Ball went well last night. Mostly. We cruised along and won both games handily, I went 4-4 (no RBI’s but there was never a runner in scoring position for me) and pitched pretty well for 2 innings. The problem started in the bottom of the third inning though - I was in right field and came in to field a blooper that landed near the edge of the oversized infield. As I bent down to pick up the ball (on the run) I stepped in a gopher hole. Normally you’d think that would result in some sort of ankle or leg injury, but all it did was tweak my back a bit. I was coming out of the game at the end of the inning anyway, so I called for my replacement.

I stretched it out, and it was feeling pretty good, so when the second game started up, I went in as the pitcher for the second inning. Three up, three down on a half dozen pitches. Very nice. Third inning - three up, three down on five pitches. Nicer yet. Bottom of three, I saw that the outfield was playing very deep, so I dropped a line drive just over the infield for a double. Next batter hit a grounder to short, and I made him look me back. As soon as he let go of the ball, I took off for third. I probably could have made it, but I chickened out and got caught in a rundown. The second change of direction caused my back to sieze up, and I hit the dirt hard. I pitched to the first batter in the fourth, but I knew as soon as I threw the first pitch that I was done for the evening. I finished that batter (he blooped a single) and then came out of the game.

So I’m hurting a bit today still. Standing, sitting, walking, they’re all fine. Bending over is a major challenge though, and so my shoelaces are pretty loose today (couldn’t tie my shoes very well this morning…) It’s getting better though, and I think I’ll be back to normal by the end of the weekend.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Young lady, in this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics” - Homer