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| Nov. 17, 2005 Walk | Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: Looking for team in KC area Rhino, e-mail me at bwalker3@kc.rr.com and I can help. We have some very good leagues in KC and a few AAA tournament teams. We are a little shy on 50+ tournament teams but we do have one or two. Walk |
| Nov. 2, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Recreational Softball Leagues...What's Wrong? Nothing new here in KC same problem and of course the admins want to blame someone or something other than their selves. We have a couple of great complexes here that are in perfect and yet no teams. The senior leagues on Tuesday and Thursday night are the only time one of the complexes are full with softball. What is the problem or problems? Bad umpires, bad managment, and no one knows what bats and balls are suppose to be used. I hate to say it but ASA is killing the game. The skate board park that is also housed in the complex we play at is always full. The soccer fields are always full and the golf course is always full. Two of those sports are more dangerous than softball could ever be and golf is popular. Also you see young adults and adult leagues at the skate board park and on the soccer fields. The time has come where softball leagues are going to have to do more than just provide a half azz park and umpires to attrack players. Walk |
| Oct. 23, 2005 Walk | Topic: Bats Discussion: Terry, Is it time for a "2" division senior national? Goon softball where have I heard that phrase beforeÖ. Oh yeah this past summer at Columbia Mo. We were playing a team out of ST. Louis and the wind was blowing in. We were using ASA bats and some of the worst softballs ever. Before the game started this team started talking about how there would be no goon softball played today. Well just as soon as the first hr was hit the complaining started. Illegal bats, goon softball, and so on. The umpire and TD checked the bats and they were legal in fact the St. Louis team was using the same bats. There were only two hr hit the whole game and if I remember right we spread the team by hitting, running, and playing defense. They even complained when the so called goon hit a rocket up the middle. It was not even close to the pitcher but the crying never did stop. What is boring is watching a game that is based on the other team making errors. This is SLOW PITCH softball. People are suppose to hit the ball hard and some are suppose to hit the ball far. Everyone has worried so much about the hr that the powers to be have installed hr rules, and time limits so what else do you want? AA and AAA donít have hrís or at least very few. AAA in the SSUSA allows balls hit over the fence to be doubles but not hrís so why do they enforce the AA and AAA rules on the Major and Major Plus divisions? If Major and Major Plus softball is nothing more than GOON softball then explain why we have hr rules, time limits, and regional rules. If you want AA and AAA to stay pure of the GOONS then you should be pushing for no regional rules for the upper levels and as you say we should be able to play ìone-dimensional crap that the goons call softballî without the restrictions of the AA and AAA mentality. But that is not what is happening. Instead senior softball is following the path of younger softball and if it keeps up it will die also. You are right the young men killed the game but they had a lot of help. Back when I played ìGOON SOFTBALLî in the old dayís one of the biggest tournaments in the country was the GATEWAY CLASSIC held in St. Louis. The tournament started in the late 1960ís and lasted until 2000 as its founder envisioned it. It was held on Memorial Day weekend and it was a blast. When he died his kids took over but then they started to get pushed out by USSSA and other associations. And now the tournament is nothing although the NSA director in St. Louis is trying to bring back softball in that area the way it use to be. It use to be a team had to get on the waiting list or sign up a year in advance to play in that tournament but not any more, why one might ask? Well it is simple the 7 different divisions to satisfy all the complaining about the skill levels killed it and young softball. Add to that the loss of sponsorships, money from the bat companies, and the greed of the associations and you have the death blow of young softball. The home runs, new bats, better balls, and ìone-dimensionalî softball had nothing to do with it. You cannot have a Super Major division, AA division, A division, B division, C division, D division, and E division and expect to survive. In 2000 the bat companies took away their sponsorships thus killing the AA division and super major division. Many of those players filtered down to B and B players went to C and so on. Now you only have 4 super major teams in the country and maybe 30 real A teams. You have home run rules at every level and very skilled players being forced to hit the ball down. Today it is called ankle softball. Also add to that players have moved down to where an AA player in 2000 is now playing D. Why, one might ask, well it is simple too many rules, restrictions, associations, divisions and lack of money. Add to that this new WWE attitude and you have the death of young softball. Kids coming into todayís game just say ìwhat the hellî I will go play baseball, golf, or any of the many other sports where the restrictions are few and life is easier. I know I help run softball here in KC. Right now the numbers are high in senior softball but if restrictions become greater and with the numbers becoming fewer in young softball then it will die out too. I was forced to sit out this year and by the rules of the associations I will be allowed to play AAA softball next year. I will not sit out another year and if they do not allow major plus teams to pick up at least one player from around the country then this GOON will be playing down and if I do play down with the KC team then you might be surprised just how well this goon can play defense and play ankle high softball. If the restrictions donít change then the fate of senior softball will follow what is happening today in young softball. Major Plus and major players will be playing AAA softball and AAA players will fall to AA. These so called goons will adapt to the AAA game and then the AAA players will adapt to the AA game and those games will change dramatically. I understand upper level softball is not for everyone but then again lower level softball is not for everyone. What I donít understand is how upper level softball became the so called evil part of the game. You call upper level players goonís because all they can do in your opinion is play ìone-dimensional crap that the goons call softballî while you play pure softball. Well playing a game that is based on the pitcher pitching the ball SLOW and playing seven innings with the ending score 7-6 and the winning run scored on an error is not pure softball either. As I remember from dayís gone bye the home run was part of the game as were base hitting, fielding, running, and errors. No one looked down on base hitters, great fielders, or home run hitters all we really did was just try to get better. Of course that was before the associations brought in the different levels of play and now working at getting better is not important. The only thing that is important is complaining about the levels one does not play in and making sure the level one does play in stays the course. That is fine but change is coming if the powers to be do not wake up and smell the roses. Trust me the so called goons do not want to play in AA or AAA but they want to play and they will play. Walk PS sorry for the length of this but I do get tired of hearing how the home run and the guys who hit them are the problems with the game. The problems with the game are the restrictions and the non enforcements of the rules for everyone. If AA and AAA players want their game to stay as is then they should push for opening the boarders at the Major plus level somewhat. Otherwise major plus players will be playing at the AAA level before long. |
| Oct. 19, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Exemption rule? As a player who is retired by the rules as they stand now I would be all for naming one team and then being frozen on that team for the year. Walk |
| Oct. 18, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Exemption rule? That there is going to be one at the major plus level. I hope so because retirement SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Oct. 7, 2005 Walk | Topic: Bats Discussion: Next Hot Bat? If you can swing an endload the Envy is great. |
| Sept. 22, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Illegal Players!! Post Script. The USSSA 55 AAA 2005 world champs were not allowed to play in the SPA AAA worlds this year because they were told their world championship was against Major teams. Now remember they already booked their trip to Texas and the Major and Major Plus worlds were played in July. So they are sol on their air tickets. So three guys decided to play on the local AA 60+ team (over half of the team that won the USSSA 55 AAA were 60+). They were moved up to AAA and of course did very bad. At the same time a 55 AAA team added two players from the USSSA champs and they were not moved up and yet if I play with this same team without the other two this team is forced to move up to major. Is it me or are the rules being decided as season goes? Also wold like to know why a guy can call up a association head and tell him he is working in a certain state for two months and be allowed to play on a team outside of his area? And yet when I mention I have no place to play and was retired this year I was told tough luck. |
| Sept. 22, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Illegal Players!! Something smells fishy here. The Spa a member of the summit tells the KC AAA team if my name shows up on their roster then they are a major team. I was told the samething applies for SSWC which means I cannot play AAA in any association because the team will be forced to move up and yet three guys are allowed to play without the auto move up? So here I sit not playing this year and others are allowed to move around as they wish. Make one wonder. Walk |
| Sept. 15, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 0K HOW ABOUT FREAK PLUS Yes it is and maybe a little better but you cannot use it in ASA. The Maniac 585 in the 29 and 30 ounce models is better than the Freak Plus in my opinion. |
| Sept. 14, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: freak98 sportsdiamond.com has NIW Freaks for $319 |
| Sept. 7, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: ASA bat testing machine My point to posting this is that these compression machines are flawed and should not be used as a true final test to see if the bat is legal. If a USSSA bat can pass the ASA test then why can it not be used? Why do we have to have two bats if the USSSA bats pass their compression test. Yes the U2 is hotter but NIW it passed their compression test which would mean that if you used a NIW U2 it should be legal. They came up with the test and standards no one else did. If the bat passes the test they use then it should be legal. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen and it is BS that players have to have both ASA and USSSA bats if the USSSA bats pass the test. I know some will say just buy the ASA bats but instead of saying that we should question if ASA actually knows what it is doing when it comes to bat testing. |
| Sept. 4, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: ASA bat testing machine Per the person doing the testing with the machine the 240 mark is the lowest a bat test and still be legal for ASA play. Anything below that is too hot for play next year and anything above that is ok. Which makes me ask the question if a USSSA bat passes this test then it will be ok for ASA play. My buddy asked this question. The answer he got was silence. I was then told by someone else via e-mail in ASA that the number 240 is wrong and it is suppose to be 280. Which if you look at the numbers I was quoted many of the USSSA bats still passed. I asked the same question again about the legal use of the USSSA bats and to this date no answer. Anyone want to bet on if and when this data for the USSSA bats gets lost or when we hear the machine was not set right? Gary it has never been the fault of ASA didn't you know that. It has always been the fault of the bat companies and ball companies. They were the ones who forced these new rules by pushing the limit. They have always had the players best interest at heart. It never once was about money. Now I am sick. Walk PS My buddy called this morning and told me a NIW U2 also passed the 240 test. |
| Sept. 3, 2005 Walk | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: ASA bat testing machine A buddy of mine is down at the ASA B worlds and they are using their new bat compression machine to test bats but the bats will not be thrown out this year if they fall below the 240 mark that is being used by the ASA person. Anyway he had all his bats tested. Easton Synergy Extended 30 ounce, Freak 28 ounce (both well used), Synergy Plus 30, Synergy 2 30, Freak Plus 30, and CNT Flex 30. The first two bats tested at 167 and 188 which is hotter than the U2 and both bats are well used. The USSSA bats which are about a year old tested 290 SPlus, and the F Plus 300 well above the 240 mark. The CNT is NIW and it tested out at 331 as did the Synergy 2. He also had his friends PST's tested. One was the new ASA model and the other the USSSA model. Both tested out at over 400+ So the question is why do we have to buy different bats for ASA, USSSA, and NSA? If this machine is the last word in if a bat is legal for ASA play next year at their tournaments and if any bat passes then I would assume that bat would legal to use. One wonders how long it will be before the data on the USSSA bats is lost or that 240 number is raised. Walk |
| Aug. 3, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Need Snowbirds Response SoCal'er the teams around KC have talked to the SPA and all they get is the same stubborn answer and that is the summit made the regional rules and the player movement rules. When questioned on how they will support that rule and yet over look the other things that have happened there is no answer other than that was the TD decision. I am told I will get to play in the SSUSA tournament here in KC with the AAA team to see how it goes but that tournament has not made and I believe that could be my only chance. Walk PS MK I am hanging bro. |
| Aug. 3, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Need Snowbirds Response I would just be happy if they would let me play with the AAA team around here instead of not playing. I guess I should have just said I was thinking about moving. If I had done that I could have played this year. |
| Aug. 2, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Need Snowbirds Response TaterinGA, I am not a snowbird but I am one who is affected by these stupid regional rules and player movement rules. I have been reitred by these rules and while many have tried to help few have taken this type of stand. I understand your point but at least you get to go to tournaments and get beat by these snowbirds. Guys in my situtation get to stay home and read about it on the net or take up golf. If the snowbird rules is to be changed then it would seem only fair that people like me be given a chance to play also. I don't care now if it is AAA in my region or major plus as a one player exemption but we should be allowed to play. When this was brought up to the SPA just last week after what y'all encountered and how the rule was changed I was told point blank that the summit decided on the regional rules and the player movement rules and that I could not play and yet the rule that made CA and FL stand alone for this year was not followed. So it looks like the only way guys who are stuck can play is via this snowbird rule. Senior softball is suppose to be about seniors playing ball and yet some are disallowed because of the regional rules and the player rules and some are not. I would suggest if we fixed those rules then most of the snowbird stuff might just go away. Walk |
| July 28, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Requesting the Snowbird List MK, I would agree with your assessment. Sent you an e-mail. Walk |
| July 28, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Requesting the Snowbird List MK not blaming you at all. Just stating that when it comes to changing rules the ones who hide always can be counted on going over board to teach us lessons. I have come to the conclusion I will be playing AAA from this point on when I get to play. It has become obvious that using the USSSA rule is too simple and fair but then again USSSA thought of it. There is the problem. God forbid anyone would use something that works. You are right that is the fix but I would almost bet my house you will never see it in any other associations. All I am saying is I understand what you guys are saying but beware the fix will be beyond what anyone is asking for. Walk |
| July 28, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Requesting the Snowbird List MK39 I wonder if they would have made the same agreement for me? I understand the concern and the want to change things but please take into consideration that fact some of use have no place to play and have been forced to retire because of the regional rules. Now if the snowbird rule is changed (because they will go over board just like they did when RB complained last year about legal players) legit snowbird players could be forced to retire. When making a suggestion about a rule we should take it upon ourselves to have something that works to replace the rule. If not then the power to be's will always over react. Walk |
| July 20, 2005 Walk | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Requesting the Snowbird List I understand the concern here but has anyone thought of how to fix this if this rule if it is put to death so all can play? Nothing I say to the associations seems to matter about people like me and I would hate to see real snowbirds get iced. You guys know how things like this goes. Instead of fixing it fairly they will over react and then legal snowbirds and guys like me will be forced to retire or stay that way forever and believe me retirement SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
