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Online now: 3 members: Blizzo35, Dick6, TABLE SETTER 11; 105 anonymousDetails for Bruce M
Real name:
Bruce MacLaren
Location:
North Bend, WA
Division:
Men's 55
Messages posted by Bruce M »Message board home »Start a new discussion
| June 12, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Reno From my experience, Golden Eagle has the finest softball fields on the western side of the Rockies. I don't think I have ever played a better complex. Don't know much about east of the Rockies. I did play at the USSSA Spacecoast complex once. That is the finest complex I have ever seen. I've heard that the fields at Bell Park in Phoenix are spectacular. I haven't had the opportunity to play there yet. |
| May 11, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Courtesy Runner Agree with Dave here. As an umpire, part of my job is to keep the game flowing. Most games are on the clock. I'm not going to suspend play while a player argues with their manager. |
| May 2, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Senior Softball: A hitter's game? Hey Mark - Love your wisdom. Thanks for sharing. It's great you put some numbers to your thoughts. Really makes sense. If you don't mind, I'm going to steal that: "The best a hitter can do is 4 runs and even that depends on the teammates." However, a great defensive play can stop a 5 run inning." Excellent! |
| April 24, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Senior Softball: A hitter's game? How many times have I heard this, "Softball is a hitter's game. But defense wins championships!" At the outset, that seems like a contradiction. And so, when a great manager tells me, "Defense wins championships." I like to ask, "What kind of stats do you keep?" If a book is kept accurately, most of the time I see offensive stats. Online Base Percentage is the most common outcome. Yet, I rarely see a book with defensive stats. If a manager truly cares about defense, why are they only keeping offensive stats? What are they doing with the .720 OBP player, who makes 5 errors, 6 missed cut offs, and allows 5 resulting runs? Well, I start by saying....if you care...how do you even know if you don't have the stats? What say you, the experts of Softball? Which is more important for a winning team? Offense? Defense? Or is it, "Offense gets you far and is a must, but defense wins championships?" |
| Nov. 21, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Want to see instant game results of every tournament without waiting? Video of every game? I agree with you. Depending upon the desired result, different technology options could be explored. Today, the process seems manual. Brackets appear in pdf form. (are they/can they be created electronically? If yes, they can be hosted on a Web App electronically) Scores from games are written on pieces of paper. Those, in turn, need to be consolidated, another manual process. Once they are consolidated, they appear to be scanned and uploaded onto a website. The number of people, who have read-write authority on the website, are limited. If this process were re-thought, and basic technology were utilized, a desired result would be achievable. Example: Imagine a SSSUA sanctioned umpire with an app on their phone. At the end of a game, once both teams have signed the paper form, the umpire inputs the score of the game. (10 seconds) The app electronically consolidates all scores and at the same time posts them to a website. People could access that website from anywhere. The signed forms can be archived for audit purposes in case of errors. Slightly less complicated than sending humans to the moon in the 1960s. |
| Nov. 20, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Want to see instant game results of every tournament without waiting? Video of every game? Forgot to mention one can see instant bracket results as well. You don't have to watch the videos to see the results after a game. You can see who won...the scores...instantly. The technology exists. |
| Nov. 20, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Want to see instant game results of every tournament without waiting? Video of every game? A recurring theme I see on the message board is, "When will the results be posted?" Technology exists that would facilitate every single game being live-streamed. It could be archived. You could follow your favorite teams. So, the real question is, what would you be willing to pay for that service? (I'm not selling or advocating any product here. I'm only opening up a discussion). How do I know this is possible? I use this technology every day. My daughter is an NCAA wrestler. I've been following her matches since High School online (when I can't be there in person) Now that she is far away at college, I can still follow her all over the country...even internationally, when she competes. I can see her wrestle in real time. Instant results. I can also follow up later, because every bout is archived. She studies those tapes of her bouts (and others) to learn...to improve...to be the champion that she is. Aside from video, I can also follow the bouts...as they are happening....by written text....to my phone....to my computer...to my tablet. This isn't new technology. It's been around for years. There is a price to pay. We pay a monthly subscription, which accounts to far less per year than a price for a single senior softball bat. If...and this is a big if....Senior Softballers were willing to pay for such a service...it could be done. My guess is that a small minority would be willing to pay for it. I could be wrong, but I think the majority of softballers simply don't care enough to want to pay for it. They play...they leave...they move on. |
| Oct. 14, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: CHANGE IN POLICY FOR PLAYERS COMPETING IN TWO AGE GROUPS I think this is a great change to an already great policy. SSUSA has really thought this through on many levels. What seems so simple really can get complicated in the execution. I really appreciate that SSUSA does so much to keep the competition fair and on the same level. I had the opportunity to play in a USSSSA Senior Draft this year. Whilst it was fun, it was noticeably different. We had 40s playing against teams that were 60s without any equalizer. What would have been easily been called excessive speed (flat) in SSUSA is a strike in USSSSA Senior softball. The pitcher was also allowed to hide (not juke) the ball completely before throwing it. My point isn't to bash USSSA Senior Softball at all. I enjoyed it. It does, however, present the opportunity to appreciate how well thought out SSSUSA truly is. I don't think it is just about keeping it fair. It's also about keeping is safe. Don't think I want to see a 40s major batter hitting against a 65 AA pitcher on an outside pitch. Nobody wants to see dangerous injuries on the ball field in senior softball. SSUSA does a terrific job at policies which keep people safe. |
| Sept. 26, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Hows the new ball performing at worlds Dave? Recently took a poll on a separate Senior Softball Message board for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, Montana of preferred softballs for tournaments. The choices were: The XRock SSUSA, Stote SSUSA, Baden Fire Senior Ball, Gold Dot. Here are the results: 70% X Rock SSUSA. 30% Stote SSUSA. Baden Fire Senior Ball, 0%. Gold Dot, 0%. There is some data for you. |
| Sept. 19, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Hows the new ball performing at worlds Dave? Thank you, Brett. I play in the outfield I thought I was going nuts. After the ball got dirty, I couldnt' track it in the outfield anymore. I could track it when it came my direction....but when it went to the opposite field, I couldn't see it. Not sure that is a problem with the particular ball...or just getting used to that kind of field condition. I don't remember having that problem with the Stotes or the Rocks. |
| Sept. 19, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Hows the new ball performing at worlds Dave? My understanding is that the Stote is still on backorder. Will SSSUSA commit to purchasing and using the SSUSA Stote with Microcell technology once the back order arrives? Once available, will the SSUSA stamped Trump Stote be the preferred ball moving forward in SSUSA sanctioned tournaments? |
| Sept. 18, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Product review Discussion: The new Senior Baden ball. Dave Dowell, that's a personal attack. You continue to go low. I'll stay high. Please reread my comments above. I think I was pretty clear. I understand you feel my comments are irrelevant. That's ok.I didn't post them for you. |
| Sept. 17, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Product review Discussion: The new Senior Baden ball. If SSUSA is not hearing complaints about this ball, they are not listening. Yes, the ball is yellow. Yes, it is spherical. Yes, I have personally witnessed it getting dimples in it here in Vegas after a few hits. Had to be exchanged . Yes, Baden could supply enough. The ball doesn't come close to the SSUSA Stote. It's a universe away from the SSUSA Rocks we hit in years past. Microcell technology performs better than the Baden ball. And for those who say we whine about the quality of the ball performance, why aren't you using an alloy bat?? Why do I see high performance carbon fiber? Balls do matter. Supply matters. Having enough for 662 teams matters. For reasons unknown to me, the huge order from SSUSA of their Stotes remains outstanding....for over eight months. China. Factory? Ships? Zero Covid tolerance at port? Don't know. So, SSUSA chose to go with a company that could supply enough for Worlds. That makes sense. 44/375 in 90 degree heat? No way to verify that on a random sampling of balls here. The rating on the ball does not mean that is what it is. Yes, people are hitting HRs. However, people were hitting HRs with the lowflight balls we used at Worlds during Covid in St. George. That didn't make them fun to hit. Hopefully the order of Stotes will arrive for next season....if not for winter world's....then early in 2023. If not...let's build a factory in the USA!! I'd pay twice as much to hit the Stotes. My opinion. |
| Sept. 16, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Hows the new ball performing at worlds Dave? The Baden Fire Senior Ball is terrible. It's like hitting a pillow. I trust that SSUSA still does have a large outstanding order of Stotes that havent been delivered. Happy to be here. Love the tournament. Love the people. I just hate that ball. |
| June 27, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Runner going to 2nd on ground ball over the middle with fielder racing to 2nd, both converge and collision ensues - who's at fault? Thanks Ronnie! I've seen this happen. It was not pretty. In my case, the shortstop was making a double play from the middle. The runner smashed into him, preventing the double play. The runner claimed he was running inside of the baseline, so he was justified. The umpire called the play dead. The runner was called out. In the judgement of the umpire, a double play was not likely, so the batter was awarded first base. Sliding is fine. But intentionally running into a player to stop a double play in senior ball is dangerous...hence the reason for the rule in the first place. |
| May 31, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: Pitcher looking for team. Tazz - It would be helpful if you shared more information: Experience with Senior Softball. Age. Level. Where in Washington? Are you willing to travel out of state and pay your own way.... contact information.... |
| May 31, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Women's softball Discussion: Starting a Senior Women’s Softball League Wonderful, Mary! We need more women playing Senior Softball! All my very best to you! |
| May 8, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Bats Discussion: Enough Said Shazam! Bruce and Dave actually agree upon something. You see, my friend, that's a foundation upon which to build. Have a great day! |
| May 6, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Bats Discussion: Enough Said Section 3-4 (6) Penalty for using an altered bat – If a bat is suspected of being altered to enhance performance, a tournament official will determine if the bat will be allowed to be used in play or will request that it be voluntarily surrendered by the owner for inspection. Rolling a bat could reasonably meet this definition: "Altered to enhance performance" |
| May 5, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: You make the call I trust the tournament directors will correct me. I've done some research. Seems that Section 1.48 covers this: Obstruction: B. A fielder who is not in possession of the ball, in the act of fielding a batted ball, nor about to receive a thrown ball, who impedes the progress of a runner or batter-runner who is legally running bases. Although one could interpret this to be physical obstruction, it could also apply to a catcher who makes a loud call that could reasonably be heard as coming from the umpire. This is also called out in 8.4 when runners are entitled to advance... So, it seems it is the umpire's judgement call as to if the catcher's loud voice constituted an obstruction. If yes, I think the umpire can call the ball dead and award each base runner an extra base. |
