Four pitches into the 86th All-Star Game and the American League's lead off hitter Mike Trout jacked a home run deep into the Moon Deck. I captured the moment with my trusty, antiquated Nikon 35mm:
And with that the 2015 All-Star Game was effectively over. The Nationals barely registered a pulse and, spoiler alert 7 months after the fact, Mike Trout was awarded ASG MVP honors. Trout has now blasted two ASG lead off home runs in his career and has also hit for the cycle (single-double-triple-home run) from the ASG lead off spot during his brief career. This just in; Mike Trout is pretty good! Lou got much better photos of the action:
On deck was the eventual 2015 American League MVP, Toronto's Josh Donaldson:
Lou continued firing off snapshots throughout the game:
Such as:
The National League dugout all jammed up with All-Stars. And is that Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich I see sporting a Reds blue golf shirt at the upper left? Who does that son of a postman think he is? Back to the action!
Of course, Josh Donaldson made it safely to first base where he was held on by a National League first baseman not named Joey Votto. After his near-MVP season, Votto expressed disappointment in himself for under performing during the first half and thus missing his opportunity to play - and perhaps - start for his home team. Votto recently said he put too much pressure on himself and if there is one thing we have learned about the 2010-2015 Reds, unfailingly they fail under pressure. Case in point:
Frazier batted with Bryce Harper on deck (above):
And grounded out. Evidently, winning the previous night's Home Run Derby sapped Todd of his energy. Albert Poleholtz [sic] squats at first. Bryce ended the home half of the first inning on another weak grounder:
Between innings I captured some atmospheric selfies because, you know, vanity:
Fooling around with my Android I noticed, overhead, how light from the light tower in the humid evening air was being refracted into a vaporous fog. Note the top of the right field foul pole in the upper left corner of the photo above.
Is there a game going on? Due to the possibility of inclement weather that evening I wore my old Reds cap (the one I refer to as my "rain cap" and wear on - you guessed it - rainy days) instead of my nice Reds cap with the proper white wishbone C logo. This rain cap rides around with me in the car, year after year, and while it remains structurally sound it is fading rather a lot. Back to the action!
The biggest attraction of an All-Star Game, its veryraison d'être, is for the opportunity to see in person all the best players in the game. Like Baltimore's Adam Jones (above) who must be in the conversation for best current outfielders. And like.....
..... Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez, maybe the best pitcher in the Major Leagues who.....
..... induced another weak ground out by Todd Frazier. Perhaps the brightest young pitcher today is Tampa Bay's Chris Archer:
Archer is an easy kid to root for; good pitcher, great attitude. In the photo above he was loosening up in right field between innings.
Detroit's David Price is another easy guy to root for. He has fans everywhere, including Heavy Artillery sources deep inside the Reds organization. Everywhere one looked that night, Mike Trout was hustlin'!
Show off! Eventually, Chris Archer got into the game for the Americans:
Everybody is modestly respectful of Andrew McCutchen! The Nationals gave Frazier one more at-bat:
From Home Run Derby champ to All-Star Game chump in less than 24 hours. Ouch, babe.
The Cubs' Kris Bryant would go on to be the 2015 N.L. Rookie of the Year. Speaking of bears, coming out of a television commercial break in the later innings, some broadcast advertiser featuring a bear in their ad then had a bear (or maybe it was a guy in a bear suit although I remain unconvinced) in the ball park as part of the promotion and the bear was standing at the back of my section of seats waving to the camera!
See?! There at the left? That's a real live bear! Right? Right?! Next up in ASG2015; the highlight for Reds fans! Roll the credits!
With the Kentucky Derby trail getting under way, this makes for an opportune time to review list of thoroughbreds nominated for this year's Triple Crown races - the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes - to see which sires, dams, breeders, trainers, owners might jump out as an early signal for your Derby horse. It's never too early to select your Derby horse, especially with Derby Futures wagers starting seven months before the First Saturday in May, just be flexible enough to change your mind (and wager) as events develop along the trail. The B Team does not wager based upon horse names although many race fans do (including some loyal subscribers to Heavy Artillery) and for them it makes a day at the races just that much for entertaining. Heavy Artillery supports any effort directed at increasing attraction in The Sport of Kings. Herewith, some interesting names and naming trends among the 2016 Triple Crown nominees. If you have an affinity for the United States Air Force, this year provides you with a squadron of horses to root for: Air Force Blue Air Vice Marhsall Airman's Creed Airoforce Bombard Bombs Away If you have loyalty to other branches of the armed services or a general interest in all things martial: Admiralty Alpha Team Avast Matey Battery Battle Tap Black Ops Catapult Cocked and Loaded Colonel Dan Decorated Soldier Flying Bullet Fort Smith Foxtrot Charlie Galileo's Spear (FR) General Macarthur Gettysburg Gun Runner Knight's Key Sail Ahoy Sam Missile (IRE) Sound the Horns Start a War The Lieutenant If you're a red, white and blue flag waver: American Freedom American Promise If you're an aficionado of strange and/or distant lands (and thus on an NSA watch list): American Dubai Arabian Leopard Aztec Sense Caribbean Cotton Town Destin French Getaway Ganges Gulf of Mexico Hoffenheim Irish Let's Meet in Rio Oregon Williamsburg Zulu Zulu Alpha If you're an imbiber: Cherry Wine Urban Bourbon Wine Not If you're a student of mythology: Cupid Demonslayer Eric the Trojan Magical Mystery Sea Wizard Trojan Nation Vulcan's Forge If you're a paleontologist: Diplodocus If you're tech savvy: Direct Message Emoji Man Latest Craze If you're conspicuously consumptive: Condominium Dressed in Hermes Fashionable Freddy Stradivari If you're a television junkie: Eddie Haskell If you're a student of finance: Annual Report Economic Model Found Money Money Illusion Nominal Dollars Prospectus If you're a royalist: Henry the King King Kranz Realm Royal Obsession Tiznoble Z Royal If you're braggadocios or egotistical: Exaggerator Hot Item I Will Score I.M. Mighty Ima Monster I'malreadythere Prime Time Man Sorryaboutnothing If you're married to Bart Patton: Patton Proud If you have a specific given name: Grand Max Glenn Coco Is Trevor Clever Jay's Way Jess I Am John Q. Public Justin Squared Kelly Tough Lani Liam the Charmer Marty Montana Mo Tom More Alex Richie the Bull Tom's Ready Uncle Jerry Urlacher Van Damme Wild About Deb If you're a navigationist: Driven West Never Gone South Northwest Tale Southwest Trail Westfest If you're a believer in faith: Adventist Creator Divine Shift Fellowship Mighty Moses Perfect Saint Saint Ignatius Ten Blessings Unexplained If you like animals: Billy's Kitten Birdsong Classy Bird Eternal Bird Great Dane Mooose If you're a 21st century Democratic Party voter: Adios Reality The best of the rest: Commend Hard Hitter Highly Prized (GB) Hollywood Strike Isotherm Inside Straight Kiss Limit Memories of Winter Molasses Brown Opportunistic Percolator Pinson Scholar Athlete Swipe Thirdhalf Twenty Four Seven
What real live nephew of your Uncle Sam doesn't appreciate a flyover? Flyovers, however, can be difficult to catch photographically. Lou and I nailed it! Here's my photo of the approach from the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
And here are two that Lou snapped:
The formation flew just about exactly overhead. I had to spin around 180 degrees while looking straight up in order to follow the flight path and capture a photo of the flyover exiting GABP's airspace:
My trusty antiquated Nikon 35mm digital camera is slow to respond between photographs. I was lucky to have captured these two photos.
The covert espionage-quality lens on Lou's camera allowed him to get a tighter zoom on the departing jets. The ballpark airspace was jammed up to the point of taking on an appearance like that of the Dayton International Air Show. And look! In the lower right-hand corner of the photo. Is that what I think it is? The pre-game pageantry was far from over!
The Franchise Four honor served as prelude to the introduction of baseball's four greatest living legends:
It is for moments precisely such as this which makes attending the classic, historic baseball events so special to me. To be in the same ballpark as these four legends was extraordinary.
Then, to be treated to the spectacle of Sandy Koufax throwing out the ceremonial first pitch - to be pitching - to Johnny Bench? Words fail adequate description. To be there and to experience this event with my big brother Lou was to me the most important aspect.
JB stopped to share a few words, all from Johnny to be certain, with Todd Frazier.
The Toddfather took up a spot alongside the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen to loosen up. Once Todd's arm was loose, he ran a few sprints to limber up his lower limbs:
Below, the Chicago Cub contingents favorite player, Bryce Harper, warmed up his cheek and gum with a handful of chaw in right field:
Just say no, Joe kids!
"Cutch" manned his position in center field with mismatched sleeves.
Seattle pitcher King Felix, the best pitcher in the American League, walks out to the A.L. bullpen, escorted by some comparatively unimportant Kansas City teammate. Next in ASG2015; Play Ball! Roll the credits!
My sources deep inside the information superhighway report the release tomorrow of the tenth studio album from The Cult. The album (do bands still produce albums?) is titled Hidden City and the album [?] cover looks something like this:
With songs that sound something like this and that in performance looks something like this when they have tour stops in places like this. Heavy Artillery expects a song-by-song review of Hidden City for publication here by Big Strick. Roll the credits! Roll the director's cut extended credits!
