14U poll

[2muchparents]

@2much
It's nice to see 3 teams get an invite to premiers hopefully NorCal can get more. But explain to me where 1 of the 3 teams invited is deserving. I can understand LM & Sorcerers, organizations rich in tradition but what has TC Smash accomplished to deserve a berth. You were right on one instance about how the older team hasn't done anything for that org. I also don't want to hear how they placed 5th in Nationals last summer. That was 12s & has nothing to do with 14s. Plus, you add the fact the current smash team is a different team especially without two big bats they lost. Don't get me wrong not hating on TC, glad to see they got a berth, thanks to some big lobbying. I can respect that the powers that be are trying to make a name for the org & establish it as a top notch org. But don't come here & toot your horn like your team has accomplished anything major in recent years. There are other orgs more deserving of a berth over TC. RR Gold Rathcliff & SJ Sting just to name a few. Even OBS Monarchs would've been more deserving if they were able to keep last summers team intact. Even I can see that all the way from Rainbow Fields.

Just saying. Let your team do their talking on the field not by your keyboard striking here in HB.

First of all I never said they lost 2 big bats. You don't want to hear that they finished 5th in the nation but also want to know what they have accomplished in recent years? Hello, that was 5 months ago. So I guess that answers your question. If that's the angle you are taking, what have sorcerers accomplished, the team that got the invite? Don't remember seeing their name at nationals last year. I believe smash beat the 14u monarchs team last year, while they were 12. I also believe that smash has beat sorcerers every time they have played them. Don't want to hate on them? All you have said is an attempt to discredit them. Have your team look up their schedule and play them, then come back on here and appologize!

[2muchparents]

Explain to me how on my post I was tooting a horn. I didn't pump up anybody!!
BTW, I watched your RR rathcliff team get worked by the RR 12u team a couple months ago.
You have had 2 post and both of them are bashing smash, are you a former parent of smash? Did you guys get cut and you can't let it go? Move on, enjoy the team your on and quit thinking of what could have been!!

[NorCalUmp]

That's funny I guess I struck a chord huh 2much. Well thanks for making my point for me. Like I said what has your team done in 14s. You keep re-living the past. All you keep talking about is what you did in 12s for 1 season. What's your other past accomplishments. It's okay though I'll let you have your moment & if you don't want to leave the 12s behind I wont be mad at you. Contact me in a few years & tell me what your team has accomplished & MAYBE I'll apologize. Until then, all you're doing is putting a bulls eye on your teams back & org.

[luv2teachthegame]

I think it is a valid point and question to ask how a team can get an invite having accomplished nothing within the age bracket. I think it is great that they finished 5th at Nationals. Don't want to knock anything they accomplished. They are playing a different and stronger age group and talent level, and IMO, to get a berth/invite there should be some type of success and accomplishment within the age bracket. If they performed well this year being a first year 14s, they earn it or perform well enough to get an invite next year. But, nevertheless, congrats to them!

[Iluvblue]

Explain to me how on my post I was tooting a horn. I didn't pump up anybody!!
BTW, I watched your RR rathcliff team get worked by the RR 12u team a couple months ago.
You have had 2 post and both of them are bashing smash, are you a former parent of smash? Did you guys get cut and you can't let it go? Move on, enjoy the team your on and quit thinking of what could have been!

Toomuchparents is right. So learn from your moniker and keep quiet. People accuse me of arrogance? Lol... Stop thinking of what could have been? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOL

[style]

Every parent on every team will always think there teams deserve a birth and will be on here campaigning for them to get one, There is a couple of other teams out there that deserve to be there to but obvious the 3 mentioned have caught somebody's eye down south and if I heard correct breeze 98 even recived a birth just cause the coach took a totally different 14u team last year, I'm with whoever said it should be earned but when they are handing them out I'm glad my daughter is on a team that recived one and we will see u there

[beentheredonethat]

Salinas Storm

[Old Darter]

Judging by last years finishes, you could go 2-2 and finish somewhere between 13-25th. Not overly impressed with a 2-2 finish. I've said before the only thing that seperates 25 and 13 is winning your first game which is a random selection as opposed to seeding. Id say a less than stellar showing would be 20-60th.

So you are saying the draw is everything!?! How is any of this different than ASA -or any other blind draw- Nationals? How many teams that do go thru a PGF qualifier fall into that 13-25th category? Or into the 20th-60th? BTW, at the end of all the qualifiers last year, the field was not full and invites were issued to teams who had not earned it through qualifing, rather as drop downs. This year, they're just doing it up front.

But in the end, isn't it more about quality of teams? Maybe 20th-60th at PGF means more than 20th-168th at ASA because the first 40-50 teams are MUCH stronger? And perhaps the four or five guys who see 80% of the countries top teams every year have a pretty good feel for what teams, if invited, will with a high degree of probability insure that strength of field? I would suggest that a top 30 finish at PGF is equivalent to a top 15 finish at ASA...at this point in time.

That said, I would make the suggestion that perhaps PGF do the following:

1. 1-10 finishers receive automatic returns if they meet the exisitng eligibility requirements
2. Any team finishing 11-20 is eligible for a following year invite, if PGF determines invites are necessary or warranted. Although not automatic, in order to receive an invite these teams must meet the eligibilty requirements as in #1.
3. Any invited team who doesn't finish in the top 20 are ineligible for an invite the following year.

[watchtonsofsoftball]

Old Darter,
I agree with you and that seems reasonable enough.
You asked if I'm saying the draw is everything? Not really. What Im saying is if my team goes 2-2 and I win the first game and finish 13th it looks a whole lot better on my website than if I got 2-2 but lose the first game and finish 25th. 25th for a good team seems like underachieving to me, where as 13th sounds like a good run. Right? When really its all in your first team draw that will determine that. Yes its the same at ASA except a 2-2 finish will put you probably 60th since there is 150-160 teams.

[Old Darter]

But if you lose your first game, you should be a lower finish than someone with the same record who wins their first game, regardless of draw. Why so hung up on won/loss records at a national championship? W/L doesn't matter, order of finish does...and should.

Thanks for the conversation!