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Online now: 4 members: Bluerhino45, Schibs, TABLE SETTER 11, dawg888; 103 anonymousDiscussion: Good balls are good
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| June 2, 2009 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | Good balls are good Again, what a terrific time I had in Reno last weekend and a huge part of that was how good the bat/ball combo was. There's no doubt about it. They used good Trump Stote balls that stayed lively brand new or beat around for a game or two. Thanks to SSUSA and Kevin from Anaconda for making sure the balls were good insuring we all had a good time. PPR is a joke. Dave, Terry and the players are not. A good idea that simpley doesn't work. It doesn't keep the ball off the pitchers and doesn't get enforced effectively. I hit a bullet that went through a pitchers legs before it bounced and we both were lucky. That ball at the feet is a tough one to avoid yet because it didn't hit him it wasn't ruled an out. Then I saw a guy get bonked in the head on a ball he should have gloved, it hit his glove first and the batter was called out. No one argued because he was genuinely hurt even though he should have fielded the ball. A solution is to go back to HR's as singles for the rest of the year. That would bring back the joy of the long ball that Babe Ruth discovered and developed into a legend as well as keep conscientious hitters from wanting to use/abuse the middle. The most of the best and strongest long ball hitters I know, like Gary Tryhorn, Joe Tang, Mike Burbank, Shack, Rick Perez would rather lose a digit than hit a pitcher. HR's as outs rewards them and will save many pitchers from injury. And as many seniors have already said if safety truly is the key issue here which I don't think it is than screens is the safest way to go that still insures the fun. |
| June 2, 2009 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | I agree Joe. It was a great tournament! Thanks Dave, Fran and everyone. The ppr wasn't called correctly. The artificial turf was unbelievably fast when wet. My wife and I had a fantastic time. Hitting a royal flush didn't hurt either! |
| June 2, 2009 angus73 Men's 65 100 posts | I agree on several items in the posts above. After our HR'S were gone there were a few slamed through the middle. Some were called some were not. We were given a couple of different reasons and we all know what they are. Had a very good time, thanks SSUSA |
| June 2, 2009 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | Hey Bruce, It was great seeing you and your swing never looked better. I had some friends watching our last game and couldn't believe an old guy could hit the ball as far as the one you pulled down the right field line. Royal Flush, you lucky dog. Way to go. |
| June 3, 2009 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | I love playing in Reno. I like it better than Vegas as it is smaller and has it's own history. The backdrop for many of the fields in Golden Eagle was breathtaking. The color of the balls is an important subject. Yellow balls are easier to see in some ways and more difficult in others. There's so much yellow/greenish stuff around, i.e. grass, leaves, umpire shirts and backstops often painted green that it's often hard to pick up the ball off the bat. I guy hit a rocket toward me while playing 3rd and I never saw it till half way to me. That's scarey. What about other colors? A very reflective red or fushia perhaps, would be realistically more visible against most backgrounds. If safety is really a concern on the minds of Associations and Ball-makers ball color should be revisited. What color were the umpires shirts in Reno? Were they yellow or green or...? I don't remember. |
| June 3, 2009 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | I'm thinking they were green. I may be wrong. I didn't have trouble seeing the yellow balls. Does anyone remember that about 25 years ago you could buy red balls. What I liked most about Golden Eagle is the lack of noise. There wasn't any traffic, industial, train, or other type of noise. The home plate umpires tried their best at calling illegal pitch consistantly. I seldom complain and won't here. I believe they did their best. I was shocked that after the rain the base umpire told us we only had to come "close" to touching a bag!!! When we asked the home plate umpire about that he said we needed to touch the corner of the bag. Isn't that what we were taught as kids? Joe, I appealed to the base umpire that one of your teammates missed first base and the call was safe. I don't know if the umpire thought the runner touched it, if the runner came "close" or if the ump just wasn't looking at the runner as he passed first. I didn't ask for an explaination. Another bad call was when your teammate went into second base and collided with our second baseman. When asked the ump said it was only incidental contact and wouldn't give us an interference call. It was funny that all of the questionable calls happened in the last game. The officiating in the other 5 games was top notch. I'll do my best to convince local teams from the Southeast to make sure they make this touranment next year. |
| June 4, 2009 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | If we are only going to have 5 or 6 teams in a tournament, it was run the correct way. The balls were good, but a little difficult to see when they turned black due to the turf, but who can complain about Eagle Creek, beautiful! I am very concerned about the middle shots when the HR's are used up, but 10 is a lot for everyone in the Major-plus except the Mavericks. The rest of the Major-plus teams and most of the Major teams should be joined together with the Mavericks as the only "Super" team having to give up something (whatever it is) to equalize play. |
| June 4, 2009 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | They show the Mavericks as 5\0, but see one game as 24 to 25 against the NW Legends. 1st game around noon Sat. Why? |
| June 4, 2009 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | Bring the Western Nationals back to Reno/Sparks! Would get more teams, I believe. |
| June 4, 2009 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | Interesting thought about the balls. I also had teammates at Golden Eagle who had trouble picking up the ball because of the mountain backdrop. Playing with a red ball would be different! As a pitcher, I was keenly interested in the PPR rule application. One team hit up the middle six times in six innings. Two were about hat high and skipped off the top of my glove (too hot to track or maybe my old arm is slow getting up) and the other four I fielded for outs. One of our batters nailed a pitcher on the shin guards with a one bounce rocket. No dead ball out called. Umpire said he was making a play (actually he was throwing up his arms in fright). Pitcher was unhurt. Another pitcher ducked away from a shoulder high line drive, got a glove on it, but it bounced out. A different ump this time, and he called it a dead ball out a la PPR! A third pitcher tried to field a slow line drive, bounced off his glove, and hit his chest and ump called a dead ball out. A fourth pitcher also tried to field a line drive, ball ricocheted onto his leg, and a different ump said "live ball" because he was trying to field it. Heard of a final pitcher winged high on the inner thigh by a screamer. Laid him low, had to limp through the game, couldn't play the next day as bruise completely circled his thigh! Dead ball out was called, but little comfort to the pitcher. Time to think about screens. Agree that Golden Eagle is a wonderful place to play ball with its ample fields and quiet environment. |
| June 4, 2009 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | It's HR's as outs that makes/made so many balls come through the box. This, as we have said ad nauseum makes pitching and short infielding more dangerous. So, if safety really is an issue for the conscientious and the insurers than go to screens and leave the bat/ball combo alone. |
| June 5, 2009 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | I do remember seeing green shirts on the umps. That must be corrected for the next time or don't use optic yellow/green balls and Kevin should make some red balls for us to see if they're more visible for us older guys who's vision ain't what it used to be. |
