Softball in the snow

You've got to hand it to Seattle weather -- you can't say it doesn't have a sense of humor. It wasn't enough that recent precipitation rendered the Green Lake softball fields a slippery morass of mud and duck goose poop; it also had to start snowing right in the middle of my first Underdog Sports League team practice. The people on the team seem nice, and frighteningly athletic compared to me. They were making great plays in the infield and outfield, and while I more or less held my own, I may end up being the weakest link.

I might have made a mistake in marking "3" as my level on the sign-up form; Underdog has five levels, of which 5 is the strongest and 1 the least skilled. The clever little tagline that went along with 3 was, as I recall, "I know what I'm doing, but... go easy on me, okay?" I thought that characterized my level of play pretty accurately, but my teammates appear to be the sort of players other teams would beg to go easy on them. That said, it's nice to be part of a team where the women can really hit, and it's also good to know that I'll be forced to hustle a little more than a weaker team would make me do.

Our self-appointed team captain, a tall, brawny fellow in a backwards Texas Longhorns baseball cap, told us he doesn't usually yell at players unless they commit softball's cardinal sin: playing outfield and not backing up the infielders. He emphasized how important it is to back them up. "It can win games," he said. "I shit you not." He also revealed that he dislikes losing, and that he came to practice hung over from the previous night's bachelor party. Anyway, our first game is next Sunday, with another practice preceding it on Saturday at 2 p.m. Here's hoping next weekend delivers less snow and a bare minimum of goose poop.