And The Winner(s) Is(Are) . . . . . .

Had there been only one gift card to award this would have been a painful loss for one team. But as there are two both Jacksonville and Charleston can be deserving winners. Honorable mention goes to Cincinnati who came on strong from fourth place at last reporting to third, only to come up a bit short. We want to thank you all again for joining us when we had 18 openings last off season and helping us fill the world in just 12 days.

Thanks also to the very generous gifts given by anonymous veteran owners so we could expedite recruiting. wrecks and rookie 30000--your $25 WIS Gift Card should show up in your site mail no later than Monday. Congratulations!

Final

Jacksonville         wrecks                         .370              .525                     + .155   (1)

Charleston            rookie30000                .389              .543                     + .154   (2)

Cincinnati             bbwinksdaddy             .346              .488                      + .142   (4)

New York (AL)      tah3306                     .377               .457                       + .080   (3)

Pittsburgh           ParrishM                     .469               .506                       + .037   (6)

Chicago (NL)      jibe717                        .488               .494                      +.006  (10)

Helena                  psychoch                    .444               .444                       + .000   (5)

Las Vegas            ukwildcats                   .451               .414                      - .037   (7)

El Paso                brentcnb                     .543               .488                        - .055   (8)

Salem                    kelly_mccann              .519              .451                       - .068   (9)

Election Results

Despite the fact that barely more than 1/4 of the owners took the time to vote, it's good at least that the measure carried with a convincing mandate. The Private World Rules will be amended to reflect this change.

Election Day

Today we head to the polls to decide whether or not to change a rule in place. The rationale for this proposed change appears in the post below this one. Voting will take place here on SurveyMonkey all day Thursday, ending at midnight Pacific Time. One vote per team, please. Results will be announced Friday morning.

To give a side by side comparison both the old Rule 3 and the new proposal are here to read once more:

Current Rule

3. Minor League maintenance: Minor Leagues will fall under the same WIS Fair Play Guidelines for fielding a competitive ML team with only exception being the winning percentage which will be lowered to .200 instead of .250 for any one minor league team. Specifically: 

• Minor League team expected winning percentage of less than .200 for at least 80 games of the regular season. 

• Using a starting pitcher at 50% or below fatigue for 10 or more Minor League games in a row. 

• First violation will receive a warning from the Commissioner asking for correction. The second incident will be directed to The Executive Committee for possible removal from Crash Davis. 

New Proposal:

3. Minor League maintenance: Minor Leagues will fall under the same WIS Fair Play Guidelines for fielding a competitive ML team with the following additions:

•   Any team using a starting pitcher at 50% or below fatigue for 10 or more Minor League games in a row . . .  

•  Any  team with 6 or more players (who are not injured) at zero rest . . . 

•  Any team with pitchers playing the field or offensive players pitching for more than 5 games  . . . 

 . . . will be notified and asked by the commissioner to correct the issue. Failure to comply within 10 games of notification will result in referral to the Executive Committee for possible expulsion. If the team is given more time to correct the problem it will be short-term. The second time this occurs will result in the owner's automatic removal from Crash Davis. 

Minor League Maintenance Amendments

Fellow Owners,

The Executive Committee met to cobble together together some amendments on the Minor League maintenance rule which is found in Private World Rules , Rule #3. We believe these amendments will help us to target specific areas of poor maintenance and enforce the rule in ways we were unable to this year with a few teams.

Here is the rule as it is currently written:

3. Minor League maintenance: Minor Leagues will fall under the same WIS Fair Play Guidelines for fielding a competitive ML team with only exception being the winning percentage which will be lowered to .200 instead of .250 for any one minor league team. Specifically: 

• Minor League team expected winning percentage of less than .200 for at least 80 games of the regular season. 

• Using a starting pitcher at 50% or below fatigue for 10 or more Minor League games in a row. 

• First violation will receive a warning from the Commissioner asking for correction. The second incident will be directed to The Executive Committee for possible removal from Crash Davis. 

We watched how this rule played out in its first season in use. While we found it a helpful start, the lack of some specifics regarding players made it fairly easy for some teams to circumvent the spirit of the rule for a good portion of the season which left the them woefully non-competitive for much, if not all, of the season. 

We would like to see maintenance of minor league systems tightened where necessary and loosened where it is not. We believe some of us got it close to right last year but the commissioner took our recommendations and trashed them, giving us his agenda which we feel falls short of specifics and enforceability.

Here are the changes we would like to make:

1. Remove the .200 win floor in the minors. 

We think it's totally irrelevant . While it is a very liberal win floor no one really cares about their minor league team's won-loss record--just nurturing the prospects on those teams and protecting them. The notifications to these teams seemed pointless--except for the ones who were falling down in other areas. We would remove the win floor entirely. But that doesn't absolve us of maintaining competitive teams, so . . . 

In place of the win floor we propose the following additions:

2. In addition to not being allowed to field a SP at 50% or below for 10 or more straight minor league games (which is already on the books) we would add: 

a. any minor league team with 6 or more players (who are not injured) at zero rest will be notified and asked by the commissioner to correct the problem. 

b. any team with pitchers playing the field or offensive players pitching for more than 5 games will be asked by the commissioner to correct the problem.

Failure to comply within 10 games of notification will result in referral to the Executive Committee for possible expulsion. If the team is given more time to correct the problem it will be short-term. The second time this occurs will result in automatic removal from Crash Davis. 

These seem like they should be no-brainers to the Committee, but if they aren't specifically written into our Private World Rules they are not enforceable by WIS customer service. And rules with no teeth in them are merely guidelines that can be followed or not.

We believe these changes will strengthen Crash Davis and help us continue on the road to being a top flight HBD world which, let's face it, we have not been for several seasons now. 

We will use all day Wednesday, December 11 to discuss and debate on world chat. Let your opinions be known. The proposal will go before the ownership to vote on for a 24 hour period on Thursday, December 12. Most important to remember is that the Private Rules are a work in progress, trial and error. If this passes we will find out next season if there is enough protection to maintain our goals of making our minors competitive or if we are at least  moving in the right direction.

Please go back to chat now and share your thoughts. I'll set up voting on SurveyMonkey and give you the coordinates Thursday morning. Thanks for taking the time to read and consider this.

Sincerely,

sermonauthor

Commissioner

Crash Davis

My Last At Bat

by sermonauthor

I still recall my final class in high school

nervous hours before 

receiving my diploma 

the only reward proffered 

for the singular achievement

of surviving my teenage years

I remember well my last meal

and even the movement that followed

But damned if I can recall my final AB

Something so memorable and deep 

in a career 

so forgettable and shallow 

should be easy to conjure

like a rabbit from a hat 

or the face of Alicia Johnson 

whenever  I catch a whiff of the heather 

in our tended country garden

I know it wasn't in Little League

that I took my final cuts

the hey-batta-batta 

hey-batta-batta

suh-WING batta batta 

ringing in my ears

That day I hit a solid shot to right 

and tore my pint-sized uniform sliding severely

and unsafely 

into second. 

Babe Ruth, Junior Varsity and Legion ball 

all failed 

to serve up that evocative pitch

though there were a few coaches

who likely wished my retirement

had come the year before . . . 

It makes me wonder if company games 

or church softball 

served as The Alamo to a career that

had it been stillborn 

in Pee Wee League

would have never been remembered  

by anyone but my faithful mother 

who never missed a game

or a chance to berate an umpire 

The noise I hear today is either a stoic wind

or something calling from the cornfield. 

They are ghosts from sandlot days 

and they are short

beckoning me from the tall, green stalks 

to come play a game of catch 

and to swing 

one more time

a 24-ounce Willie Mays autographed bat 

from four foot two inches high.

It is then I realize why the detail 

of my final swing 

has eluded this often addled brain

Perhaps

even at an age 

that would make Satchel Paige

seem a rookie

I haven't yet taken my final cuts

And if my last at bat is still in front of me

I really don't want to be late. 

So I find the wooden sliver of 

a near-forgotten youth

that sweet, brown, tarnished treasure

stored in the shed

but more in perpetuity

for half a century

It seems a toothpick now 

And I yell at my wife from half out the door:

"Be gone all day. 

Be back for dinner."

©Copyright 2013 sermonauthor

The Man From Nantucket

by stonewalter

There once was a man from Nantucket

Whose team was so bad he said, "suck it! " 

He then followed the Twins 

They piled up the wins 

He then changed his name to Puckett.

©Copyright 2013 stonwalter

Gift Card Sweepstakes After 121 Games

A little  past the 2/3 mark on the season and things have tightened up a bit in the standings for the two free $25 WIS Gift Cards. The numbers should explain themselves. The final number is the ranking at the 1/3 mark indicating a change since the last post. The important thing is that any of these 10 teams could still win if they get hot. Good luck the rest of the way.

TEAM                    OWNER                SEASON       SEASON         DIFFERENTIAL

                                                                   20                   21

Jacksonville         wrecks                         .370              .529                     + .159   (2)

Charleston            rookie30000                .389              .512                     + .123   (1)

New York (AL)      tah3306                     .377               .496                       + .119   (4)

Cincinnati             bbwinksdaddy             .346              .463                      + .117   (3)

Helena                  psychoch                    .444               .455                       + .011   (7)

Pittsburgh           ParrishM                     .469               .471                       + .002   (8)

Las Vegas            ukwildcats                   .451               .430                      - .021   (6)

El Paso                brentcnb                     .543               .504                        - .039   (9)

Salem                    kelly_mccann              .519              .455                       - .064   (5)

Chicago (NL)      jibe717                        .488               .471                      - .117   (10)

The Davis Cup

We promised a second half contest for a $25 WIS Gift Card that would be fun and unique. It will certainly be unique to HBD. Whether or not it is fun will be entirely up to you.

The Davis Cup

Hey, guess what? We're going to have a poetry contest.

A WHAT???????

A poetry contest. Ain't you cultured enough to read or rite poetry, son? Sure you are. The great thing is that even if you don't think of yourself as a poet--everybody can write poetry. It's like walking. Just put one word in front of the other. Before you know it--you've got a poem.

Here are just a few of the forms you are welcome to try:

• Couplet
• Haiku
• Sonnet
• Limerick
• Regular ol' rhyming poem in stanzas 'n everything
• Free verse (Free form)

And in case that doesn't give you enough ideas here's a whole list of poetic forms.

These will be baseball poems. Poems about the game we all know and love. Here are a few ideas:

• Ode to a Major Leaguer you love(d). 
• Poem about a great or awful play you made in Little League. 
• Fantasy baseball. 
• Love sonnet to your favorite HBD player. 
• Haiku about your least favorite HBD owner.
• Parody of Casey At The Bat or some other famous poem.

Here's what you need to know:

1. Your poem must be baseball themed.
2. Any form you choose.
3. Make it serious. Make it funny. Make it moving. Make it a farce. Just do your best and that will be good enough for this contest.
4. Maximum Limits: 300 words, 24 lines.
5. Work must be original. No plagiarism. 
6. All Entries must have a title
7. All entries will be published on The Crash Pad.
8. Entries must be submitted to sermonauthor by sitemail no later than Tuesday, December 4 at 11:59 PM, Pacific time.
9. Entries will be voted on by the owners of Crash Davis.
10. Winner receives a $25 WIS Gift Card and the undying admiration of the owners and honorary  title of Crash Davis Poet Laureate.

The key here is to have fun. Some of you have already told yourselves, "I don't write poetry." Hey, everyone has a poem in them. The trick is whether you are willing to take the time to unlock your inner Poe, Frost or Ogden Nash. 

Feel free to drop a line with any questions. I hope everyone will give this a shot.

You may recall in our recruiting drive for Season 21 we offered all owners new to Crash Davis--those who were not with us last season--2 chances to win a Free $25 WIS Gift Card courtesy of the generous CD owners who contributed to the cause. *

The cards will go to the two new owners who guide their clubs to the best improvement in winning percentage based on their franchise's record last season.**

There are 10 clubs competing for the cards. As we have just passed the 1/3 mark of the season it seems like a perfect place to give an update on the contest with Charleston and Jacksonville leading the charge so far. But it's a long season and a lot can happen in the final 2/3 of the season.

Good luck to all!





TEAM                    OWNER                SEASON       SEASON         DIFFERENTIAL
                                                                   20                   21

Charleston rookie30000 .389             .564                      + .175

Jacksonville wrecks .370             .545                     + .175

Cincinnati bbwinksdaddy .346             .509                      + .163

New York (AL) tah3306 .377              .509                      + .132

Salem kelly_mccann .519             .582                      + .063

Las Vegas ukwildcats .451              .491                      + .040

Helena                 psychoch .444              .473                      + .029

Pittsburgh           ParrishM .469              .473                      + .004

El Paso               brentcnb .543              .509                       - .034

Chicago (NL)      jibe717 .488              .382                      - .106

*Actually, there were 3 cards total. But 1 is being used in a league-wide contest that will be announced later and begin over the All Star Break.

**Ties will be broken using the same tiebreaker rules HBD employs.

For those of us pondering the upcoming free agent market, wondering will we land the ace of our dreams or the CF who is the very last piece of the championship puzzle, we have the prudent words of Yankee legend Willie Randolph to ponder:

"Aint no sense worrying about things you got no control over . . . . 'cause if you got no control over 'em . . . aint no sense worrying. And aint no sense worrying about things you got control over . . . 'cause if you got control over 'em . . . aint no sense worrying."

If only our Congress made this much sense . . .

sermonauthor 

This should be of particular interest to all NEW OWNERS in Crash Davis. As you know we offered a chance to win 3 free seasons to come give us a chance at The New Crash Davis™ . To be eligible you have to be completely new to this world. Owners who left after last season and then returned are owed a great debt of gratitude—but they are not eligible for the prizes.

Eligible owners:

tah3306   (61-101   .377)

kelly_mccann   (84-78   .519)

bbwinksdaddy   (56-106   .346)

jibe717   (79-83   .488)

ParrishM   (76-86   .469)

rookie30000   (63-99   .389)

wrecks   (60-102   .370)

brentcnb   (88-74   .543)

ukwildcats   (73-89   .451)

psychoch   (72-90   .444)

I originally thought there would be 12 new owners, then 11. But two more previous owners returned so the odds of winning are reduced even further than originally thought. 

The 10 owners are listed above. To the right of each name is their franchise's won/loss record for last season along with its winning percentage. 

The contest is a simple one. The top 2 teams with the most improved winning percentage based on Season 20 will each win a $25 WhatIfSports Gift Card. The following are tiebreakers:

1. The team with the FEWEST wins in Season 20 as, theoretically they had a worse team to ride to an improved record.

2. The team with the best win/loss record in Season 21.

3.  Coin flip.


Wa-a-a-a-a-a-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-t just a damn minute, Mister Commish! You said their were 3 WIS Gift Cards to distribute. What's up with that?

So I did . . . so I did . . . I'm setting the third $25 WIS Gift Card aside and saving it for a contest the whole of Crash Davis will be eligible for. This contest will be announced during the All Star Game. So stay tuned for the excitement. Meantime, if I left anyone off the list please send a TC or sitemail. We'll do periodic updates on the list above to see who is currently in position to win the gift cards

sermonauthor

Welcome to The Crash Pad, the new blog home of the WhatIfSports HBD world now known as Crash Davis. I thought it might be instructive to post the results for the final round vote of our world's new name as they have yet to be revealed.

If you'll recall, when the deadline came we had a dead heat. For the sake of fairness the tied nominees (Crash Davis and Pedro Cerrano) were not revealed. We extended the voting six extra hours which brought in a third vote for The Boys of Summer and a fifth and deciding vote for the legendary Crash Davis of Bull Durham fame.

We came this close to honoring this guy:

Pedro Cerrano from Major League

Come to think of it . . . . that wouldn't have been too bad at all. We had many excellent nominees and three great finalists.
                                                                                                           

—sermonauthor