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