Nantes relegated

Today I made one of the classic blunders made by people who work indoors and then intend to get some exercise outdoors. I dressed for yesterday.

It was about 75 when I set out. I checked the weather channel and Mikey J's. I knew it wasn't going to be as warm as yesterday but I expected a gradual cooling. I should have paid more attention to Mikey J's as, in retrospect, there was definite evidence of an arriving front. Much to my chagrin it rolled through in the middle of the ride.

The weather went from sunny and pleasant to overcast and windy within minutes. It was overcast for about half an hour and then it went back to sunny. Only now it was sunny and cold and windy.

But I endeavored to perservere and it was okay, not perfect, but okay.

This is Hazelnut Park in New Brighton. This is the site of a family record. The record was set by a member of the 8th grade softball team. That team, as every one of those teams except the very first one, was pretty good. Also like every one of those teams except two, we were not quite championship quality. I think this year was one of our many second place finishes.Anyway, games we played in New Brighton were always against a New Brighton team so we weren't familiar with any of them and they weren't familiar with us. But as the vagaries of recreational league schedules go, we were the home team in their town.

They got I think 3 in the top of the first and their fans were getting downright rowdy. We answered in the bottom of the inning with our usual batting order, recite it with me now, all of those of you who know this, Knutson, Sventek and Miller. Knutson and Sventek got on, Miller drew a walk and eventually came around to score the tieing run.

We held them without a run in the top of the second and that's when things started to get interesting. We had two outs with Sventek on base, Miller at the plate. The New Brightoners were playing a four across outfield (we always, ALWAYS played three across and a short fielder) and might have been a tad shallow, particularly against our number 3 hitter, a spot in which most opponents would assume that you have a pretty good hitter. Emily roped a shot over the right center fielder's head which rolled nearly to the fence. By the time it was retrieved Emily had circled the bases for a two run home run and we had the lead. The rowdy fans began the journey to glum.

On Emily's next plate appearance we still had the lead, in fact, had expanded it some. This time both Knutson and Sventek were on base. The outfield played the same and Emily hit another shot to the same place, this time for a three run home run.

Back to back home runs, but that still wasn't all. On her final at bat of the game, Emily stepped in with Knutson, Sventek and one other teammate aboard. That's bases loaded for those of you unfamiliar with the terminology. Well, she did it again, over their heads, grand slam, or as known on ESPN, the grand salami.

And that's the family record, back to back to back home runs, a two run home run, followed by a three run home run, followed by the grand slam. As Wendy's Dad said, a lot of teams would have played their outfield deeper after the first couple. But they didn't and she kept hitting them.

I met Scott, one of the three commuting bicycle mechanics from County Cycles while on my way home today. Note to road biking snobs, Scott, who rides all year round and therefore way more miles than any of you fancy wannabe racing types, greeted me by ringing his bell. He said, "Hey Gene" and I said, "Hey Scott". It was a kinda nice reminder that this whole bicycling thing is not nearly as anonymous as it sometimes feels.

And finally, in Wednesday night's game, Nantes did the best they could to stave off relegation, defeating Bordeaux 1-0. However, both of the teams which they still had a chance to overtake also won, Nice defeating Paris-Saint Germain 1-0, and Valenciennes defeating Saint Etienne by the same 1-0 score. With only two games remaining and therefore only 6 points available, Nantes is 7 points from safety. In some ways it should please me. I am now the owner of a jersey for a French second division team. A jersey for a second division team is even more obscure than a jersey for a French first division team and I usually prefer obscure things. But I am saddened from afar. Allez Nantes, begin to prepare to win promotion back to Ligue 1, where the team representing so fair a city obviously belongs.