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Real name:
Phil Hewett
Location:
Woodbridge, NJ
Division:
Men's 55
Messages posted by pwhewett »Message board home »Start a new discussion
| Dec. 24, 2008 pwhewett | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: rule changes Hey, Omar! Let me hit Clinchers with a wood bat and I promise you I'll bounce 1 in 10 off of you - you won't be able to field them. I've played hardball, fastpitch, modified and slowpitch and pitchers at every level, with every possible combination of balls and bats, get hit. I'm a pitcher, I know what it is like. Your at risk mostly when you are concentrating on ball placement (or whatever) instead of fielding - though the line drive right at your face or groin can be tough to get to. The ball will come at you from 85 to 110 miles per hour. Anything over 75 and you can be toast. We are also over 50 - simply don't have the same reflexes. You want to play nerf ball or its equivalent go to another association. I'll take my chances playing at this level. As for the out, it is a dumb rule that will just annoy people. A lot of folks assume all players at all levels have the necessary bat control to CHOOSE whether to hit the ball at the pitcher or not. That assumes all players always hit the ball where they want to. HA! Why would ANYONE WANT to hit the ball up the middle thru the pitcher??? It is always a mistake. I want to put the ball on the green, not low where someone might get to it!!!! Don't we all wish we could place the ball perfectly 100% of the time??? Ha! |
| Dec. 24, 2008 pwhewett | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: HITTING THE MIDDLE I pitch and all of us know we are going to get hit occasionally. We all know the ball can be deadly. 90% of us say it is a part of the game - just as hitting up the middle is. The ONLY way to protect the pitcher - if we are serious about doing so - is to use the pitching screen. Hit the screen or dribble something short it is a dead ball foul. Surprisingly few hits do strike the screen. Pitcher can field left or right of it. I hate the screen and hate losing the benefit of the outs the pitcher can generate. The halo business is going to be hell due to umpire judgement issues and is flat out unfair to hitters - as a pitcher I'll keep the ball low and 2/3 outside just trying to get u to hit it in the halo. Lots of problems with halo and the bottom line is the pitcher, if hit, can still get killed or severely injured. Either use the screen or stop complaining. |
| Dec. 24, 2008 pwhewett | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Major Plus Idea seeking comments Looking for reactions: Major Plus teams have great lineups that hit. Due to time constraints and the 5 run rule it can be difficult to both reflect the overall talent of the team and to match up to the talent of the other team. My suggestion is to play a 3 or 4 inning game in which ten (4 innings) or 12 (three innings) batters go to the plate each time. The maximum runs possible would be 36 to 40. All 10 defensive psns bat and you can have 2 EHs. Mercy rule would be in effect if one team has so many more runs that the other team won't have enough at bats to catch up. The better one's defense, the fewer runs necessary to win. Unlimited HR or whatever you want. Game time might have to go to 1:15. Speed it up by starting with a 1-1 count. Do a couple trial tournaments with it to see how it goes. |
| Dec. 23, 2008 pwhewett | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Rule Chaanges discussion SSUSA has the ability to send out surveys via mass emails to all of us. Whole thing can easily be arranged so the responses are handled by the computer. Before making monumental changes they can ask for feedback on issues, read them, then create a survey allowing us to "vote" on our preferences. They may then publish the results and we can talk about them further. SSUSA can also do "trials" of the suggested changes in small tournaments prior to forcing them onto everyone. Once again, conduct the trials and write up the results and opinions of those who played with them. In my region players overwhelmingly dislike the pitcher/out and HR/out rules changes. Issue shouldn't be HR but getting teams correctly seeded. Move the stronger teams up to where they belong, but keep the rankings close enough so teams moving up aren't "also-rans" when they start. Use runs scored in elimination game. Use runs scored per innings played as the criteria. A - less than 16 per 7 inning game. AA; less than 21. AAA: less than 26. Major ; less than 31. Major +: 31 plus. Really want to protect the pitcher? Use a batting screen. Anything else and you are fooling yourself or using nerf balls and/or bats. Otherwise pitcher takes his chances; maybe wears armor. I've played with the screen. Two or three balls per game the pitcher won't make a play or the batter won't get a single but surprisingly few balls actually hit the screen. Make it a dead ball foul. Our pitcher got hit in the neck last season by an unfieldable line drive; missed crushing his larynx by an inch. Personally I hate the screen but I won't forget how I felt when the guy got hit. I'd like to experiment with the screen in some small tourneys to see how it goes. |
| Dec. 23, 2008 pwhewett | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Rule Changes are not representative I have been conducting a survey amongst tourney players in the NJ-Pa-NY-Del area and with over 100 responses from 7 teams find that 95% think the revenge rule making it an out if the pitcher is hit by an ball serves no purpose - only 2 of 11 pitchers like the rule. Not one player asked thinks changing the HR rule making it an out once the allotted number are hit is smart; most agree that it will result in more pitchers getting hit as the HR hitters start going up the middle instead. AAA teams are being given a paltry 3 HR per game. That doesn't matter as much if the HR becomes a single but it is a major issue if the hit is an out. Want pitcher safety? Use the batting screen or take your chances. Want to equalize the competition levels? Using elimination games only, go by run differential. Use average runs scored per innings played to account for games shortened by time. SSUSA made great strides last few years by listening to ballplayers and making rules accordingly. Make the mistake ASA/NSA made and watch folks scurry to SPA or to someone who will listen. |
| June 25, 2007 pwhewett | Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: Glen Burnie and more I am looking for a 50+ team looking for a solid AA or AAA player. I am a .700 line drive hitter with some power, good wheels. Play OF. The team I was going with had a rash of no-shows and could not go. I would like to get on a team that dependably plays in tournaments. Thanks!pwhewett@msn.com. |
| June 25, 2007 pwhewett | Topic: Teams looking for players Discussion: Looking for Men's 50+ Players I am very interested in going to Glen Burnie and perhaps more. I bat around .700, run and play OF well and I hit with some power; with the U2 I hit a home run every 8 at bats. |
| Feb. 1, 2007 pwhewett | Topic: Bats Discussion: Home runs, how far with a normal bat...? In NJ we only use decent 375/44 balls and, all conditions considered, find that the U2 adds about 35' to everyone's hits compared to the Freak, and that the Freak hits 15 - 20' further than any other bats we've tried. Every now and then the U2 launches a ball up to 100' over the max of a Freak - wish I could find out how to practice that stroke but everyone that experiences it agrees that sometimes the ball just takes off! When it is real hot and humid the ball loses 40-50'; we don't know if the problem is the balls, the bats, or a combination of both. |
