ASG2015/1

As reported before, the All-Star Game's week (Friday-Tuesday) of festivities went unscathed by inclement weather save for a brief, light shower during Sunday afternoon's Futures Game.  It was hot and humid most afternoons yet the city's baseball visitors were not inconvenienced by rain, wind or lightning.

That said, on our walk from the All-Star FanFest at the convention center to the ballpark on Tuesday afternoon for that evening's 86th All-Star Game, Lou and I encountered a bit of weather [intentional understatement].

Our plan, as executed, was to depart FanFest, drop off assorted items in our parked vehicle in a lot on Central Avenue (under cover of Fort Washington Way) and then make the five block walk to Great American Ball Park.  While replenishing fluids in our vehicle, with bright sunlight shining down upon River City, we heard ominous rumbles of thunder.  Looking west we then saw an oncoming storm of Biblical proportions.  Black skies, mountainous thunderheads.  Luckily for us, so we then thought, our walk from parking lot to ball yard could be made totally undercover of flyovers, overpasses and then - for the final leg - the city's Central Parking Garage save for about one block directly along the north side of Paul Brown Stadium on West Pete Rose Way.  Lou and I set off whereupon almost immediately entering the only unprotected section of our journey, the deluge hit with a vengeance befitting MLB's punishments of the Hit King himself.  That portion of West Peter Edward Way has no sidewalks but what it does have is a steep, rock-strewn ravine that slopes away from the street and down to a chain link fence around the perimeter of Paul Brown Stadium and - barely - under the cover of an overhead pedestrian plaza.  Lou and I, pelted by giant raindrops and buffeted by a gale-force wind, scrambled down the rocky ravine and plastered ourselves up against a massive pylon that supports the plaza.  There we remained, unmoving, for several minutes as the hurricane-like storm roared around us and through Cin City.  

Above you see the view from our vantage point at approximately 4pm.  My left shoulder is hard up against a towering concrete pylon, the wind and rain is blowing almost horizontally from left to right (west to east) and I'm peering up over the rocky ravine and across West Hit King Way to the north side of the street.  And did you see that?  Look again, through the gap in the shrubbery:

Two Young Urban Professionals were similarly caught in the downpour, across the street from where we were sheltered, but they had no evident overhead cover..... and the rain is so heavy that you can just barely make out their forms.

I turned my camera towards downtown to capture the scene:

Trust me, downtown Cincy is there.  Can you find the venerable old Central Trust Building?

There, inside the red box, about four blocks away.  And nearly completely obscured.  The Carew Tower?  No chance.

Once inside the ballpark, the rain had let up but the skies still threatened:

Worryingly, the tarp remained on the field:

Nevertheless, intensive photo taking commenced!

The field was wet, but players and members of the ground crew milled all around the tarp-covered infield.

Aroldis Chapman was, no surprise, a favorite target of our camera's lenses.

Certainly this most dominant of pitchers was primed and ready for play!

Is the Cuban Missile rubbing his shoulder?!  Ruh-roh!  Trade him before his shoulder blows up or he punches out car windows, fires off gunshots in his house and/or allegedly beats up his mamacita!

Here the Missile pleads his case.  Is that Reds media relations dude Rob Butcher at right?  [Correction:  No.  In fact this was not Butch, as was called to my attention by one of my sources deep within the Reds organization, but rather clubhouse manager Rick Stowe]  And is Rob Rick Stowe reaching for a 9mm tucked into his waistband?  What's up with these gangstas?! strange individuals who I'm somewhat unfamiliar with?!

Todd Frazier sails past, hoping to go unnoticed.

Frazier is, alas, spotted by Rob Butcher Rick Stowe.  Butch Rick Stowe, it turns out, was there to assist in corralling players for their National League team photo do God only knows what.

This gave us our first opportunity on All-Star Game day to photograph many of today's brightest stars:

Pittsburgh Pirates veteran pitcher AJ Burnett, in his last Major League season but his first All-Star Game, walks alongside Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.  Lou and I were, back in Donnie Baseball's playing days (1982-1995, all with the New York Yankees), big fans of his and we remain so today.  And Donnie Baseball, unlike today's players, knows how to wear a baseball uniform!

Say "fromage!"

The defending World Champion San Francisco Giants brought enough guys to field their own team.  Jerks!  In the background, Chicago Cubs youngsters Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo fangirl over Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, posing for a photo with the eventual 2015 NL MVP.  At right, the St Louis Cardinals also brought a flock of jerks.

Next in ASG2015; On-field warm ups.  Exciting!

Roll the credits!