There's snow on the ground and it's like 35 degrees, but Buttermilk don't stop just because the weather's fucking terrible and it's January. There's always news you can use, even when it's on the softball hot stove front.
Although...not really that much news at the moment. The field registration process is beginning in earnest (via a weird email from Lynda Hernandez containing a document I can't read), and most players are taking the offseason off. There are a few exceptions, though: I'll be playing in the World Softball Classic in March as a member of Team Venezuela (my dual citizenship finally pays off!); Steve Patnode recently had his 50-game Buttermilk suspension dropped when it was determined that pilsner was not technically a performance-enhancing substance; the relocated Daniel May was mistakenly signed to an incentive-laden one-year deal by the Red Sox during their frenzied acquisition of every second-tier free agent over the last week, then released to make room on the 40-man roster for Takashi Saito.
Also, over the New Year, I went on a scouting mission to India with Buttermilk originoo gangstas Ben Tausig and Serena Roth, as well as my beyonce Kate Garroway. Not a lot of good softball talent over there, sadly -- the softball scene is very cricket-oriented, although Jeremy Holmes explained last year how that can work in a softball context if enough beer is involved -- and some tremendously carcinogenic air. But it was also amazing, filled with monkeys and beautiful buildings and weird old bazaars and, AND there was buttermilk. Actual buttermilk they gave you at lunch, to drink. We drank (some of) it and it tasted like weird yogurt. Weird yogurt but also green grass and dirt and softball, although we were probably imagining the last three attributes. Check the picture for proof, and stay tipping. More softball updates are coming when there's something to update you on.
