The Motliest of Crews

I know I left a quick post about going 0-15 in softball, but I think some clarification is needed for a better understanding of the tragic comedy known as Pain Inc.

The owner of the magazines I work for also owns three local smoke shops/tattoo & piercing parlors, all called The Zone. We didn't have enough people to foster a team around the office, so we turned to those employees for help, as we see them walking around the office from time to time. I also asked some of our local writers to play. And if they had any friends, we told them to bring them along. We easily had over 20 people at one time or another throughout the season (not counting help from players on other teams on short weeks), but we had some mainstays. Here's a lineup:

Greg Klein - Hey, that's me! In the worst shape of my life and with a single-digit number of softball games I had played before, I went out there and played every game, no matter how bad. And it got bad. I led the team in errors (I had three in a single inning once), but I did get better. Once they put me at catcher, the errors dropped.
Bill Wetsel - Art Director for HQ. Led the team in strikeouts (only 3). Very cool guy, but like me, not much of a softball player. He did see Faith No More, Guns N Roses, and Metallica on the same stage, though. And for that, I hate him.
Eric Cdebaca - Broker at Smith Barney, long-time friend from high school, and fellow founding father of Pike Club/Urban Assault Squad. Also one of my co-travelers on the fabled Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia trip. Actually a pretty decent softball player, took some good hits at shortstop.
Rick Torres - Former tattoo artist at The Zone, now works for Full Spectrum doing tattoos. Very good artist, and very cool guy. Check out his MySpace page. He played second base before messing up his ankle.
Mykey Garcia - Bassist for The Ground Beneath. I saw them before they went on tour and we lost him and another player for three weeks. They rocked. Hard. Very good outfielder, too. I saw him make (and miss) some diving catches. Also a piercer for one of the Zone locations.
Roman Barham - Drummer for The Ground Beneath. Again, lost for three weeks on tour, but I can't fault them at all. Played outfield.
Daniel Gonzales - Bassist for Blinddryve, a sort-of All Star Band that won a contest at a local rock station (long story). I saw them play, and I was impressed for how new they were. He pitched whenever he showed up. He's also a manager at one of the Zones and a hell of a nice guy.
Harold Davis - HQ's political writer. Owns a limousine business. Also running for Bernalillo County Assessor (and will probably win). Played catcher until a hip injury sidelined him for the season. The jersey has been signed and retired.

Obviously, there were others, but either I don't feel like mentioning them, didn't know them well enough for a fun backstory, or a combination of the two. We all pretty much met each other and figured out who would play what minutes before the first game, which is a bit of a disadvantage when you play teams that have been together for years. But we did have a great time drinking before and after the games, and that's all that really matters. I'm playing a Fall League starting October. I'll keep you posted.