On Sunday, the Yankees/Hornets game @ the Annex field in Voorheesville, was called off, because, supposedly, the field would not be ready in time. This was not the case, as the Annex field, @ 9:15 am, barely, had any waster on the dirt portion. Only, a few spots, and that bascially was nothing, and dried up by 12:45 am, since the sun was shining, and a sharp breeze present. Now, as far as the Yankees are concerned, we already had to deal with a cancellation against the Marlins, last week, which was quite frustrating, since we really didn't get the full story on why it happened, Now, this week, the field was, according to the person taking care of it, was not going to be ready to play. Again, this is not true, as I went to that field myself, since I only live 10 miles away. I went there two times, once at 9:15 am, and again at 12:45, give or take 5 minutes. The conditions at 1:00, were excellent, and this game should have been played against the Hornets, no if's and's or but's. Not only didn't we play the game, but to my surprise, I viewed a Babe Ruth team, working out on that same field we were suppose to play at. So, what's the real story???? It's simply just not right, and has to be addressed by the league, immediately. Decison making has to be improved, and I would think the entire league would agree with my observation of this whole situation Everyone pays there fee to play, so we should expect some consideration, when making decisions like this. I'm only a player on the Yankkes/48's, but I'm speaking on behafl of my entire team, as we are quite disappointed how things are going so far this year. So, by the 2 cancellations which have taken place these last two weeks, plus, we don't play for another 10 days or so, that's over 3 weeks of no games. It especially effects the guys that don't play in the 28's, 38's, along with this league.l Let's address this ASAP. Any comments would be appreciated by other league members. We are hear to play ball !! I'm all for this league, and have attempted to get us another field @ Memorial Park in Rotterdam, and would assist in any other matters that would benefit our league. Mike Eplite/ 48 Yankees
I like your fire Eppy. We need more guys in this league who have the same passion and love for the game. I don't know why we keep getting bumped-but I like the fact that you keep asking questions. If we could have played -we should have played. Good luck on the Memorial Park site-it's always nice to have options. RC
I can verify the perfect condition of the field . I was there around 1:30 and it was in great shape , a great day for baseball just wasted from a bonehead decision. We have to inject some common sense into the postponement process.
I got a call at 8 o'clock from our groundskeeper that the fields were unplayable. I called the commish and advised him of the conditions. The forecast was for more rain, on top of the rain we got on Sat. Instead of complaining, how about signing up and take care of all the fields yourself from now on? I'm easy to find. Click on the 47 schedule, and see when the WhizKids are playing. I'll take your applications then. Jim Porter
Hey Jim, Why the sensitivity? The facts are the facts. I was there at 9:00 am Sunday, and the Annex was playable then. I guess the groundskeeper didn't use good discretion yesterday. It was okay for that Babe Ruth team to work out on that flooded field, though. As far as weather forecasting, we ALL know, if we went on predictability, we'd never play games on days the forecast is for inclement weather. New Scotland was a wash, as far as field conditions are concerned, I can vouch for that. Oh, you can find me also, if you'd like to discuss this further. MIKE EPLITE/Yankees
As Bill Clinton would say, I feel your pain. As a former manager, I've had to make many decisions over the years regarding fields. It can be difficult and anxiety-producing; try as I might, I KNOW that I've made a few bad calls, so I'd ask for some understanding for the guy who made the wrong choice on Sunday. It happens, and not for any dark reasons.
Some things I have learned (and this is only my point of view):
* Never call a game because it MIGHT rain -- unless the radar evidence is overwhelmingly conclusive.
* As a manager, I used to worry too much about the convenience of the players; I'd want to call a game early so they wouldn't waste a trip, so they'd have time to make plans with their families, and whatnot. But this is baseball, the game is on the schedule. and sometimes guys have to show up, even if there's a chance the game won't be played.
* I don't know who the "groundskeeper" was, but that's a tricky situation. First, a game should almost never be called five hours before playing time. Secondly, a lot of groundskeepers find life a lot easier if people don't mess up their beautiful fields by actually playing baseball on them (read: don't trust these guys). At the very least, try to get the groundskeeper to delay a decision until an hour and a half before game time. Meet at the field together. Walk it. At the same time, some towns have the right to make this decision -- it's not a CDMSBL call (like at SUNY, for example) -- and there's not much you can do other than to build a positive relationship with the decision-maker.
In the end, you could have played, and should have played, but you didn't. That's the reality. Learn from those mistakes, gain some experience, and try to get it right next time.
Still: Making that decision is not easy. It requires that somebody step up and take responsibility, at the risk of facing public comments and criticism. Ninty percent of guys in this league just want to show up and play, never lifting a finger for the greater good. I understand that, but let's realize that doing nothing it's a LOT easier than being a leader. For one, you'll never be wrong, because you never have to make a decision. Give credit to the men who give something extra -- especially our commisioners, board members, and managers -- and respect that not every decision will be correct. Mistakes happen, even with the best of intentions.
Darrell Duncan, VHS Varsity Coach, and player in this league is usually the person who works on that field for us. He is one of the classiest and most unselfish people in this league. He often works tirelessly on that field to have it ready for the league to use, weekdays and weekends, whether his team is playing or not. He gave up most of his Labor Day weekend last year to work on that field during some nasty weather conditions-mowing, raking the infield, and lining (before the first game, between games!). So while most of the weekend was a wash out, we played two or three games there each day. I don't know if he had any bearing in the decisions this past weekend, but if he did I certainly respect his opinion. If it is possible to have a field playable, he will make it playable. I understand your desire to be on the field, but be careful of painting with broad brush strokes in your anger, particularly being new to the league.
I do quite a bit of field maintenence, I de-water the Elm Ave field each flooded spring with siphon hoses and wheelbarrels, rake out the basepaths, etc., even mowed a couple times until I got my hand slapped for that ( liability ) . Anyone passionate about playing would understand the frustration about yesterday . Also, when I got home early, the wife volunteered me to help her with the gardening . At the next postponement , I'm going to sit on the bench with a book for two hours .
We do not own any of the fields we use. We abide by the rules of the owner/operator of these facilities. If it says a field is closed, for whatever reason, its closed. We do not try to prepare, remediate, practice or play on a field thats closed.
I can not speak specifically about the Voorheesville field, but I know other fields we use have employees who check and prepare fields. And on weekends, its usually overtime pay. For example, at both A/B Diamonds and the Knick, city employees check the field early in the morning. If a field is playable, they prepare the field for our games. If its not, they close the field for the day. Employees are probably not authorized to check the field throughout the day because this runs up their overtime. The municipality/facility is not going to pay someone overtime to check a field two or three times per day just so we can play.
This is not the first time a field was unplayable in the morning, but perfectly fine in the afternoon. And it wont be the last time.
Part two of this scenario is most folks do not know how to remediate a field, so a facility would prefer nobody play versus letting ambitious players wreck their field. Ive seen it all. Six inch drainage holes in the infield; trenches dug to drain water; mounds of mud dumped along the fence line; mud pushed into the outfield grass; even someone dredging the UALBANY infield with his ATV. If you dont know how to remediate a wet field, stay off it. The short term gain of possibly playing one game, jeopardizes the long-term use of the field. When guys attempt to play on field when they shouldnt, I receive an irate phone call from facility management about our destruction of their field. There have been too many occasions where Ive had to profusely apologize because folks are shortsighted and done foolish things so they can play their game.
The circumstances were the same Sunday for the Kinderhook Town Park. I checked the field at 7:45am. At this time, it was still raining in Kinderhook and the field was covered with water. If I had to make a decision at that moment, no games would have been played. I went to gym, worked out for about 90 minutes and went back to the field. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining. The weather improved significantly. I could not have predicted this 90 minutes earlier. Since the weather improved, I thought I could salvage the field for games later in the day, so I drained a couple of the larger puddles with a tin can and swept the water from the smaller puddles. I spent about 90 minutes doing this. I left and returned to the field about two hours later. The field was soft, but dry. I spent another hour working on the field. By 2:30pm, it was ready to use.
I am an aberration. I spent three hours of my own time with the permission of the Town of Kinderhook to make the field playable Not many people, paid or unpaid can give up three hours on a Sunday to work on a baseball field. We should not expect entities that have paid employees to donate their time and continuously check the status of a field so we can play.
Going forward, we can ask the folks at Voorheesville to adjust their decision making process so it's nearer the scheduled starting time. Second, if you or anyone reading this post lives in a community that hosts one of the fields we use, develop a rapport with school board members, elected officials and/or the facility manager. Present yourself as a responsible person. Earn their trust and confidence and they may permit you to be active in the use, preparation, maintenance and decision makingof the field. Invest some time establishing these relationships and you, your team and the entire CDMSBL will benefit.
Addressing your concern about a long layoff, there are fields and umpires available to play this weekend. A majority (unanimous?) of 47 managers chose not to play this weekend, so no games were scheduled. If you are concerned about a long layoff, please contact your manager about the possibility of playing a makeup game this weekend.
First of all, what does it matter if I'm new to the league. In addition, it's not anger, it's my teams frustration, over the decision making for two consecutive weeks, especially, when you see a Babe Ruth team playing at 1:30, on the field we were scheduled to play on, and the field conditions were very good. Darrell Duncan, I'm told is a good guy, and he does a very good job for our league, and no one is putting any blame on him. I'm appreciative of his efforts, and so is everyone else on my Yankees team. MIKE EPLITE/Yankees
In fairness to Mike he is fustrated due to circumstances he has seen the previous two weeks with schedules being altered due to teams in the 47 + devision that had not had their star players available and did not use replacements and asked to reschedule. I believe that has prompted Mike to be suspicious as to the recent situation that has occured with the Voorhesville field this past Sunday.
As Todd correctly indicated Darrel Duncan has done an outstanding and selfless job in maintaining both fields which includes New Scotland field. I have first hand seen him work those fields and he always tried to help us get a game in even on short notice.
As we have done in the 18 years from the time this MSBL started is wait until at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours before game time to evaluate the field when the weather was good for a period of time. Obviously if it is raining during the complete day it would be a no brainer.
This checking of the field before a game is important because I can't tell you how many times it was raining in Colonie and not in Albany or Voorhesville where the games were to be played.
And Kevin is correct when it comes to the Knick field. There is little flexibility there as opposed to some other fields where we can fix a field that is truly not under a lot of water.
Regarding the Marlin game that was the weekend of Mother's Day, that weekend was open on the original schedule so many of us made plans. It wasn't that our all stars weren't there, it's that we couldn't even field 9 players since many of us used the original schedule. As I understand it, John Reel agreed to play the game in compliance with the rules and was going to take as many players from the previous game as needed but it was thought that the Yankees would want to play against the full continent of Marlin players. Now perhaps the Yankees would have played against 6 Marlins and some subs, and that's OK if that's what was deceided but the Marlins can not be held accountable entirely since Mother's Day was originally open and we then made plans...
Hmm. no games at the fields. We can't work on NS or Sattelite. touchy stuff at the high school with their own union staff. plus its a very special circumstance there. it doesn't surprise me that it was playble given the sun that day....it is probalby one of the best draining fields around. specially engineered to do so. The arrangement last year was Darrell pretty much doing the work with town machinery on loan. Darrell is the Parks guy for the Town and the main reason we play at New Scotland and now this HS field. he presented the deal to the school board. there is some vagueness about who calls games there though and Mike E. your'e right, lets get this down indeed.
I have relaxed quite a bit about these rainouts ....seems like there'll be sunny days and alot of games down the road. We can blame and defend all day long and many post later but all we can do is clarify and improve.
As for Mothers Day, that was the commishes decision, which he made, I believe , with some help and consideration to the league's vast and tight needs in May. As Dennis stated we would have played, I made an APB for players and had some lined up to go, when I received word it was called off. And crap I was scheduled to throw ...... contrary to not so coyly held rumor I really didn't care that it was against the Yankees or it was the Saturday before Mothers' day, or that some of my team was unavailable. ( and frankly given the rankle we created last year about borrowed players , I was playing that game no matter what) I figure those that could , would play that day. but alas not my call.
So can we improve on the calling of games? have a set protocol for Sattelite and NS fields. I know we are blessed with these nice fields, lets just get some of this frustration vented to the positive. I have confidence Chuck Stanley will work it out for us.
John, This will be the last comment I make on the decision of cancellng that game at the Annex field. To top this off, as I mentioned, a Babe Ruth team played on the same field we (yankees) were scheduled to play on, for 2:30. They arrived at 1:45 pm, which is interesting. In addition, a mother, of a player, told me, they were notified about using that field, kind of last minute. So, why was it, if the field was unplayable, why was there a team using the field for that time slot, which had been scheduled for a game, for our League. Let us put this to rest, and hopefully, have the rest of our season run smoother. All we want to do is play ball. Thanks for the comments though.
I am on the Rotterdam Babe Ruth E-board. I can get the field in Rotterdam but I will not have dates until next week. Because of the Rain, there field is being used more. I will get advailable dates from the assignor and you let me know if they will work. I play for the 38 White Soxs and we are trying to get some our games there and make that our home field for next year. What would we pay to play on the field either day or night games. I will be able to get dates by next week. Call me at 505 2278 if you have any questions about the field. Night games are played at 8:30 under the lights.
In my 18 seasons of CDMSBL , we've alwasy had to bow to the youth leagues. You want to lose a field fast....complain about getting bumped by kids. Mike they are always right. Carve out it out on a contract and it matters not. we play inthe seams....almost every where we go. and thats nation -wide. And maybe thats the way it should be. I am not privy to the cancellation facts that weekend. but i can guess. Jim Porter checked with someone from the school in the early AM, who summed that with the rain and forcast it was a no go. Jim cancelled his game and all games that day there. Sun comes out, local Babe Ruth coach takes a tour of his towns fields , and knowing that Sattelite would be his likeliest shot that day checks it out and calls his squad to practice. I doubt he scheduled it or had anything to do with the cancellation process. he probalby didn't even check with the school, like a alot ofus looking for practice fields ....Sand Creek comes to mind, we grab it if tis open. No conspiracy.
As Jim Preller suggested we probalby need to NOT cancel games that far in advance. especailly this field. and as Art said examine each game's possibilites at one and 1/2 hours in advance and make the call. When given this leeway we should take it. but even in the best circumstances things can get bazaar, and frustrating. Chuck I'm sure has checked this post and is probably working on the problem.....
