2/20/01

Softball: The Tradeoffs of Sensitive Leadership

Dear People,

Congratz to all on last week’s splendiferous 29-21 return to our beloved Codornices homeland, played out as it was under a dark and pernicious layer of taunting Nimbostratus clouds. Truth be told, I trembled for the health of the community that wet and dreary morning, and I was just about to cancel the game when I looked into the forlorn eyes of Pierre, a 12 year old guest of mine who had traveled with his mother from the majestic fishing hamlet of Nice, France, just so that he could play a delicious game of American softball.

At 10:55 AM, as I began to type out the cancellation, he looked up to me with his tiny little froggy face, and he said "Je veux jouer, moi," which as most of you know, literally means "Without aerobic release, life itself is a vacuous pit of pain and despair." As you can imagine, my heart nearly cleaved in three, but his words gave me the courage to risk the safety of all of you, and now, in dry and glorious retrospect, I think we can all thank this angelic French youth for a wondrous game that will forever stand as the ultimate triumph of existential logic within a purely recreational context.

Of course, I am still pondering how my own team managed to give up a 7th inning 15-7 lead, and more specifically, whether the loose talk suggesting that my management decisions bordered on the psychotic is really justified. True, John’s team scored 14 runs as soon as I moved Pierre from right field to 2nd base, but let the record show that only four of their first eight hits were technically errors on his part. Regardless, as the pressure mounted on me to "do something,"
I quietly suggested to Pierre that if he wanted to return to right, it would dramatically reduce the risks of yet another ground ball darting through his spindly little pre-pubescent legs.

For a second he said nothing, and then he slowly looked up to me with those crestfallen Toulousian eyes, and haltingly, yes haltingly, he said "Je veux jouer, moi," which as most of you know, literally means "I think I’m getting the hang of this; I think It’s best for the team if I stay at 2nd base." Reassured by his sudden surge in confidence, I told him to stay where he was as my pride swelled anew.

Oh sure, little Pierre proceeded to immediately commit another four errors, and those errors were directly responsible for an additional seven runs. Fair enough. Yet I’m not convinced that I made the "wrong" decision, for in keeping him at 2nd, I was able to make sure that he would return to France with his dignity in tact, and that he would leave having tried out a wide range of softball’s great core positions, however precariously they happen to be played. Needless to say, this has intrinsic value that goes well beyond the prosaic codification of comparative team pointage, and regardless, it compliments the incalculable damage avoided to the already strained tenor of Franco-American relations. And therefore, there will be a game at CODORNICES this Sunday at Noon, IF I get enough commits by Friday morning….Ray


2/24/01

Softball: The Limits of Drainage

Dear People,

There will hopefully be a game at Codornices this Sunday at noon,
but given how much it’s been raining, you should check email/voicemail Sunday morning.

Two slots left/$1 to play….Ray 845-7552


2/26/01

Softball: 11AM Sunday: Ughhhh…..

Dear People,

As you know, the venom of 1,000 vipers courses through my spleen whenever I have to cancel a game. However, I have just returned from Codornices, and much to my chagrin, I have discovered that the City of Berkeley has definitively closed the field.

For the record, and in the interests of full disclosure, the park itself is playable, BUT there is now a large hole in the middle of right field with mounds of dirt, a board on top of the pit, a saw- horse on top of that, and a large and menacing sign that says "Field Closed Until Further Notice….as per City Regulation 21003." As much as I tried to find a sliver of ambiguity through which to navigate our communal resistance, the crushing power of the state leaves me no choice. Until next time…Ray

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