This was like the closest we almost won

so this week's blog is all about me since that's the only thing i could think about in my first game ever since like third grade summer softball!!! when we got to the park i wanted to act like totally natural and do what everyone else was doing ..... so i talked to connie, downed some jello shots and played catch. so mike mcclean was totally cool and played catch with me and even said it looked like i played before because i had 'good glove control' .... it was hot!!! then darryl and i played and he was all over the place so i got quite the workout .... until he said he wanted to play with a boy! i thought that's what thursdays were for!!! so after he kicked me off the field the game was about to start anyway so it wasn't too heartbreaking.

so amy and i are sharing time playing second base which is a great idea ..... leaves more time for jello shots! but before i got to go out in the field i was going to have to bat! this was the part i was not thrilled about. after learning about the designated hitter rule when i was a kid, i could not understand for the life of me why there wasn't a designated fielder rule, since like fielding is WAY more fun and no one really likes batting anyway, right? anyway, i only have two phobias in life ..... tarantulas and batting. but now it was time to get over that since it was almost my turn!

i wasn't sure where to stand or what to do, so i just grabbed the friendly green bat we'd been using in practice and stood somewhere outside the dugout, but not too close to the plate. patti was sitting in the stands so i asked her if i looked hot and she said yes, so whew! then it was my turn!! everything totally got silent! (oh wait, maybe that's because no one was there ... hmmm) but anyway, it got real quiet. i said hi to the ump to you know, like make friends and stuff. he seemed to want to get things started. i took a look at my baserunners so i knew what to do .... and so i knew who would actually be paying attention to what i was doing. oh my GOD!!!! alex porter is at THIRD!! the boss!!! he's going to totally notice if i suck!! great ... sometimes i wish i knew how to fly under the radar a little better ... but nope. not tonight. here i was under those bright Broadway lights with the guy who can mentally destroy me (just ask him about our trip to the batting cages) staring at me from mere feet away!!!

this pitcher wasn't too hot ... he was bouncing stuff in front of the plate a lot (being a frustrated kerry wood fan, i have seen this a lot). but something about watching that ball leave the pitcher's hand just made me want to hit it .... slo-pitch softballs come at you like big juicy meatballs you just want to take a bite out of...... it literally hurts to let one go by! so i swung out in front of it a little .... but there was contact!!!!! i had no idea what to do .... so i ran! then a couple of steps later i dropped the bat!! then i wasn't sure where to look ... i thought if i just looked ahead and didn't watch the ball, how would i know how fast to run or what if they throw it and it's on its way to hit me and i'm not watching so i get hit in the head and end my playing career that just started? so i watched the ball for awhile. it was on its way to short where a short little roundish guy was picking it up. now he was throwing right toward me! what if i ran into the ball? this would suck ... maybe i should slow down like bonds & griffey and not run out my grounders? but i kept running and heard the ump yell 'out' which like totally sucked ... but then there was yelling and chaos!!! it seems the guy at first totally dropped it!! i was now safe!!! just like that!!

i had no idea what to do .... all of the rules of the sport i have been following since being in the womb vanished from my head. but i knew i should be happy because it felt like something good just happened ...first base coach alex gibson was high-fiving me!!! i wanted to dance!!! the only stage i could find was on top of the base, so that's what i did! it was soooo exciting! not only did it appear that i got a hit .... but now alex wouldn't be mad at me because i like totally scored him!!! (RBI'd him?) it was totally hot!

so now i had to pay attention .... especially to the 'amy' rule. the ump even yelled the rule to me because in my dance routine i must have looked like someone who had no idea what she was doing on base, which in this case, was pretty much what was going on. so we had this big lecture before the game on how to listen to your first and third base coaches, so i look over to see who is at third and it's CONNIE!!! the seat cushion is nowhere to be seen ....

somehow i run to second on some play and then i'm standing on second safe! now connie is officially my base running coach so i have to pay attention and stuff. she did that universal sign for 'i'm watching you' so i totally acted like miss serious ballplayer girl now that i was in scoring position!! somehow something happened and i end up running to third real fast .... i was safe!! now the thing i wasn't planning on was running fast and stuff, so it feels like i already have a case of shinsplints. great. connie doesn't seem to care and barks some orders at me. it was kind of hot .... and eventually worked as i score!! baserunning is totally nerve wracking and you like totally HAVE to pay attention!! it's pretty draining .... i think i need a rest.

so since amy and i are sharing time at second, it's her time to go field and i get jello shots and hugs from jacob! he was so proud of me ... i could tell!

so some other stuff happens and then it's my time to take the field. i wasn't really sure where to stand so just looked for the footprints of the others. i found the general area and confirmed it was ok with my shortstop. i really didn't get much action except this one time a batter hit a ball to right and as he was rounding second i stood there and pretended like someone could throw me the ball .... but that didn't happen because it would have made no sense. then there was the other time that a lefty came up and i shifted over toward first and right as alex porter was turning around to wave me over he saw that i was already shifted and i got this totally proud look from him!!! almost parental!!! hot!!!

so that was about it for my defense .... but i was going to bat again!!! yay! now i was more scared. what if i peaked with my first at-bat? what if i go all downhill from there? great ... so i don't swing for awhile. this pitcher was all over the place so i took some balls but then next one drops on the plate so that's a strike! it's full count and i'm paralyzed. i take the pitch and blink as it crosses the plate so i can't see and then wait for the call. the ump is like 'take a base!' so i do! yay! i'm on again!!! this is fun .... but that means more baserunning! i have to pay attention so i only do a small dance this time. i forget what happens but i remember thinking i should stretch my quads next time ... i haven't ran fast in perhaps years! perhaps ever! things were going to be sore tomorrow ....

so there's this one part where i ran from first to third just as connie told me to and about halfway to third i notice my ponytail holder was coming undone! that means i could potentially cross high-profile home plate with a messy 'do! oh no ... i thought about just stopping at second to stop and fix my hair so i could look fabulous crossing home plate ... but then i caught connie's eye and she was totally just not going to accept that! so i kept running ... right out of my ponytail! it felt weird to have messy hair and not immediately fix it .... but i guess that's what you do in sports???? and when connie is yelling at you. so i scored somehow and waited until i got to the dugout (which sorely needs a mirror/vanity area) to fix things. i think i made the right decision as there were hugs and congratulations all around!!! no one mentioned the bad hairdo so i sort of rolled with it. i need to talk to criselle on how she manages to do it ... she is the master!!

so then nothing happened in the field but it was somehow my turn to bat again .... i let the count get to the point where i needed to swing at the next pitch so i did ..... and contact again!!! it was a cute little grounder to short and i was hoping it was too hot to handle like my first one was .... but they ended up BARELY throwing me out ... i mean if this was a horse track it would have been a photo finish! now i just had to run back to the dugout ... which is a LONG ways away! there are the shinsplints acting up again ... i might need to borrow sean's bengay ...

so that was it for the first game ... we played really well and were leading for a lot of it .... the final score was 18-15 , so to only lose by three runs is like MAJORLY HUGE!!! it's almost practically a win, so we celebrated as such and accepted the invite from our competitors to visit connolly's afterward! of course they all fell off their barstools when we walked in because as they explained to us, they've invited teams over for 6-7 seasons and we were the first to ever show up. so see? we're first in something! that rocks!!!