Match Play League - Forced Lineup - Proposed Changes

[Frank Goebel]

My league is four-man, match play, line up low to high average with any subs taking the place of the regular, regardless of average.

In the past, when there is one absentee on each opposing team, we have had the present bowlers involved simply bowl against their blind, and let it go at that. If the absentees happened to be lined up against each other, we've split the points. I already plan on proposing that the game points be earned by the winning team each game and series, next year.

What I do want to propose is to have the teams bowl "real" matches. If there are three present, each bowler would bowl against an actual, present bowler and the absentee points would be awarded to the team winning the game or series. No problem here, if the teams are matched three-on-three, or two-on-two (barely making the minimum legal lineups, but it's happened).

What I am wondering, for future reference, is what to do if there is an odd situation, where the match is three-on-two. Three-on-four is easy, it's just one bowler bowling against his blind, the one not "paired". For three-on-two, one bowler will have to bowl blind, and it's just deciding who that would be. There are many possible combinations; if the situation is where two matches are already paired, the odd bowler is obvious (but could be any position in the lineup). There would always be one pairing by logic. I would prefer not to break that pairing.

Of the 20 possibilites, 10 of them require no alteration. Of the 10 that do, the only two real instance of difficulty would be when: 1. the leadoff is absent on one team, and both three and anchor are absent on the other; 2. The leadoff and two are absent on one team, and the anchor on the other. In instance 1, I would have the present anchor being the one bowling blind, and in instance 2, the present leadoff bowling blind.

I'm open to input, as I won't be proposing any of this until the August pre-season meeting. If you're in a league that does this sort of match play situation, I'd like to know what you've encountered in the past.

[Lance Rasmussen]

Some of my past leagues I've been secretary of, use to do split match points. However, the problem with that is the spirit of the game is against "gimme points", which this is. In past conversations with HQ's rules commitee, this was brought up as well. Bylaws still allow a league to choose as they may, though.

A couple of my handicapped "majors" leagues have done something that I think is fair. One, low to high... period. The only time a captain would have a "choice" would be who would make up the people to be on the team that week, but the average is still low to high. If two players have the same average, then the captain could make a choice. Subs would be positioned according to average.

Bowlers coming in without an average would use their book in last year or highest book last year. Bowlers coming in completely new, would be put into leadoff position.

If bowler, vs absent, then I've had two different leagues do it differently. One would be bowling against an absentee score. The other did 10 pins within the present players average.

If a blind vs blind... then team who wins game, gets points.

I've found this creates the easiest amount of work as well as fairness.