The Dog Bowl

Below is the official response that I sent to Chris Corbett of the Bolingbrook Park District earlier today.  This was in regards to the e-mail response from Chris Corbett that I wrote about under the post “Bolingbrook Park District Official Response” on Thursday, June 28.  Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts. If I receive a response from the BBPD I will be sure to post it here.

Hi Chris,

Thank you for responding so quickly. I had a lot of things that were on my mind that I didn’t think a 5-minute conversation would do any justice. I have elected to put my thoughts down in writing and invite you to respond.

We’re not looking for handouts and breaks, we prefer to earn our way to our championships. We will make every effort to field a team next Friday.

The reason I mention all this, is because what you are about to read below is my arguments and thoughts about what transpired. I am not only making criticisms but also offering suggestions on how to avoid a situation like this in the future. I truly hope that you take this e-mail in the spirit in which it was written and that is to improve upon the league for everyone’s benefit.

Regarding the issue of scheduling on the week of July 4th, I was simply inquiring as to why there were games scheduled. I agree that the schedule has been posted since April 23 and that any “issues” regarding that week should have been brought up then. I’m not going to dispute that issue.

However, I feel that adding this team to the league has caused a disruption with greater ramifications then had the games allowed to go on as forfeits.

First, you are replacing a team half-way through the season (8 games had passed) of which four teams received “free wins”. How is this fair to the remaining teams who hadn’t played Lincoln Mutual who now actually have to ‘win’ their games against this new team? How is it fair that there are teams that do not have to play the new team at all?

I understand your logic in wanting to replace the team to honor the commitment of 14-games, however that’s a moot point once games have been forfeited. Automatically you are playing one less game in the year once a team forfeits. So in the case of Lincoln Mutual, there were 4-teams who were not going to have a full 14 game schedule regardless.

Based on the above logic, why aren’t we replacing Hussman Brawlers? Why are we not replacing those games?

I think there was another way to avoid missing games without replacing the team that would have been a better solution. That would have been to replace all of the spots on the schedule where Lincoln Mutual was to play (and Hussman Brawlers now) with additional games against the teams that are already in our league. In my opinion, this is better then introducing an “unknown” team into a league and potentially changing the makeup of the league that was established for half a season. This would have also satisfied providing us with the 14-game schedule that we paid for.

Which brings me to another point. You stated that it was not your fault that “my” guys made the assumption that we didn’t have to play on July 6th since Lincoln Mutual had forfeited 4-games. When it stipulates in the rule book “Any team that forfeits three (3) games will be dropped from the league with no refunds.” How is this an assumption on my teams part? How is my team to know that you are working on replacing that team, when no where in the rules it stipulates that you could or would possibly do this? If assumptions were made, they were made on both sides.

Also, you mentioned that Closers was going to pickup the remaining fee owed by Lincoln Mutual. How is it that Lincoln Mutual was allowed to play after week 3 without having paid their full dues? Once again, the league rules stipulate that the registration fee is due in full by the first week and the non-residents due by week 3. Lincoln Mutual was allowed to play 4-games and they forfeited the next 4 (over 3-weeks) yet they hadn’t paid their fee in full. How was that possible?

You mentioned that you spoke with some of the captains in the league, but not all. In the future, I would like (as a paying customer) to have the “options” proposed to all captains. Every team’s circumstances are different and polling just a couple of teams is not sufficient. I would like to see that all captains are consulted on these types of situations and work with you to decide the best way that is amicable for all teams and the league to move forward.

I agree with you that this is recreational softball and that when money is involved it can get competitive. One reason many good teams come to Bolingbrook is because BBPD pays out money. It helps to offset costs for the fall or up coming season. However, that is why it is that much more important that all owners are consulted when it comes to changes like this in the league. We have a heated race going on for 1st & 2nd place. These are the two biggest payouts. Aftershock no longer has to play the new team and we may take a 2nd loss on a forfeit that shouldn’t have happened. This also affects the middle of the pack vying to make the playoffs, as well. Closers is certainly not out of reach of those teams and a team now can get bumped from the playoffs due to these changes, as well.

We are going to do everything we can to ensure we have at least 9 players for next weeks game, but we are going to be handicapped. The points that I make above are to give you an “owners” perspective on the affects of the decision. I would certainly like to work with you in coming up with a process that can be inserted in the rules on how to handle this in the future. In fact, I will be insisting on it as a rule modification or addition for the fall and 2008 season.

Sincerely,

Nelson Rivera

Everyone,

Below you will find a copy/paste of the response from Chris Corbett of the Bolingbrook Park District to the e-mail that I sent to him concerning our upcoming July 6th game against the replacement team to Lincoln Mutual (Closers).

I am not happy with the response nor the tone of the e-mail and will be constructing a response of our own. As you read through his response you will notice many wholes and new issues that he has raised. I assure you that this will not go unchallenged, but we need to focus on getting enough players (at least 9) to the Friday, July 6 game against Closers (the replacement team to Lincoln Mutual).

I have omitted and modified certain portions of the e-mail for anonymity and protection against the proliferation of personal information on the internet. Chris’s response are in ‘red’.

Nelson –

Below in red font are the answers to the following questions you had in the email – if you wish to call me, feel free to call me sometime today!

Thanks!

Chris

Christopher Corbett
Athletic Supervisor
Bolingbrook Park District
NOTE: This portion was omitted, as it contained personal contact information –Nelson Rivera

“Coaches build teams, parents build players.” - Charles Smyth

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From: Nelson Rivera (Note: This portion has been modified to remove e-mail and personal information. –Nelson Rivera)
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 8:32 PM
To: Chris Corbett
Cc: Sean Killham; Kenneth Benson - IL
Subject: Re: Bolingbrook PD - Friday B League Update (Hussman Brawlers OUT)

Hi Chris,

My team has been put in a bit of a predicament with the recent changes to the league and I feel the need to bring it up with you.

The current issue that I am having right now is that since you replaced Lincoln Mutual with an “unknown” team, I am having many problems with the July 6th game that we now have scheduled against that replacement team. The “unknown team” is ‘Closers’ and the reason I replaced is because a player that participates on the Lincoln Mutual team manages that team ‘Closers’ which plays on Sundays. I called him asking him the whereabouts of his team ‘Lincoln Mutual’ and he hadn’t been there in a while due to prior commitments and that he would get back to me after he spoke to Jim who was the captain of Lincoln Mutual. After discussing with Jim the teams commitment and deciding that Lincoln Mutual would no longer play, Andy (captain of Closers) asked if he could play on Friday nights and pay the remaining balance that was due from Lincoln Mutual. I agreed to it so teams are playing their full 14 games and not playing 13 after paying for 14 due to the “forfeitures” of Team Lincoln Mutual. In regards to the July 6^th date – the 4^th of July is on a Wednesday and I have consulted and looked at other PD’s in the Chicagoland area… Out of the 8 that I spoke to (only 1 is not playing on Friday, July 6^th) – those I spoke to include Lombard PD, Itasca PD, Lemont PD, Elk Grove PD, Naperville PD, Downers Grove PD, Westchester PD, St. Charles PD…. The schedule was created the week of April 23^rd and teams knew that July 6^th game was on schedule to be played… To come to me now is too tough to make changes!

I was already going to be down a few players due to the July 4th week (we’ve never played during this week in the past) and since Lincoln Mutual forfeited themselves out of the league, a few more of my players made plans for that weekend, since they thought we were not going to be playing. I never sent an email out to any captains regarding Lincoln Mutual’s whereabouts until I sent an email out stating that Team Closers was taking over for Lincoln Mutual. To have your players assume that games were canceled are wrong of them because you know that if there was any changes I would definitely give you a heads up well in advance so you can let your players know and make other arrangements to do with your time that Friday night.

I appreciate the fact that you are working diligently to keep the league stable and with teams that are going to play. However, due to this situation, my team is looking like we may not be able to field a team come that Friday now.

I would like to know our options (if we have any) in order to avoid a forfeit of our own. I appreciate your intention in replacing Lincoln Mutual, filling out our schedule so that we play 14 games, but unfortunately in doing so, it may have caused a potential forfeit from a competitive team within the league. As stated above, the schedule was published the week of April 23^rd online and in paper form to yourself. Your players should know that games will be played and as stated above, mostly every PD is playing that Friday night due to the holiday being on a Wednesday. Next year with the holiday falling on a Friday, of course we will take that Friday off but since the holiday is on a Wednesday (how am I to know if people are taking the previous weekend off and coming back to work Thursday or leaving Tuesday and not coming back into town the following Monday??)

I look forward to your response. I would like to discuss why we as the owners in the league did not have the option of choosing whether to replace Lincoln Mutual or not. Also, I’d like to know why games were scheduled the week of 4th of July. I will not get into those points here, but would like to discuss them with you at a future date/time. Perhaps on the phone. If owners want to discuss with me the reason why there was no consultation in regards to having Lincoln Mutual replaced then that’s fine. I will field all phone calls regarding that issue. I spoke with a few captains, sent an email out and you are the first team to have an issue with it. Like I stated, if teams want to pay for a 14-game season and only play 13 because teams cant have a commitment to a league after paying their league fee then that is their issue! The last thing I want for you as a captain is to tell your team that you paid for a 14 game season and now only playing 10 because 4 teams dropped after schedules are created! If the wins are that important to you versus playing the full amount of games then I am sorry but my job is to give all teams what they paid for regardless of their win-loss record. As much as the leagues are meant to be “recreational,” you and I know how the leagues get competitive when dealing with money payouts.

Below is a copy/paste of the e-mail that I sent to Chris Corbett (league commissioner) regarding the Friday, July 6th game and the replacement of Lincoln Mutual in our league. I will pass on any response that I receive.

Hi Chris,

My team has been put in a bit of a predicament with the recent changes to the league and I feel the need to bring it up with you.

The current issue that I am having right now is that since you replaced Lincoln Mutual with an “unknown” team, I am having many problems with the July 6th game that we now have scheduled against that replacement team.

I was already going to be down a few players due to the July 4th week (we’ve never played during this week in the past) and since Lincoln Mutual forfeited themselves out of the league, a few more of my players made plans for that weekend, since they thought we were not going to be playing.

I appreciate the fact that you are working diligently to keep the league stable and with teams that are going to play. However, due to this situation, my team is looking like we may not be able to field a team come that Friday now.

I would like to know our options (if we have any) in order to avoid a forfeit of our own. I appreciate your intention in replacing Lincoln Mutual, filling out our schedule so that we play 14 games, but unfortunately in doing so, it may have caused a potential forfeit from a competitive team within the league.

I look forward to your response. I would like to discuss why we as the owners in the league did not have the option of choosing whether to replace Lincoln Mutual or not. Also, I’d like to know why games were scheduled the week of 4th of July. I will not get into those points here, but would like to discuss them with you at a future date/time. Perhaps on the phone.

I look forward to your response.

P.S. I copied my partners on this e-mail, so if you could reply-to-all, it would be appreciated.

Nelson Rivera
Bulldogs
Friday B-League

Hussman Brawlers are the next team to have forfeited out of the league. I personally had spoken with a couple of guys from Hussman Brawlers at our scheduled game against them on June 8. Apparently all of the guys on the team (or majority) are all carpenters who work for Hussman Builders. The night of our game against them only two players showed up and the rest were working.

In case you didn’t know, Hussman Brawlers were in the Friday B League last summer and they went by the team name Hussman Stickmen. This is obviously not a case of “negligence” on their part, as work takes precedence. These guys all work in an industry in which when work comes along, it has to take priority. These guys are putting food on the table for their families and work is definitely not steady in that industry.

However, I am a bit concerned that Chris Corbett has elected to simply allow the remainder of their schedule to go on as forfeits. Earlier this season, in an unprecedented move, Chris replaced the Lincoln Mutual team with a team from the Sunday Men’s league called the Closers. I wish that Chris would have at least looked at the option of replacing the remaining games on the Hussman Brawlers schedule with additional games against the remaining teams in our league. I feel this would have been the best decision, which keeps in line with his desire to limit the number of forfeits, which prompted him to replace Lincoln Mutual.

I will be addressing the Lincoln Mutual/Closers issue along with the Hussman Brawlers issue in e-mails to Chris Corbett. I’ll be sure to let you all know what transpires.

I know that I speak for everyone on the Bulldogs in wishing the players and the families of the Hussman Brawlers the best of luck and hope that we will be able to see them in future leagues under better circumstances.

It appears that the commissioner of the Bolingbrook Park District softball leagues has replaced Lincoln Mutual in our league with another team.

As you may remember, on June 10, I put out a blog update stating that Lincoln Mutual was out of the league. Per this e-mail that I received at 10:22am this morning, it appears that the remainder of Lincoln Mutual’s schedule will be played by a new team.

FYI

Team Lincoln Mutual has left the Friday night league (could not field a team anymore).

However, Team Closers that plays on Sundays (current record 3-7 captain Andy Christensen) has entered the Friday night league to take over the void left by Lincoln Mutual If you are scheduled to play Lincoln Mutual for the remainder of the season, please still show up at your scheduled game time(s). A team will show up to play!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Chris

Christopher Corbett
Athletic Supervisor

I have many concerns about this ruling, as I’m sure that some of you do as well. As you can tell from this e-mail, it appears that the decision is final. I will be addressing this with some of the guys on the team later today and we will draft a note to Chris about this issue.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to shoot me an e-mail. In the meantime, I’ll need to know, ASAP, who will not be able to make the Friday, July 6th game.

Lincoln Mutual dropped their 3rd forfeit on the year on Friday, June 8, effectively eliminating themselves from the league.

Based on the Bolingbrook Park District league rules, under section “House Rules” item #5:

5. Any team that forfeits three (3) games will be dropped from the league with no refunds. Future league consideration will be evaluated. Teams will lose returning team status as well.

This essentially means that all remaining games on the schedule for Lincoln Mutual will also render a forfeit. Unfortunately, this also means, that Lincoln Mutual will be hard pressed to re-enter any future leagues, though this is at the discretion of our league commissioner.

Here’s the updated schedule with results. We’re currently 3-1 with 74 runs scored vs 49 runs scored by our opponents.

Our next games are tonight against Ball Slappers and Hussman Brawlers.

1. 4/27/07 at 7:30 pm: at Southside Hitmen (Central Park) - Rained Out
2. 5/4/07 at 6:30 pm: at Cardinals (Central Park) - Won (17-16)
3. 5/11/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Tailgaters (Central Park) - Won (20-19)
4. 5/18/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Lincoln Mutual (Central Park) - Won (28-4)
5. 5/25/07: No Games - Memorial Day
6. 6/1/07 at 9:30 pm: vs Southside Hitmen (Remington West) - Loss (10-9)
7. 6/8/07 at 6:30 pm: at Ball Slappers (Remington West)
8. 6/8/07 at 6:30 pm: at Hussman Brawlers (Remington West)
9. 6/15/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Ronin Risk (Central Park)
10. 6/22/07 at 6:30 pm: vs Dasbach (Central Park)
11. 6/29/07 at 7:30 pm: at Ronin Risk (Remington West)
12. 7/6/07 at 6:30 pm: at Lincoln Mutual (Remington West)
13. 7/13/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Sojourners (Remington West)
14. 7/20/07 at 8:30 pm: at Fury (Central Park)
15. 7/27/07 at 7:30 pm: at Cardinals (Central Park)
16. 7/27/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Misfits (Central Park)

If you have kids or if you’ve ever seen the movie “Are We There Yet?” you understand how repetitive it can be to hear this question repeated from the backseat over-and-over! Well that’s the way I have felt on occasion when getting e-mails, questions and text-messages to my phone asking me, “do we have the jersey’s yet?”

So I’m on vacation in Orlando, FL last week, enjoying well-deserved time-off with my family and away from the day-to-day activities I normally take part in, when I receive a call from Sean. He calls me, all excited, about the box he just received. Sean had just received the box of new jersey’s that have been long over-due.

Unfortunately, he was so excited and was obviously looking for someone to enjoy the first look at our new uni’s, but no one was available. Sean resorted to taking a picture of the jersey and sending it to me. Now, I was looking for someone wearing the jersey and instead he took a picture of it on a table and sent it to the smallest screen I own… my cell phone. So, unfortunately, I still wasn’t feeling that full excitement that Sean was feeling. The satisfaction of waiting so long for these jersey’s was just not fulfilled seeing it on my cell.

You have to understand, we’ve gone through so much to get these jerseys. New logo, bouncing from vendor to vendor, each time the shirt and design changed. Different pricing structures with hidden fees that drove the price of the uniforms out the roof and yet (speaking for myself) I never felt satisfied with any of those designs. I felt like we were just “settling” and I felt that we all deserved better.

So why do I tell you all of this? Because I finally got a chance to see the jerseys today at lunch and to say that I am elated is not doing it justice! I feel vindicated! I feel that we hit a home run, no a grand slam, right out of the park with these jerseys! They are everything that I had imagined they would be and more. They are here and they are ready to be donned this coming Friday and we can’t wait to share them with you!

I won’t put a picture of the jersey here (unless I get a hot chick with no undergarments willing to model it for us) because it just won’t do it justice! I’m speaking from experience of having to go almost a week with squinting to see the jersey on a cell phone.

So, get ready to play! We’re going for 4-straight and we’re unveiling the new jersey! Everyone try and get there a bit early to make sure you get your new jersey and so we can get some pictures for the site.

P.S. Red undershirts, only!

P.S.S. Sean wanted me to let all you Sox and (a few) Cubs fans know that the Boston Red Sox road hat looks sweet with the jersey! Personally, I’m going to continue wearing my Bulldogs Softball hat from last year until we get enough takers for a new Dogs hat or visor to go with the uni’s.

Nellie #21

Opening day was supposed to be on Friday, April 27, but a late winter lead to a late spring and the weather postponed the start of the regular season by a week.

However, come the following Friday the Bulldogs Softball team came ready to play. The Bulldogs were victorious in their opener against Team Cardinals. However, the game wasn’t as smooth sailing as they had hoped.

The Dogs took an early lead in the top of the 2nd inning after putting up 8 runs, to bring the score to 10-2. Adding another 4 runs in the third and fourth innings, the Bulldogs had a healthy 14-2 lead. The Dogs were able to maintain their lead until the bottom of the 4th inning, when the Cardinals bats came alive to score 5 runs.

The Bulldogs looked frazzled in the fifth and sixth innings, as they were only able to add three more runs to their total. Fortunately, this proved to be just enough to hold off the Cardinals onslaught late in the game. The Cardinals put up another 4 runs in the 5th and a final 4 in the 6th, but with the tying run on 2nd base, the Cardinals were unable to capitalize.

The Bulldogs get set to take on Tailgaters this coming Friday at 8:30 pm at Central Park.

Notable Stats:

• Players with 3 or more hits: Tim Williams, Bill Channell, Tim Howe and Jeff McMahon
• Homeruns: Tim Williams and Tim Howe (both inside park)
• Batters 1-3 combined for 10 hits out of the teams 24.
• 9 of 17 runs scored were by the 1-3 batters.
• ESPN Highlight Play sends Nelson Rivera packing as the only player to not get a hit.
• Game winning hit goes to Ken Benson with a Triple to score Tim Howe in the top of 6th.

To discuss this or any other game, please visit the Bulldogs Softball Forums today!

I’ve had several inquiries into where the fields are located. Below are links to Google Maps of the two parks. If you need directions, just click on the links below and then click get directions once you are at Google Maps.

Central Park:

Located behind the Annerino Community Center

201 Recreation Drive
Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Click here for map.

Remington Lakes Sports Complex:

Located at Remington Blvd. & Comm. Ed Lines
Click here for map.