It never ceases to amaze me how uptight some guys can be on the softball diamond. Maybe it is just my age or experience or my personality (or all of the above). But I'm about as laid back as you can get (except of course about my own performance, but I've gotten a lot better about that as well). I'm always the guy joking with the umpire and trying to chat up the other team. But these guys tonight...many of them older than the 20-somethings of last week but perhaps more surly. I couldn't get the 3rd baseman or SS to talk to me to save my life. The SS kept looking at me with that, "you're the enemy...I don't talk to THE ENEMY." Geez...it's a stupid softball game.
I'm under the weather and played like it. 2-4 night at the plate and a few rough times in the field (I'll have a bruise on my chest from a mis-played hard grounder). But the highlight was my acting. In the field one of their guys hit a single and tried to stretch it into a double. I took the throw at second and did a sweep tag (he didn't slide). I might have lightly brushed him, but I totally "sold" the tag...after the sweep I turned to the 1st base umpire (who is responsible for the call) and make a big motion showing him that the ball was still in my glove. As if I tagged him so hard that the ball might have been dislodged but I still had it. He called him out. Heh...age and treachery...
