I think there are still games that are left to be played that would impact who plays who. Im still trying to understand why we bother playing a 16 game season and then have to play a mini tournament to re-establish seeding for the playoffs? Can someone explain why we do this? It completely undermines the importance of the regular season. What benefit does any team get from having the best record after a full season if they end up playing a stronger team earlier than they should have to in the playoff? A one seed should alway play the highest available seeded team, twos the next and so on, period.

Royals play Giants Sunday morning. The last game for the top 6 seeds counts in the standings like every other game. I believe it was done so there is no 2 week layoff and we get to play another game

Also field availability is dependent on the kids travel schedule so that is why there is a delay in scheduling


-- Edited by johnc on Thursday 6th of September 2018 09:14:55 AM

The GMs all have input as do the players

Come to the meetings and give your opinion

Personally I loved playing in that play in tournament. It's more fun than playing one of three or four stacked teams and getting crushed.

I enjoy playing 3-4 games over a weekend. I dont care what the top six teams think.

The only thing better than baseball is MORE baseball.

Marlins played 5 games in two days two years ago under this format. We all, to a man, had a blast.

Every GM has input at the division annual meeting. Did your GM think it was most stupid? Or did he vote for it?

Don Ball wrote:

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Chris - You are entitled to your opinion but I'm giving two more thumbs up to this weekend's double-elimination tournament. For teams who annually finish in the lower half of the standings, this tournament is our playoffs. Also, your comment that the 7th seeded team will crush their way through the weekend is unfounded. Notice that the 7th, 8th and 9th seeds all finished 7 - 9 and the 10th seed was 6 - 10. The 11th seed (Warriors) beat the 10th seed (Shaskys) in their final regular season game. And the Cougars all have matching, purple jerseys. So, no clear favorite there!

One unfortunate team will be eliminated after playing only two games. Others will be eliminated after their third game. The teams that advance will play anywhere from three to five games. So factors that effect any playoff format - depth, staying injury free and catching a couple of breaks - will come into play.

As you are seeing here, the players participating in the double-elimination tournament really enjoy the experience. While I congratulate the division's perennial powerhouses and wish you well in the championship round, please don't underestimate how much this weekend means to the rest of us. In fact, I would invite you to stop by and catch the grit and determination that will be on display Sunday afternoon.

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Well said Donny,

I think we should bring back the two division format the way the national tournaments do it. I agree wholeheartedly with free agency but let's face the fact that it also creates a divide between the top teams and all the rest. I have zero interest in winning or losing games by 12 runs. I like the tight games we played with your team and the red sox and many others where the outcome was decided in the last inning. Seems like two divisions is the way to accomplish that. If the downside to free agency is there are only three or four very strong teams and they have to play each other several times so be it.

I can't imagine those really strong teams prefer winning 12-0 over a tight game? Maybe I'm wrong but even if that's the case there are 12 teams and 12 gm's and our league is all about everyone playing baseball

Incidentally, I heard from the commish. Saturdays other half of round one is Warriors @ Shaskys at 10:00 am at Watervliet High School and the winner plays the Red Sox at 12:45 at the same location.


Then the chaos takes over on Sunday!


Cannot wait!

-- Edited by The_Hurricane on Thursday 6th of September 2018 09:45:21 PM

I would think that picking teams before the season starts is the random part youre looking to avoid....?

This way settles things on the field. Isnt that the way any competition should be determined? On the field of play?

Youre going to play a 17th regular season game. We get to play a minimum of 18 and possibly as many as 21 in this format. Again, the only thing better than baseball is MORE BASEBALL!

If we want to have two separate playoffs then we might as well go All In and make two distinct divisions. Then do promotion/relegation at the end of every season.

Everyone makes some great points here. There is a lot to be said for the double elimination weekend the bottom six teams are going to be playing in. If you come out as one of the two teams to advance you obviously have to have some of the depth necessary to possibly advance in the next round - plus you get to play some spirited, competitive baseball. I think what is not being stressed enough is offering the top finishers some type of reward for playing hard through the entire season. We tried the separate divisions with a separate playoff and no one cared for that. No one wants to entertain mandating players play on weaker teams when they age in to the 45s- arguably the best way to create any chance of parity top to bottom (just ask the Whiz how their fortunes changed when they acquired Mike Kane a couple of years ago - they have been a perennial threat to win it all each year since that happened). Lets get back to deriving some sort of a benefit for being a top team after a regular 16 game season and eliminate a random draw, coin flip or whatever to play a reseeding tournament while we try and figure out who will advance from the play-in weekend. Seems to make more sense to give the top four teams a bye (let them rest, practice, whatever- its not like teams dont ALWAYS go through at least one, two or three week stretch with no games during the regular season because of weather) then let the remaining teams battle it out in four best of three series. Everyone is guaranteed at least two games just as it is now. You also reward all the teams in the next four spots with arguably an easier opponent and put more importance on winning regular season games (maybe more guys would show up each week if they could see how important one win could be at the end of the season). This seasons playoff format is already decided I get that. I would like to know when the meeting to decide next season is going to be held and I would urge everyone who would like to see a change show up to be heard. Its not easy being the commish, our weather makes it a living hell honestly. What does make it easier is when people care enough to get involved. The more voices, the more likely the majority of folks will be happy with the results. For now lets just play baseball, stay healthy and enjoy the competition that each of us plays the game for.

oldsorearm wrote:

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Don, I think you are all missing my point. While I don't like the long 1 weekend of playing so many games, mainly because teams don't have the depth of their roster or pitching to play for that many games if you want it, then go for it. IMO, to play this game, at its highest lever is hard enough once a week, but to try an do it maybe 5 times in a weekend, you not only cannot but will not be able to. This not only risks injury to yourself but to others around you. Just because we think we are still 25, our bodies tell us we aren't.
Anyway, my main point is not about that tournament, it is about how the other teams having to play a 17th game. If this is going to happen than just make the season 17 weeks and schedule accordingly. If we are going to wait and just have the top 6 teams play then it should either be determined at the beginning of the season in a random draw(before teams are known- meaning 1-2, 3-6, 4-5 or whatever it happens to be) or a normal tournament type seeding of 1-6, 2-5 3-4 not wait until we see who the teams are an then make it random.

-- Edited by oldsorearm on Friday 7th of September 2018 09:00:12 AM

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Chris - I agree with your opinion about the 17th game schedule for the top six teams. My understanding was that these games do not effect the final standings. The games are played just to give the top teams an opportunity to stay sharp heading into the playoffs. I could be wrong on my understanding. Honestly, I don't pay that much attention because I don't anticipate being part of those games. I don't like to meddle in games that I am not a part of.

Regarding the double-elimination tournament, we will have six teams and seventy or eighty guys out there this weekend giving it their all. Is it "baseball at its highest level"? Maybe yes, maybe no. But maybe a team's #4 pitcher will pitch some important innings. Maybe the back-up CF will make a shoe-string catch and maybe the fill-in SS will start a double play to squash a rally. Maybe a player with a season BA of .182 (not that my BA is .182!) will come up with a big hit. Who knows? But ask the 2017 Red Sox who lost their first playoff game and then won four in a row to advance if they like the tournament.

Play ball!

Check the standings Rob. Unless that additional win was against us we would still be the 5 by virtue of our head to head win.


We ended up 8-8 not 7-9 . Apparently you assumed we would lose our last game leaving 5 teams at 7-9 but that was not the case






-- Edited by johnc on Friday 7th of September 2018 10:26:40 AM

The present format, tweaked along the way is a result of various sometimes divergent desires from concerned GM's thru the years. Its an attempt to blend these forces and in so doing it has features that might offend some while pleasing others. All these points have been vetted every off season. the 45 meetings are no secret. points are discussed and voted on by GM's who represent their players and the best interest of their team. some old timers in the mix have experienced this process and realize the in and outs and compromises attained. the format balances the forces of "More baseball" with those who pursue trophies. while keeping us together as one division. it has elements of a divided division for sure but we still "play each other" in the regular season and the lower teams "play-in" is their often their playoffs in one week, as Don Ball stated. This same playoff provides for a chance to go on and face the top half. something inserted after the old B champ felt deserving of going on but couldn't. I think I found the B trophy at a garage sale a few years ago. But please do offer all opinions and ideas at the divisional meetings. As i said its been tweaked to this point and I expect that to continue. Or it may be scrapped to a whole new format. the division belongs to the GM's ; the commish might have input but in the end does the work to administer whats decided. I would encourage all GM's to gain player input top to bottom on their rosters.

The lower division tournament is rigorous. some have referred to it as Hell weekend. the first qualifier wins his first two games and goes onto the 7th seed. easy weekend. But the second qualifier either plays 4-5 games. thus the hell. and the observation that its about pitching depth is probably true. Injury is always a risk , at 45 it increases, play tired it increases again. the one team playing 4-5 games has a similar experience of playing in the national tournaments. 45 innings in 4 days, or 28-35 innings in 2 days. I take the injury comment to heart. it is perhaps the most competitive prideful player that pushed beyond in the last game that injuries himself. I've seen this in the semis and finals too. I have watched these hell weekend games for many years, particularly the last game to decide the 8th seed. It is filled with pride and grit. those who come thru the losers bracket to gain the 8th seed truly are heroic. the Black Sox, Red Sox and Marlins have done this in recent years. a mediocre season can be turned around in a weekend. Triumph here is no less heartfelt than in the last game of the 45 championship and dare I say more. Not to dilute the best teams status and road to victory. Those teams chose different cultures , pointed at the championship, and to be assigned to the hell weekend would be perhaps humiliating. Understood. thus the clash of attitudes. However respect for each is paramount though.

And by the way the 17th game was drawn up after years of idling, top teams wanted it. remember that typically the last game of the regular season is the sunday before Labor day weekend. with the holiday off and another weekend off ,byed teams didn't play for 19-20 days. the match-ups selections are a debatable point. And have been. and the games count. though they won't drop out of the top 6 , they can jostle about within that and in the end its about quarterfinal match ups. for this year I believe only the four seed is solid. 1-3 could change, 5-6 could swap.

good luck to all this weekend and to those fortunate enough to proceed.