I’ve never been to an NCBL meeting before. I wasn’t there in 2003 when Cory Bond’s West End Warriors expansion team was rejected by the league, I wasn’t there when Craig Cornell was hired as Treasurer, I wasn’t there when the umpires were fired, and I wasn’t there when the league voted the Raiders and Red Sox out of their tiers against their will. There is an NCBL meeting tomorrow morning, where the immediate future of the SweatSox will be decided, and guess what, I won’t be there either.
In theory I could just show up, but that would go against the dying wish of our founder Doug Dorion, who on his deathbed made me swear to never get caught up in the politics of management by showing up to a meeting. He also made me promise to eventually become the greatest Webmaster in the NCBL. He also made me get him a cigarette, king sized of course. RIP.
Even though I won’t be there, I can tell you exactly how things will play out. After all, who has a better pulse on the NCBL than I, Shaun Keay. Here are my predictions, guaranteed or your money back:
Tier Structure
- The Cardinals will make a pitch to stay in Tier 1, and win it.
- The Cornwall River Rats will not fight their automatic move from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
- The SweatSox will lose their pitch to stay in Tier 2, and get voted down to Tier 3.
- The River Hawks will lose their pitch to move from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
- The Orioles will not fight their automatic move from Tier 3 to Tier 2.
- The Knights will make a pitch to stay in Tier 3, and win it.
- The Bytown Bombers will make a pitch to stay in Tier 4, and win it.
- The Capitals will make a pitch to move from Tier 4 to Tier 3, and win it.
Playoff Structure
- In the spirit of this being a recreational league, all teams in all tiers will now make playoffs.
Budget
- Someone will notice the SweatSox don’t ever pay league fees in Craig’s new budget.
Umpires
- Jean Lazure will announce they are retiring Phil Beauregard’s umpire number.
By-Law
- A new rule will be in place eliminating protests. All umpire rulings will be final from now on.
Other Business
- The Winchester Sox will announce they are now the Findley Creek Sox.
Craig and Cory are terrible at providing me with updates, so if YOU are going to the NCBL meeting tomorrow, email me afterwards at shaun.keay@sweatsoxbaseball.com with the latest news and you could be one of my many anonymous sources!