Everything should've gone swimmingly last night. We had the gorgeous weather, we had an on-time ump (more or less), both teams were all present and accounted for, there were plenty of bases, and we had a great warm-up.
And then we stinkin' lost again. I didn't want to tell you that, and I had this elaborate lie all worked out--even a believable winning score of 7-5. But it turns out the only thing harder than writing about a loss is writing filthy, cowardly lies about a win.
Yeah, we lost. So what? We're still standing! Willy pitched his best game ever, and that's as true as the day is long! And everyone in the field made a great catch at some point or another because Cobra gave us a wealth of opportunities to practice catching. The outfielders especially got a great cardio workout chasing long bombs. Man, could those Cobra guys hit. Their team had plenty of big dudes, the kind with forearm tattoos and thick necks who spit before they step up to the plate. There were also smaller dudes, about my height, with necks of normal girth, and they could hit great too. I mean, for a lot of those big rips there's just no way anyone in our outfield could've been playing deep enough. There was also loads of intense sunshine to deal with and zero cloud cover, so Foe fielders really had to use the Force to make good catches.
We welcomed back Glenn Baken last night, one of our hardworking outfielders, and he had a great hit into right field as well! Tyson gets the award for most unconventional successful catch--way to hold onto it! Ryan and his friend Dave covered the always-bumping third base/shortstop zone, catching, chasing, and knocking down balls from the dirt mound to second base and beyond.
Issa was there at first base, ready, willing, and able to make outs whenever we could get the ball to him in time. Alex Mabilon settled in to his right field role even more, and Casey Moore roved like a pro--nice grabs, guys! Softball Dave stepped up to manage/coach in Jason's absence, and got plenty of exercise out in left field!
The part where we really disappointed (ourselves, since we had no fans) was at the plate. We just couldn't score a run to save our lives. We didn't even make it through the batting order twice in the whole game! It's so pathetic it's almost amazing. You could say that we surpass all other teams in bad batting.
Cobra was an all right team. Their uncontested dominance could've led them to act like d-bags, but they just played the game. Wish I could say the same for the ump, who felt like he needed to point out that we didn't play well. Yeah, well he walked off the field alone at the end of the game, and we were in much better company. You're only a loser if you feel like one!
The whole second half of this season was just weird. I feel like the triple lineup of late games, and the last-minute rescheduling of rained out games really threw us for a loop. We were missing some of our regulars more often than in any other season, and it seemed like we had more than our fair share of absentee umpires or other game-ruining events (remember when they shut the lights off?!).
But now, more than ever, we can't let the bastards grind us down! Cobra may have crushed the ball, but they haven't crushed our hopes of finishing the season on a win--we just have to sweep the playoffs! How 'bout it? I could go for that! Let's go in there with guns blazing and really show 'em what we can do!
We all lost together, and we all drank together: every last one of us, even the people who said they didn't have time. Water St. was very accommodating, with two major league games on TV, hardly any customers besides us, no live jazz music, and plenty of delicious, life-giving beer. Big thank-you to "other Dave" for transporting the equipment bags, and thank you also to Softball Dave for giving us a reason to celebrate--there will soon be a Mrs. Softball Dave! Woot!
Keep your spirits up, True Foes! Stay limber, and stay tuned for an e-mail from Jason telling us when and where our march to victory shall begin!
GTF
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
True Foes vs. El Destructo, 7/21/2010
It saddens me to report that the True Foes suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of El Destructo last night. Now you know.
But good things first: we had a full team of ten tenacious True Foes show up to Commodore Barry Park and Sauna. It was so humid, even the trees were sweating, but for once we got to play on field 2, which is way better than field 1 (it has shade, and it's about 150 yards closer to the bar). Highlights from the game include a smashing home run by Alex Laviola, and a lightning-fast double play by Ryan's friend Dave and Issa.
It was good to have Issa back on first base, and Tyson covered second and caught an infield fly ball like it was nothing. Ryan's friend Dave was on third and made lots of great grabs, and Laviola got plenty of action as shortstop. Casey Moore put the "over" in rover, as in, "If you hit it to me, your time on the field is over." Ryan and Jason had their work cut out for them in the outfield, and really earned their beers knocking it down and bringing it in. El D also kept Mabilon busy over in right field, and he did his utmost to impress his son and his wife, who were watching from the dugout. See, Jason, I told you we'd have fans! And last but not least, a shout-out to Willy Brese who pitched another full game, and is improving by leaps and bounds every time he takes the mound!
For a while there it didn't look so bad. I think we were only behind by one run after the first inning, and then they scored a couple more...then a couple more. We got some bodies on bags, and made a few good hits, but we never quite managed to bring anyone home. Then there was this devastating inning where they scored seven or eight in a row, and you could actually feel the shift in energy on the field. We still had no runs, they still had no outs, and I started to think: "You know, maybe it's time to let go of the idea of winning this one, and just try to get on the board."
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. What did happen is the ump invoked the Mercy Rule and called it a game after five innings. Jason was right when he declared, "That team is not sixteen runs better than we are!" But they sure did score sixteen more runs than we did, and our record is starting to go all pear shaped. Encouraging words don't seem to be accomplishing much lately, so maybe it's time to try a little tough love.
At the bar, the general consensus was that we sucked. We sucked big-time. We aren't an inherently terrible team, but we sure do flush a game down the crapper every so often, and last night was a prime example. Fortunately, this means that turning things around won't be all that difficult. We don't necessarily have to improve; we just have to stop sucking. After careful analysis, and much thoughtful beer-sipping, Jason and Laviola concluded that this will entail:
-making more hits
-catching more balls
-scoring more runs
If we follow this simple, three-point plan, we are sure to succeed! I know that we lost, and then we lost again, and then we had a rainout, and then we lost again, but it's not too late to regroup and recover! Let's reclaim our rightful status as a Team to be Reckoned With. We've got a game next Tuesday on the same field versus "Cobra." Losing sucks, but writing about losing sucks too, and I'm putting my foot down! So suck it up, and then get ready to stop sucking! It's time for less soft and more balls.
GTF
But good things first: we had a full team of ten tenacious True Foes show up to Commodore Barry Park and Sauna. It was so humid, even the trees were sweating, but for once we got to play on field 2, which is way better than field 1 (it has shade, and it's about 150 yards closer to the bar). Highlights from the game include a smashing home run by Alex Laviola, and a lightning-fast double play by Ryan's friend Dave and Issa.
It was good to have Issa back on first base, and Tyson covered second and caught an infield fly ball like it was nothing. Ryan's friend Dave was on third and made lots of great grabs, and Laviola got plenty of action as shortstop. Casey Moore put the "over" in rover, as in, "If you hit it to me, your time on the field is over." Ryan and Jason had their work cut out for them in the outfield, and really earned their beers knocking it down and bringing it in. El D also kept Mabilon busy over in right field, and he did his utmost to impress his son and his wife, who were watching from the dugout. See, Jason, I told you we'd have fans! And last but not least, a shout-out to Willy Brese who pitched another full game, and is improving by leaps and bounds every time he takes the mound!
For a while there it didn't look so bad. I think we were only behind by one run after the first inning, and then they scored a couple more...then a couple more. We got some bodies on bags, and made a few good hits, but we never quite managed to bring anyone home. Then there was this devastating inning where they scored seven or eight in a row, and you could actually feel the shift in energy on the field. We still had no runs, they still had no outs, and I started to think: "You know, maybe it's time to let go of the idea of winning this one, and just try to get on the board."
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. What did happen is the ump invoked the Mercy Rule and called it a game after five innings. Jason was right when he declared, "That team is not sixteen runs better than we are!" But they sure did score sixteen more runs than we did, and our record is starting to go all pear shaped. Encouraging words don't seem to be accomplishing much lately, so maybe it's time to try a little tough love.
At the bar, the general consensus was that we sucked. We sucked big-time. We aren't an inherently terrible team, but we sure do flush a game down the crapper every so often, and last night was a prime example. Fortunately, this means that turning things around won't be all that difficult. We don't necessarily have to improve; we just have to stop sucking. After careful analysis, and much thoughtful beer-sipping, Jason and Laviola concluded that this will entail:
-making more hits
-catching more balls
-scoring more runs
If we follow this simple, three-point plan, we are sure to succeed! I know that we lost, and then we lost again, and then we had a rainout, and then we lost again, but it's not too late to regroup and recover! Let's reclaim our rightful status as a Team to be Reckoned With. We've got a game next Tuesday on the same field versus "Cobra." Losing sucks, but writing about losing sucks too, and I'm putting my foot down! So suck it up, and then get ready to stop sucking! It's time for less soft and more balls.
GTF
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