CWL 2008

CWL Special Feature

PLANS, PLANS, PLANS

By Josh Cartwright
3.4.08

Even though the first pitch hasn't even been thrown, and won't be for a while, the brains, what little there are, behind the CWL are already thinking ahead. And when I say thinking ahead, I'm talking about 2009. Yes, you heard, 2009.

Why am I already thinking so far ahead when this season hasn't even arrived yet? Well, it's pretty simple. For those of you who don't know, this monster I've created is a year-round thing. For me, there's no off-season, no period of relaxation. It's an on-going task trying to stay on top of the game, providing you guys with the best wiffleball experience possible. We're not noted as one of the premier wiffleball leagues in the U.S. for nothing. Regardless of what season is coming up or what time of year it is, plans are always in motion to improve. And there's some things that can't be accomplished this year, things that will just have to wait another year to reach their full potential.

What exactly am I getting at here? What has to wait a full year to become a reality? Well, for one, we're looking into the possibility, this being what I believe to be the single, greatest achievement in league history, of having two full fields next year in a private location that belongs to me and me alone and no cows in sight.

I possess an area of land, that with a little work, can be an ideal location for two perfect wiffleball fields. And until a few weeks ago, I never even thought about taking this piece of land and transforming it into the cream-of-the-crop playing field that it could be. Yes, it's going to be hard work and little expense but I see it being well worth it. Finally, an area the CWL can call its own, an area that I don't have to wait for, an area where a permanent fence can be erected, an area that doesn't have to be prepped for days before it's usable, an area where I don't have to ask anyone for permission before I do something. Finally!

And McMahan has been great in letting us use his field and doing what we need to do with it, but there are certain headaches with using said field. This new field won't require any of that old mess, instead we can do what we want, when we want. We're talking permanent chain fence with mesh covering, real foul poles, hopefully a few bleachers, perfectly flat, beautiful green grass and whatever other unnecessary luxuries we can afford to have. Sounds good, huh?

Not too mention there will be two of them. No more Sunday games, which is a huge relief for me, meaning that I don't have to be at the field all weekend, all summer. Multiple games rolling at once, possible tournaments, the list is endless, and it's all a very real possibility. The only draw back is the time and effort, and money, involved in getting this area game-worthy. But it is doable, very doable. Heck, the land is already mine, it's just a matter of getting it cleared and ready.

Another area that we're checking out is the possibility of a true draft. Forget this mess of building your own teams, it was good for this year but we want to head in the direction of a more traditional means of selecting teams and making the competition level more, um, competitive. The only way to do that is by holding a draft. A real draft.

J.D. Cannon is the mad scientist behind this draft, coming up with all kinds of awesome ways to conduct the draft. Ideas that involve restricted and unrestricted free agents, lottery picks, and all kinds of cool stuff to make this league more fun and realistic. It's a little complicated as of now, but we're working on the details and we'll have everything ironed out when the appropriate time comes around.

Personally, I'm excited about the future of this league. I can't wait for 2008 to get here, but I'm just geeked about the future of this league in general. We've grown so much and it looks like we're going to keep on growing until I can't handle it anymore and retire for good, which doesn't look to be anytime soon.