The Curse of Atropos (7/20)

It was rather fitting that we played Mayhem again last night. They were our first opponents this season, and after a three-week stretch with no games scheduled, it felt like the beginning of the season all over again when we took the field.

Despite some mid-afternoon showers and lingering storm clouds, the weather stayed dry enough to allow us to play. The rain may have abated, but the air was still oppressively heavy and humid. I'm not quite sure I understand Jamie's choice of words: “You can see the ass in the air,” but it was definitely an unpleasant atmosphere.

Luck seemed to be on our side in the beginning. Willy found a four-leaf clover during warm up, and tucked it inside his sock for safekeeping. While a lot of regulars were unable to make it, we had a full team and two subs ready to go. The True Foes were in the field first, and even though Mayhem scored two runs right away, we held them there for a good long while. At the bottom of the fifth it was True Foes 3, Mayhem 2.

This is where the Curse of Atropos came into effect. It must be a curse, because we seem to always lose our momentum and skillz all at once, in one heart-wrenching inning. That third and most sinister of the fates decided that the True Foes’ thread was only five innings long, and snipped her shears at the top of the sixth. Before we knew it, the score was 10-3, Mayhem, and we were slapping hands and mumbling, “Good game.”

That's not to say the evening didn't have its shining moments: Jamie made some great catches in right field, and all of our basemen (Willy on first, Softball Dave on third, and Wendy/Danny on second) were spot on. Jason pitched a hell of a game, and a good number of Mayhem batters were sent packing with an emphatic “Strike three!” ringing in their ears. Shortstop Brian made pretty much the coolest infield catch ever: he actually launched himself sideways to stop the ball. I'm not much of a sports video-game aficionado, but Alex swore that from his vantage point in left field it looked like a move you only see in a video game.

We were very happy to be joined by Sarah Finklea, who made great contact up at bat, and Michael Wiese, who flew all the way from New Mexico just to come out and play softball with us. And a big thank you, as always, to our ThinkFilm friends, Wendy and Michael, for lending us their support.

The other team was a decent bunch though. They played hard and were good sports. They had their unique pitcher back (he wasn't there in the first game): an older, stout gentleman who grunts when he throws and has an underhand pitching style that's as close to overhand as you can legally get. They also had this chick who was wearing—I kid you not—a black knit skirt, leggings, and metallic sneakers. I guess she didn't get the email that Jazzercise was canceled because of the softball game.

Yes, the loss did hurt. As did everything else on our bodies. The heat and humidity really took a lot out of us. I saw more than one shirt completely soaked through with sweat—we were melting faster than the ice caps! We somehow picked ourselves up and trudged to the Water Street bar, which is all of a sudden trying to go bougie: they had white linen tablecloths and dainty little candles everywhere. Then the True Foes came in, the lot of us as moist and smelly as a monkey’s armpit, and the ambience quickly shifted back down to “sports bar.” Last night I saw more actual water being drunk than after any other game this season, but I'm sure it's just that we had to wet our throats so the beer would go down faster.

Once again, it's time for the True Foes to brush the dirt off our shoulders (and our arms, stomachs, knees, and faces) and get ready to give it another go on Monday. That's right: our next game is Monday, July 23, at the ConEd Field in Manhattan. If you like factories, parking lots full of big trucks, and monumental, rip-roaring comebacks, then you won't want to miss it!