Can't Become Boy in the Bubble

The Games have Stopped.

The Season is over.

What's softball done is softball done.

Next Year will soon be this year.

With the game gone for now, real world reality hits, and I am reminded on how fragile life is. I thought I had it all figured out when I was a kid, I swore I did, by 42 I thought I would be a millionaire, a successful pompous shit don't stink business man. Thankfully that didn't didn't happen as I grew up, but now without the distraction of softball, problems are piling all at once and everything that bothers me, I got it bottled up, I think I'm bottoming out as I've been drinking alone lately

thinking about what the fuck do I have to do to get on solid ground.

When looking for a new team in softball, it's important you hook up with a guy running the team that is honest as you don't want to waste your time. This person (manger, captain, sponsor, teammate, etc) should let you know off the bat what your role is. For example:

• Competition is open - earn your spot
• Your a forfeit avoider no matter what
• You play/pitch/dh one game no matter what
• You pay you play
• I just want you to play so I can get a ride

If the guy running the team is not in sync with your goals forget it. Same thing in the real world when it comes to job recruiters. I understand recruiters only get paid if they can place you, but most of them are low life liars and bullies. Unfortunately, when conducting a job search they usually are a necessary evil. I deal with them every single day and because the market is so bad many of them flex and power trip on job seekers every single chance they get. Assholes

I'm not about to give up, I don't wanna quit, but shit, I feel like when I deal with these people this is fucking sick. This is not a game, this is real life and they don't give a fuck I've sacrificed everything I have to get to the professional level that I am at, so I have have to swallow my pride and hold my tongue every time they snap even though I know this is so fucking whack.

In dealing with these people I reminded of the old John Travolta Movie "Boy in the Plastic Bubble"

as I'm trapped. I'm forced to remember how fragile economic  things are right now and I am forced to acquiesce to their demands.  I try and give them everything wand and more,  even tough I can't stand their fucking ass. I feel like a hypocrite, but I know I have to keep a level head intact and adapt.

All good players adapt in softball and life, its crucial to survival. You can't do the same thing all the time otherwise the bubble will burst. Play the game

90 Mile InterCambio

In the past I have traveled to play softball in a tradition called "El InterCambio". Heck I even poked fun at it in the classic posting "InterCambio ". Recently a group of hardcore softball enthusiasts

 

had a much more meaningful Intercambio experience as they traveled to Cuba  

to become 90 Mile Slow Pitch Ambassadors  (click on this link - great short read)

Intercambio's like this show that it is so much more than just a game - So much more

On the path to Ocho Ocho their only sin is mediocrity

At 6-5 the Jets 

 

only sin is mediocrity (Martha Graham) as they seem to have their sights on earning the worse record you can have in the NFL - Ocho Ocho (8-8). So far they have just been a streaky team that regresses to the mean. Plain old Average.When you go to a game your happy and hyped at the tailgate

 

 

 but once you get inside their lackluster and stupid play just puts you to apathetic sleep

 

and makes you lose focus on the game at hand

 

 as you are resolved to the grim reality of mediocrity. The number one target of the fans venom is poster boy and QB Marc Sanchez

  Sanchez is a maddening/frustrating player

 

 but the truth is he is not the biggest problem. They have holes all over:

• No pass rush - none
• Below average Safeties
• Mediocre Linebackers (except Harris)
• Special Teams once a strong point has been terrible lately
• Average Offensive Line
• Average Running Backs

but no matter if Sanchez throws two, three

or even four Td's in a game

the fans are still not happy

as he always gets blamed. It comes with the QB territory I guess, but to be fair he's also average at this stage of his career. In any case, they have five games left and unless they get their act together soon Ocho Ocho seems like their destiny. No one should inspire to be average especially at the prices they charge as they owe it to the fans to rise above mediocrity.

SB Black Friday

Today is Black Friday,  traditionally the beginning of the Christmas season and the busiest shopping day of the year. Most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season. The softball community is down with wheeling and dealing so let's take a look at some stores they might Target (pun intended) today:

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Dio Jackson

 

 Stores: Anywhere with toys and gadgets - Toys R Us , Best Pod, Apple Store - probably all

I still have nightmares about moving all his toys.

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Bobby Fishman

Store: Rolex. He pitches with a Rolex on ... only the finest. Hell he might take Joel Goldman

with him to haggle a good deal

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Issac "RoadRage" "Guby: Delgado


Store: Any car dealership. Anyone as long as they take cash and sell large vans that run poorly and are too big to fit into NYC parking spots preferred

Turning to Fashion ...

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Lou "22" Gonzalez

Store: Always a sharp dresser and needs to find a place that doesn't sell suits with the #22 on it. I suggest Macy's Men's Store and Men's Warehouse- Your going to like the way your going to look #22

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Me and my A96 People

 Store: Walmart - plenty of wife beaters there


How about sporting goods, well

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Mike Peckins

Store: Paragon Sports

- I mean he is their spokesman

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Angry Jack

Store: Gotta go to Mo's ... Modell's - He definitely camped out

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Dave Nelkin

Store : Sports Authority. Ready to Go at 4AM strong. He definitely camped out

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Lorenzo Gracia and Jason Yudoff

Store: Jet Store - a new jersey might turn the Jet season/luck around

Turning to non essential items

Softball Black Friday Shopper:Tommy Hegelson (right)

Store: None - travels to Indian reservation to buy cigarettes for cheap

Softball Black Friday Shopper: Jack "Bandana Man" Cutler

 Store : ... Forget the Store Casino my man

How about softball people that I know will in no way take part in Black Friday

Softball Black Friday Avoider: Juan "Blonde" Moreiras (sitting in chair below)

 Store: Amazon - strictly on-line ... Softball Loch Ness monster  always keeps a low profile

Softball Black Friday Avoider #2: John "Championship Manager" Sheppard

Store: forget it

Hope everyone finds a good deal today. Holler!!!!!!!!!

Failure is an Option earns Bob a Turkey for his Turkey Rating

When I was a kid

I used to bury my face in comic books, 

  

 cause I didn't want to face all the socially awkward real world growing up shit going on back then. I took refuge in these super power beings as they used their fascinating special abilities to make the world a better place.


Many of these characters had nerdy but cool catch phrases or motto's like: 

1. Its Clobberin' Time!!!!!!!!!
2. With great power comes great responsibility
3. Avengers Assemble!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
4. Hulk Smash !!!!!!!
5. In brightest day, in blackest night,No evil shall escape my sight, Let those who worship evils might, Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!

Recently another group of supposedly "Super Powered" congressional beings
adopted "Failure is Not an Option"as their slogan. But guess what, the so-called super committee in Congress failed to reach a deal to cut the U.S. federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years and the stock market has been taken a beating ever since. No super hero I grew up with would yell "Failure is an option". Nothing super about these guys. Nothing at all.

I've never been an advocate of committees in Softball

 ,but in Democracy their very existence is essential "for the people by the people". But this super committee's glaring failure to agree on budget cuts is disturbing and irresponsible. It's the same back and forth bullshit that gets us nowhere. Democrats blast Republicans for not being more receptive to higher taxes and unwilling to phase out the Bush-era tax cuts for upper-income Americans, while Republicans insist Democrats are unwilling to make necessary spending cuts to popular domestic programs. Pathetic blame game.

President Obama has made it clear that he's sick of this committee's bullshit as he would veto any attempt to undo or alter the automatic spending cuts, known as a sequester mechanism. "The only way these spending cuts will not take place is if Congress gets back to work and agrees on a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion, that's the job they promised to do. And they've still got a year to figure it out."Obama also sought to reassure markets and ratings agencies that even without an agreement by the special committee, the automatic cuts now scheduled to occur mean significant deficit reduction steps will take place."One way or another, we will be trimming the deficit by at least $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years,"

That didn't stop markets from tanking and our old sweater around the neck wearing rating agency analyst Bob

• http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-name-is-my-name-is-my-name-is.html 
• http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-of-bob-learning-how-to-recruit.html

from gloating and earning himself a free Turkey
on Thanksgiving for giving our government a Turkey Rating. Congrats Bob. 


The ratings agency Standard & Poor's issued a statement that said the "super" committee's failure to reach agreement would not bring a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, as long as the resulting automatic spending cuts remain intact. Thanks guys. I'm glad you recognized that you now understand that you fuck all of us back in August when you downgraded the U.S after years of looking the other way and getting us into this mess to begin with. Oh well at least your employee Bob got a Turkey.

More importantly, if this "super" committee doesn't get its act together soon I'm gonna start buying comic books again because I can't to sand to look at reality anymore

Inwood Above 96th Street Vibe .. Loch Ness Monster approves of his Champions and the Natural

 Inwood Above 96th Street Vibe .....

1.  Softball Loch Ness Monster
2. Line = Chip Time
3. Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat
4. Nobody Better
5. Inwood Salute to Longtime Friends

The insider would also like to personally congratulate Hustler-West ace and avid blog reader

Edgar Gonzalez Jr"The Natural"

 who not only won Championship MVP by hurling two gems but also on being the best softball player's version of the biggest loser   Edgar has lost over 50 pounds and finished the season performing at the highest level. Very proud of you.

Staten Island Mafia..... Never Go Against the Family in Public

Rarely does the Charter Fabric League make the blog, http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2011/05/tie-kissing-your-sister.html but I love my manager and the commissioner Bob (left below) like a father

for the last 3 seasons  I have been playing early Saturday morning fall ball with him in Staten Island. We have always had a good team but unfortunately we were the Buffalo Bills
of Softball as we lost twice in heartbreak fashion in the finals.

This year we were undefeated in the regular season and won game one of the championship last week. In game two today we lost 1-0... fucking painful. In game three we were down 4-1 in the 6th and then exploded to win 10-4 and got the monkey off our back. Now that is fucking blog worthy.

Great Guys

Great Season

 

Rock On Staten Island!!!!!!

 

With Loyal fans like Julia Roberts behind the team
 
  The Hispanics were motivated to show they could take the cold and win

after the Envelope http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2011/11/envelope-please-standard-business.html was passed to management

The Party was on and Z Bar True Staten Island Style (their version of Malecon)

Clutch Mike Morello

Well Done and Deserved

P.S. On a side note for all you city people out there, NYC softball legend and Staten Island resident  Richie Christy
 
showed up to game 1 of the season and never returned - classic