Ric in Paris comments:

I passed the MediaBistro event invite along because I couldn't get away from the Rue Daguerre.  Alas, although softball is a sissy game, I'm afraid I'll hurt my fingers.  Besides I got no depth perception.  I see from Bob's in-depth report that there were five players on each side.  I can only play whichever outfield nobody will hit to.  Usually I fall asleep.  My batting is not good either.  My golf is lousy too.  This is why I live in Paris.  The only thing I miss here is the Mets!  Go Mets!

When I first posted the pictures Ric also sent an email from Paris –

I just caught up with the baseball excursion, and glad to read that you two went as sidekicks.  I missed the last MediaBistro party in Paris.  I think I had a nap even though I meant to go.  For their parties in Paris I don't have to worry about hurting my fingers.  But I couldn't make it to the one in Venice so I sent the invitation to you.  If you fumbled the ball I hope you didn't say that I said you could play.  I figured you would sit on the foul line and stay out of trouble, and let the 'World's Laziest Journalist' make all the errors.  It was a fine write-up but you didn't mention the score.

Who won?

From Hollywood to Paris –

We have no idea who won.  This thing was set for 6:30 - 18h30 to you - and when we arrived, on time, there were five folks there.  An hour later there were ten or so.  Neither Bob nor I had any intention of playing - you had to cough up ten bucks for that.  What's that - 3.2 euros?  We did sit on the sidelines.

We were there for Bob to ask impertinent questions and for me to take photos.  We did same.  An hour after the scheduled start they had finally moved to a second field, as somehow they discovered they were one diamond north of where they were supposed to be - although I have no idea how the determined that.  By that time they were warming up - shagging flies and that sort of thing - and the temperature was dropping, the light fading for good shots with the Nikon, and the whole thing seemed pointless.  We left before they even started - and I'm not sure they ever did start.  I suspect they just went drinking.

I found the while thing just dull.  I drove Bob home and motored up to Hollywood and processed the shots from the event - and brushed the cat.  Bob emailed me the write-up.  I did the HTML thing, posted it to the daily web log, had a brandy, and slept the sleep of the cynical.  

One night this week I stayed up late for the Charlie Rose interview show on PBS (public television here) - the editor of Le Monde and Walter Wells, the editor of the International Herald Tribune - broadcast from Paris.  Great discussion of international politics, followed by a one-on-one with Richard Reeves on the press and Watergate (Reeves happened to be in Paris).  I can't find a transcript on the web.  I mentioned that show to the New York Times stringer at the softball game - the guy in sunglasses in the photo - and he had no idea why anyone would watch such stuff.  He writes the "almanac" for the Times, or contributes. 

No one talked shop.  But I did learn from the Los Angeles Times guy that the Times Pulitzer Prize winning auto review guy, Dan Neil, just broke his foot.  I wonder what that means about future test drives?

The return email from Paris –

Heather [Heather Stimmler-Hall of Secrets of Paris] talked me into going to the first MediaBistro drink and snack in Paris.  By mistake I went a week early to La Perla, but there were no MediaBistro types there, just a suspicious Indian behind the bar.  He wasn't wearing any turban.  Heather went the following week when I had a headache and she said there were eight people sitting at a table for four, beside the bogs, and the music was too loud.  Heather likes loud music too.  She didn't see the point of it.  It's like being a fan of the virtual CraigsList and going to a meeting and finding out everybody who makes witty posts has bad breath.  It's a great idea as long as it stays where it belongs - online.

Amen.