August 2011
Vertical Lift isn’t my Gift
8-23-11
ASTROS vs ROCKIES GAME 2
I had a dream I caught a home run ball from Todd Helton the night before this game.
I had front row seats for this game.
I clean caught the first BP home run ball of the day within seconds of reaching the pavilion.
I was in the perfect seat to snag Carlos Lee’s home run in the first inning.
Here’s a link to the video of Lee’s homer and my still ongoing quest to catch a live game home run.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=18360453&topic_id=&c_id=hou&tcid=vpp_copy_18360453&v=3
I heard the crack of Carlos’s bat and I knew immediately that this ball was launched close to where I was sitting. Never taking my eyes off of the ball I got up out of my seat and tracked the ball about ten feet to my left. I found myself pressed against the railing behind me. It all happened so quick, as the ball sailed closer I realized it was going to land slightly over my head. I jumped up as high as my body would let me. I’m still not sure if the ball bounced off of my glove or the dude behind me hit my glove with his, but something touched my glove.
I missed it, the perfect opportunity blown.
I sat back down after this and told Amy who was sitting beside me with her dad, “I might as well go home cause nothing else is even going to come close, that’s it for tonight”.
I stayed of course but I was right…Great game, the Rockies take two straight from the Astros with a final score of 8-6.
My quest continues….
Robert recently took his VW bus “Jim Morrison” on his final journey. Robert and Jim headed up to Seattle to catch a couple Mariner games and to get a shot of Jim in front of the space needle. Apparently Robert had tried to get the same picture years back and the weather didn’t cooperate.
Here’s Jim in front of the Space Needle after almost a half a million miles…
Happy Trails Jim…Jim’s replacment…Janice.
My VW bus..aka..Vanny Castilla is coming along too.
I’m the Ranter and right now I’m wishing I was one of those guys who had the “Gift of Lift”.
Props to the Rockies who continue to play better as the season winds down.
Feel the Rain…Taste the Pain.
8-19-11
Dodgers vs Rockies Game One
Ran into this “flash from the past” struggling to take a hard right while parking today close to Coors Field. Cool horses, terrible beer.
I know the dude pushing the shopping cart is wondering if all those cases if beer are full?
Colorado is a microbrew state..Coors beer isn’t much better but at least it’s a Banquet beer whatever that is? Life is short people. I don’t always drink beer,… but when I do I prefer good beer 
No big entry for this game. Batting practice started off slow and was uneventful for the Rockies portion of it. The Dodgers gave some luv to right field and the extreme left side of left field. By the end of BP I had managed to snag two. The first was a ground rule double which I gave to a little boy who was there with his dad.
The second was a toss up that was not thrown hard enough to reach it’s intended recipient and it ended up in my glove. Shortly thereafter it was nestled into the glove of a young Rockies fan.
It was really cool to see Joy and Jim again at Coors and for the first time this season I ran into Queen Geri. Great to see you all. Nice hang’n with Douglas, Amy and her pops in line.
I’d like to get a group picture of as many Rantics as possible one game before the end of this season.Maybe the fireworks game in September??
Oh yeah..They gave away a Giambi T-Shirt today.
Here are a few pictures I thought were worth sharing from this Rockies loss.
First pitch of the game.
Mark Ellis airborne
Duck
Long time Rockies Usher “Beard” giving the all clear.
These couple pictures are from when Kemp got tagged in the helmet with the ball. It deflects off the glove then hits his helmet and he drops like a rock.
Seemed like Kemp was ok after a bit.
Helton gets a double.
Jim and Joy feeling about like I was during this game.
The Rockies couldn’t seem to put anything together this evening. When it started to rain I was tired and done and I headed for my truck.
The Rockies lose this one to the Blue 8-2. A big thank you to Jersey Geoff for the ticket to this game. I’m glad I didn’t pay for an expensive seat to watch this snoozer.
Don’t forget to send in your picture for the “Ranter’s Photo Contest” to win that ultra cool Carlos Gonzalez figurine.
I’m the Ranter, tomorrow is “The Duece’s” bobblehead day. I’ll be there standing in line along with half of Colorado.
RANTER’S PHOTO CONTEST 2011
8/15/11
”Why Baseball is Still the Greatest Sport of all Time”
The first entry in the RANTER’S PHOTO CONTEST is from Michael Sacs.
Props to Michael for getting the ball rolling with a great picture.
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The next photo entry is from “Pretty in Purple” attached with this note…
Hey D.
This photo was taken August 1, 2011 vs the Phillies featuring, you guessed it, a loss.
I’ve titled it “The Promise of Next Spring”.
This is just one of the reasons I think baseball is the greatest sport of all time. No matter how awful and disappointing today is, there’s always tomorrow, or next Spring. It is a game that makes us optimists and dreamers with each new scoreboard or calendar change.
I snapped this pic walking up to the park. It reminded me of that promise. Then after watching the game, I realized I would indeed have to wait for the promise of Spring.
I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks,
Katerina a.k.a. “prettyinpurple”
Thanks Katerina, that’s an amazing shot…WOW
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The third photo entry is the first Blogger to enter. It’s Matthew Jackson and he writes the MLBlog http://bloggingboutbaseball.mlblogs.com/
Here’s what Matt had to say:
Hey, Ranter!
This photo is one I took at Angel Stadium… I just love the sunset and being able to see the whole stadium.
I hope you like it!
Beautuful shot Matt thanks for sharing and Good Luck!
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The next entry is from Jim. Here’s what Jim had to say about his picture.
Thanks for sharing your picture Jim.
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The next picture is from Amy in Colorado.
Here’s Amy’s quote for the picture..
Vegas baby! Sky Sox Vs. Las Vegas 51′s…. It’s not a purse, it’s a satchel…. Indiana Jones wears one!”
Nice pic Amy, looks like a good time. I’d ask you what happened but it’s Vegas and you probably wouldn’t tell me. Thanks for entering.
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The next picture entry is from Andrew. Here’s Andrew’s quote for this picture..
Andrew sent another picture that is not entered in the contest but was worth sharing.
Check out Deal’n Doug’s Bling
Wow…Glad he’s on our side….Andrew’s caption for this picture was.
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Next is Joy aka LUVMYROX’s entry…This is a photo of Hunter and Mylee at Batting Practice a while back.
Thanks for your entry Joy and Good Luck.
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This next picture is from Nicolle and it’s a sweet picture. Here’s what Nicolle had to say about her picture.
Thank you Nicolle and good luck to you!
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The final entry is from Dominic. Here’s what Dominic had to say about his picture.
Hurry up…Send your photo to THEROCKPILERANTER@YAHOO.COM
Point and Shoot to Win the Loot
8/10/11
I was really impressed with the number of Essays that were submitted for the Essay Contest on the Rant earlier this year. All of the Essays were great but some of you seriously put some time and energy into those essays and I appreciate that.
So…I’m going to make this next Contest a lot easier. This one’s a…
Seems only right with the Rant being all about photos…
“The theme for The Rant’s Photo Contest is…”Why Baseball is Still the Greatest Sport of all Time”
Show me what you got, send me your best…This Photo contest is open to EVERYONE.
Except Mike the Rox Addict..Sorry Mike, you’ve got a figurine already and you’re too good brotha.
Use your imagination. You don’t need a fancy camera to participate. The judging isn’t on picture quality it’s on picture content. The judge for this contest will be none other than ROOT SPORTSown Tom Helmer who graciously agreed to be the judge.
The Rant’s Photo Contest winner will be announced September 21st 2011 via this Blog.
You may only submit one picture for consideration. Now, I realize that a person could send in a picture and then a few games later wind up taking what they think is the picture of a lifetime so I’m going to allow one substitution per person because I’m cool like that.
SO YOU’RE WONDERING….WHAT WILL THE WINNER RECEIVE?
I happen to have one extra Numbered Carlos Gonzalez Figurine. Cargo is holding a silver bat and wearing a golden glove. These figurines have a limited run of 1000 only.
This one is #850. I’d love to show you what Cargo looks like but I wont pull it apart to assemble it. The winner can do that.
Not many folks were able to attend that game so these figurines are EXTREMELY collectible. Just ask Gary X who managed to snag 001 out of 1000.
Second place is a Colorado Rockies card with Jason Giambi’s autograph.
Third place is a Carlos Gonzalez autographed card.
Both cards were donated by Gary X..Thank you G!
Send your picture ASAP to THEROCKPILERANTER@YAHOO.COM
The cutoff for emailing your picture is Sept 20th, 2011.
I’m the Ranter…What are you waiting for?
Five to Zero…Look’n for a Hero
8-2-11
PHILLIES VS ROCKIES GAME TWO
Notice the temperature? July was a record breaking month in Colorado as far as the heat goes but today was overcast and drizzling at times. The cooler weather was a nice change.
Here are your Starting Lineups
Even with the drizzle the cages were up and BP was roll’n. I kind of felt like a ball magnet today as I had a lot of play during BP. I was hoping that would work to my advantage during the game as I had a front row pavilion seat today.
(I’m Still buck’n for that first Game Homer)…Thanks Mister Ticket Mister .
I’ll spare you the suspense…It didn’t happen.
The first two BP balls I snagged were toss-ups from Phillies players that were bobbled by Phillies fans. I made sure those two balls found homes with Rockies fans. My next snag was a ground rule double that hit fast and bounced off of my glove. A few quick steps later and I scooped up my own bobble.
I didn’t want BP to end without actually catching one. There was a break in the clouds and the baseball gods shined briefly enough for me to catch one on the fly from an unknown Phillies player shortly before the players left the field. Props to Mike the Rox Addict for snagging a ground rule double ball that tipped off my glove while surrounded by Phillies fans eager for that ball.
I believe Amy snagged four balls and Jersey Geoff , Dan and Ken had a few nice snags too.
Here are your Rockies warming up.
Chris Iannetta flashing me the Ranter sign.
The only Rockies player that I saw walk up to the wall and sign was Mark Ellis.
Props to you Mark, shame on the rest of you.
Guess “The Duece” has been teaching classes on how to avoid signing autographs.
Other than catching baseballs my second favorite thing to do at the ballpark is take action pictures. However there was a severe lack of action from the Rockies so here are a few Phillies pictures.
I feel ya EY.
I don’t get the Rockies. If I didn’t have so much fun hang’n with my friends at Coors Field I doubt I attend many more games this season.
The Coors Field late innings two out magic is all but dead. This game was uneventful, unexciting, unfulfilling and unfun.
WTF happened?
Keep ignoring your fans Rockies and nothing good will come of it.
I also want to wish Ubaldo Jiminez the best of luck with the Indians. Nasty Fasty was a class act and was the nicest most approachable Rockies player I have ever met. I’m not happy with the decision to Trade Ubaldo or the manner in which it was executed, but we all knew the Rockies were do to make a pitching blunder of some sort.
At least he can’t come back and haunt us in the American League? unless…Nah
I’m the Ranter…I’m thinking I picked the right season to back off the baseball games a bit and work hard on my Mobile Blogging Unit…AKA
VANNY CASTILLA
I need to get him ready for Broncos Tailgating and Spring Training 2012.
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