Pontiac or SCS

The Cubs announced officially this week that we will be moving to the St. Clair Shores league for next season. This is of course a huge decision for our ball club and presents a big change for the upcoming season. Both leagues have there positives and negatives but in the end we felt it was the right move for our team. Below I will run through some of the differnces and reasons for why we have choosen to move.

For me, probably the biggest reason for the move is the yearly uncertainty of the Pontiac league. While I was told that as of today the Pontiac league will be run as it was last year I was also told that come Jan or Feb that could change. With the dire straights the City of Pontiac is in they might decide that while the league does cover most of its costs it is not all inclusive and therefore does cost the city some money. And with this decision possibly not being make until after the SCS deadline we did not want to chance it, like we did last year, and get shut out of playing somewhere. Now do I think this will happen, no, but it could and just helped out our decision.

The other main factor that drove us away from Pontiac was the field conditions. After playing in some tournaments this summer we realized that even what other called "not that great of fields" were better than what we play on. Pontiac has redone the skin of the infields in recent years (3-4 years ago) but since then they have not been kept up and the grass of the infield and the bumpy out field are truely an injury hazard. SCS plays most of their games at Kyte Monroe and by all accounts these are very nice fields. We will also play some games at Mt Clemens and Bishop Gallahger which both are better then Pontiac.

Another difference that intrigued the Cubs was that SCS is a wood bat league. As a pitcher this of course appeals to me but as a team we have played in some wood bat tournaments and have really liked the way the game is played and I think I speak for the whole team when I say we have always wondered what it would be like to use wood for a whole season. This I don't think was a major or the most important factor but was a plus in the direction of SCS.

Pontiac of course had its pluses. Pontiac plays straight American League rules (except for metal bats and 7 innings). This made the games very interesting from a managerial standpoint. It sometimes made it difficult to get players in games but it also made it more about just playing, there was some strategy involved in who you played and where and when. SCS has some modified rules that while make things easier on the manager they seem like they will take something away from the game. At the same time though they allow flexibility as the Cubs players get older. (SCS allows for more than 9 batters and fielding is independent from the hitting lineup).

Pontiac is also associated with the NABF which is always a fun exprience and makes for a nice "prize" for reaching the League Championshio Series. The SCS league is an MABL league with no post-season bid associated with winning their league.

SCS of course also has its negatives. While some of the rules allow for flexibilty they also, as stated above, can take something away from the true game of baseball. However, the main negative from my view is the age limit. You must be 23 or turning 23 in the calendar year to play in the league. This of course hurts as it takes a few players away from us that we added last year. It also, in my opinion, makes it tougher to recruite backup players. A lot of Cubs players who were not starters were younger players looking to prove themselves and while they wanted to play they were willing to wait there turn and start as backup players.

The other negative with SCS is the costs. They will go up at least $1000 for the team. All this means though is that we will have to secure a sponsor or do more fundraising. It will be nice though not having to pay the umpires at the game.

Speaking of umpires this did not really play into our decision too much. Pontiac umpires have gotten worse over the years but our team had a pretty good relationship with some of them. I have heard that the SCS umpires are ok but nothing special either. From those who have played in both leagues they say the SCS umps are slightly better. These people have all said that SCS is a better overall league.

So those are some of the issues and reason why we have decided to move to the SCS league.