There are a lot of changes in store for American Legion Baseball this summer. It's too soon to tell what effect they will have, but it's sure to be interesting.

Zone 2 will again have 11 teams -- Amato's, Augusta, Fairfield PAL, Franklin County, Gardiner, Lincoln County, Madison, Messalonskee, Monmouth, O'Brien Oil and Waterville.

The schedule starts June 14, before even the regional finals are played for high school baseball. (The state championships are June 20.)

In the past, the top two teams from the Zone 2 tournament knew they would automatically advance to the state tournament. That's not the case this year.

Under a new format, there will be a five-year rotation among the five zones. This summer, Zone 1 will automatically send two teams to the state tournament. Next year, Zone 2 will automatically send two teams, and so on.

The format this year calls for the runners-up from Zone 2 and Zone 4 to go at it in a "play-in" game. The runners-up from Zone 3 and Zone 5 will also face off in a play-in game.

The winners of those two games will join the five zone winners and the Zone 1 runner-up in the eight-team state tournament.

As a fan, I like what this will bring to the Zone tournament, which will now have even more at stake because teams will have more incentive to get the top seed and that automatic bid.

But I can see some pitching staffs running a little thin. The season ends July 18, and the Zone 2 tournament begins the next day and runs through July 23. Then there's a little break before the state tournament, July 29-Aug. 2 in Augusta.