Frustrated

Some nights softball gets frustrating because umpires are weak, don't know the rules, and are influenced or even intemidated by the other team. There is one team on Fridays that does that anytime they are in a close game and that is every time we play them for the first few innings. They tell the ump I am doing something wrong on the mound and the ump gives me a warning. I ask the ump the rule I violated and he repeats what the other team said, but I did not violate the rule. I don't want to argue with the ump, but it puts me in a position of not being able to pitch safely so all I cal do is lob the ball over the plate and trust my defense. We lost a lot to a little once again.

It was 9-5 going into the fifth inning and errors (and two walks by me) cost 6 of those nine runs we gave up. The other team knew they were having trouble hitting my pitching so they started sniping in the umpires ear (and mine) which is technically against the rules, but the weak umpire allowed it until their third base coach aggressively snapped at the umpire and he repeated what the third base coach said to me. I asked who is umpiring the game and asked the second base umpire to help the umpire behind the plate because he was allowing the other team to intimidated him. They had a private talk and the game went on.

A couple of pitches later the other team third base coach, while I was pitching, warned me that if I pitched too fast I'd be ejected. That is verbal interference but instead of the umpire cautioning him, the umpire called the pitch I just threw excessive speeed. The umpire told me to slow my pitches down. I asked why he didn't call it excessive speed until the third base coach told him to and he ifnored me. I asked if he was giving me a warning because the third base coach told him to and he said no. I asked if he was giving me a warning at all and he said no, just slow your pitches down. I asked if he knew the rules and I asked if he knew that we were playing USSSA and not ASA rules and he said just pitch.

I said ok, you want the game to be over I'll throw meatballs since the other team complained about my good pitches. I threw meatballs the rest of the inning, they batted around twice and we lost.

Umpires hold the players safety in their hands. An umpire that does not know the rules is a poor umpire. An umpire that allows another team to influence him is a bad umpire. An umpire that allows another team to restrict a pitcher on judgment calls he does not make on his own is a dangerous umpire. I get frustrated when we have a dangerous umpire and we did tonight.

So I am here letting it out and moving on. I decided not to go out to the bars frustrated because I would eat something and I ate too much splurge food already this week (2x to the Chinese buffet and a piece of lasagna and bread at Excel and the Commodore's place) and I must return to the strict calorie count for at least another week or two before another splurge in calories.

Friends must be busy as they are not responding to texts. Or they are on Facebook, which seems to have replaced actual conversations and physical interactions for many people. So I am here on my own. Life goes on. Maybe some TV shows are in order as I have not watched anything since last week.

What are you doing tonight? :)