You Can Hear the Girly Grunt
Watch this pitcher's heroic throw to first base to save an out. I was there - I got to see it live!
I like this picture
It pretty much sums up Colorado baseball right now.
The first picture. If you wait too long, the stupid thing starts a slideshow and goes on to pictures of Jay Cutler at Chicago Bears camp. Denver has a hard time letting go.
A Beautiful Day
I'm new to being a baseball fan, but there are some things I think ring true with just about all levels of baseball fans.
- Unless you're a Yankees fan, you hate the Yankees.
- Boston fans have become as bad as Yankees fans.
- I hope the Cubs' postseason chances have forever died with Harry Caray (Heeeey!)
The Yankees have always represented the evil empire. They're the club that always buys the good players because they've got the money to do it. And they win. And they usually take the players that fans of smaller clubs like. They're predatory. This year they didn't "win" per se, but they were in the toughest division in baseball. Rough place to be. I still dislike them, but seeing them not win is always good.
Boston fans, having now tasted victory after a long streak of uselessness, went from being polite fans to gigantic assholes. Just like that. Obviously this isn't true of all Boston fans. But out of the sample set I have, the majority of Boston fans are obnoxious. So when Boston lost last night, I leapt into the air and did a sweet heel click.
After this past season, I add Cubs fans to my s-list. With the exception being Matt, who is a pretty civil fan, Cubs fans are also obnoxious. The one Cubs game I went to this year was awful. Denver's stadium was filled with Cubs fans, and more than a handful of them were very, very rude. I wish I knew where the guys I sat next to during the game lived. They kept on putting up a sign they had made, declaring that this year was their year. For fans who represent a franchise of futility - why be obnoxious? You don't even have history on your side!
I look forward to this World Series. I'm fairly sure Philly will lose - they'll have been off for nearly a week before they play the first game, while Tampa has obviously been hot. Some analyst on the radio put it best - the American league has good teams that win consistently and are tough. The National League just has teams that get hot at the right times. I think that's true - a team that's had to compete all season in the American League East is going to have a competitive advantage.
I also like that Tampa kind of mirrors what the Rockies did last year, with the exception being that they won all season long, instaed of just getting hot at the right time. So really it's not like the Rockies at all, other than that it's a young team. And as a casual fan, I'd rather have the younger, less-Yankee/less-Red Sox/less-Cubs payrolled team winning. And also, a fourth rule, which I think everyone who reads this can agree with:
- All fans of any Philadelphia team are assholes. Without Exception.
More Parental Activity
We have somewhat of a downtown tradition now when we go to Rockies games. First we hit up a place called Mexico City Restaurant in Denver. They deep-fry their taco shells with the meat in them, throw in cheese, veggies, and avocado - perfect.
Taylor is a brewer at a brewery known as Great Divide Brewery. Sometimes we go there for a beer or three after we eat our food before going to the game.
Wicked Awesome
Although, my dad is a little league umpire. I'm pretty sure some players would get tossed if this happened to him:
Don’t Mess With the Stache
Ryan Spilborghs has been messing with his facial hair lately, and it's been helping him play baseball.
The other day Anna and I were flipping back and forth from the baseball game, and he caught our eye (and was hilarious) with his facial hair. This is the best picture I could provide:
UPDATE: Dan, do you mean this van?
Pictures from the Cubs/Rockies Game
We went to a game last Wednesday with Abbi and Matt. Matt is a Cubs fan, although probably not a real Cubs fan, because some other asshole Cubs fan said you're not really a Cubs fan if you haven't been to Wrigley. Why are Yankee, Red Sox, and Cubs fans such assholes?
When your argument comes down to calling me a fag, I think you've lost. Some guy made fun of the Rockies for getting swept in the World Series. It boggles the mind. It's been what - sixty-two years since the Cubs have gotten to a WS? And they haven't won in 100 years? And... what?
Anyway, here's some pictures.
A Letter to the Senate
Dear Senate and Congress,
Quit investigating NFL and MLB sports for stuff. Don't you have better things to do with your time like writing earmarks, running for re-election, and voting yourself payraises?
Love,
Me
Final World Series Post
So, we got swept. And I owe Dan dinner. I only have three things I want to say.
- Obviously the eight days off hurt more than I ever thought they would. I think once the intensity level dropped from the long streak of winning, it was very difficult to get spun back up, especially against a team as talented as the Red Sox. It seemed like they were finally getting their bats moving again in Game 4, when it was obviously too late. The pitching? I'm not sure it was ever going to get back to the level it was prior to the break.
- I'm not embarassed that they lost, and I wasn't ever upset that they lost.  They did a pretty sweet and historical thing - it upsets me when "experts" continue to claim it was the most lopsided WS in history. Haven't three of the last four WS's been sweeps? Why is this one any more lopsided, other than a team that went on a historical run to get to the WS had a historical amount of time off between fall baseball games?
- I hope the ownership group manages to keep the core of the team together. They've made it clear they'll do their best to retain those that they have control over, but I can't help but think - specifically in Holliday's case - that someone else will just be able to offer more money. Significantly more.
Half of me hopes they keep the mojo alive next season, and half of me wants it to go back to the way it was - a middling baseball team with cheap tickets and nearly free parking. I figure they'll have an initial spike in attendance come April, they'll suck in April like they normally do, and then it'll be business as usual.
Oh, and I should fully disclose that I got to go to Game 4. Another "feature" of the ticketing system that I think I mentioned is that once you got in, you could get in repeatedly. This was true - but also - the URL that the ticket purchasing button kicked you to, the hold page, was never anything more than a hold page. If you typed in the URL of the actual ticket selling server - you'd go straight to the opportunity to buy tickets, every time. Great system huh?
Well great for us, because our bandwagon neighbors managed to buy twelve tickets to each of the games in Denver. The same neighbors that chastized me for wasting my money by going to Rockies games scored World Series tickets. I'm not all that upset about it since I got to go to a game too, but it shows you (again) how completely ridiculous the ticketing system was.
I didn't comment the pictures. I probably should've, but I just wanted to get them up on the site quickly. The low light made for some fuzzy pictures, which was unfortunate. There was obviously the tiniest Rockie fan in front of us. At some point I clearly rallied the team by taking off my shirt. Most of the Boston fans were gracious in victory - each was willing to shake my hand and congratulate us on a good series. I'm sure there were assholes there - but I didn't come across any.
It was a great time - I realize how special it is that Anna and I got to go to a World Series game. You can expect this to be the last baseball post from me for quite some time!