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Online now: 2 members: Gummie, TABLE SETTER 11; 113 anonymousDetails for Beasley
Real name:
John Beasley
Location:
West Palm Beach, FL
Division:
Men's 50
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| June 27, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Major Plus It's like putting tooth paste on your tooth brush. Do you squeeze the tube at the top? If you do - where does the majority of the tooth paste go - down. Do you squeeze the tube in the middle? If you do - some goes up and some goes down. If you squeeze it at the bottom all the tooth paste goes up. I just don't understand Tim's thinking. You seem hell bent on not making your team better but breaking up the good teams to bring the competition level to you. That being the case, I'm guessing you're going to the SPA Worlds because of the Impact Player rule. If you're not going then why not? It's pretty much what you want. Here's another analogy for you - I'm General Motors and I'm having a difficult time making and selling cars because my cars just aren't as good as the foreign cars. So I push Congress to pass laws that say the foreign car makers have to make crappier cars so that I can compete with them. That's the good ole American way that I remember. It took us years to find the right players to form what we feel is a good Major+ team. We are a self sponsored team and I can't begin to tell you how difficult it is to find quality players with good attitudes that don't mind footing their share of the entry fee, travel costs, lodging and meals. If we are fortunate enough to win a World Tournament and have to get rid of everyone except 6 players we would go from a good Major+ team to a team that couldn't compete AT ALL. We wouldn't form two teams, instead we would disband and while some players may catch on with other Major+ teams, the majority would drop down to the Major level. Is that what you really want? If Tim and his team don't like playing Major+ so much, let them drop - with this stipulation: they can only keep 6 players and of those 6 only 3 can be starters. Let Tim pick up a whole new team and rebuild the chemistry that his guys have built through the years. Teams have complained that it's too expensive to play Major+ because you have to travel to play other Major+ teams. Well if more teams classified Major+ then there would be more teams in your area. IMO (yeah I know it smells like my butt) there are a couple Major teams here in Florida that could easily be bumped to Major+. We've played them in several tournaments and even though we have to give a player or runs, the games have been very competitive. I don't mean to pick on Tim, it's just that I get tired of hearing that the best teams should break up. Major+ IS the cream of the crop, the best teams in the country. Don't think so - then do away with the equalizer rules and play them straight up by the Major+ rules. There may be some players in the lower divisions that are just as good or even better then the Major+ players but at least the guys currently playing Major+ have the guts to get out there and compete at the highest level. I'm sure there'll be some guy giving me an earful the next time I make an error, don't make a play I should, or make an out. Oh well. Think it's easy - then put on your cleats, grab your bat and take my spot. |
| June 25, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Major Plus Limiting the courtesy runners could be varied for the different age groups with the higher the age the higher the number of courtesy runners. Maybe even restrict it by age group and level. It's another tough nut to crack. I would agree that being able to use a courtesy runner for anyone on the team has turned into a strategic event. It seems like anytime a slow guy gets on base it's a no brainer that someone will replace him. If the rules allow it the teams are going to do it. On the flip side, there are guys that are now enjoy playing the game they played when they were younger. There are some that this rule has helped because while they love the game, they just aren't physically able to get around the bases anymore. Without this rule they wouldn't be able to play. These guys aren't usually your outfielders or middle infielders but play positions where you're only expected to get a step or two. I think this one will take some cyphering Jefrow. |
| June 25, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Major Plus I'm sure I'll stir up a hornets nest but what the heck. I have to disagree (surprise) with idahoreb. Defense is more important at the Major+ level than any other level. Everything that is mis-hit and stays in the park HAS to be turned into an out or you give the other team a big inning. EVERY play that is hit to an infielder has to be made or it turns into a big inning and you're going to need a couple ESPN type plays. Otherwise you're right, you're going to get drilled. IMO if you're going to impose tougher rules, impose them at the lower levels to force the sandbaggers to move up where they belong. For instance at AA - one homerun and an inning ending out. Yes, in some cases with the wind blowing out you'll see a few innings ending because of a home run but heck that's the way it goes. AAA - three homeruns and an inning ending out. Maybe change the Major level to five homeruns and one up - an out if you can't go one up. Lower division teams seem to think that they have to match homeruns with a higher division. Do you know how many times I've had my butt wore out by a lower level team that base hit us to death? Or how many times I've played on a team that's wore out a "superior" team by just playing our game? Go out and score your 30 something runs a game and I'll bet that you'll be there in the end. Don't get intimidated because you're playing this team or that team. Who cares that a team has guys that played some big time softball back in the day or that they're in the Senior Softball Hall of Fame. That's how you lay your claim to fame, by beating them. I think the associations should band together and move teams up at the first hint they are sandbagging regardless of when it is - even in the middle of a tournament. But it needs to be across all the associations because teams will say SSUSA moves us up so we're going to play SPA, ISSA, or Billy Bobs Corn Field league. I heard, and I can't remember where, that a team showed up to play in a lower division in a tournament and after spanking two team, was given the option of being moved to an upper level or having their entry fee refunded and go home. That takes some nads by the tournament director but (IMO) is exactly what needs to be done. Go ahead and let it rip guys, the bait's out there. |
| June 22, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: SPA tourney in Daulton Ga. Hey Mario, Team 1 Sports is planning to be there. I contacted Ridge the other day to get some info and he says he's gotten "a great deal of interest since they went to an impact players list". Beaz Team 1 Sports #3 |
| April 28, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Your Prayers are Needed Steve, I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of meeting you, but I'm sure the rest of my Team 1 Sports teammates will be including Mena in their prayers. We hope everything works out for Mena and the rest of the family. John Beasley Team 1 Sports |
| April 23, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament Results Team 1 Sports won it. Addictive (C&M) finished 2nd and Team Tennessee ADL was 3rd. I believe Monster was 4th. |
| April 8, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament Results Update - I talked to Roger yesterday and he's at home recoperating from surgery. Roger ended up staying in the hospital an extra day or two because of some issues that arose but in true Roger form, he got through them and was released. As much as I (and I'm sure all of us) would like to see Roger on the field this week, it's going to be a little while. Per doctors orders, Roger is doing laps around his house when he can to rebuild his endurance. He's also using a breathing device to keep his lungs clear so that he doesn't have to go back to the hospital. Roger was very thankful for all the thoughts and prayers everyone sent his way. I'm sure that when he makes it back to the field he'll do his best to thank everyone. Wendy is also doing better. As you can imagine she was very concerned for Roger and wore herself out doing everything she could to help. There's still a ways to go but Wendy can breath a little easier and get some much deserved rest. John Beasley Team 1 Sports Softball |
| March 29, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament Results Update - Wendy says that Roger is sitting up this morning and they are expecting to move him back upstairs this morning. As expected, Wendy is a pretty happy camper. I'm sure there are quite a few of us that are enjoying the good news. John |
| March 28, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament Results About 8:00 pm Wendy texted and said that Roger was out of surgery and everything went very well. She said that he'll be in CVICU through the night and that they're hoping to move him tomorrow sometime. Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. I'll be sure to pass them along to Roger when I can. John Beasley |
| March 28, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament Results I texted Roger the other day and passed along everyone's thoughts and prayers. Roger appreciates them all. Wendy texted me about noon and said they were beginning to prep Roger for his surgery. As soon as I get an update from Wendy I'll do my best to let everyone know. |
| March 26, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament Results I spoke with Wendy (Roger's wife) a short time ago and she said that Roger doesn't have a feaver any longer and the tests they ran today came back looking good. It looks like the surgery will take place Thursday. I'm sure Roger appreciates all the thoughts and prayers that are being sent his way. I'll try to post updates on Roger's condition when they're available. John Beasley Team 1 Sports Softball #3 |
| Feb. 28, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Move Ups in SPA & impact player list After seeing this thread I went to the other association's site to check it out. I have to say that I don't agree with imposing a limit of "impact" players on a Major+ team is the right thing to do. This is just my opinion, but if Major+ is your top division - i.e. your top hitters, your top fielders, your so called cream of the crop, then restricting the number of those players on a Major+ team forces those teams to pickup players that aren't the so called cream of the crop. A couple players on our team have already talked about the impact this could have on us and the opinion right now is that we're not going to get rid of a guy just because he's on the Impact Player list. If that puts us over the limit, we just won't play SPA. Their loss - one less Major+ team they'll have at their tournaments. |
| Feb. 11, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Tournament of Champions I wanted to say THANK YOU to all of the SSUSA staff that put on another successful tournament. For the most part all of our games were on time and while we didn't agree with every call (what team does that?) the umpiring was pretty good. And my hat is off to whoever ordered up the weather! This years banquet was the first that I've attended in several years and I have to say it was much better then the year we froze in the hanger. Dave Dowell - It was nice to talk with you. It was even better to be able to ask a question and get a straight, honest answer. Thank you. |
| Feb. 11, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: TOC 50 MAJOR UPDATES Team 1 Sports won the Platinum Division. Since the (we) are Major+, we're also the Major+ Tournament of Champions champions. Good Times beat H&O/Team Snake in the finals of the losers bracket and lost to Team 1 in the finals to finish 2nd and become the Major Tournament of Champions champions. H&O/Team Snake beat Northeast Storm to finish 3rd. Northeast Storm finished 4th. Metro Stars and TSC Construction went out at the same time and would have finished 5th. |
| Feb. 1, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Reclassifying Teams @Allan55 - Please remember that my intention in pointing out the changes to Veltri wasn't to get them to move back up. As far as I know they followed the rules set forth by the sanctioning bodies and applied to move back Major. They may have even done this before they knew they were going to have roster changes. I was merely trying to point out that I applaude what SSUSA has done to get teams into what they believe is the correct classification. But it's a first step. I believe that the roster composition plays into a team's rating. And you can't rate a roster without rating the players in some manner. As others have pointed out, the Impact Players List is flawed because players are put on it because their team selected them for the All Tournament Team. Does one tournament make you an impact player? I talked about this thread with another member of Team 1 Sports Softball and we both agreed that this process isn't going to solve the problem over night. It's going to take years and it's going to be painful in many ways. Teams/players aren't going to like being told they can't sandbag at a lower level. They're going to threaten to play somewhere else. While it's easy to say good riddens, it's going to cost the association some money. For the integrity of the game, they're (the association) going to need to stand by their decision and let them leave. When they find out that noone follows them and they don't have anyone to play, they'll be back. |
| Jan. 31, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Reclassifying Teams Southerson, Yes, I think that Florida Automated Shade is a very good AAA team. And I also think that you can't compare Florida Half Century with SSUSA, SPA or any other organization because there's a big difference in who can play on what team. For instance, the team playing as T1S/SSC has a few of the players that play with Team 1 Sports Softball but we have to complete our roster with other players within our area. If you're trying to say that the FHC T1S/SSC team is equal to Team 1 Sports (i.e. a Major+ team) then that would also make Good Times, Blast and Hollis Major+ teams because they are ranked ahead of us. Since we went 1-3 in the first tournament, I'm sure there will be some movement in the rankings. Does that mean that anyone ranked ahead of us should also be Major+? In the 2012 SSUSA Winter Nationals, FAS played in the Major classification. They scored 10, 17, 15, 4, 14 and 8 runs for a total of 68 runs or an average of 11.33 runs per game. Their record was 3-3 (1-1 in pool play and 2-2 in bracket play). And that was against other Major teams. Does that sound like a Major team to you? Does FAS get hot and play better at times, of course they do. Everyone does. Do they have bad times and play worse, of course. But what is the average of their play? What do they consistently do? |
| Jan. 31, 2013 Beasley | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Reclassifying Teams Good morning BruceinGa and everyone else on the board. Thanks for throwing me under the bus Bruce! But now that you’ve called me out I guess I’ll throw my 2 cents in. Before giving my opinion I’d like to share my 50+ Major+ experiences so that you’ll know where I’m coming from. First off, I believe the best players (offensively and defensively) are playing and strive to play at the highest classification in their age group – Major+. I’ve seen posts that said the best defense is played at the lower classifications which made me smile and bite my lip. I’d agree that there are some good defensive players at the Major, AAA and AA level but until they’ve had to play defense against a Major+ team then you can’t compare them. When I played Major softball, I watched the Major+ teams when I could because that’s where I wanted to be. While I enjoyed winning tournaments as a Major team/player, I didn’t even begin to believe that it was the same as winning a tournament as a Major+ team/player. But that’s just me. I play with Team 1 Sports out of South Florida. The team evolved from Morgan Keegan to South Florida Renegades to Team 1 Sports. The reason we are classified a Major+ team is because we played in and won the 2011 ISA World Tournament in Cocoa Beach. And I’ll be honest with you I don’t think we should have been bumped because of this tournament. I don’t remember all the particulars but I think there were 3 or 4 50+ Major teams plus a 55+ Major+ team and a 60+ Major+ team. In the end, we ended up beating Hollis Appraisals (60+ Major+) in the finals. It’s still a “World Championship” and SSUSA move us. Like every other team we had the choice to either break up or move up. There was some discussion among the team and I sent an email to the team giving my opinion. I believed that we should accept the reclassification and see if we were as good as we thought we were. If that meant that we had to give runs/players to a team in a lower classification then it would test our mojo as a so called Major+ team. Since being classified Major+, we’ve played in 5 tournaments that were truly Major+ tournaments. I say “truly” meaning that the bracket play was between teams classified Major+: 2011 SSUSA Winter National – We played against 2 other teams – AMR and Hollis Appraisals. We went winless in the pool play and then went undefeated in bracket play as the #3 seed. 2012 SSUSA Atlantic Coast Championship – We played Major teams in the pool play which didn’t mean squat because there was only one other team in the Major+ bracket – Rochester. We played Rochester 2 out of 3 and managed to beat them in the first two games. 2012 SPA World Championship – There were 4 teams – OKI, TSC/Howards, Hollis Appraisals and us. We split the pool games beating TSC and losing to OKI. In bracket play we finished 3rd sandwiching a win over Hollis in between losses to TSC. 2011 SPA World Series – We played pool play against one Major team and was scheduled to play the 2nd pool game against Hollis Appraisals – the other Major+ team. Both teams chose not to play the pool game because we’d then turn around and play the same team 2 out of 3 for the championship. We ended up beating a tough Hollis in the first two games. 2012 SSUSA Winter National – There were 5 teams in pool play but we had the same 3 teams in bracket play as the 2011 tournament. We were fortunate to win an “if” game over a very good AMR team. As you can see, my experience in playing Major+ teams is very limited. We did play a few Major+ teams when we were Major and even then I believed the equalizer was unfair. Team 1 is the team that Rochester beat to win the ISSA/ISF World Tournament of Champions. If I’m correct they came into bracket play as the #4 seed, defeated Southern Elite, Veltri and Team 1 to be the undefeated team in the finals. We were able to be them in the first game but came up short in the “if” game. Congratulations to Rochester for their hard fought Championship. But is Rochester a Major or Major+ team. In my limited experience I’d say that they are a very good Major team. Can they compete at Major+ - I believe they can. We played them 4 times last year (ISSA/ISF WTOC and Atlantic Coast Championship) and were lucky enough to beat them. If they were 0-9 playing as a Major+ team in SSUSA during 2012, then I know where 4 of their losses came from (Atlantic Coast Championship). 2 of those losses would have been to Major teams that they gave the equalizer to and the other two losses to another Major+ team. Someone else will have to chime in regarding the Northern Championship. There were several players that I recognized from the 2012 squad but there were also some new faces. And there have been several comments about “Killer Kirby”, an impressive hitter in deed. We didn’t play Veltri but I couldn’t help but notice that they now have several of the players I saw playing with ENR last year. Should that be considered with their move from Major+ to Major? It’s hard to say because you’d have to weigh in how much of an impact these players had with ENR winning the SSUSA Masters last year. Someone mentioned Florida Automated Shade. While I don’t know where they got their bid to the upcoming TOC as a AAA team, I’d have to say that they probably belong at the AAA level. I know they played in the 2012 Spring Nationals as a Major team and I don’t think they won a game. I can’t say for sure but I don’t think they were very competitive. I hope they don’t take that as a slam or me trying to belittle them. I don’t know where else they played as a Major team so ….. One of the problems I see is that when a new team pops up, they can choose to be classified where ever they want (this is probably a bad assumption on my part). The roster can be scanned by an individual but without some type of data base of a players history, how would you know who they played for and what those teams have won. The team gets away with playing at a lower level until they are eventually moved up. Classifying teams is a difficult task for ANYONE! I believe that if you’re going to do it there are a lot of factors that must be taken into consideration: Who are the players on the roster; Who have the players played for in the past; How has the team faired in tournaments they’ve played in; How do the teams they’ve played against rate; What are the average number of runs scored per game; How many runs do they give up per game. These are just a few things that I would think could be considered. SSUSA has at least started a process that will compare data rather than just a person’s opinion of that team. But a “qualified” person’s impression must also be considered. I’m hoping that as time goes along, SSUSA will revise their process and come up with something that will put teams in the correct classification. I know I’ve rambled on here and overstayed my welcome. I’m sure I’ll get hammered for my opinion but that’s what you ask for when you post here. |
| Jan. 6, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Bats Discussion: Recent bat poll Happy New Year to you Al. I haven't forgotten your pictures, I've just been overtaken by life. I understand the position that's been taken even though I may not agree. It's their board and their rules. No problem. |
| Jan. 6, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Bats Discussion: Recent bat poll @Bruce - It was on another site's forum. There weren't very many players that responded but the results are from the ones that did. They have a question every month that relates to Senior Softball. The current question has to do with the AAA homerun rule. I can't say which one here because I don't want to get ban'd from this board. Drop me a line at jrbeasley@jbeaz.net for the info. |
| Jan. 5, 2013 Beasley | Topic: Bats Discussion: Recent bat poll There was a bat poll recently that asked which bat is the best bat on the market right now? The results were: Miken Ultra II (red or black) - 42% Reebok Melee (yellow or red) - 25% Combat Ambush - 17% Combat Original (gray) - 17% |
