We Three Braves

Long-time reader John a.k.a. "The Principle" [sic] submitted the photo below from the final stop on Big Strick's World Tour of Middle American Ballparks, 2013.

Daguerreotyped last month at Coors Field from left to right are:

1)  John a.k.a. Johnny, JW, J-Dub, J-Dubz, the Dayton Flyer, the Principle [sic];

2)  The Director of Heavy Artillery Covert Operations, Washington Branch a.k.a. Big Strick, Strick, Mark, and;

3)  Big Jeff.  That's it, just Big Jeff.

Shunpikin' the Western Hemisphere

This summer the Paleo Rider shunpiked his way throughout the western hemisphere.  This summer-long epic included, but was not limited to, stops in uncharted territories in the American southwest, Argentina, the untamed wilderness of Appalachia and - in July - the bucolic stomping grounds of his childhood in Reily Township.  Time stood still as we friends passed an evening with a drink (well, I had a Coca-Cola) at the Christian Moerlein Lager House on the banks of the mighty Ohio River.  It was there we discovered tables with taps built right into them:

This could be the greatest innovation introduced to Zinzinnati since the Broadbank Burbcasting Corporation.  As befitting a reunion of Reily boys, the local citizenry fled the city and left the whole town to us:

Above, the Paleo Rider employed my Android in capturing the moment I commandeered the intersection of Mehring Way and Joe Nuxhall Way.  From our vantage point near the ball orchard we surveyed our next conquest; the Blue Grass State!

The historic Roebling Bridge was to be our conduit into the Commonwealth of Kentucky but as we plotted our attack the mighty Ohio River went from placid to a raging torrent and so we deigned to give northern Kentucky its reprieve.  This time!  It may not be so lucky next time!

Speaking of ballparks and road trips, another loyal reader of Heavy Artillery embarked upon a father-son crusade across America this summer.  "The Big Strick World Tour of Parts of the Contiguous United States, 2013" visited several Major League ballparks and many more fine eateries.  The following declassified dispatches reveal, for the first time, the extent to which Big Strick and Little Big Strick wrecked their own brand of Redleg havoc across the autocratic empire of A. Bartlett "Bud" aka "Bug" Selig:

This is the first installment of the mid-summer stadium tour photo diary.  My son and I are starting the tour in Minneapolis and will conclude in Denver next week.  More stadium photos to follow.  BTW, Minneapolis has no shortage of watering holes and are known for the Tall Ginger, a ginger ale and whiskey drink.  Mighty refreshing!

Day 2 the Mid-West Stadium tour takes us to Miller Park in Milwaukee.  I like this stadium better than Target Field [Minnesota].  The tailgating is more like football than baseball. Great atmosphere.

Stop # 3 takes us to U.S. Cellular Field in the south side of Chicago.  If my memory serves me correct, this is one of the early retro parks.  Still in good shape and fan friendly.  Beer is $7.75 for 16 oz.  Lotta Tiger fans in attendance.

Stop 4 finds us in St. Louis at Busch Stadium to watch the Cardinals/Phillies.  Here are a couple of key points:

1.  St. Louis has dedicated fans that really support their team.  [Heavy Artillery note: except when they're losing, then they boo their 'Brids as lustily as any fans.  Don't believe the St Louis fandom hype!]  Big crowd for a Tuesday night game with very few Philly fans.  Unlike the Nationals stadium where it seems half root for the visitors.

2.  Busch Stadium is in top 3 of best stadiums I've been to thus far.  Petco and Phillies are other top 3.

Other stuff about St. Louis:

Food, went to Pappy's BBQ, as featured on Man vs Food.  Awesome stuff and I'm still full a day later.

The Arch.  Very impressive structure that is worth the wait to ride to the top.

Off to Kansas City.  More to follow.....

The 5th stop on the baseball tour took us to Kansas City to watch the Royals/O's game.  The stadium was a nicely renovated 1973 park.  The main drawback was the location, which was in the middle of nowhere!  Stadiums need to be downtown, or at least near some developments.

Fountain view.

Also, dove into some KC BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's, mighty tasty pulled pork!

Heading to Denver, our final stop on the tour.

More to follow......

Strickland

Mysteriously, Big Strick went M.I.A. following that final transmission and no such report detailing his covert actions in Denver materialized.  Speculation developed that Big Strick and Little Big Strick took an unauthorized detour into Texas for a rendezvous at the mythical Austin-area Salt Lick for even more BBQ but this remains unverified. 

Approximately two weeks later, Big Strick submitted his final action report from his summer 2013 campaign:

My world (actually US) tour takes me to Detroit to catch The Cult.  I've seen them multiple times in LA over the past few years, and on a couple of occasions with fellow THS alum Rob Bowie.

The Mid-Summer Derby

Post time this Saturday for the Travers Stakes [Grade I] at historic Saratoga Race Course is 5:46pm (NBC telecast coverage from 4:30pm to 6pm).  The Travers is often referred to as the Mid-Summer Derby as it is open only to 3-year olds and is run at one and one-quarter miles; the same conditions as the Kentucky Derby.  The 2013 edition is shaping up to be an All-Star event with (among others):

Orb - winner of the 2013 Kentucky Derby, 4th in the Preakness, 3rd in the Belmont;

Verrazano - winner of the 2013 Wood Memorial, winner of the Haskell Invitational last month;

Golden Soul - 2nd in the 2013 Kentucky Derby, 9th in the Belmont Stakes;

Will Take Charge - 8th in the Derby, 7th in the Preakness, 10th in the Belmont and 2nd last month in the Jim Dandy Stakes (run at Saratoga);

Palace Malice - 12th in the Derby, winner of the 2013 Belmont and winner of the Jim Dandy Stakes last month at Saratoga

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

As one might expect, most of my summer was spent in command of the TDS MINI Cooper Mobile Tactical Unit, with the occasional reassignment to Jeep-based covert duties.  One such covert operation, back in June, took me to Springfield wherein I stopped for gas at..... ummm..... Well, I'm not certain as to where exactly I re-fueled that warm summer evening:

Strapped across the face of the monument was a Clark banner.

Plastered to the face of the pump was the above placard advertising the acceptance of Marathon-affiliated credit/debit cards.

Yet the pump itself was clad in the familiar green-and-gold corporate colors of BP.

Luckily, the Jeep helm is equipped with a sophisticated satellite communications system which provided me with important media data throughout the summer:

I ate well this season, too.  The summer dining began with lunch at an undisclosed Bridgewater Falls-area establishment with my oldest niece, Alex Russo:

My conversation about the Adams-Onis Treaty proved too boring.  Soon, Alex turned her attention to watching Disney programs on her pocket-sized Philco.  I ate my caramel sundae in dejected silence.

In July, I enjoyed the second-best restaurant dessert money can buy:

Zeppoli at The Olive Garden.  The photo above was taken mid-way through my devouring assault.  Yes, I ate the whole thing.  Why would you ask?

Also in July, my youngest niece Jessie Prescott demonstrated for me her fearsome archery skillz:

Your eyes do not deceive you; that is a pink compound bow.  With it, she can drop a 6th century French soldier with an outrageous accent from fifty paces!

One cool July morning I awoke to the sight of a dragonfly slumbering on my bedroom window screen:

Similarly, one cool July evening when sitting in the backyard and enjoying the peaceful serenity of The Ranch's West 40 Forest I was visited by a bumble bee:

Talk about your missed opportunities, moments before I was able to fish my Android out of my pocket, a hummingbird joined the bumble bee.  It would have made for the ultimate birds & bees photographic opportunity.  Alas, the hummingbird flitted rapidly away as they so often do.

My travels this August took me past the home of Smokey Alston:

Each year the scenic campus of Miami is visited by a Red Bull MINI Cooper.  Below, I captured it before historic Bachelor Hall and under a shockingly azure sky:

Unfailingly, the Red Bull MINI Cooper is helmed by a buxom intern and an attractive sidekick because, well, you know why, outfitted in Red Bull attire and - somehow - year after year, they never acknowledge the presence of the TDS MINI Cooper Mobile Tactical Unit (or its ruggedly dashing occupant) right next to them!  Hello?!  I'm right here!

Next week; Reader submissions and how some Heavy Artillery sufficionados spent their own summer vacations.

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Below, two horse racing stories.  One for those with a sentimental interest in horses beyond the racetrack.  The other story foretelling the mad scientist future of horse racing and breeding.

John Henry

The Sport of Kings and clones

Cue Handel

Bono Vox: "Capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid."

O!  Let us rejoice!

The Cobra

Sad news from Reds Country.  Parker's Parkinson revelation sad, shocking.  At the upper right of that web page is a "Related Video" column.  Click on the first video, titled "1979: Parker throws Downing out at home."

Here is a longer - better - clip from that same 1979 All-Star Game, complete with multiple replay angles.  Note broadcaster Joe Garagioloa (a former catcher) instantly credits the catcher, Montreal's Gary Carter, with having made the notable play.  Nothing against Carter here, but Parkway's throw is the standout element in this play at the plate.  Note also Peter Edward Rose (as a Phillie) manning first base and making the out call before the home plate umpire.

Here is a clip from This Week in Baseball of that same throw and of a different, prior, throw (to third base) in the 1979 All-Star Game.  The legendary Mel Allen narrates the first 5 seconds.

Dave Parker was a great ballplayer!  Check out this clip from 1987.  Eagle-eyed Reds fans will note:  Kalvosky Daniels, Eric Davis, Buddy Bell, Nick Esasky, Barry Larkin (rookie season, wearing #15), manager Peter Edward Rose, Tony Perez, Paul O'Neill, Ronnie Oester, Johnny Franco and, of course, venerable old Riverfront Stadium.  Those were the days!

All this Dave Parker tributin' is making me thirsty.

Fourstarmike

Long time, no blog.  

I'm still here (thanks for asking, Big Randy), it has been an exceptionally busy summer season.  I have saved up a veritable treasure trove of photos to share, both my own and of the reader-submitted variety.  We'll get to them some day soon.  Perhaps in the form of a thrilling multi-part serial.

In the meantime I wanted to notify you of the following programming alert so you'll have something to do Saturday evening;  The Wise Dan free money tour rolls into historic Saratoga this weekend when the reigning Horse of the Year takes on all comers in the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap (Grade II).  This will be the first race for Wise Dan since he stormed home in a monsoon to win the Firecracker at Churchill Downs last month as the high weight.  This Saturday, Wise Dan will once again be assigned the high weight (reportedly equivalent to a MINI Cooper).   You can watch the action live on NBC, between 5 pm and 6 pm.

Steve Haskin from The Blood-Horse posted a nice write-up today on Wise Dan and the Fourstardave Handicap.  You can read it here.

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Last year Calumet Farm sold for something north of $30 million.  In the weeks (or months, who can remember such things?) prior to that, one nation-wide lottery reached a half-billion dollars.  It would have been nice to hit that and to have bought Calumet.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, in advance of last night's $400 million lottery I spent a scant few minutes on the Information Superhighway investigating similar opportunities and discovered a dandy:  The Vinery in Lexington, Kentucky.  The asking price is only - I say only - $14 million.  A steal, I say!  And less than 10 miles from Keeneland.

Alas, my dream of establishing the next great American racing stable remains on hold as I came up just short in my skillful bid to win last night's lottery.   OK, I had merely one number.

Unless, of course, I can convince each of you to join me in a syndicate.  No?  Hello?  Is this thing transmitting?

You always need to have a Plan B (which might also make for an excellent title to my never-to-be-published history of The B Team Syndicate.  "Plan B: The Electrifying History of Magnificent Kentucky Derby Scores and Bank-busting Pick Six Near Misses."  Or something like that.  It's a work in progress.).  At only $5 million, directly across the street from Calumet and just one mile down the road from Keeneland, this might be the world's most perfect residential property.

Sweet equine dreams.