My Blog

Let me start by saying I am deeply disappointed at my left-center fielder. I’ve been sending out email messages for the last 5 weeks for softball practice, season schedule, and lineups.

I showed up today at 12:05 p.m. Our game is at 12:30 p.m. There are 9 players ready to go. I had a funny suspicion something was up, and decided to call his ass. Sure enough, the response I get was, “the season starts today?” WTF? Do you read your goddamn emails moron? Unacceptable.

As always, I have a contingency plan. Well, today it was more like desperation. And the right guy (the Chairman) showed up for the rescue. I felt bad for disturbing his late morning, early afternoon snugglefest with his sick wife, but hey, we gots a game to play and I need 10 bodies to win (more like, have a chance to win).

To summarize the game… it was 30 year olds vs. 55 year olds. The outcome could not be pretty… and it wasn’t. We massacred them and sent them back to the Stone Ages… 18-3. Mercy rule in effect after the 5th inning. Not to ridicule our opponent of their age, but I am rather amazed that they can still play at that age. They’re a classy and determined bunch and while they proved no match, it was still an honor to play them. Personally, I hope that I am in that great a shape when I get that old.

Personal performance - 2 for 4 with a reach on error (that landed me in third base), 0 runs (I was left at 3rd base three times, twice I made it to third after my hit), 3 RBIs. My left arm was giving me trouble. I was in a lot of pain the entire game. Probably because I bowled on Tuesday, and played ball Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. At one point, I could even grip my bat.

Overall team performance - Offense - Smart hitting. We knew we had an edge with mobility. As such we were able to put the ball in play and not give away too many easy outs. That’s all I can ask for now. We took advantage of errors by our opponents, and what I emphasized/yelled throughout the game (DO NOT LAY OFF THE PEDAL!!!) , was exercised.

Overall team performance - Defense - I pulled aside some of my teammates in the beginning of the game and stressed that my Wednesday team, the Demons, and the team I filled in on Friday, the Swing Kids, all had issues with “Almost playmaking”. What I mean by that is they kept on knocking down balls, but never completing the play for outs, and running hard for a ball only to not secure it when it falls in and out of their gloves. I told them, we play for 21 outs (7 innings x 3 outs). I don’t want to play for anymore! And sure enough, we didn’t. Excellent job.

Overall team assessment - I remember talking to Savage, Randy, and Frank about how I built this team 12 years ago with Ken. The team was built on defense because they were all rejects from the other team I played on before, the Wolfpack. The manager cutted them because of their hitting woes. I felt bad that they wanted to play, so as such, I built a team with these guys. I knew at that time we weren’t going to outhit anyone. But by limiting our errors on defense, we would give ourselves a fighting chance. And that philosophy has worked for over a decade now and has garnered division championships and tournaments trophies. Our performance on Saturday illustrates that as long as we stay controlled and play solid defense, we’re going to go far. I don’t offer praise too often towards my team, but I would like to share this with them, “AWESOME JOB, CANNONS!”

Instead of the 3 R’s that I so dreadfully need on Friday (Relaxing, Resting, Recharging), I was asked to sub for my friends’, John & Will Fung, team, the Swing Kids because one of their players called in sick that day. Maybe it’s just me, but you only call in sick for work, not softball. But hey, maybe it’s just me.

Nonetheless, I rushed home to Burlingame, changed into my sweats and proceeded back to San Francisco to play a 6:30 p.m. game at Jackson Playground. While my lame performances on Wednesday was still in my mind, I didn’t really dread, panic, or change my mindset and approach to this game. Good thing I didn’t. 1st at bat, I laced a hard line drive to the gap passed the right fielder for a 2 RBI triple. While it did not make up for Wednesday’s lapse, I felt somewhat vindicated. John and Will batted me in a critical spot in the lineup (3rd) despite Will witnessing me struggle mightily on Wednesday. And I was determined not to let them down.

As the sun setted and the bright rays blasted into my eyes, I chose to take off my sunglasses for my next at bats. It was twilight, and for a person that is struggling to see the ball at night, wearing shades, albeit to counter some of the sun’s rays, made the rest of the field too dark for me to evaluate. As such, I took them off. My second at bat was a hard grounder up the middle (I was attempting to hit opposite field). The second baseman got to it, but couldn’t field it. I was on for a second time. 3rd at bat was another grounder between first and second. 4th at bat was a wicked line drive right at the first baseman’s jujubes. He caught it and was spared (well, his testicles were spared). My fifth and final at bat was weird. I got an inside pitch that I wanted to hit foul hard (just to improve my timing and work on getting the meat of the ball on the bat). Instead, I grazed the balled and it spun wildly down the 1st base line moving at a 5 mph pace. It stayed foul for two seconds, and long and behold, spun it’s way back fair. Everyone stood somewhat in disbelief until the first baseman picked it up and touched first base for the out. By that time, the game was pretty much over, as we had built an 18-9 lead.

Today, the team I manage, the Loose Cannons, open their season at 12:30 p.m. I hope they’re excited and pumped up like I am now seeing as how we didn’t have a team last summer. I don’t have my best hitter, Savage, for this game (he has to work and make moolah so I can help him save it… if that makes sense), so we’re gonna need to elevate our game and focus that much more.

Well… it’s 9:30 a.m. Breakfast with Frank and then the show!

I had a conversation with my wife this week after my latest bout of food poisoning this past weekend.  Just for the record, I’m not going back to the Presidio Social Club anytime soon.  The service, albeit upbeat, was terribly slow.  It took us an hour to get our food. 

But back to our conversation, we discussed how lately, we’ve been disappointed with a lot of the higher-end restaurants that yield small portions of food at extremely high prices.  While there was a time when I use to overindulge and leave the restaurants with a belly ache due to overeating, I no longer gorge down every morsel due to fitness and diet concerns.  However, I am a firm believer that you never leave a restaurant hungry and unfulfilled.

Our discussion evolved to neighborhood restaurants we enjoy frequenting, establishments that were, in our opinion, always “dependable.”  Our list was short, but I thought I’d share it with my friendster friends:

Japanese Cuisine – HIRO SUSHI in

San Bruno

.  I always order: Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll.  Prices are a little high, but their rolls are stacked and unique. 

Chinese Cuisine – FAT WONG’S KITCHEN in

Millbrae

.  Nothing like a cheap place to get some BBQ Port Won Ton Noodle Soup.  Prices are reasonable, wait can be a little long.

Thai Cuisine – THAI STICK in

Millbrae

.  I always order: BBQ Spare Ribs with Fried Rice.  They claim to have no MSG.  Food is light, tasty, and prices are good.

So make it a point to visit these places.  Who knows, we’ll bump into each other on a Friday or Saturday night!

Taketh and Giveth…

TUESDAY

I’m a giving man. Just ask my friends!

We bowled against the second place team on bowling. We have been bowling very good as of late (on an 8 game winning streak), but they have been on a tear. In fact, they had two bowlers that bowled 700 series (that’s a combined score of 700+ in 3 games). Nonetheless, I came into the night knowing that I could wipe out their mojo quite easily. You see, they fold like a cheap tent when they face the slightest amount of pressure. So, that’s what I did… bowled 4 strikes in a row to start off 2 straight games. All I can say is… I GAVE them a butt whoopin’. What I love in bowling is that you give high-fives to each other, even the opponent after every frame. Last night (and the last two weeks), I gave our opponents high-fives like usual, but I love seeing hope fade on their faces.

Throwing a powerful strike does not compare to hitting a homerun in baseball. But damn, it feels especially good when you throw that ball down the lane with authority and as it travels down the lane, you already know the outcome. It’s sorta like Barry Bonds walking as he admires his steroid-powered homerun go out to McCovey Cove.

WEDNESDAY

I’m feeling good physically. A little emotionally tapped from the night before. But no excuses. Excuses are for losers. I just plain sucked again in softball. Unlike last week, where I got at least one good hard shot, this week, I was just praying to get on base anyway I can. I usually don’t slump too long so I’m not worried. But this is getting a little frustrating. And I’d be lying if my lackluster performance didn’t bother me. I told our manager, Garrett, that if I don’t pick it up, I’m gonna take a sabbatical from the game. Yeah… right.

Another 18-16 loss. No biggie. I’m confident that once I start hitting and I can create at least a one-two punch with the Savage, we’re going to be alrite. What I am saying is that the last two losses for the Demons are on me. No worries. I’ll figure it out.

THURSDAY - Tomorrow.

Gotta meet my tax lady. Hope for a big refund!

FRIDAY

Relax.

SATURDAY

Opening Day for the Cannons on Saturday! Here’s hoping for the strong start!

Jackson 2 - Mariposa and Arkansas. Come and support us! We’re always in need of fans.

Last night, we opened our Spring Season at Twin Creeks.  Eric came by to drop off Frank’s new bat, a 26 oz Worth Mutant.  Nothing really impressive about it, but Frank seems to like it.  Anyways, he wants a composite bat for this league since it is allowed here (unlike SF, where you’re impelled to have obsolete bats that barely feature any of today’s modern bat technologies and innovations.

Anyhow, to keep a long story short…, the Demons battled a stronger and faster team last night, and hung in to only lose at the end, 17-16.  Our infield defense was horrendous and our outfield defense (me included) was shaky sans Savage.  All in all, I wasn’t too upset with the game because unlike the Cannons, the team I manage, these guys battle through and shrug off a lot of their inefficiencies and blunders.  They are a high-spirited team fueled by the attendance and enthusiasm of their wives, girlfriends, mothers, sons, and friends.  Unlike a game four seasons ago where they quit on me, which led to an irate email on my behalf, the Demons have shown no sign of succumbing despite the occasional pummeling by a better opponent.  I am proud of them and honored to be a part of their team. 

My performance was below average.  I went 2 for 4 with a walk and scored 2 runs.  I’ll attempt to break down the positives and the negatives.

POSITIVES

I love my new bat, Worth Mayhem JH98 27.5 oz.  The ball rockets off it.  On one of my hits, the first baseman came to me and said, “I don’t care what they (his teammates) say, I’m not getting in front of that…!”  I must thank my bat broker, Eric, for introducing me to it.

I’m seeing the ball pretty well now that Twin Creeks has switched to a neon green ball.  I have been struggling to see the ball during the night games.  But last night, I had relatively little to no problems seeing.

Despite losing, I had a lot of fun.  Softball, along with bowling makes my work week go by faster.  I’m not a hard man to please.

NEGATIVES

The game ended with me hitting into a force out at second.  The other team did a rather heinous shift to right field, where the second baseman pretty much flanked the grass of the outfield.  On any given day, it would have been a hit, but last night, it wasn’t.  Part of it was that I could not, for the love of God, get the ball up in the air.  My shots were hard, but they went right into the ground.  Other than that, I need to improve my hitting to other parts of the field (a large complaint by a lot of my teammates) when other teams cheat/play smart (you pick) and apply a shift on me.

Another thing I noticed as I batted in front of Savage is my inability to shake off pitches.  What I mean by that is my focusing on my at bat has to improve.  I talked to Savage a lot about being a better team player and trusting the batter behind you to get the job done, as he has seen me try to do too much with garbage pitches.  Last night, with Savage batting behind me, I was conscious that I should try my best to get our best hitter up so he can get a crack at things.  All night I felt a little uncomfortable as I usually don’t think about taking walks as I am more tuned to see the ball, hit the ball.  But last night pointed out that I might not be cut out to wait for pitches and work the pitch count.  Easy solution: flip Savage and me in the lineup.  Harder solution: I need to work on that and be a better 2 strike hitter.

Physically, I felt a little weak and flat.  I worked out relatively hard on Monday, and I  was pretty amped and emotionally fatigued after Tuesday’s bowling league.  So by the time I make the drive down to

Sunnyvale

on Wednesday after work, I am often running on fumes.  Part of that can be attributed to my lack of activity since my 4 wisdom teeth were extracted.  Nonetheless, I am confident my energy level will increase as I start my workout regimen again.  But aside from that, I feel lighter (probably lost a few lbs.) and a little more nimble, but definitely weaker.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

I’m looking for part-time work… maybe as a server/waiter at a restaurant.  I want to make a few extra dollars so that I can get one step closer to owning a home in the Bay Area, which I feel the Bay Area home prices are preposterous.  So if anyone has a part-time gig for me, let me know!  Other than that, I’m still waiting for that big earthquake to drive some of these buyers out of the Bay Area real estate market.

Best "Space Pickup Line" I heard on the radio today (as the DJ mentioned the notorious Lisa Novak is now working for the Navy as a curriculum developer) -

"Why don’t you come explore my black hole?"