Which of These is Not Like the Other?

So here's a fun story.  I finally got to play in my first baseball game yesterday.  Of course I'm a little nervous, but what do you expect after not playing for twenty-some-odd years.  I just didn't want to screw up in the game and have everyone thinking, 'what the hell do we have this old fart out here playing for?'.  Hell, even the coach of the team is two or three months younger than I am.  But hey, he's playing, too, and the whole point of this league is to have fun.  This isn't one of those over-30 leagues back home where everyone acts like it could be their shot at the Show.  Seriously, that is taking things way over the top.

I was set pretty well for this game, though, so I was feeling good.  My hitting was good during warmups, and while the fielding still probably needs work, it's not any worse than anyone else on the team, and regardless, I was playing right field.  Yes, even in a country that doesn't really play baseball, I get put in the "safe" position where I can do the least amount of harm (S0sa didn't play there for the Cußs for no reason, you know).  

And when the game started, sure enough, someone lined one through the infield in my direction.  I think it was a good thing that it was a sharply hit ball, too, so I didn't really have time to think about it, I just fielded it.  And fielded it cleanly, thank  you very much, which wasn't as easy as it sounds due to the condition of the field.  One of the guys on the team who is from the Dominican, and knows a thing or two about the subject, commented that he'd seen better fields in Third World countries.  I tended to believe him.  So anyway, ball cleanly fielded, I, of course in my excitement proceeded to airmail the cut-off man.  No harm, no foul, though, as there was no one else on base, and there was backup there to keep the runner to a single.

So in the top of the second, it's my turn to bat.  With a righty on the mound I, in all of my switch-hitting glory, decide to turn around and go from the left side.  Now in BP, I had been hitting everything from both sides of the plate.  But I was also aware that I was going for some pitches that I had no business swinging at.  Sure, I could hit them, but there wasn't much on them, and I probably would have been out.  So I was going to make sure that I was waiting for my pitch.  Looked at a couple of balls, mixed in with two fouls, count stands at 2-2.  Wait for it, wait for my pitch.  Yep, I struck out looking.  Now in my defense, this was a strike that even Maddox and Glavine in their hey-day would have been embarrassed to have called a strike, it was so far outside.  But whatever, it was called and I was out.  0 for 1.

In the bottom half of the inning, our pitcher was fantastic and struck out the side, albeit with a little help from the ump - hey, at least he was calling it both ways, that's really all you can ask for.  So I get up to bat the next inning, and I'm thinking, 'okay, this time, don't just look at pitches.  If you can make contact with it, swing.'  Well, I would have no such luck, as this time around, he was nowhere close to the plate.  I might have fouled one back, but that was it.  Ball four, take your base.  Still 0 for 1, but at least my obp is .500.

Now, we'd been running on these guys all day.  The pitcher was incredibly slow to the plate, and the catcher had no gun whatsoever - rainbow city.  Hell, he could have gotten the ball to second faster by using the pitcher as a relay man.  That being said, I'm forty, still pretty much out of shape, and I was never the fastest guy in the world anyway.  Luckily for me, the guy behind me lines the first pitch into left-center, and I'm on second with no problem.  Well, there's a slight problem.  I'm pumped.  I'm excited.  I'm playing the game I love.  I can do this.  I can run on this guy.  He's horrible.  He's got no arm.  Piece of cake.  So with the first pitch, off I go.

Those of you who know me know that I'm kind of a moron.  For those of you who don't - well, I'm kind of a moron.  And unfortunately, I'm not talking about trying to steal, I'm talking about the execution thereof.  And oh, yeah, you guessed it - the catcher with the rag arm nailed my ass by about 1o feet.  There was no way I was safe.  They had me dead to rights.  But what did I do?  I tried to slide.  Very late.  And very badly (I never was very good at it, and that was two decades ago).  Basically, I set my foot against third base to where it couldn't go any further forward and then slammed all of my mumblemumble pounds into said foot in the act of "sliding".  Let's just say... ouch.

To make a long story short (yeah, yeah - too late), I was out of the game and I'm done with baseball for a few weeks.  It's all in my foot, thankfully, and I didn't do anything to my ankle.  The x-rays didn't show any fractures, so we're waiting a few days and then if there's no improvement, I'll have an MRI done.  I have a feeling I did something to the tendons and/or ligaments down there, but what do I know?  I've never done anything like this to myself before, so I have nothing to go on.  There's swelling, but not that much, and the colors you see in the picture didn't even show up until today (game was yesterday).  On the other hand, I don't bruise real easily (even cramming handle bars into my ribs last month on my way to the pavement didn't leave any marks), and yet, there's my foot in all it's glory.

Oh well, at least it gave me something to write about.