Sofball Idiots

This entry will be a vent about softball idiots and the field management that allows a fun evening to turn into a tense disorganized mess before it even begins. I'm not liking Wednesday Night softball much. The team is loosely put together and I hardly know people. The fields are mediocre. The field management is a weak joke, The umpires are unprofessional and inconsistent and we only get one umpire. There is no consession stand or place to get a drink. The parking is crazy packed because there are kids soccer games right next to the fields and foul balls are scary because they could kill a kid as many families are there watching their kids play soccer. Poor set-up, poorly staffed, and just all around poor.

So the equolibrium moves in hurky jerky motions as another hump day turns sour though the impetus for this moody blah came from outside this time. I finally went to bed around noon after wandering Facebook all night saving the world from the perils of greedy self-destruction (hey, somebody's gotta do it) and I woke late afternoon to get ready for some softball (there's a song in there somewhere). The shortstop for my Sunday team did not respond to my response to her response to my query as to whether she would want to play tonight (she asked what "what kind of league" and I responded and she was either too busy or just blew me off, not nice since I am giving her the chance to play two games she would not ordinarily get to play and with the Sunday season over she will be jonesing for some softball real soon, but whatever) and she did not respond to my friendly inquiry today so it felt bad.

On the way to the field in major traffic (grumbles) I get a text saying we have to wear a black shirt with a number. I text back that I am already in the car and have on a green jersey. Arriving at the field, I find nobody there. I mean nobody. About ten minutes to game time people start arriving and the coach has a black t-shirt for me and she used some glitter glue to write the number 1 on the back. Ok, I comply. I notice the other team is in a variety of shirts so I ask the field manager if he is mandating me to change my jersey and he says yes, that is the rule for the fourth week of the season. So I let him know the other team is wearing white, black, gray, camo, and blue and the other coach calls me a bitch and gets in my face. Then he aggressively says get out of my face and I laugh and say he's the one who came up to me all pissy and the field manager had to step in as he was getting ready to hit me. I asked the field manager to eject him for threats and unsportsmanlike conduct and make sure the other team had to follow the same rules we had to follow.

The other team is a tournament team that does not belong in our league. They are aggressive and play at a dangerously high level. They are used to mocking and intimidating opponents. Apparently, the field manager was intimidated because he did nothing. The coach in my face and the team played with their variety of jerseys while we all had to wear the same color jersey. I called the office, but the guys in charge were not there tonight so I told the kid in the office that I was filing a complaint about conduct and rules violations and will follow up by email. He said he would notify the park director who happens to be in the Sunday league and also on the Ratings Committee with me on Sundays.

The arrogance of macho torunament players is only encouraged when they are not disciplined or heald to the rules and they played the first few innings with more men on the field than they should have had. Co-ed recreational softball in this league is supposed to have a minimum of four females on the field. They only had three. That should have been a forfeit, but the field manager was a wimp and ignored it. As did the umpire who was not the regular umpire and didn't even look like an umpire (no uniform, no identification insignia) and was a real jerk. I was about ready to head home before the game even started.

I hit poorly, pitched poorly, and just was not there. There was no friendliness from the umpire or anyone on the tournament team. It was not a fun night of softball. I let the field director know all this in the email.

It didn't end there. The scorekeeper showed up late and drunk. He hit a car while parking. All through the games the scoreboard was wrong. He somehow lost an inning so we went from the fifth to the seventh and no one noticed because I guess they were all just ready to leave like I was. The coach called after I got home and said she was asking all of the players to call the field office and file a complaint. I had already filed mine by phone before the game and in email when I got home, but I sent another email to add the scorekeeper mess and the fact that we are owed an inning.

I think I'll just let this entry fizzle out now, I am all vented and moving on.

So how was your day? :)