2008 Florida Cup

Tournament News Flash - Dateline Miami 082508 9:00 pm: Due to the oncoming Hurricane Gustav, which is projected to affect South Florida over the holiday weekend, the 2008 Florida Cup has been cancelled. The league office will issue full refunds immediately to all teams and individual players that made advance payments. We thank you for your interest and hope to see you at our next tournament, which is the 2009 Miami Open - Memorial Day weekend........stay tuned!

The South Florida Baseball League is proud to announce the 8th Annual Florida Cup. Played in South Florida, this tournament is played every year on Labor Day Weekend (August 30 - September 1, 2008) and features some of the best tournament teams in the state. Previous winners include the Jacksonville Vikings, Orlando All-Stars, South Florida Mets, South Florida Sun Devils and Suncoast Suns. The tournament, which is open to any and all teams in the region regardless of affiliation, is in Open Division format - no age brackets. Players must be of the minimum age of eighteen. The winner-take-all tournament is highlighted by a $500 Cash Prize and a tournament trophy for the championship team. Registration fee is $900 per team, regardless of player count. Team registration deadline is Friday, August 22, 2008.

The league office is asking that all interested teams and players contact the League Office at 305.663.2521 as soon as possible and spots for the tournament are filling up quickly.

The 2008 Florida Cup will be played in Miami, Coral Gables and Miami Beach, Florida.. To view a map of the field of your choice, simply click on the underlined field name.

The teams listed below have expressed interest in this year's tournament. The teams include past SFBL Premier Division Champions & 2008 NABA Citrus Classic Champions, Rey's Pizza and the defending Florida Cup Champions, Jacksonville Vikings. The Coral Gables Athletics look to be the first team since the 2005 South Florida Mets to win the Miami Open and Florida Cup in the same year. The Spring 2008 Fort Myers Hardball Champs, Fort Myers Hitmen & 2008 Miami Open Finalists are also back. Players interested in playing in the tournament are welcome and will be assigned to the league team, the Miami AquaSox. Contact the league office immediately for registration. The registration fee for an individual player is $60, payable to SFBL.

	Team
1	Jacksonville Vikings
2	Coral Gables Athletics
3	Miami Rey's Pizza
4	Fort Myers Hitmen
5	Miami Red Sox
6	Fort Lauderdale Mets
7	Coral Springs Stingrays
8	Orlando All Stars
9	Palm Beach NABA Elite
10	Miami Aqua Sox

Depending on final team registrations, the eight to twelve teams are seeded by the tournament director and then divided into two brackets - American and National. All teams are guaranteed a minimum of three games played in round robin format against teams within their respective division. Two games are played on Saturday, August 30 with the third preliminary round game played on Sunday morning, August 31.

Playoff Qualifiers: Teams qualify for the playoffs based on the following point system:

The team with the greatest number of points wins its division. However, in case of a tie, use the tie-breaker rules detailed below. The first and second place teams in each bracket after the 3-game elimination round will advance to the semifinals. The first place team from the American League will play the second place team from the National League and vice-versa in the Semifinals.

2. Fewest Runs Allowed: If no head-to-head result, the team with the fewest runs allowed will win the second tie breaker.

3. Net Runs: In case of another tie, an equation of net runs will be employed and the team with the greatest number of net runs wins the third tie breaker. Net Runs = (Runs Scored - Runs Allowed).

4. Coin Toss: In case of a third tie, a best-of-three coin toss will determine the final tie breaker.

AMERICAN	NATIONAL
to be assigned Friday August 22, 2008	to be assigned Friday August 22, 2008

The Florida Cup is played under the rules undertaken by the South Florida Baseball League. A copy of the SFBL Official Rules and Regulations will be provided to each participating team. To access the rules immediately, click on the underlined reference. Some imperative rules are as follows:

1. In each team's offensive line-up, a minimum 10 batters must be used. You may add to this minimum at any time during the game but you may not shrink the line-up once expanded.

2. Free defensive substitution. As implied, no restrictions on defensive changes except for the pitcher re-entry rule.

3. Pitcher Re-entry Rule: In the case of a pitching change, once a pitcher is removed, he can only be re-entered as a pitcher after one complete inning has been played. This move can only be done once per game.

4. No deliberate physical contact between base runners and defensive players, i.e. NO BARRELING INTO THE CATCHER, SECOND BASEMAN, etc. Automatic ejection penalty.

5. 3 hour time limit = no inning shall start after 3 hours has elapsed. Tie games permitted for elimination round games only. No ties are permitted for playoff games.

6. In case of rain, official game only after 5 full innings completed. Games started but not registering 5 complete innings will be suspended and completed as soon as possible thereafter. Offensive line-ups remain frozen and the suspended game must pick up where it left off.

7. No forfeits tolerated by teams that have clinched playoffs after first two games. Automatic disqualification for violation.

7. All team managers must call in game results - win or lose- to the SFBL office 305.663.2521 within 10 minutes of game completion or suspension. All results will be posted to this website page live throughout the tournament.

Team	W	L	T	Points	R Allowed	R Scored	Net Runs

Team	W	L	T	Points	R Allowed	R Scored	Net Runs

Day	Date	Time	Field	Opponent	Home/Visitor	Score
Sat	8/30/08
Sat	8/30/08
Sun	8/31/08

Day	Date	Time	Field	Opponent	Home/Visitor	Score
Sat	8/30/08
Sat	8/30/08
Sun	8/31/08

Day	Date	Time	Field	Opponent	Home/Visitor	Score
Sat	8/30/08
Sat	8/30/08
Sun	8/31/08