Well, a softball league that was going to go from mid-May through the summer seems to have continued difficulty getting started. No games this week. I’ll be out of town next week. No games the weekend of July 4th. So no games for me until July 9.

Oh well. It’ll be fun whenever I get to play. And since I haven’t played at all since 2002, I suppose some games are better than none, right?

The Mets just helped the National League East sweep their American League opponents in dramatic fashion with an in-the-park homer by Marlon Anderson to tie the game in the ninth and a three-run homer by Cliff Floyd with two outs in the tenth. This just proves, of course, that NL teams are superior to AL teams.

And let’s recall that although Cy Young was an AL hero, he did play for them before they instituted their silly DH rule — and he hit .321 the year he led the Red Sox to the 1903 World Series.

Just got an email from the guy heading up our softball team. Apparently the D.C. softball fields are flooded from the torrential rain earlier in the week, so the powers-that-be seem to feel we shouldn’t play. I don’t know… I probably wouldn’t have minded a water polo-style softball game. Could have been fun!

I guess this is the heavens’ way of telling me that I should hie myself to a batting cage and to a park to toss around the old ball (and to Target, at Dad’s suggestion, to pick up some new batting gloves).

Here’s hoping I haven’t forgotten everything Dad (and my high school softball coaches) taught me…

As I write this post, Rudi is already in bed asleep. Or at least pretending quietly that he is. I won’t ask. Inevitably I do and he was and then he wakes up (at least for a little while) and I feel bad.

It did rain during the ball game, but only during the first half of the first inning.

They played the emperor’s theme from Star Wars when they introduced the Marlins. They played the theme from Indiana Jones when they introduced the Nats. I’m not sure I equate Florida with legions of the white clone soldiers, but it made me giggle anyway. Partly because I actually recognized both pieces of music, although I misidentified the IJ theme as being the Star Wars theme. Shhhh… Don’t tell Rudi. He’ll be so embarassed.

Our players did not play well, particularly in the early innings. I felt like we didn’t get down on a couple of balls we could have fielded in the infield, but perhaps the grass was slippery and the players felt unsafe. Certainly that seemed to go away as the night went on, so the charitable thing to do would be to blame it on the field surface.

Livan Hernandez threw 150 pitches over nine full innings. He only struck out three and gave up seven hits, two runs, and five walks. He left the game with a no decision for the game.

Left fielder Marlon Byrd had the defensive play of the game when he hit his cut-off man on his throw home. Shortstop Cristian Guzman was able to fire the ball home in time for catcher Brian Schneider to block the plate from the go-ahead run.

Center fielder Ryan Church had the offensive play of the game when he hit a deep ball to left field in the bottom of the 11th inning, allowing second baseman Jamey Carroll to score the tie-breaking run, sprinting hard from third.

I was disappointed we didn’t pull a squeeze play in the 11th, since we had the bases loaded and no one out. We discussed it at dinner afterwards and the guy sitting across from me looked at me, snorted, and said, “You don’t have [third baseman Vinny] Castilla bunt! He’s got too much power!” Yeah, which is why he popped the ball up to the second baseman. I would have had him lay down a bunt and would have simultaneously sent the runners at third and at second (especially since the infield wasn’t in to prevent an effective execution of the squeeze). My way definitely would have been more dramatic. Unfortunately, manager Frank Robinson didn’t seem to agree with my take on things.

We were lucky to have fellow DC for Democracy pals Michael and Julia as our seat mates for the game. They were lovely company, and I hung on their every word as they talked about their upcoming trip to India.

After the game, we went out with them and DC4Der Raj and Raj’s co-worker (from Cleveland Park). We tried a place on Potomac Avenue, but its kitchen had just closed, so we ended up at Marty’s on Barracks Row with DC4D chair Charles. Marty’s isn’t very good, but it is smoke-free, which I appreciate. Since I ate mediocre pizza and an excellent, hot pretzel for dinner at the stadium, I ordered the homemade bread pudding for dessert. It definitely was homemade, but it just okay. And the “whipped cream” tasted like CoolWhip they had applied with a decorative piping tool. But the conversation and the company more than made up for my $5 of unexciting food and soda.

On tap for tomorrow is rising early to join the throngs waiting for free tickets to the penultimate performance of the Shakespeare Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Carter Barron Amphitheater. So I’m off to bed. Good night!

Rain, rain, go away.
Come again some other day,
We have a baseball game to play.

(No word yet on what they plan to do about tonight’s 7:05 p.m. game vs. Florida. Our seats are covered so we’re fine if they want to play in a drizzle, but you hate to head all the way over there just to get sent home…)

I just couldn’t do it this morning. I signed up right away for Bike to Work Day this year because it was so much fun last year and because I do like to bike to work. But this morning’s deluge was just too much for me. Couldn’t do it. Okay, wouldn’t do it. I’m feeling mildly guilty, but I won’t for long. The guilt will wear off in less time than it would have taken me to dry off.