Plonnnnnnnnn!

We had a reunion of sorts this past Sunday. In addition to having four returning members make their first appearance of the season, we reconnected with our favorite umpire, as well as Miss Personality Plus from the Lime Green Crushers of last year. Apparently the rest of her team moved on, having had enough of her sweet charming demeanor, and she joined BSSC Indies Rec 1.

The good news about having this ump again is that we're beginning to learn about him. For example, it seems that if you make the call, he won't second guess you... as happened at a close play at first where I called "safe" and the ump seconded me, even though our batter should have been out.

As opposed to our last game, we did have some replay worthy events on Sunday... and in no particular order, here they are:

First, I'll take credit for keeping the game interesting by helping the Indies to score 9 runs in the bottom third. It all started when I misjudged a deep ball, then spent the rest of the game playing so far out that I was in the 60s or something. Sorry, lost my train of thought. Anyhow, I was deep enough that had this been in Fenway, I would have been in row 37.

Ryan would get at least a couple seconds of highlight film for:

1. His "circus" catch where he called Derek off on a pop-up in the infield, letting the ball fall out of his glove before regaining control of it and throwing to first for the double play (Miss Personality Plus was caught off of 1st and was pretty psyched)
2. Playing a game of tag with the guy who spent so much money on his custom BSSC jersey that he couldn't afford a decent pair of shorts. Sure the episode of watching the Indies player run around his base coach took quite a bit longer than the "couple" seconds I mention above, but in the highlight reel, this would have been done Benny Hill style. Here are some more examples to get you going: Simpsons, Baseball

Then I'd probably be back up on the film for my failure to advance from second on a slowly rolling ball hit by Karen S down the first base line. I'm not sure why I stood there leisurely watching the ball. But I think I was still confused from the previous play, where Briggs lined out to third, forcing me to slide back to first. Except she was also at first, and when the dust finally settled I was somehow at second.

Since we should end on a high-note, we turned a couple double plays and our bats did well, with three people going three-for-three, and dingers sprinkled throughout. But this week's game ball (and 20 seconds of highlight reel) goes to John P for his solid defense at first base and for hitting two of those home runs. It's just unfortunate that "Plonnnnnnnn" doesn't work as well as "Youuuuuuuk". Or maybe it does...

Fun fact:

• The Mattapan High Speed Line, an extension of the MBTA Red Line, uses cars that are 60 years old. In true MBTA fashion, these trains are not red, and are also not running due to station renovations.
  

Discussion Question:

• When was the last time you heard someone use the words "nifty" or "outta sight"? Was it you? Are you 60 years old? Are you a subway car? Explain.
  

I'm like Magellan, I'm so gellin'! Except lost.

It was like one... MILLION... degrees. A couple notes on that... first, I think that Ryan sings it infinitely better than TMBG, and also, I'm awe-struck that someone took the time to record this off their TV on their digi and upload it on the interwebs.

We returned to Hyde Park and reunited with our favorite random strike-zone umpire. You'd think that having been there just last week, it would have been easier to find this time. Well, not for Team Eagle-Basil (I'll leave Karen out of this, since she was just a passenger), nor for Joe "Central Time" Lemay. Fortunately, Google Maps Mobile brought Eagle, Karen, and me safely to Hyde Park, and Rebecca was able to successfully direct Joe to the park via phone. And for the record, I will state that I missed a turn that caused us to wander 3 miles into Dorchester... which has convinced Eagle that I am directionally challenged, a statement at which I take umbrage. For the record, that's a word from the Verbal SAT Flashcards that Eagle sometimes still reviews to keep sharp (not really).

At first pitch, the Thirds had seven people in the starting lineup, to Sweet Team Bodega's eleven. As the away team, we went through six batters, sending Eagle home, before a 4-3 groundout retired the side. Fortunately, at that very moment, Ali rolled up and we were able to take to the field, with a catcher borrowed from STB.

We brought a new look to the field, with Jen taking pitching duties in replacement of Brian. The good news is that she did quite well. The bad news is that we may now have a "Starting Pitcher Controversy" on IGMW. The mitigating factor is that Jen was not overly enthusiastic about her new position (although she did notch a K against one of the other team's big bats).

This game was relatively highlight/blooper free. With the exception of the bottom third, or "Rebecca's Inning". Playing at second, she caught a line drive with the runner on first way off the bag. Rebecca threw to Ryan, our first baseman for the day. And then, the following events unfolded:

1. Ryan stepped on the bag
2. The umpire called two outs
3. The runner headed off the field to his bench

Except that it happened in reverse. Obviously. Whatever, I'll still call that a 4-3 double play. With two out, the next batter hid a grounder to Rebecca who fielded it and sent it to Ryan, who was on the bag for the out.

Other than that, not much sticks out in my mind. Except for Eagle striking out and owing us a pitcher... so now we just need to find a drink-up spot that has pitchers and we'll have three (or four) headed our way courtesy of our special K'ers.

Oh right... we lost 8-3, including the two runs we got because the other team was missing a girl. But, on the plus side, we did get together in a toilet for a few frosty beers after the game. Well, we weren't really in a toilet (it was actually the Midway Cafe in Dedham), but if you closed your eyes and took a deep breath and had even a slight amount of imagination, you could pretend you were. Amazingly, Zagat hasn't reviewed this place yet. But yes, they do cater! Ryan, you know I'm just playing, thanks for taking time out of your busy day to provide us with directions to the drink-up. How do you feel about taking that on for the rest of the season? Thanks buddy!

Fun facts:

• An ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of feathers. Really.
  
• Karat and carat are both measurements related to weight. The first gives the overall purity of gold and platimum alloys by comparing the mass of pure gold or platinum in the material to the overall mass of the material. Then inexplicably multiplying by 24. The second is the measurement of weights of gems and pearls that most people are familiar with.
• You cannot board a plane wearing Dr Scholl's Gel inserts. Gellin' like a felon, indeed.
  

Suggestion:

• Fellas, here's a place to get your special lady a 24-karat gold ring at a very special price! Three dozen for under $65.00 with a FREE display case! Great for birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine's Day for the next twelve years! Tell Tye that Basil sent ya.
  

So you wanted a post?

So a few days go by without a post, and all the readers (both of you) give me hard time.

Alright... we finally got the season underway, with a doubleheader in Hyde Park. The field was a little muddy... no, not muddy... covered with random patches of water... if by random you mean home plate, the pitcher's mound, and second base. But we made do with a field where the bases were definitely not the regulation 65 feet apart. That said, Joe decided the field wasn't un-regulation enough, and tried to move home plate to his liking on his first at bat (first game, 7th inning; Joe doesn't regularly check his email to find out game times). That's good work, Joe.

We took to the field first in both games as our opponents were short people to begin the game. Brian handled the pitching duties for both games, coming away with a win and a loss. In the informal post-game analysis, we decided we didn't play as well in our second game as we did in the first... so going forward, we may need to play an unofficial scrimmage ahead of our official game, just to get in the swing of things.

Sunday's games showed us yet more insight into the world of the rec league ump. Our ump called a fairly wide strike zone... while standing off at a 45 degree angle to the plate... although at one point I'm pretty sure he was standing between the catcher and the batter. He also seemed to decide close calls by alternately ruling in favor of the team he last ruled against. The most memorable of these plays was Ryan getting called out on what should have been a home run. I think you all remember that play, where Casey "Ryan" Jones drove that freight train towards the plate despite the third base coach waving him off. No, that was last year... he should have been safe this time, except the ump had just ruled a ball as a strike, so he decided to make a call for the other team.

I think the rust from a long off-season came through in this came, as we witnessed:

• Basil's inability to understand what the score was (despite holding the clipboard)
• Basil's inability to distinguish between Brian and Eagle; that said, a player from the other team asked them if they were brothers... and another player from the other team asked them if they were twins
  
• Basil's inability to understand a joke made at Brian's expense by Lindsey, even when it was repeated solely for his benefit

Wait--who's writing this? In any case, we also saw:

• Joe's ability to do a double axel while playing rightfield. As majestic as it was, it took away from his ability to field the ball, as he ended up splayed out on the grass with the ball lying a couple feet away from his inert body.
• Brian's ability to give Joe a hard time for figure-skating routine. Only to follow in the steps of a baserunner coming in from third and take an unexplainable digger, allowing a run to score.

That said, we did have some highlights from our games on Sunday. We had a fascinating opportunity for a 9-6-4-5-1 out, which didn't materialize because we were all too mystified by a batter's attempt for an in-the-park home run on a shallow outfield hit. Which made sense--in retrospect--due to the automatic out they were going to accrue. To quickly recap our other highlights: (crickets)

I keed! No, we actually got it together during our second game. The bats were active, the fielding was good, yadda, yadda, but that doesn't make for as much fun of a blog. Or perhaps I just forgot because it's been a couple days. On to the honors...

Eagle gets a game ball for running all over the outfield and his 1.00 OBP. Nice work, Eags. In an unrelated note, if anyone has access to a cheap oxygen tank--or knows a good deal on a gym membership--please send me an email.

Per the byrules of our slow pitch softball team's charter, the following people owe the team a pitcher of beer:

• Dave (strikeout)
• Joe (strikeout)
• Someone else (strikeout?)
  

(Editor's note: I have no idea what that picture linked to above has in relationship to "slow pitch softball team's charter", but that was the third Google image result for that search term).

There's the round-up. Sorry for the delay, but you can't rush this kind of journalistic quality (feel free to nominate me for any meritorious journalistic awards with large cash prizes).

Looking forward to June 17th at 10:30am in Hyde Park,

I remain,

El Capitan

Fun Fact:
- Apparently eye black does work. But it has to be the grease kind, not the tape kind. Not that this mattered on Sunday, what with the overcast skies.