Tag: softball

Softball!

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I’m getting ready to head out to our 4th softball game of the season. For those who keep track of such things, we are 0-3 so far, but hey, we’re just out there to have fun. This evening we’re playing Senator Nelson’s team at 3rd and D SE at a cool little park. It’s a pretty good field and the only trouble with it is a sidewalk that runs diagonally across the park.

We’ve got a solid lineup tonight, and the last time we played at this field, we won, so I’m feeling pretty confident. I went out and bought myself some Big League Chew just for the occasion.

I’ve played in 2 of the 3 games we’ve had so far. Here is a picture of me at the “ready” position at shortstop. One of our aces is on the mound.

UPDATE: Well, we lost again this evening, but we played a great first three innings, staying ahead until a bad 4th inning. The first pitch of the game resulted in a line drive that nearly took off my glove, but I held onto the ball. I had my worst offensive outing so far, going 1-for-4. Our best defensive inning was the bottom of the 6th where we had a 1-2-3 inning. Still, it was fun, and a bunch of us headed out for happy hour afterwards.

Second softball game

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Well, we lost our second softball game by the obscene score of 26-12, but in part this was because we didn’t have a full team in the first two innings and the score got out of hand early, before we settled down. After that, despite the score, we played well.

I played short stop, as usual, except for one inning where I played centerfield. During that inning, I made my best play of the season, covering a huge distance from center to right (backing up the right fielder) to make a running catch. I also went 4-for-4 with a home run in my first at bat.

After the game, several of us went out to the Ugly Mug for some food and drink, and I got to watch the Red Sox pound the Yankees yet again.

Despite all of this, it was fun, and except for a sore arm, I had a good time, as usual, even though I didn’t get home until 11 PM.

Losses and wins

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As I mentioned earlier, we had our first softball game tonight and we lost; the final score was 22-16, but it was dark in the last inning and we probably shouldn’t have played it. We still would have lost but the final score would have been 17-14. Still, it was fun. I went 3 for 4, although I had only one decent hit. The team played very well overall, and with the exception of some baserunning errors and some work needed in the outfield, I think we did okay.

When I got home after the game (it was nearly 10 PM) I caught the last three innings of the Yankee game. At one point, the Yanks were down 10-1 but came back and ended up winning the game in the bottom of the 9th inning with a walkoff homerun by Jorge Posada.

First softball game of the season

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I’m about to head out to our first softball game of the season, and the first game for which I am co-captain of the team. We are playing Senator Dole’s delegation up by Catholic University, where they have their own field. I think we’ll have a pretty good turnout and it should be fun. I’ve put together a line-up and assigned positions; it’s a little hard to tell this early in the season, but I’m looking forward to it.

More after the game…

Softball season is here!

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We had our team captain’s meeting tonight and scheduled 8 of our 9 official games for this season. For some reason, one of the teams in our division did not show up so we have to schedule that one. We play in the U.S. Senate Softball League and this year, as it turns out, we play against both New York senator’s teams. Unlike Barak Obama, I don’t expect Hillary Clinton to show up to one of our games. At this time, we’ve got 3 games scheduled in May, 4 games in June and 1 in late July.

I can’t wait for the games to begin!

Play ball!

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I initiated the 2006 season of softball today by sending out an email at work recruiting players. I am co-captaining the team this year. We are playing in the same league as last year, the U.S. Senate Softball League. We pay our fees this week and then have a team captain’s meeting the first week in April to establish schedules, etc.

I can’t wait to start playing again!

New Year’s 2006

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Another new year! I caught the Times Square action on ABC last night, just as the ball was falling. I didn’t see Dick Clark at all, but he was narrating. It was clear that the stroke he had affected his speech to a minor extent. I only stayed tuned in for a few minutes. I then made a few phone calls to wish people a Happy New Year.

Now that 2005 is over, I can say that it was officially my most travelled year thus far. I flew 45,900 miles on United in 2005, which means I was a mere 4,100 miles short of reaching Premier Executive status. I also managed to pass the 200,000 miles flown lifetime on United.

I had set a goal one year ago today to try and do more writing. I wanted to attempt to write 100,000 words for the year. That’s about 400 words per workday, or maybe 15 short stories for the whole year. I didn’t even come close. I wrote 2 new stories 2 new stories, totalling perhaps 10,000 words. I made 9 submissions this year and, of course, had 9 rejections. (Among those 9 rejections, however, was a near miss from Sheila Williams at ASIMOVS.)

I read 35 books this year, totalling 5.3 million words. 2005 closes out 10 full years of tracking what I read. Today begins the first day of the 11th year and for the first time I can now ask, “what was I reading 10 years ago today?” and get an answer. As it happens, 2006 is also 10 years that I’ve been keeping my diary (although the real anniversary isn’t until April 6).

The company softball team had a better record this year than last year. We went 3-7, but those three wins came at the end of the season. I think we’re going to do even better next year.

I was supposed to buy a house in 2005, but decided to wait one more year. That means that 2006 is the year of the house hunt.

I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions and don’t plan on starting now. But I really would like to make more of an effort at writing this year than I did last year. I think I have 2 or 3 strong story ideas and so it’s just a matter of sitting down and writing (always easier said than done).