in who your children turn out to be. Character still counts.

      If you want to have a winning team, work at it. It takes time. It is not easy. There is a learning curve. But anyone can do it. Gather players who are dedicated to being the best they can be. Dedicated to the idea of a team and not their own stats. Dedicated to showing up on a regular basis. To improving where they have weaknesses. To supporting their teammates even when they make mistakes. Team with the highest caliber players do not always win. But teams with good chemistry, teams that understand winning takes cooperation, teams that play because they not only know the game but also love the game, those teams have a definite advantage. And that advantage is completely legal. No cheating necessary.

      Delete
    2. I would add that when people cheat their moral compass shifts to justify their cheating. They come up with reasons why their cheating is okay. Cheat long enough and that becomes the new normal.

      But the result will be the same every time. You will just be another cheater.

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I agree. It all started with John Brown. He is the reason that this entire arms race started. Teams had to find a way to counter the effect of John Brown and signed on pitchers just to compete with the Parts. If we want to become a true modified league it must start with banning ALL illegal pitchers regardless of how and when they throw their illegal pitches. This will undoubtedly effect many teams whose managers believe that their pitchers are less illegal than others, but so be it. It's the only solution to the problem. For example just because Doc, Matty, Jimmy Meyers, Armondo, Cedrick, Cordero, Phil and others are slightly less illegal than Ramish and Rocca shouldn't matter. If we really want to solve the problem we have to consider across the board bans of every pitcher who does not meet strict modified rules in every way after this season. As we learned this year there are no 1/2 solutions to real problems. So what shall we do moving forward. Do we continue this path of the haves and the have nots when it comes to pitching or will we strictly enforce the rule and ban EVERY SINGLE questionable pitchers before next season begins..Then we'll be facing legal modified pitchers like Bobby Fishman, Joel Goldman,Chris Lutkin , Eric Brown, Jimmy Bitros, and Bennette throughout the year. Some will argue that it will effect the competition in the League but it may be the only realistic workable solution. I play in three Leagues and as far as I know the Big Apple League seems to be is the only league that is having this problem this year.

    ReplyDelete
  12. As a member of the pitching committee I totally agree with the PREVIOUS COMMENT BY ANONYMOUS. All of the members of the pitching committee did our very best but based upon what occurred this season...we failed. As the manager of a team with a not purely modified pitcher, I would accept a ban on Armondo if the managers of those pitchers listed in the PREVIOUS COMMENT BY ANONYMOUS. would agree to do the same next year. As I have been saying for years "illegal is illegal" You can't be just a little bit illegal just like you can't be "just a little bit pregnant" Would the league change. Sure it would. It would become a offense and defense dominated league instead of a pitching dominated league. Sounds like a lot of fun to me and I'm sure to many others.

    JIM BITROS

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the level of competition this season. It is the best it has ever been. Take out the pitchers that would change. It would go down. The Tuesday league lost a lot of really good players when they made their change a few seasons ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have no way of knowing if this ANONYMOUS is the same ANONYMOUS who made incorrect statements about the Tuesday league a couple of days ago (would be nice if people making these statements would identify themselves).

      As one of the commissioners of the New York Show Business League (Tuesday) I can tell you we lost very few players to the decision to actually enforce the pitching rules that were on the books all these years. We did lose Rocca. And we lost Franny (pitched for Big Daddy's). And a few other people. We did not lose John Brown who is an athlete who loves the game whether he is pitching or not. He plays every Tuesday for O’Hurley’s as a position player. We might have lost a few other guys. But there are plenty of excellent players who stayed. And many of them helped lead the charge for enforcing the pitching rules. Jack Steiman comes to mind. There are many others. And we have many more new players than we lost. By the way, Big Daddy’s, after Franny was banned as a pitcher, rethought their approach under Mike Peckin’s excellent management. He is their pitcher now. He is completely legal — smart but legal. He does not blow anyone away. I would guess his strikeout totals are low. He built a team of knowledgeable players and focused on defense and smart at-bats. Modified pitchers need good defense. Is that so bad? I think the modified game elevates aspects of the game — defense and offense — that become lost when the pitching is all that matters. Big Daddy’s won their division last year. With Mike Peckins on the mound.

      What ANONYMOUS does not acknowledge or perhaps does not know is that the 12 Noon Division was almost destroyed by years of allowing non-modified pitching. We were down to three teams because every year Bill McHugh (my fellow commissioner) would recruit new teams and they would simply be cannon fodder for Brown and Rocca and Franny. Realizing that they could not compete, they quit after a year or two complaining that we did not enforce the pitching rules.

      What ANONYMOUS also does not acknowledge is that since we decided to enforce the rules, the league has thrived. We had 18 teams last year. We have 16 this year, 8 in each division. The competition is close and I can tell you there have been many less "issues" than in previous years.

      Full disclosure. The change in enforcement has opened the way for my team (Turtle Rock) to win our division two years running and the league championship last year. After 16 years in the league. We have two pitchers (both legal) but a very well-rounded team especially good on defense, the most overlooked and most important aspect of the modified game —important because in the modified game hitters will produce more chances and more difficult chances for a defense. Think about it.

      The Tuesday teams have benefited from the change. We are currently involved in a very tight race with Old School and Kettle of Fish with Gibson and Three Monks not far behind. We have real competition the last couple of years — competition based on ALL parts of the game and not just who has the best illegal pitcher.

      AND THANIKS TO YOU RICKY, FOR PROVIDING A FORUM WHERE WE, AS PARTICIPANTS IN NYC LEAGUES, CAN EXPRESS OUR OPINIONS ON THIS AND MANY OTHER SUBJECT. IT IS A SERVICE YOU PROVIDE BEYOND YOUR OWN INTERESTING TAKE ON LIFE FILTERED THROUGH THE SOFTBALL LENS,

      Delete
    2. BAN MICHAEL PECKINS! he pitches windmill but he's so fast y'all don't see it.

      Delete
  14. The conversation was changed from "superstar pitcher" to "legal modified pitcher" in order to justify continuing John Brown to lead Parts to victory. "Legal modified pitcher" is a farce because umpires simply are not interested in enforcing the archaic rules of one league that does not follow ASA rules when everyone else does. They already get enough shit for umping games and have demonstrated no interest/ability to police modified vs. sling type pitching. The discussion has always been a dishonest one when it comes to "superstar" pitching. Much like pornography, you may not be able to define it, but you definitely know it when you see it. The reason people don't freak out about the "little bit illegal" pitchers like Doc, Matty and Jimmy Meyers is because they are eminently hittable...in other words, it's a FAIR FIGHT as we used to say on the playground. Armando, Brown, Rocca, etc. are not a fair fight no matter how they pitch. In a 9 man league, their pitching would be acceptable, add in another OF and you can see how badly offensive numbers have suffered for everyone. There is a VERY CLEAR delineation of who is a superstar pitcher and who isn't...I have never witnessed a pitcher who was even debatable. It's pretty simple - the superstar pitchers should go and the somewhat illegal but fun to play against hitters should go. It's always been that way but the way the league has been going it is damaging itself for the sake of what, exactly....a trophy to display in your garage at the end of the year?

    The fact is, the OP had it right. Bad teams are being lifted up by one good pitcher...hell, one supposedly good team DISAPPEARED overnight when they couldn't find a pitcher to carry them. Other teams have clearly hung on as their talent has aged simply because of one good pitcher. A well played game in this league used to be 5-3, now it's 1-0 or 2-1. Where's the fun in that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have gotten this exactly right — especially the comparison to pornography — you know it when you see it.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. And not only are umpires not interested in enforcing the rules but we are putting them in a position to have to do it on a pitch by pitch basis. Because we have been reluctant to enforce them ourselves. I don't blame them. In the end you have to simply ban the pitchers that are illegal, the ones who distort the competitive balance and not rely on umpires to do our jobs for us.

      I will give you the perfect example of why that is the only answer.

      A couple of seasons ago we were in a late season game with Lansky's who had Rocca on the mound. Field 2 at Heckscher. Butch was the umpire. Lansky's was a run of the mill team at best. Without Rocca they would have been near the bottom, not near the top.

      Because there was already a lot of controversy over Rocca’s pitching he was on good behavior, keeping everything above-board, throwing hard but legal. Everyone there knew he was coasting. It was a close game. My memory says we were tied up (maybe we were down a run) in the late innings when we got a couple of base runners with one out. And suddenly, out comes the real Rocca. Facing my number 3 and 4 hitters, he struck them both out on six pitches. No muss, no fuss. Butch would not make the illegal call and I do not blame him. We cannot expect our umpires to enforce rules that we do not enforce.

      An illegal pitcher can be legal for most of a game. He may only need to display his illegality for a few pitches. Ask any pitcher. Most games come down to a few crucial at bats in a few crucial situations. If you can serve up your illegal advantage in those situations you will come out ahead most of the time. The only answer for us on Tuesdays was to ban pitchers who CAN pitch illegally because you know that, no matter what they promise, when the rubber hits the road, they WILL.

      As far as Matty, Jimmy Meyers and others — we looked at them carefully and decided they were legal, within the parameters of our definition.

      Delete
  15. "It's pretty simple - the superstar pitchers should go and the somewhat illegal but fun to play against hitters should go."

    Correction - "...the fun to play against pitchers should stay."

    ReplyDelete
  16. So you are saying that an illegal picture who is hittable is fine but an illegal pitcher that is more difficult to hit should be banned. Does that seem right..... singling out an illegal pitcher because they have more ability than an illegal pitcher who is not as talented. That's the same kind of thinking that disallows some Little League teams in all sports to stop keeping score. If one pitcher is banned for being illegal than all illegal pitchers should be banned if they are illegal. What you are saying to a illegal unbanned pitcher would be .."even though you are illegal you can stay because you're not very good" It appears that Anonymous (1:46P.M. Post) is making a case for an illegal pitcher on his team that he doesn't want banned. So now an illegal pitcher can make it through the season by easing up so guys can hit him until the playoffs ...then lights out. As I said in my previous comment "Illegal Is Illegal" No exceptions.

    Jim Bitros

    ReplyDelete
  17. It's possible the only plausible solution is to stop calling the Big Apple a modified league...

    ReplyDelete
  18. MADE A MISTAKE... In my previous post what I meant to say on line 4 was......

    "That's the same kind of thinking that encourages some Little League teams in all sports to stop keeping score." Why should good teams pay the price for being better than other teams.

    Jim Bitros

    ReplyDelete
  19. Like it or not Mr. Wagner, Tuesday lost a lot of good players. The league might have parody but the skill level is not that high. There are a few teams with good players (Turtle Rock, Big Daddy's, Kettle, Old School) but most teams are week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tru that!!! ANG!!!

      Delete
    2. Sorry to answer this so late, mr. anonymous. Been a very busy few days. It would be helpful if you would name even a handful of good players that we lost due to more strict enforcement of our pitching rules. I have named a few really good players who have stayed, even some who encouraged the pitching bans. We have 16 full teams. Even the teams in the bottom half of their divisions have some very good players. We used to have a couple of teams every year who never won a game. This year, even the lowest seed has two wins, everyone else 3 or more. McHales, after a slow start due to no-shows, is making a run, challenged by O'Hurley's and Tri-Lambs. That is an indication of competitive balance we have lacked in recent years.

      Except for Big Daddy's, who are running away with their division, there are quite a few close races. Second place in the noon division is up for grabs. First AND second place are in play in the 2 pm division. And in the playoffs, the match-ups will feature teams who split their 2 regular season games. All these facts are additional indication that we have many more competitive teams than in the past. And instead of being hopelessly out-matched year after year, some teams are just a player or two from changing the balance in their favor.

      I have a very advantageous perch from which to observe the leagues competitive balance. One of my commissioner jobs is to gather the line-up sheets and to send the final scores to the webmaster. I see that, without doubt, we have significantly improved the competition between teams. If we had to lose a handful of good players in order to make the season a lot more fun for most of the players, that is our goal. And I think we are succeeding.

      And this season we had virtually no "issues". Last year we had a ton of problems among several teams.

      I challenge Anonymous to name all these people we lost because we banned illegal pitching.

      Delete
  20. Best pitchers = Best players

    ReplyDelete
  21. Jim - what I was trying to get at is that illegal (i.e. sling) should not be the standard at all because it's so unenforceable and open to interpretation, as is obvious every Sunday and has been echoed many times here. There should be a line like there used to be (JB was only exception then) and pitchers above that line should be banned...not because of their throwing motion but because they are too dominant. Most of the teams at the top of the standings aren't all that much better than the ones at the bottom...the difference is they are paying pitchers (illegal under ASA rules). In my opinion, Doc and Matty should be the top of that line of excellence...good, solid pitchers with good command and velocity, but not guys who take over a game by themselves. It's the only solution. Like it or not, position players are not as good as the pitchers. Sure there are a few that can hit the great pitching most days, but they are a very few. Just look at the offensive numbers and game scores regardnig the pitchers in question. Add to that a 4 man OF, and the offense has little chance. This league now resembles tournament ball except that there are only a very few tournament level players in the league. If the league elders decide to keep the pitchers then it should be changed to a 9 man team. It's a shame what has happened over the past few years - exactly what the league had been trying to avoid for a long time. As for the comment best pitchers = best players...that is plainly not true for anyone who plays in a few leagues. For sure, most BASL teams have 3 or 4 very talented players and a bunch of good ones. But this league is nowhere near the top of the talent pool in the city. Time to blow up this experiment and go back to the way it was...with NO exceptions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed - But by strct Modified rules, Doc is illegal too.

      Delete
  22. Doc and Matty and many other pitchers you might want to give a pass to are not legal modified pitchers. Why should a team benefit from having an illegal pitcher while other teams are penalized for the same offense. It should be all or nothing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's almost pointless to have this conversation with some people. The FACT is that there are very few people who even know how to pitch at all, let alone pitch well. On the other hand, there are also only a VERY FEW who can DOMINATE and take over a game like the superstar pitchers in our league who are banned virtually everywhere else, and who are being paid illegally.

      Clearly, trying to enforce strict legality has shown to be an utter failure over about 3 seasons now. How much more proof does anyone need? It doesn't work: umpires don't care, pitchers can hide it and dial it up when they need to, and there is much disagreement and misunderstanding and dishonesty among managers and players about what is legal and not. Let's face it, we are not a league of MIT graduates. The whole thing is way too complicated already.

      What you want to preserve is the COMPETITIVENESS of the league. That is done by regulating the relative competitiveness of the pitching, not by regulating every aspect of every pitcher's motion, which has already proven to be an utter failure. Teams are competitive against Doc, Matty, Edgar and guys like that, even if those guys win most of the time. Who gives a crap if their motion isn't perfect - they are good pitchers but no one feels overmatched by them. By contrast, teams ARE NOT competitive the great majority of the time against the pitchers in question. Who gives a crap what Rocca or JB or Sleepy or Cedric's motion is...if they are unhittable most weeks by most teams, that tells you everything you need to know.

      If you want to regulate out every pitcher who is marginally "illegal" then you pretty much turn into a slow-pitch league. Good luck finding two dozen perfectly legal, good but not dominant modified pitchers.

      To me, the league has two options:

      1) Keep the pitching free-for-all as it is and turn into a 9 man league. Everything goes.

      Pros: Maybe attract better players/pitchers.
      Cons: Lose a lot of teams and pretty good talent. Lose a lot of old-timers, characters, reliable players and people who made this league great and fun.
      Additional con: most pitchers and top players are mercenaries and totally unreliable. Good luck getting many of them to pay a league fee and umpires.

      Prediction: If the league goes this route, it will probably disappear within 3 years like the Saturday sling league.

      2) Eliminate superstar pitching...this time without making an exception for JB no matter how much people like him personally. Be honest about it. This is key. That means everyone on Ricky's list in the article is banned. Not for being bad guys...for being too freakin good for the competitive balance of this league.

      Delete
  23. BAN MICHAEL PECKINS! he pitches windmill but he's so fast y'all don't see it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Some very good points couldn't agree more. The point of having rules is to keep the overall competition the same allowing any team a chance to win on any night. By not following the rules a certain team may and will gain an advantage.

    ReplyDelete
  25. ObamaCare is a pile of stinking, steaming communist crap that will stunt the economy is nothing more than welfare by another name. Hope you enjoy the 21 tax increases coming to a paycheck near you soon. To recipients of ObamaCare, welcome to free everything courtesy of your tax-paying friends! Now we're basically Sweden, except with fewer white people and fewer hot blondes.

    Although Ricky is clearly a Hugo Chavez Marxist, ModCare is an idea whose time has come.

    ReplyDelete
  26. john brown and rosemiller are league killers.

    ReplyDelete
  27. JB is a god among boys

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jb is a god among boys why? because they one a few yrs in a row! what about when contact was beating him every year ! ANG!!

      Delete
  28. Illegal Is Illegal regardless of the effectiveness of the pitcher and the nature of the illegality. Once you start making any exceptions for less effective illegal pitchers like Doc, Phil,Matty, and others you get what we have now. It should be all or nothing at all without special exceptions for illegal pitchers just because they are less effective than other illegal pitchers. . Their illegality still gives them an edge over teams with legal pitchers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess we agree to disagree. The illegal but not dominant pitchers have been around for years and no one ever has had an issue with them, including you. Now, faced with the prospect of losing Armando, all of a sudden it's all or nothing. Where there is no reasonable discussion, no reasonable solution can prevail. Sooooo.....Rosenmiller wins. The pitching motion has no bearing on the state of the league as it is now. It's the dominance of the pitching, correct motion or not. If you're ok with the way things are for the sake of bragging rights, so be it. Good luck keeping a healthy league around another 5 years the way things are going.

      Delete
  29. JB IS THE MOST ILLEGAL AMONG THE ILLEGAL PITCHER. IN A REAL LEAGUE,A 3RD OR 4TH RELIEVER AT BEST.

    ReplyDelete
  30. No such thing as reliever in softball

    ReplyDelete
  31. @anonymous,i can see you haven´t played tournament softball,real softball.

    ReplyDelete
  32. The Amazing Kreskin along with the Vegas oddsmakers predict that every team with a pitcher with the ability to challenge Choice Parts and John Brown will be penalized and the only illegal dominant pitcher left standing will be John Brown thus assuring the Parts of another JB dominated championship. It is soooooo obvious.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm on a team without a dominent pitcher and even I know that would be wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I challenge Richey to get this many comments again this season.
    Good blog & Good luck

    ReplyDelete
  35. But this one is so much fun

    ReplyDelete
  36. I heard the ombudsman gave warnings to several pitchers. What is next step? Ejection? If anyone has the balls to kick them out, watch the balance of power shift quickly. Rangers, Parts, Jimmy's all on the hot seat without illegals. Cardinals and Bombers, give me a fucking break. .250 winning percentage without Ramesh and worse for Bombers. Have some balls and ban these fucking guys already.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Some companies use "near infrared" heaters, which that heat the technique surface only.

    Upon striking exclusive object, the Infrared energy converts when you need to heat and is either reflected maybe absorbed.



    Feel free to visit my homepage - infrared heaters tube

    ReplyDelete