True Foes vs. The Hit Show, 6/10/2010

After a no-show ump and a friendly scrimmage with El Destructo last week, The True Foes were ready for some real action on the field. Even the dark, dirty, distressing kind.

It was dark because our 9pm game started about a half an hour late due to the field being a mud pit. Someone found an orange traffic cone and converted it into a landscaping tool to try and fill in the biggest puddles. It helped a little, but the infield was still plenty boggy, and the outfield was slick.

The first inning set the tone for the rest of the game: it took forever, there were painful errors, and The Hit Show scored more runs than we did. And yes, on their t-shirts they made the 'S' in 'show' cover both words, though why you'd want to call your own team 'the shit show' is beyond me. Also in the first inning, to our great shock and dismay, one of the painful errors was Jason taking a softball between the eyes! Fortunately his nose bone is strong, and it got bloody but not broken. It was also fortunate that Susan, Brett, and Heather were in the bleachers, meaning there were plenty of pain-dulling substances on hand.

The Hit Show did show us some hits, but we can't deny that we straight-up gave them plenty of runs. Alas, there was no shortage of ball mismanagement on our end. But that's not to say we didn't get on the board ourselves! Our score was in the double digits by the end of the night, and that's not too shabby. If their pitcher had been able to get the ball over the plate more often we probably could've scored even more: man, did he have a wild arm! It was like watching a five-year-old play Duck Hunt: he moved too fast, and he was all over the place.

David Phillips got beaned at his first at-bat (how's your foot?), but stuck it out and hit a fantastic double later in the evening. We welcomed Shortstop Brian back and appreciated his nifty catches and fabulous triple! Speaking of nifty catches: nice one, Tyson! Hearty thanks also to our outfield (Casey, Alex Laviola, and DP) who had to try and spot a muddy softball amidst the dazzling stadium lights, but always brought it in swiftly.

Abbey had a solid hit and shared second-base duty with Julie, who brought heaps of team spirit and also a 'plus one' for our cheering section. Softball Dave hit well and made some good plays at third, and Willy made plenty of outs at first base, which was conveniently located at the end of a slip-and-slide mud strip.

We played hard, we played through the pain, and though we didn't always play well we stuck it out until the end--which was after 11pm! In contrast to last week's absentee official, we had a great ump last night who really went the distance: when the parks department guys showed up and tried to kick us out, he talked them into letting him lock up so we could finish. Right on!

By the time our defeat was a done deal, we felt like we'd been through a war. And Jason really looked the part: he had a bandage on one wrist, a splint on his nose, he was spitting up blood, and covered in mud from the waist down. We really could have used some post-game drinks, but it was super late, and showers and sheets trumped alcohol.

One more huge thank-you to our cheering section: it would have been a much sorrier event without friendly voices hooting and hollering on the sidelines!

Losing's a bummer, but we have a chance to do-over! Next week Thursday: same time, same place, we play 'The Explorers.' They'd better be ready to explore profound depths of disappointment and dismay, because The True Foes are poised for a stellar comeback!

GTF