With an open franchise slot, we had a few options moving forward. The best of which would be to find a complete, full-time, dependable team to fill the slot. Securing a team for even half a season of commitment on short notice is incredibly difficult, and impractical honestly. The second (and worst) option would be to forfeit the remaining schedule. Two problems show themselves here: A) is it more fair to have teams with losses recorded against a team no longer on the schedule, or to retroactively forfeit legitimate wins of the former franchises history? Answer: neither is fair, and both suck tremendously.
Segue into B) Forfeits suck. (Yuck!) We join this league to play the game, nobody wants free wins substituted for the chance to get out and play. Leading us to the third, out-of-the-box option. Hey, Wiffle balls come in a bag; we are already operating well outside of the box.
Meet the
Semen*
Seamen. The Seamen are no one. The Seamen are everyone: a revolving cast of characters, mercenaries. The Seamen are an opportunity. They inherit the vacated 4-8 record, and will
play the remaining sixteen games on the schedule. Anyone, in the league or not, can play for the Seamen. This is a chance for guys to pick up a few extra games this summer, as well as a unique opportunity to bring new players to the game in league play. Seamen games may be organized and set up by anyone as long as the league is notified of the plans. A one-time roster may be assembled, or an existing team may opt to play an extra series. For example, the Seamen have games in Manchester, Whiteford, and Detroit on the schedule; if your team is traveling to play two, why not play a bonus series on top of that? Player stats will be recorded and put into League Lineup the same as any other team. They will not be reflected in your season stats for your primary team, but will be listed as a player on the Seamen roster.
Even with the revolving, pick-up-roster nature the Seamen will still operate within our pitching rotation and batting lineup rules. The Seamen roster functions independently of the other nine teams, so the rotation rule
only applies to Seamen games played. Therefore, if a pitcher is unavailable for his team, he may still throw for the Seamen as long as he did not pitch 2+ innings in the previous Seamen game. Likewise, a pitcher may pitch a game for the Seamen and still be available when returning to his team. Sure, it could get a little messy, but this is the fun kind of mess to make! A decision on what to do with the tenth team for the playoffs will be decided as they approach and we see how things play out. If interest and commitment is found in enough outside players, the franchise could end up in their hands full time.
The Seamen will make their debut this Sunday at 6 PM against the
Thunder Ducks at the Swamp. There is no uniform requirement while playing for the Seamen, obviously, but the color white, masks, costumes, flair, and various pirate accoutrement are optional, though heartily encouraged!
* Original name was found to be too "in your face".
Meet the 
The Seamen will make their debut this Sunday at 6 PM against the Thunder Ducks at the Swamp. There is no uniform requirement while playing for the Seamen, obviously, but the color white, masks, costumes, flair, and various pirate accoutrement are optional, though heartily encouraged!
