Let's Play Some Ball!

The MSCR Summer Softball league came to a close on Friday with a championship game between Eat at Joe's and Bowl-a-Vard. You might remember them from this post - they were the too-competitive team - or this one.
Anyway, we went 5-0 the second half of the season, so we played these guys again for a plaque and the pride of being 'champions' - not that valuable, but even so, I was nervous and antsy before the game.
The game was the most intense softball game I have ever been a part of. We were the visitors, and I was batting fifth. With two outs in the top of the first inning, I came up to bat with runners on first and second. I swung at the second offering after the pitcher made a great first pitch. Unfortunately, I grounded it right at him - it wasn't even a slow, bouncy little dribble of a hit that I could beat out. No, I hit a sharp groundball and was out by a step. I then began a pilgrimage around the outfield, playing left-center, left, and then right-center. Defensively, I sat out the first inning. Bowl-a-Vard scored one run after a leadoff double just inside the third-base line. We got out of the inning only down 1-0, so that was a small victory. In the second inning, we tied it at 1 after a string of hits.
In the bottom of the third, I almost made a highlight-reel catch. The other team's leadoff batter was a guy who loved to pull it sharply down the left-field line. I was playing left field when he came up the second time and was expecting some action. He hit a fly ball on the first pitch - it was probably 20 feet behind third base and foul by about 10. I was playing fairly deep since he is a good hitter, so I took off (losing my hat in the process) and dove for the ball...all I got for my effort was grass stains on my shirt and a sore back all weekend.
The game progressed along tied at 1. My second atbat came leading off the fourth inning. Unfortunately, I grounded back to the pitcher again. Gah! Even worse, the inning ended with the bases loaded - if I had been able to get on, I would have scored and perhaps we would have put some crooked numbers up on the scoreboard. Nope. This game was all about Jeff dragging Eat at Joe's down.
At least I left my troubles at the plate. In right-center field I played some solid defense, as the entire team shut down Bowl-a-Vard's potent offense. I caught a deep flyball in right center, and would have thrown a runner out at second on a forceout if the second baseman had held on to the throw. Our pitcher Daniel got some key strikeouts (including the other team's super-competitive pitcher -with the bases loaded! He definitely threw his bat down in the dugout after that gem) and the infielders, although not perfect, buckled down to get the outs when we needed them. My last at-bat of the game came in the top of the sixth. Still tied 1-1, I came up with 2 outs and a runner on first. The other team had a pretty weak defender in right field, so I was hoping to turn on a ball and hit it down the line. Our shortstop Megan was on base, and I was pretty confident she would score if I could come through. Well...there's a reason one of the tags of this post is anti-clutch. I did turn on the ball, but didn't get it in the air enough. The first baseman was able to knock it down and throw to second base for the forceout. Oh well.
Seriously, though, this is slow-pitch softball. It's insane for a game to be tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth. And the top of the seventh. And the bottom of the seventh.
Finally, Eat at Joe's got in business in the eight inning. With two outs, Nick (one of the outfielders) hit a solid single to center field. Our right fielder Somer plated him with a double to center...after Daniel hit a deep double and came around to score on a single, we ended the inning up 4-1. Ecstatic to have our first lead of the game, we still had to get three more outs to be crowned champions. I went to right-center field for the bottom of the eighth. Daniel induced two quick popouts, but then things got a bit dicey. A walk, a single, and an error on a fielder's choice loaded the bags with two outs. The next batter lined a single up the middle - I ran over to field it and threw it back to Rachel at second base, almost catching the girl rounding the bag too far. Two runs scored on the play and now the lead was only 4-3...with their leadoff batter coming up to bat. Luckily, he grounded to shortstop, Megan threw to Danielle for the force at third, and EAT AT JOE'S IS THE LEAGUE CHAMPION WOOO BREAK OUT THE CHAMPAGNE!

We shook hands with a stunned (and oh-so-sportsmanlike) Bowl-a-Vard team - okay, it's not fair to lump them all in the jerk category. Some of their players were actually pretty nice, and I'm sure they're all good people. They just didn't come across that way on the diamond. After we picked up our gear, we celebrated at Villa Tap.

Congratulations, Eat at Joe's. It was definitely a fun year.

Final Stats:
H/AB AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI
0/3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
Season
H/AB AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI
16/24 .667 .680 .917 1.597 9 0 7

Madison Restaurant Week

Twice a year several area restaurants participate in Madison Restaurant Week. I first heard about it in the winter of 2007, and since then have made it to at least two establishments during each week. Restaurant Week has given me dates both good and not-so-good, birthday dinners, large group meals, and delicious food.

Today is the first day of Summer Restaurant Week 2009 - and it comes with just one problem. Most of my visits to these restaurants have been with my partner-in-crime Greg, and he's currently in China...and as much as I enjoy the opportunity to try some of Madison's finer cuisine at reasonable prices, it's not worth the crushing depression of dining alone. So...

Wanted: Accomplice(s) for Dining/Adventure the week of July 26-31
Contact Jeff at 608.214.6919

Typing in Cheese

I think it was back when I was taking Geography 370 (Introduction to Cartography) that I first heard of a typeface promising to save the user 15-20% in ink and toner by creating small holes in the characters (a swiss cheese effect.) I partly forgot about it, seeing as how I don't really spend much at all on toner or ink...but the idea lodged itself somewhere in the trivia-encrusted recesses of my mind. Lately I thought about it again, and found this. Ecofont probably won't help any of you guys that much; I doubt any of my readers print in such massive quantities to make it economically meaningful.

Even if Ecofont won't help me that much, it is nice to think that there's a typeface in the world that can be described as cheese-like...not counting fontina.

Oh man...that's terrible.

A box of WHAT?

Dairy Queen, your latest Blizzard ad campaign is in clear violation of Thomas B. Marlow's Rule 1: The Proper Naming of Girl Scout Cookies - so no, I would not like to buy even ONE Tagalong Blizzard.

I could go for a Peanut Butter Pattie one, on the other hand...

Quck recap/box score updates

All right. Eat at Joe's softball team has been moving right along, footloose and fancy-free. We've won 4 in a row. This friday we have a makeup game from a rainout earlier in the season and then, in all likelihood, we'll play in the playoff game. Hooray!


Eat at Joe's (6-3)
Game
H/AB AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI
2/3 .667 .750 1.000 1.750 2 0 0
H/AB AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI
3/4 .750 .750 1.000 1.750 1 0 3
H/AB AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI
3/3 1.000 1.000 1.667 2.667 2 0 1
Season
H/AB AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI
16/21 .762 .773 1.048 1.821 9 0 7

In the most recent game, I had several defensive chances, although they were a bit out of position. I was playing right-center one inning when the batter skied a popup to second base. The girl playing there dropped it, but I had sprinted in (out of boredom more than anything else) and was able to throw the batter out at first. That's why you run out everything you hit, kiddos - nobody wants to be on the wrong end of a 9-3 putout.
The second chance I had was with one out and runners on first and second. It was the third inning, so we were already leading 10-1, but whatever. The batter was a decent right-handed guy, and he stepped into the ball and crushed it out to right field. Our rightfielder (coincidentally, the girl who was at second earlier) ran after it. I was playing left center at the time, but assumed (c0rrectly) that a cutoff throw was in the works. I ran over about 20 feet beyond the infield dirt on a line between the pitcher's mound and the rightfielder. Once she threw it back in, I waited for it to get to me and then fired the ball to home plate. It was a one-hop strike and we got the runner from first trying to score. Boo. Yah. Just another 10-8-2 putout...call me Ichiro.

It's been a really fun season so far, and the end of the year has definitely snuck up on me. We've clinched a winning record, and that feels good. With one more win this year I'll have matched the career number of wins with the Shorewest Northeasters - no knock on those guys. As a team we were improving, and we'd probably be 5-4 this year. Jenna and Mike just had to go and have a kid. Priorities, people!

Goals for the rest of the season:
Go 2-0
Win league's playoff
Make a diving catch
Not make any more outs while batting
Hit only doubles or better
Hit a homerun (inside-the-park is fine, I'm not crazy enough to think I can put one out)

Rule A1

So I've been trying to think of how this next rule relates to a holiday...any holiday would do, and I can't think of anything. Congratulations, Thomas B. Marlow has just decided to write a second book (or chapter, I suppose) called Thomas B. Marlow's Rules for Everyday Life! Plan on a release date approximately 6 months after the holiday book is completed - or "never," for those of you still in "reality."

Moving on... I present Rule A1*: The Proper Installation and Use of Light Switches

*Clearly, the numbering system will have to be reworked for the publication. Bear with me for now.

Light switches are vital to the health of a room - they control the flow of electricity to the room, turning a scary-at-age-5 staircase into something more bearable, something with fewer monsters. They also have the power (ha!) to render a room almost uninhabitable, if misused.
If there is one switch leading to a light, the switch should be installed so that electricity is flowing when the switch is UP. It just makes sense.
If there are two switches leading to one outlet or light, things get more complicated. When both switches are in the DOWN position, the light should be off. The light should be on if one switch is UP and one is DOWN. The switches should never be both UP - at that point the light would be off, and therefore the switches should both be DOWN. Nothing is more disconcerting than a stairway, for example, with mismatched light switches at either end.

A Poll

Recently several aspects of my personality have been under attack - from sources as varied as coworkers to friends. The things being debated are pretty wide-ranging as well, from my love of word-creation (wordvention? I say yes. Everybody else says no.) to naming the apartment to Thomas B. Marlow’s Rules. However, the most hurtful attacks have been on my dashing fashion sense. Opinions on bandanabands (bandanas worn as headbands; see above, word-creation) are strong enough to justify an entirely separate post, I think, but this is going to be a simple poll. Keep in mind there is one correct answer here, and one very wrong answer.

What would you call this?



Man-purse?

or

Messenger bag?

Vote in the left side sidebar...and choose wisely.