True Foes vs. Dot Bombers, 7/20/09

The Dot Bombers must have had somewhere to be after the game last night, because they wasted no time in racking up a big score that resulted in a mercy ruling after just five fast innings.

Though the Foes did lose 20-5 (I heard a rumor that we had six runs, so it could have been 21-6), there were plenty of high points worth mentioning. For starters, we had a great turnout and welcomed Issa and David Phillips (plus families!) back to the field. We were also happy to have Shortstop Brian and Willy back in action, and Alex's friend Michael, who is quickly becoming a True Foes friend as well!

Jason was enjoying some R&R in sunny California, so David Phillips was brave enough to be our starting pitcher last night. Then Willy stepped up and did a fantastic job, especially considering he hasn't pitched all season! Abbey had a terrific game last night, getting an out at second base and catching a scorching line drive that surely would have busted some ribs if she hadn't gotten her glove up in time! Said Lustgarten: "It was painful, but totally worth it."

There was a bright spot in the fourth inning where it looked like we might be able to turn things around: Glenn, David, and Issa all had slamming hits and chalked up some runs. Michael also hit a screaming meanie right through the infield--I swear, it must have gone past at least four Bombers' gloves. A big thank-you is owed Softball Dave who filled in as team manager, doing the lineup and the coin toss in addition to covering left field. Brian made an excellent double-play, and in general all the Foes played a better game than we did last week. Well done, team!

We did shut down the Dot Bombers in a couple of innings, but in the end they lived up to their name and knocked a bunch of bombs deep into the outfield. That plus a healthy dose of errors on our part resulted in a disgusting number of home runs for the other team, and the ump called the game shortly after seven o'clock.

The heat and haze we had earlier in the day dissolved into an absolutely gorgeous evening, and we took advantage of the early finish to get some relaxing and morale-boosting batting practice. Our numbers were small at the bar, but we very much enjoyed trying out a new watering hole: Rebar. The extensive beer list, expansive interior and eclectic soundtrack made for a great evening, which only got more interesting after Matt Lipson joined us for a round.

Unless there's another makeup game scheduled at the last minute, our final regular game will be Wednesday July 29 at 7pm at Murry Bergtraum. I say no pressure, no heroes, just put your game face on and give it the old college try! Let's bring our natural energy to the artificial turf and give the Pay Scrubs a run for their money!

GTF

True Foes vs. Antibiotix, 7/15/09

Last night ten True Foes bravely took the field at Barry 01, which seems to be our home field this year. Our opposing team was “Antibiotix,” which sounds like a pharmaceutical company trying to move into kids’ cereal or cat food.

Unfortunately for us, their team name was the only lame thing about them. Those guys could hit! Ryan in left, Glenn in center, and Alex Mabilon in right field all made great catches, but there were plenty that escaped us. The other team got some home runs with ducks on the pond and quickly racked up a substantial lead.

We had some familiar faces in new places last night (um, that doesn’t sound quite right) and learned that Abbey is terrific on first base (and she hit really well too!), Softball Dave can become Shortstop Dave, and Ryan’s friend (the ‘other Dave’) covered third for us.

The “Most Improved” award goes to Tyson, who made great contact at bat and also played well at second. Thank you also to Caroline, of Tyson and Caroline, for ensuring we had a full lineup by playing rover. The “Best Job Soldiering on While Injured” award goes to Jason, who stopped a zinger with his side but bounced back surprisingly fast.

Though we were shut out 12-0, there were some good moments for the True Foes! We made a double and a triple-play during the game, and we shut them down in more than one inning. It was at bat, once again, where we failed to live up to our true potential. We made some good solid hits, but Antibiotix can really catch. Also, their pitcher was really lobbing them in there, and while he tossed plenty of wild throws, there were plenty of speedy strikes as well.

But at the end of the day they were a nice team and the vibe on the field was pretty decent. You could smell the defeat in the True Foes dugout, but we did our best to show some spirit on the bench and stayed alive for seven innings. There didn’t seem to be enough spirit left over for batting practice after the game, so we made a beeline for Water St. and drank a few cold ones. We were missing some regulars (Shortstop Brian, Issa, David Phillips, Michael) last night, and our numbers were the smallest they’ve been this season. Drinks felt a little subdued but were a good tonic for our softball souls nonetheless.

We only have 2 regular games left, and the next one is on Monday, July 20th, back at Barry 01 again. Let’s bring it to the Dot Bombers and end the season on a high note! A big comeback game is just what we need to start the week off right, and you won’t want to miss it!

GTF

True Foes vs. Halcyon Asset Management, 7/9/09

So the plan last night was to "bring the love back." We'd been getting pretty tense and stressed out before and during our last few games, and we felt it was important to take a deep breath, drink some beers, and chill the heck out before the next one.

Since we had a 9pm game at the East River Fields, East Village resident Softball Dave was kind enough to host us on his AMAZING back patio (I should have taken a picture!) and we enjoyed beers, pizza, and non-softball-related conversation for a good hour and a half before game time. I remember Jason saying, "I think we should all drink as much as possible," and wondering how that would turn out.

Well, it turned out to be a great idea! There was definitely less tension overall, and though we didn't even warm up for the game really, we were off to a great start! True Foes were the 'visiting' team, so we were up to bat first and Shortstop Brian quickly got us on the board. Then Halcyon was up, and they scored too. Even Steven.

Our fielding was definitely stronger than last time. Not watertight--there were a few errors here and there--but overall we made better plays and shut them down on more than one occasion. David had confidently declared before the game, "Their Halcyon days are over!" Oh, how I wish that were true. Unfortunately they got three runs in one inning and we never quite caught up to them after that.

Now, these guys were not a fun team to play against. They were super intense. The kind of guys who shout things like: "Keep the aggression!!"

It's 9pm on a beautiful summer night down by the river, and half the people present are slightly drunk. Is it really necessary to 'keep the aggression'? Oh, and their first baseman was driving me nuts the way he'd cheer for his own pitcher. After every pitch, he'd bellow something like: "Nice pitch! NICE PITCH!!"

It's not like there was really that much at stake--the only people besides us who were watching were random people walking by with their dogs. The exception to the Halcyon vein-popping attitude was their lone female player, who basically only put down her cell phone long enough to strike out. And she wasn't the only one! There were a lot of strikeouts on both sides last night, which I attribute to starting with a 1-1 count. It kind of throws everything off. But it did keep the game moving, and it was all over by 10pm: we lost 8-4. Not bad!

We were trailing 8-1 at the top of the sixth, and then Jason made an Inspirational Speech about relaxing, taking it easy, and getting some f--king runs already. Laviola added "No heroes!" and then proceeded to eat turf diving for a foul ball. But the speech worked, because right after that we scored more runs! Shortstop Brian, David Phillips, and Softball Dave all had great hits! We definitely had more opportunities to score throughout the game--there were True Foes on bases--but the aforementioned penchant for striking out meant that we couldn't live up to our scoring potential.

Willy was on first base, and there were plenty of great plays there--plus he went deep and made an exciting catch in almost-right-field. Glenn and Laviola were dependable as always in the outfield, and Softball Dave made a great catch too while he covered third, and Shortstop Brian stopped their hits short whenever possible. I don't like tooting my own horn, but I have to say it felt pretty good to finally catch a foul ball, and I hope to make a habit of it! Jason not only encouraged us to drink and relax, he also pitched great (there was a no-swing strikeout, and plenty of the regular kind!) and played through the pain when he got a nasty leg cramp.

Thank-yous and props are also due Michael on second, Mabs and Tyson as our rovers, David Phillips over in right field, Caroline for cheering, and Abbey for keeping score (always harder than it looks!). The game was over by 10pm, and after the requisite "good game" hand slaps with the snarky Halcyons we stayed on the field and practiced until they shut the lights off at 10:30.

Holy cow, did you see the moon last night? It was huge and orange, hovering over Brooklyn. Really amazing. Ironically, during batting practice we were hitting and fielding like champs--which means that we're on the right track with this whole "take it easy" idea! Next game, let's just pretend we're having some batting practice--no pressure--and I think we'll really shine! And if we need to take a little nip from a bottle now and then to facilitate the necessary relaxation, then so be it.

I don't even remember the name of the bar we ended up at, but it was on Avenue C at around tenth street I think. We had plenty of space to push some tables together and create a True Foes section, which was a welcome change from the crowds in the Dumbo bars. I've gotta say, the way we stick together and wring every last drop of pleasure from the night is truly wonderful. I'd rather lose with the True Foes than win with any other team--no contest! What good is winning if you have to hang out with a bunch of douchebags all night?

It was technically Friday morning when yours truly took off, and some of the Foes who stayed in the bar looked like they had the potential to really make a night of it. Any stories, Jason? Alex? Don't hold out on us, man!

Our next game is less than a week away: Wednesday, July 15, at 6pm vs. "ANTIBIOTIX". And yes, we're back in the navy yard again. Please come out to play or cheer, and (win or lose) good times will be had by all!

GTF

True Foes vs. El D, 6/26/09

Looking outside today at the beautiful blue skies and radiant sunshine, you never would have guessed that we were playing under a dome of doom and gloom last night!

Seriously, it was like “The Softball Game at the End of the World.” It looked like we were finally going to luck out, weather-wise, since thunderstorms (and even hail!) had been predicted, but conditions were still dry when we got to the field.

But sure enough, come six o’clock, these immense dark cloud formations started swirling and piling up just like in Ghostbusters 2 when Vigo gathers those supernatural storm clouds around Dana’s upper-west-side high rise.

The ump called for us to start the game right quick, in hopes that we’d be able to squeeze in enough innings for it to count as a ‘real game’. At first the frenzied pace seemed to be working for us, as the True Foes started out batting and quickly scored three runs. Then El D took the plate and scored four. At this point I was thinking two things:

1) “Wow, we seem to be pretty evenly matched. This is going to be a great game!”
2) “I am concerned that the ump has struggled to remember the score and we’re only in the first inning!”

Well, I needn’t have bothered worrying about his scorekeeping ability, since from that point on El D kept scoring runs and we kept on not scoring runs, so…

In the second inning the winds picked up, and this massive dust cloud blew in (I think it was from a construction site somewhere under the BQE) and we had to call a brief time-out until people could see again. The wind continued to gather strength, and then awesome forks of lightning started cracking sideways across the sky. The umpire hurried both teams along at every step, and tension mounted.

It got dark, and rain began to fall, but we kept on playing. We were losing by a lot now. Things were looking and feeling very grim. It seriously felt like the world was going to come to an end, and we’d never get to see our loved ones or eat pizza or listen to “Thriller” EVER AGAIN. All we could do was FINISH THIS GAME and then hold on for dear life when things inevitably started crashing down around us. The ump tried to call the game at one point, drawing protests from both teams: “Look, it’s letting up!”

And indeed it was. The rain petered out, the winds died down, and the lightning continued to flicker until at last it was finished too. And so were we. Mercy rule after a mere five innings.

How did it happen? Well, I could tell you about some bad calls behind the plate (Glen and Ryan were ROBBED, that’s for sure!) and the wind interfering with things, but the plain truth is that they just played better than we did. Too many of El D’s hits touched turf instead of a glove. Too many of our hits were scooped up instead of scrambled after. These things happen.

But in True Foes form, we decided to make the best of things and so we stayed behind on the field for some fun batting practice after the game. The storm was completely over by then, and a golden sunset beamed from beneath the high cloud cover, making the field and the trees and the buildings glow as if lit from within by magical rosy candlelight.

Add a wagon full of beer (thanks, Glenn!), some funky cotton-ball cloud formations, and friends shagging balls in a field of newly-mown grass, and you’ve got yourself a paradise.


Next time, we’re going to come together as a team before the game (which is at 9pm on the East River fields, Thursday July 9) and recreate that calm, glowing vibe before we storm things up on the field. It's a brilliant plan, and you won't want to miss it!

GTF

True Foes vs. The Felons, 6/23/09

It rained 20 of the past 23 days this month, but I hadn't really thought about what effect it would have on softball beyond the annoyance of canceled games. We may have cursed the rain for keeping us away from the field for so long, but evidently the field was loving every minute of it!

The outfield was a veritable meadow. The grass was lush and thick enough to make suburban lawnscapers green with envy. Weeds reached up to knee height, and bumble bees happily crawled around on the abundant clover. Little white butterflies flitted about, and the mosquitoes and no-see-ums were having a field day (pun intended).

The vegetation was so thick that we actually LOST a softball during warm-ups. It landed somewhere in right field, but by the time anyone jogged over to retrieve it, the foliage had hidden it from view. And we spent a good ten minutes tramping around looking for it! I swear I saw some plant growths out there that looked like Seymour had escaped from the Little Shop of Horrors and spawned in the navy yard.

Not that any of this is an excuse for our 12-0 loss; I'm merely setting the stage.

For the first three innings we really had a close game: they got a lucky run during the first inning, and then a freakishly fast triple-play by the Felons brought a swift and shocking end to our first at-bat. The following two innings passed in a flash, with both teams hitting well but fielding better, resulting in a lot of good catches and plays, but no runs.

Then in the fourth inning the Felons scored a second run. And then some more runs. It wasn't an unwinnable game for us at this point, but morale dropped faster than Spitzer's pants and we never made that comeback. Innings five through seven were more of the same: they hit, they scored, they grand-slammed, and we started making more errors in the field.

We strove for a rally, and to tell you the truth we were hitting well, but their golden gloves just scooped up everything that came off our bats, and we weren't able to turn it around.

On the bright side: we got to play! How good did that feel? Pretty freakin' good. The dark clouds and the sun took turns watching the game, but it stayed dry, and that's the important part. We also had a really healthy turnout, with more than enough fresh players to sub in halfway through.

Jason pitched a great game, keeping the Felons on their toes and really throwing the heat, as evidenced by the big bruise on my shoulder! We were happy to have Willy on first base, and he made some great catches over there. Tyson made a crucial catch at second, which put an end to one of their scoring streaks, and Abbey made a valiant effort on third in the latter half of the game.

Drew made his debut game and had at least one great hit that I remember, and--hold the phones--Peter Becker took a turn at bat! The only downside to having so many Foes ready to play is that I can't give a proper shout-out to everyone. Instead I'll finish by thanking our team mascot (Max) and his manager for coming by and showing their support!

We had plenty of vehicles after the game, which was a nice surprise. We all congregated at the Water Street Bar to sip our brews and lick our wounds. The horror of our shutout definitely detracted from our excitement to be back in action, but in true Foes fashion we drank away the pain and ended up having a great time catching up as a team.

I mean, hey. We hadn't played for two weeks, we were missing some regulars, and we gave it our best shot out there. Let's consider this a warm-up game, and now we'll be in top form for our next face-off this Friday! So shake off any regret or disappointment, stay limber, and bring your A-game. We'll finish off the week with a definitive win and get to crow about it all weekend!

GTF

Ode to the weather

One day a storm came rolling in
and chose the Navy Yard
He said, “I think I’ll sit right here,
and drop some rain real hard.”

He did not know that on that day
the True Foes had a game.
They cursed the wet and wind and mud;
declared the weather lame.

The storm, he liked their spirit!
He was not disconcerted.
But whenever he would watch them play
the field remained deserted.

Dear gray clouds and rainy drops,
we welcome your support.
But if you come, we cannot play.
Would you please be a sport?

Just peep our weekly schedule
and please rain some other day.
I promise we’ll be grateful
and our very best we’ll play.

We have a game on Thursday
and the weather’s looking shit.
Please keep your fuckin’ distance
so I can get a hit!

True Foes vs. Mayhem, 4/2/09

When it started to rain around 4:30 yesterday afternoon I cursed the sky. I cursed the clouds, the rain, our rotten luck with the weather, and then for good measure I cursed this season’s entire schedule for failing to place our games on the sunny dry nights. And it worked! The afternoon showers abated, and though the air was humid and thick with unrained rain, it was game on!

Due to three of our seven games having been rained out thus far, last night was our fourth game overall and our second one against Mayhem. Last time they beat us 9-5, and the True Foes fiercely desired a comeback—and delivered!

Of course Mayhem’s infamous pitcher (Irwin) was there, and though we hoped he’d be all shagged out from having just flown in from Las Vegas, he seemed to be his usual self—though perhaps with a bit more respect for the True Foes now. After Michael showed Mayhem that women can hit, he announced his intentions to stop “easing up” on his pitches to female Foes. Don’t do me any favors, Irwin.

Our pitcher, on the other hand, was in top form! There were a lot of strikeouts when Jason was on the mound, and also noteworthy were the amazing catches he made: one bare-handed catch of an infield fly, a reflex-testing catch of a line drive, and an amazing slide, almost crashing into the Mayhem dugout, to catch a skewed foul ball.

Yes, the True Foes’ defensive moves were sharp last night, and we shut them down in quite a few innings! David Phillips excelled on first base, making one particularly amazing reach while managing to keep a toe on the bag—out! Shortstop Brian covered his usual wide-ranging infield territory with great skill, and Michael had a golden glove last night too—fortunately for us, Mayhem seemed to love to hit the ball right to her! Credit is also due to Tyson and Mabilon (as rover and right fielder) for stopping balls on that end of the field, and to Caroline and Abbey for bravely stepping up to play in the latter half of an exciting game.

We were the visiting team, so at the top of every inning bats were gripped and balls were hit by one Foe after another. Sure, there were a few strikeouts, but more often than not those speedy pitches were sent right back to Mayhem, with interest! Question: what do Glenn, Glenn’s cousin Mike, and Softball Dave have in common? They all hit home runs! It was awesome. If only we’d had dudes on bases when those homers happened we could have won by a comfortable margin! There were some who were less than thrilled about the close score, but you know what? I’ll take an 8-7 win any day! The ump last night was great—there were a few times when some uncertainty over the score came up, but his friendly demeanor and reliable eye for judging balls and strikes made him very popular.

The air at Barry 2 was as fresh and light as a towel on the bathroom floor, and the sweat ran down our backs like rain on a windowpane. The “Florida-like” climate (as Tyson described it) did seem to dampen our cheering somewhat, but fortunately Willy and Kim were there, keeping score and showing support. Thanks also to Willy for hauling the equipment in the Bresemobile, and to Kim for getting the beers so we could replenish lost fluids!
Our next game is Friday, June 12, again at Barry 2, versus the Dot Bombers. Come and play, or come to cheer--this win is just the beginning of a fabulous winning streak!
GTF

Mayhem lucks out

True Foes vs Mayhem 5/13/09

Well, we didn’t win, and it didn’t feel good to lose. Never does. The final score of 9-5 doesn’t really reflect how well we played. And was it just me, or did the ump totally favor them on some key calls? First of all, Softball Dave totally tagged that guy out at third. It was undeniable. And also, when Ryan hit a single and then they overthrew to first, he should have gotten an extra base for that, no? But the ump says because the ball hit the fence when they overthrew, somehow that nullifies the “extra base” rule. What? And just overall, the quantity of strikes that Mayhem’s pitcher got was ridiculous. I mean, yeah, ok, he threw pretty well at times. But just because a pitch is fast and delivered with a grunt doesn’t mean it’s good. Plenty of them were super wild, over the batter’s head or skidding into the dirt. And not all the strikes were really strikes. That’s all I’m sayin.

But enough excuses: we played well, but we also made some errors, and if we could’ve cut back on the latter then Mayhem definitely would’ve had a run for their money.

The game was off to a fantastic start! Possibly my favorite first inning ever. The True Foes took the field first, and then we Shut. Them. Down. Oh, yeah. The soles of Mayhem sneakers never even tasted second base. The best was when they had a runner taking a big lead off first, and Jason caught a zinger that looked like it could’ve burned his ear right off. Then he tossed it to Ryan for a sweet double play. Then when we were up to bat, Shortstop Brian started us off by cranking out a homerun. Nice!

There were plenty of other innings where we shut them down 1-2-3 and they didn’t score at all. Unfortunately, our own collective batting performance was not an example of our best work. Bravely we all faced Irwin the Grunter (who, to his credit, seems to have lost about half of his belly since last season) and gave it our best shot. If only their outfield had been as error-prone as their infield we would have had more runs for sure.

Props to Tyson for taking one of those fast wild pitches in the foot and shaking it off. David Phillips didn’t let a busted hamstring stop him from playing: he and Ryan Hullings simply swapped left field for first base and proved that they’re both great in either position. Glenn Baken was back with us this week in his usual center field, catching anything that Mayhem was stupid enough to hit towards him. Abbey and Tyson saw some action over in right field and rover, and Abbey had a great hit, too. Michael was all over second base, and there was quite an exciting play with a runner caught between second and third—and he was out!

Mayhem must have sensed that we were on the verge of kicking their asses, because they kept on stalling for time. In between every batter their pitcher would turn around and have some mini-conference with the infield, and between every inning they’d saunter around like we had all the time in the world instead of a rapidly darkening sky and light rain. Well, you know what, Mayhem? I hope you savor the flavor because it’ll be a different story the next time we face off.

Our next game is Tuesday, May 26 against El D. They’ve already got watery bowels just thinking about how badly they’re going to lose to us, so as Jason said, “Stay frosty!”

GTF

True Foes vs. The South's, 4/29/09

Ooh, do that again, True Foes!

Winning feels good. Winning after a loss, a rainout, and a bye feels even better.

I’ve got to give Issa props for his share in our victory tonight—not only did he get a ton of hopeful South’s baserunners out on first, but he really put us in the right frame of mind by calmly but firmly insisting, “We really need to win this one, guys.” He plays soccer with one of the guys on that team and did not look forward to the incessant razzing that would ensue if we lost.

Well if that’s all it takes, then: hey, I’m close friends with someone on the next team we’re playing. If we lose to them, I’ll lose face. So we really need to win our next game, too. OK? For that matter: I’ve got a friend/teammate/ex-boyfriend on every single team we’re playing for the rest of the season. So we’ve really got to win them all! Don’t let me down! There. That oughta do it.

The weather, though still slightly chillier than many would have liked, was still a vast improvement over our last game, and a great deal drier and brighter to boot. Some high school teams were playing when we first arrived at the field (yup, we were in the Navy Yard again) so we had to play catch and stretch on the sidelines and wait until six o’clock sharp for them to clear the hell out of our dugout so we could get started.

Not that the slight delay mattered in the end. The ump, to put it nicely, was extremely relaxed. After assuring that both teams and team managers were present, he took a nice long walk around the handball courts on the far side of the block, having himself a smoke. Was it tobacco? Some speculated otherwise, citing giggly behavior and an extremely mellow attitude as evidence. At any rate, he was easier to get along with than the last blue, and had more of a tendency to call a spade a spade when faced with all the strikes Jason was throwing, so no real complaints. Though he did seem to have a soft spot for the old guy on the other team (yeah, he should have struck out) and I swear to god I was SAFE on first that one time, but hey.

The men and women on the South’s team were friendly, and they did have some good hitters, but overall they were no match for the True Foes. We took an early lead 3-0 after the first inning, and went on to score 12 more runs until it was called as a “mercy win” 15-2 at the bottom of the fifth. The ump actually asked us when and how the mercy rule should be applied. Um, not to be rude, but isn’t that your job? Though if he had asked us to start calling pitches or outs for him I wouldn’t have minded.

It was a pretty easy game for yours truly—no big plays at home plate, that’s for sure! So I had plenty of time to witness, in glorious detail, all the stunning plays made by the True Foes in the in-and-outfields. David Phillips debuted this season in center field, and boy were we glad he did! He was responsible for monster hits and some essential catches. Jason must have had his Wheaties that morning, cuz he was really pitching the shit. There were straightforward strikes, the low and twisty strikes, and what I like to call the “sonic” strikes—cuz you see a big swing first, and then a split second later hear the ball sink into my glove. Heh, heh.

Shortstop Brian really cleaned up the infield—well, he and Jason both did, actually. Those two, with Issa on first and Michael on second base, worked together like pros, and efficiently plowed through a lot of innings when “The South’s” were at bat. Ryan Hullings (apart from his great hits) and Abbey (who also had great hits!) were solid on third base, of course, but the truth is not many of the other team's players made it that far. Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!

We had Softball Dave in left field (who made excellent contact at bat), Alex Mabilon (and Steve) in right field, while Tyson and Russell took turns as rover. You know, for being some of our “less-experienced” players, those latter three are really improving by leaps and bounds—really cottoning on to the strategy and skills like they were born to play softball. Congrats to Tyson for his first score (on the field, you perverts), and kudos to Mabs, who donned an elbow brace and said “I’m not gonna let an injured elbow stop me, allons-y!” (or something like that). It was awesome when Fumiko and Dash showed up in the fourth inning, right when the South’s scored one of their two runs. Fumiko asked me through the fence, “Who’s winning?” And I said, “We are: eleven to one!” And she was all, “Oh, all right then!” Pas de problème!

Not to sound cocky, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and besides the fact that South’s is a new team without a lot of experience, we really did play well and pretty much had this one in the bag from the get-go. As I already mentioned, they were a bunch of nice people though—and the name of their team is truly fitting, as I learned. I was coaching third base, and it was kind of apparent at that point that we were going to win, so I was joking around a little, trading jibes with the other team. Then one of them asked me, “Is this y’all’s first season?” It took me a moment to realize she was asking me a question, because I honestly can’t recall the last time I’ve heard “y’all” used non-ironically in conversation!

When the game was over we still had plenty of daylight (come to think of it, I believe it was the magic hour!) for our walk to the bar, and this time Water Street Bar won out. It was “lobster ‘n’ jazz” night there, but we mainly stuck to beer and hard liquor, and that worked out quite well. There was ample time and space to pat ourselves (and our teammates) on the back and shoot the breeze. Fortunately we won’t have to wait as long for our next game and subsequent celebration; it’s coming up in less than a week!

On May 4th, get ready for some Monday night madness when the True Foes manhandle Mayhem at Barry Park!

GTF

True Foes vs. Highliners, 4/7/09

It was certainly a shivery, soggy start to the ’09 softball season! We were the first to arrive at our old stomping grounds at Commodore Barry Park in the Navy Yard, and after surveying both dugouts we realized that they were both more or less underwater so we threw our stuff down by the fence on the side of the field and wasted no time in starting our first and much-needed practice!

A half-hour or so of catch and batting practice did help, but when we finished and waited for the game to start, the thin film of sweat that had managed to develop only served to chill us all the more when that cold wind blew on the backs of our necks. The infield was littered with puddles, and before the game could start the ump directed players to take the flat rubber bases and literally scoop dirt from the dirt mound by third base to try and fill in the swamps at the pitcher’s mound and home plate. The outfield was pitted, bumpy, and shaggy, as usual, with the added complication of a damp and dirty softball that wanted to jump and slip from every glove and grip.

The Highliners were a new team last year, and this was our first time playing them. There’s no knowing what kind of company they work for, but they all traveled together in an official-looking company van, so maybe they do deliveries? Well, they definitely failed to deliver an impressive performance last night—they just got lucky!

The True Foes were up to bat first and started quite well—at the bottom of the first inning we were ahead, and although the Highliners scored more runs later on we did hold our own for the most part, though sadly not enough to finish in the lead when the game was truncated early. Honestly, if we had played the full seven innings I think we would have won the game, but it got so dark after just five innings that both team managers agreed to call the game and we ended up losing by two runs: 9-7.

There were a lot of things working against us last night: wintry weather, a wet ball, and some debatable judgment calls by the ump, but we must admit that we did make an unfortunate amount of errors in some innings. The umpire had a washcloth just to wipe off the water and mud—but he would have served us better if he had paid as much attention to the pitches as he did to the cleanliness of the ball. I’m not saying that every True Foes pitch was perfect, but there were definitely a lot more of them in the strike zone than what he called.

The Highliners, for their part, were loving it. Someone really needed to say to them, “Hey, guys—you know that metal stick you hold in your hands while you stand by home plate? It’s called a bat, and you’re supposed to swing it at the ball once in a while.” They definitely had a penchant for walking to first base, but Jason sucked it up and whenever we took the field he continued lobbing what seemed like hundreds of pitches until we managed to make three outs.

Some shout-outs are definitely in order: to Jason, for not only pitching some long innings in less-than-desirable weather, but also for going to the field in the morning before work to gauge the likelihood of a cancellation, and some really terrific line drives. Willy hauled all the equipment to and from in the Bresemobile and kept score for us—and he also recruited Julie when we needed another player, and thanks to her we had ten on the field and she made a great catch as our rover! Shortstop Brian bravely donned a glove even though he broke his catching hand five weeks ago, and had great at-bats followed by his usual daredevil base-running. Softball Dave hit great and also rocked on third, and even had to tag some dudes out, which is not that easy. Mad props to Ryan Hullings for making one of those catches where everyone is going “oh my god-will he catch it or not?-oh my god” and then he did! Issa was invaluable on first, at bat, and also as a third-base coach for us less-savvy base-runners. Glenn Baken didn’t really have an opportunity to shine in center field (the Highliners were not heavy hitters) but he took his usual big swings and helped up our score. We were happy to have Steve Griffin return for his second season on the Foes, and I’d wager that before long he’ll feel as natural on the field as he does when he’s elbow-deep in computer guts. A very heartfelt thank-you is owed to Kim and Mabilon who came to cheer, which was actually a much colder task than playing, and to Alex’s friend Michael who had a fantastic hit and also proved she’s worth her salt on second.

Beers and way too many fistfuls of those shoestring fries were consumed at Superfine after the game. It was warm and crowded and so wonderful to catch up with old teammates and welcome new ones! Yes, it was ridiculously cold and dark on the field, and yes, we had that gritty softball mud all over our clothes and hands, and yes, we did technically lose our first game of the season. But we had a good turnout, spirits are up, and I think everyone is ready to bring the heat (oh please let there be heat) next Tuesday for a glorious, victorious, full-length game against the Dot Bombers!

GTF