Having played in many leagues over the past fifteen years, I have generally found that players quit, teams disband, and eventually leagues fold for one main reason: administrative incompetence. Unfortunately, the manner in which this weekend's playoff games were cancelled are indicative of such incompetence. (Note: I type this post with the sun shining and the fields in beautiful condition on Sunday afternoon)
Having been at the field both days, here is what I know first-hand:
1. The games Saturday were cancelled, rescheduled as a double-header on Sunday, and the field was confirmed playable Saturday night 2. At no time on Sunday was the field unplayable (or even wet), and had been lined in anticipation of the day's game. 3. The decision to cancel the Yankees/Orioles game on Sunday did not come from the Yankees, the Orioles, or anyone who had been to the fields to determine playing conditions 4. The decision to cancel the game came at roughly 10:00 for an 11:00 game while many players were already on their way to the field 5. The Yankees were never contacted about the cancellation on Sunday and had no reason to believe that they were not playing that day 6. The commisioner never went to the fields himself to determine playing conditions 7. Being that fall weather is unpredictable, we need to get these games in at any time (weekend day or weekday night) to insure a conclusion to this season 8. I have spent four hours at the ballfield this weekend without a pitch being thrown 9. These games have yet to be rescheduled 10. There was no plan in place for making up these games should they be rained out 11. My schedule and my family's are being dictated by a non-existant playoff schedule and the league's poor decision makers (I'm sure every other Yankee, Oriole, and Tiger, and some members of the Cubs feel this way as well)
Here is what I've been told by people on the phones at the field
1. The decision to cancel both games on Sunday came from a member of the Cubs (who had never been to the field) 2. The commissioner passed on the decision to the managers without questioning the playing conditions 3. When attempting to reschedule umpires to be at the field for the Yankee/Orioles game, the commissioner failed to make the phone call in a timely fashion, thus insuring that umps could not be at the field before 12:30 at the earliest 4. The Cubs cannot field a team on weeknights and based the decision to cancel games and move them to next weekend to serve their own purposes
Here are the conclusions I have drawn:
1. The Cubs can manipulate the playoff schedule to their benefit 2. The commissioner is aware of this and doesn't mind manipulating the schedule in such a way 3. The result of the above statements demonstrates clear conflicts of interests 4. The Yankees, Orioles, and Tigers are owed formal apologies by both the commisioner and the Cubs' cancelling decision maker 5. This league is in danger of losing many of its best players and teams due to administrative incompetence 6. This league will soon be in danger of losing all respectablility
Here is what needs to be done in my opinion:
1. Action needs to be taken with regards to the Cubs' playoff eligibility 2. Action needs to be taken with regards to the commissioner's handling of this situation 3. These games need to be rescheduled quickly to ensure the season will end before the fields become permanently unplayable 4. Next weekend's games need to be scheduled with a contingency plan for the following weeknights so the season can end before Columbus day weekend
I have written this post such that all members of the league are aware of the events of this weekend so we all can determine how best to ensure that this does not happen in the future. I am dissapointed with the events of this weekend. After manipulating my schedule and my familiy's so that I could enjoy playing ball, I (and my teammates, as well as the Yankee players) have been left feeling that a select few can turn an anticipated weekend of playoff baseball into an exercise in frustration and incompetence.
All who look at this board need to know that this is not the 1st or 2nd year but in fact is the THIRD year in a row the playoffs were like this. Something has to change.....
Agreed, what happened??? There is no reason that 0 baseball games were played this weekend. Games cancelled to due disorganization? We easily could have played saturday after 1, as was indicated on every local weather forecast. And we certainly could have played 2 today. At least I got to finish some outdoor work I needed to do in the nice weather!
I also agree that the league owes an apology to the teams that had their time wasted and their schedules screwed up because we couldn't figure out how to play some games. This is a mess, and I really can't imagine there is any reasonable excuse.
Certainly very disappointing for all four teams that no games were played this weekend with a combination of communication lapses and poor weather/forecasts contributing to the lost weekend. Having played in this league for the past 15 years I have seen things like this happen in the past and recognize it is inevitable when such few select individuals are tasked with the administration of the league/division. If the true purpose of this post is to insure that this does not happen in the future then it is clear what needs to happen. More players need to step up and volunteer to help. Complaints without offer of assistance are only complaints.
I would also add that while well stated, everything previously mentioned in this post that included the word Cubs in the sentence is either blatantly false or misinterpreted.
Clearly it was unfortunate the way the weekend unfolded but it should not detract from the season or the ongoing playoffs. I hope we can all move forward in the crowning of a worthy Champion for our division.
jmcquade wrote: to insure that this does not happen in the future then it is clear what needs to happen. More players need to step up and volunteer to help. Complaints without offer of assistance are only complaints.
Jim, I do not know what happened in regards to Cubs-Tigers I can only speak on the Orioles-Yankees game. NO ONE WENT AND CHECKED THE FIELD!!! The games were cancelled with the 2 teams not even knowing. I agree we can help the Commish and Board more but AT LEAST GO CHECK THE FIELDS. I was told it was pouring in Schenectady. Quentin Jensen offered to take over the playoff scheduling (which includes getting umps,fields and baseballs) and he still is waiting for a call back from Commish. We need to play these games this week and I do feel that the CUB mentioned is part of the scheduling. I dont feel it is asking to much to have people check fields or even follow the normal protocol which is the home team checks the field. It was pouring in Rensselaer/Averill Park but sunny in Schen. which means laziness caused cancellations.
I chose not to name a specific Cub (and still chose not to do so) who made the decision to call the games (his own as well as ours) so as not to embarrass him to the entire league for his part in Sunday's cancellation. However, the statements made about such cancellations are neither false nor misinterpreted. I was present for the phone discussions at the field and nothing written in this post is innaccurate. It is time for those involved to step up and admit their part in the manipulation of the playoffs.
As far as players not stepping up to help out, every member of both the Yankees and the Orioles at the field was on the phone trying to get the games played and umpires rescheduled while the league commissioner was failing to make phone calls to such umpires (and never made a phone call to the Yankees informing them of the sun-out cancellation earlier that morning). With all due respect, jmcquade (although I think very little is warranted), you have little or no idea of the efforts and troubles taken by the Yankees and Orioles to play a scheduled double-header that was called due to clear skies, dry ballfields, and by lazy decision makers.
The only people not working to get these games in this weekend were precisely those who should have been working the hardest, so to those who posted and echoed such responses, your posts only demonstrate your ignorance of this weekends' events.
It was a frustrating weekend for everyone involved. There certainly could've been better communication and organization. To finish this up though, I have some suggestions:
1. Let Q take care of running the rest of the playoffs. This will ensure that there is impartial scheduling and he obviously wants to help out and make this a success. 2. Play games as soon as possible. There's no reason we can't play during the week as long as we have fields/umpires and the weather cooperates. They're already calling for rain next weekend and we can't afford another washout. 3. Keep all teams on the same schedule. If both series are wrapped up at the same time, both of the advancing teams will be in the same situation for pitching. It wouldn't be fair to have 1 team with all their pitching and the other team with nobody left.
I am willing and able to do the scheduling and anything else that needs to be done for the remainder of the playoff's. Someone please get back to me with a decision? My number is 701-1014.
Keith, Maybe I can shed some light on this for you. Here is the B-Diamond perspective: Both the Cubs and Tigers managers walked the B-Diamond at about 11:15 on Saturday, and found the infield dirt, pitchers mound, and home plate to be soup. There were no puddles yet, but the top 2 or three inches were saturated. It was still raining and the forecast was for the only break in the weather to be between 1:00 and about 3:00 on Saturday. There was no way that the B-Diamond could have been ready for any action on Saturday. The two managers discussed whether they wanted to try to waste more time on Sunday, piss off more wives by taking up Sunday for games that would probably be rained out anyway (forecast was for even heavier rain on Sunday), or push off the playoffs one week and keep your fingers crossed that the weather would be better. There was no conspiracy theory. I realize that things may have been different over at the A-Diamond because the field drains much better, and yes the communication from the league office was insufficient, but they were probably just trying to avoid the unfairrness of having the semis being completed on different weekends. Had the Yankees-Orioles completed two games on Sunday, and the other series had none, the rest for the surviving team would have given them an unfair advantage, solely because their semi's were scheduled for the A-Diamond and not the soupier B-Diamond. I am not saying that this is the reason, because I was not involved in any discussions. I am just trying to give you some reasons that things went the way they did that you may not have previously considered. The whole "Cubs manipulating the playoff schedule for their benefit" thing is complete Horses**t!!! We had 14 of our 15 playoff eligible players available for both days and the Tigers were going to have to play without Joe Dimarco. Yeah, it would be a great idea for us to push off the games for a week so that the best catcher and one of the best hitters in the league could play against us. Take two hands and grab some reality! I really agree with you guys about not getting notified until you were at the A-Diamond on Sunday, because I would have been fuming. Nobody has time for that! We really need better communication from the top down.
I personally have a big problem with playing the playoff games at night on the weekdays:
Reason 1: This league is a daytime - weekend league. All of the games that decided the final four have been played on the weekend during the day. Many of the league's players play on the weekend because work or family committments have them unable to play during the week at night. Is it fair to then decide the most important games without these guys?! No!!!
Reason 2: The game is an entirely different game at night under the lights. Hitting a ball that is poorly lit is a whole different thing. Yes it is the same for both teams, but it is not what we have done all year, so why would we do it now at the most important time of year. There are still 3 or 4 weekends still out there for us to get two weekends worth of baseball in.
Reason 3: This time of year, the temperature drops drastically at night. By the third inning of a night game there is a heavy dew on all grass surfaces. This means that in a key part of a semi-final game your third baseman or shortstop could be gripping a sopping wet baseball for a throw to first that could win or lose a crucial game. Also those moist balls get dried off and put back in the game and get wet again and so on. This makes them heavier and heavier as the game moves along. This is also the same for both teams, but is it the way we want our most important games of the year decided?! I think not!
Let's just not panic! Lets see how it goes this weekend. Who knows, maybe the weather will be fine and we will get two playoff series completed. If it doesn't work out, we can always implement the emergency night games the following week. I personally know that we can use the Clifton Commons if need be.
I guess I don't understand why this is a daytime - weekend league? Don't the other age divisions play weeknight games? I don't see why we can't either. I don't think anyone wants to pass up a few nice nights this week to roll the dice on the weekend. If we get rain next weekend, we're in the same spot we're in now....but we'll be in October instead.
We could come up with all sorts of excuses why the weeknights wouldn't be fair. But wet baseballs? If we played on Saturday, every single batted ball would've been soaked and we would've had to swap them out. Would we have played anyways? Sure, if the field was playable. And the lights at night would be an issue for both teams. But it wouldn't be that much worse than playing on an overcast day on the weekend. I would much rather play under the lights on a nice night than play on a Saturday when there is a light rain that we are forced to play through.
We used to play SCHEDULED weekday night games just three years ago. I fail to see why a 20 game schedule needs to go from Late-April to Mid-September. Even if there were zero rain-outs, the schedule (plus playoffs) was going to go from April 30th to October 1. That's a span of five months to play 20 games plus playoffs. That's an unGodly amount of time for such a short schedule.
As a player with kids, I ended up having to skip games in an effort to see my kids and spend time with them on days with beautiful weather - ALL SUMMER LONG. When the league creates a schedule that takes an entire summer, the last half of spring and two weeks into the autumn to complete, it had best be a 45 game schedule. 20 games over 5 months is too encumbering.
I understand that this thread is geared toward a specific problem (the cancellation of playoff games) but this needs to be at the front of everyone's minds come off-season meetings. The schedule needs to be addressed. SCHEDULED double-headers in the traditionally dry months (late June, all of July, early August) and weekday night games throughout the season. One idea I mentioned in the forums on the 28+ site was a "Friday Night Game of the Week." Every team plays one. It could help move the schedule along and the Friday night teams wouldn't have Saturday games the following day - they could play on Sunday.
All-in-all, we as players should help out more. The trick is, getting people to care enough to want to help.
HE IS UNRESPONSIVE TO ALL CALLS,EMAIL'S. ETC...AND WHEN DID THIS LEAGUE BECOME A WEEKEND-DAY LEAGUE???? I HAVE BEEN PLAYING WEEKDAY/NIGHT GAMES SINCE I WAS IN THIS LEAGUE...LET'S PLAY AND IF TEAMS CANT GET ENOUGH GUYS THEY ARE DONE....INCLUDING THE ORIOLES...TIGERS AND YANKEES AGREE
You must be talking about 38+ games being played at night. This year the 28+ League played exactly 3 make-up games at night, and one of those had to be filled with borrowed players or it would have been forfeitted. The 28's has always been a "weekend day" league and as a result the playoffs have always been on the weekend during the days. We had this discussion two years ago when your wedding was the reason you wanted to play during the week. Who has the wedding this time?
I am still having a hard time with this. 3 of the 4 teams are willing (and eager) to get these games played as soon as we have good weather and available fields. While we have played almost all of our games on the weekends, this was mostly (to my knowledge) to facilitate the other divisions playing during the week. Now that those divisions have finished, where are the conflicts?
I believe the game that used borrowed players and was almost forfeited was due to a 38's playoff game on the same night. I don't think we have that conflict this time around. In addition to getting these playoff games in during the week, we need to discuss the 28's playing some weekday games next year. From talking with most fo the managers, many of us are willing to go out and secure fields if it means we can play some weeknight games.
The notion that the winner of the Yankees/Orioles games would have led to an unfair advantage appears to me to be out of selfish concern by the Cubs for their potential plaoff chances while it disregards the fact that they had no right to have a hand in canceling the Yankees/Orioles games. If two teams are at the field and the field is playable, the games should be played. Neither field was walked the morning of the game by the commissioner or the Cub making the call on rainouts. If decisions about cancellations were made the night before (although improperly made by two managers not involved with the A-diamond game), then those decisions (and the ensuing sun-out cancellation for the following day) should that night have been relayed to the managers of the Orioles and the Yankees (who again, I reiterate, were never called even when the morning cancellation decision was made). If these phone calls were made and the decision to cancel both games was made clear the night before, hours of time by the Orioles and Yankees players would not have been wasted traveling to and sitting at the field.
Clearly, the Cubs controlled the cancellation of all games this weekend. It must be admitted by the Cubs decision makers that they were the main force in canceling games that they were not participating in, and they should have had no such hand in the cancellation. It must also be admitted by the commissioner that he followed along with these cancellations. I have never claimed there to be a conspiracy. However, canceling the A-diamond games based on conditions of the B-diamond the night before so as to protect the Cubs' playoff interests is by defenition "manipulation."
It is becoming apparent that these games are not being made up on these beautiful weeknights, which should be viewed as a wasted opportunity. I would probably need to miss at least one of these games myself should this happen, but that would merely be an unfortunate situation with regards to my personal schedule. If you have trouble fielding your team and need to work to get players at the field, welcome to the adult world. We all have commitments and have missed many games. Last Sunday we won our playoff game with an injured pitcher and only nine guys. We have won and lost games shorthanded with players out of position all season. A little dew on the ball and the "disadvantages" of playing potentially shorthanded under the lights are certainly preferable to playing in the rain, sleet, and snow.
With due respect to you, mgirard11, you admit in your post that you "were not involved in any discussions." I understand that you are trying to make arguments in favor of the way events transpired this weekend and in fact support many reasons why this weekend was a mess, and for that I am appreciative. However, the decisions this weekend were made by the Cubs and okayed by the commissioner and no other party. No member of the Yankees or Orioles was informed of this decision making process (probably because the Cub decision maker and commissioner recognized the clear conflict of interest).
No team should be allowed to determine whether or not a game not involving them should be played... And no commissioner should act on such a determination. People need to admit their inappropriate actions this weekend, action needs to be taken so that those people are held accountable, and changes need to be made with regards to league protocols to avoid clear conflicts of interests.
I love to play baseball and do so at the expense of family time and many other opportunities to do so. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that those people who have chosen to be responsible for running the league are not concerned with treating all players in the league with equity. Rather, decisions are made by and for the benefit of a select few. I again reiterate my concerns that this league is indicative on one destined to weaken in talent, lose teams, or fold altogether.
DP33 has the right perspective on this. There is no point trying to convince Mr. Landry that the Cubs had no hidden agenda other than to not waste the entire weekend in Central Park waiting for the rain to let up enough for us to get in a couple of baseball games. Our families are what is important along with those risking their lives to protect our right to waste our time whatever way we want! There is a movement out there to support our troops by wearing red on Friday's. I have been doing it for 3-4 weeks now. Join in and wear something red on Friday to acknowledge that you really do know what is important!
Mike, I can remember playing LOTS of games in the 28 division at night...maybe not this particular season but many seasons in the past.... anyway I wish all teams good luck and good times.... Mario
While I recognize as well the effort of out troop, this is simply a deflection of what went on this weekend. I support the troops, special olympics, MDA, ALS, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and numerous other groups who work to ensure a better life for all.
This does not change the fact that the Cubs screwed up and have yet to take responsibility for it. No team should be able to affect whether or not other teams' games are played REGARDLESS OF THE MOTIVE.
The following is an email I sent to Kevin Jackson and will be the last post I make with regards to the playoff debacle.
Kevin,
Thank you for taking the time to look into matters and helping to schedule fields for weeknights. I will respond to your questions starting with your last one. You state that the 28 league chose to run the league as a cooperative venture of all the managers, yet the decision to cancel the Yankees/Orioles game was made by Bryce (a member of the Cubs). The procedure in this league is for the two managers of the teams involved in the game to go to the field and make a decision. This procedure was circumvented by one opportunistic player and his ability to convince the commissioner that it was pouring at the field (information I have received through my manager, Mario). I hold the commissioner at fault in that he allowed a Cubs player to dictate the cancellation of a Yankee/Oriole game. It was Bryce, however, who lied to the commissioner about the conditions of the field. Bryce was never at the field on Sunday and told the commissioner that he was and that the fields were unplayable. Bryce was not merely consulted. He lied to the commissioner (who had no reason to believe he was lying) to get the Yankee/Oriole game cancelled.
The motivation for his cancellation of our games is simple and has been articulated by a member of the Cubs (mgirard11) under the post you mentioned in your email. For whatever reason, the Cubs had decided the night before that they did not want to play the games the following day (whether they thought it simply wasn't worth trying to get the games may be the reason). If the Yankees/Orioles games were played, however, the winner would have one week off to play properly rested the following weekend in the championship. Realizing that this could be the case, Bryce acted to ensure that NO games be played on Sunday to benefit his team (he feared playing on weeknights when the Yankees or Orioles would not need to and the matchups that would result by a tired Cubs pitching staff).
The Cubs did not want to play regardless of field conditions on Sunday and Bryce acted to manipulate the Orioles/Yankees playoff for his benefit. In my opinion, Bryce's actions need to be met with stern consequences (suspension from the playoffs).
It is interesting to note that Bryce and the Cubs got exactly the outcome they wanted from this weekend:
1. They did not play Sunday (as they decided as much on Saturday night) 2. The Yankees and Orioles did not play on Sunday (a decision the Cubs made on Sunday morning, particularly by Bryce and his lies to the commissioner) 3. All games are being played during the week with the finals this weekend ensuring that ALL teams have weakened pitching staffs (an act of selfishness since it was the Cubs who acted to cancel the Orioles/Yankees games... and their own for that matter)
Naturally, Bryce would be happy to find night game fields this week for all teams now that he succeeded in manipulating the playoffs to cover his screw up.
I hope this sheds light on the situation. I cannot emphasize enough the part that Bryce played in the manipulation of games to suit his purposes.
Sincerely, Keith Landry Orioles 3B/OF
This is all I will say now that all the dots are connected and all the facts are out. This discussion is over. See you on the field. I hope all teams have a fun and injury-free playoffs.
Keith, happy to see you will not be spewing any more misinformation concerning this past weekend. Your latest comments are both untrue and ridiculous.
The bottom line is, as it turned out, we obviously made a mistake in not playing Sunday. The fields were playable and the forecasted bad weather did not materialize. We did not have a plan for rain and it made for an embarrassing lost weekend. The Orioles and Yankees deserved better and had a right to be upset. Hopefully our division will improve our communications and we’ll learn from our mistakes.
Please read my playoff schedule and leave it at that. We all want to play. It was a bad decision and it happened, let it go. Good luck to everyone this week.
jmcquade wrote: The bottom line is, as it turned out, we obviously made a mistake in not playing Sunday. The fields were playable and the forecasted bad weather did not materialize. We did not have a plan for rain and it made for an embarrassing lost weekend. The Orioles and Yankees deserved better and had a right to be upset. Hopefully our division will improve our communications and we’ll learn from our mistakes.
You hit the nail on the head here. Conspiracy theories aside, it was a mistake and unfortunate. Aside from this, mgmt has done a pretty good job of getting fields and scheduling this year, much better than last year, and hopefully will learn from mistakes and get even better next year. It is a shame that the finals will be decided with the bottoms of the pitching staffs, It would be nice to see the top teams square off at the top of their game. But it is certainly fair, and maybe the weather will intervene again and allow it to happen.
I think it's important that this is not "let go." This very issue needs to be at the forefront of the off-season meetings and needs to be met with urgency. Whether of not there was a conspiracy afoot or not is immaterial.
A schedule of 20 games that runs from April 30th to September 9th is entirely too drawn out. I received an e-mail from John Kalinski who assured me that the 28+ seasons never involved scheduled weekday night games and any and all weekday night games were played as make-ups. I was also (apparently falsely) under the impression that the 28's used to wrap up the regular season before the Labor Day Tournament and (I thought) the first round of the playoffs as well. I thought I remembered this from my days with the Mets (2002-2003). And if Mario remembers it too, then I can't see where I am imagining this.
Can anyone explain to me WHY it is that it takes nearly FIVE MONTHS to complete a 20 game schedule? I can understand rain-outs, but even if there had been NO rain-outs at all, this season went scheduled from April 30th to September 9th (and consequently only ran three days past the intended season finale). That type of schedule for a player with a wife and young children (like a majority of us 28-38 year-olds) is far too encumbering. There HAS to be weekday night games and SCHEDULED double-headers to shorten the schedule and get it done before Labor Day. The fact that this season is going to go to (practiacally) Columbus Day is borderline absurd.
