Thanks for a great season, Sky Sox.

Tonight, the Las Vegas 51s defeated the Colorado Springs Sky Sox by a score of 8-4, eliminating the Sox from postseason contention.  It was the seventh Sky Sox game I have attended this season.  For comparison, I have only been to four Rockies games.  Though it is sad that the Sox lost both the game and their playoff hopes, I had a total blast.  It was the most fun at a ballgame that I have had in a while.

Thanks Chad!

The Sky Sox lose, but Chad Tracy hit a foul ball to me on the penultimate pitch of the game.

Bottom of the 9th

The Sox need 4 to tie or 5 to win.

The catcher for the 51s is named "Tuffy."

He just doubled.  That is all.

Tulo doubles

And drives in the 4th run in the bottom of the 7th.  All of the sudden it's only 8-4.  Rally time!

Some guy named Nanita

Just hit a grand slam for Las Vegas.  The Sky Sox now trail 8-0 in the 7th inning.

What's better than a footlong corn dog?

A chocolate peanut butter caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, of course.

Footlong corn dogs!

Yum!  For such a small park, Security Service Field has great concessions.

Troy Tulowitzki flies out

Jason Giambi watches from the on deck circle. Giambi struck out to end the first.  Las Vegas leads 1-0 over the Sky Sox.

Tony Stark is in the house!

I guess you never know what you'll see when you go to a Minor League Baseball game.

First pitch

A ball. Followed quickly by a single.

Presenting the colors

Take me out...

Friday Fathomings

This is awesome:



I've been meaning to document my bobblehead collection on this blog for quite some time.  Perhaps I should do it in tournament deathmatch format...

Go Boston!

¡Felicidades a Veracruz!

Después de cuarenta y dos años, los Rojos del Águila de Veracruz ganan la Serie del Rey en la Liga Mexicana de Béisbol.



¡Felicidades!

Thor's Day Thoughts

Get a load of how Prince Fielder turns a stand-up double into a 9-6 putout:



"A little bit too much momentum going into second base."
"Well he's more like tumbling."
Classic.

Ah, lovely Schadenfreude.

Odin's Day Oddity

Dexter Fowler, Chris Nelson, and Adam "ellifino" Ottavino need their own reality TV show.
There, I said it.

Tuesday Two-seam

Please tell me that I'm not the only person who, thanks to this movie, will at random times have this song pop into my head, forcing me to sing it over and over again until everyone around me is annoyed:



So it's just me then?

Monday Minutiæ

Prince Fielder goes the extra mile and tries for that ever-elusive fourth out:

Sunday SIERA

This is awesome, especially the jazzy synth version of the Olympics theme.

PFBL Standings 8/25/12

JT: [excited gasp]
Mrs. JT: What, what is it? Is everything okay?
JT: Look! Look! Look!
Mrs. JT: Ooh! Did Renee have her baby?!?
JT: No! I moved from seventh place to sixth place in fantasy baseball!!!
Mrs. JT: oh, um that's great...
JT: I KNOW! I've been in seventh since pretty much the all-star break!
Mrs. JT: yeah... that's exciting honey...

PFFL 2012 Draft Results

Round 1
1.	Calvin Johnson (Det - WR)	Scoralicious
2.	Aaron Rodgers (GB - QB)	Record 6
3.	Marshawn Lynch (Sea - RB)	Let My Tebow Go
4.	Darren McFadden (Oak - RB)	Bo Knows
5.	Drew Brees (NO - QB)	Bizzaro Chiefs
6.	Rob Gronkowski (NE - TE)	Rulon Jones
7.	Jimmy Graham (NO - TE)	NO PLAN B
8.	Matt Forte (Chi - RB)	Pioneer Skies
9.	Jamaal Charles (KC - RB)	Waterheads
10.	Larry Fitzgerald (Ari - WR)	Super Bowl Shuffle

Round 2
1.	Brandon Marshall (Chi - WR)	Super Bowl Shuffle
2.	Tom Brady (NE - QB)	Waterheads
3.	Maurice Jones-Drew (Jac - RB)	Pioneer Skies
4.	Peyton Manning (Den - QB)	NO PLAN B
5.	Roddy White (Atl - WR)	Rulon Jones
6.	DeMarco Murray (Dal - RB)	Bizzaro Chiefs
7.	Darren Sproles (NO - RB)	Bo Knows
8.	Andre Johnson (Hou - WR)	Let My Tebow Go
9.	A.J. Green (Cin - WR)	Record 6
10.	Chris Johnson (Ten - RB)	Scoralicious

Round 3

Round 14...

Super Bowl Shuffle: who's taking Tebow?

Pioneer Skies has selected Tim Tebow (NYJ)

Bizzaro Chiefs: haha
Super Bowl Shuffle: ok
Pioneer Skies: that's who

Happy PFFL Draft Day!

Today is the Percell Fantasy Football League draft!



Ever have a nightmare that was so disturbing that it woke you up and you had trouble getting back to sleep?

Saturday Shuuto

Bobbleheads are cool.  Even if the player isn't with the team anymore.

He's a Cubs fan and a Pepto man!

From today's game between teams with 50 or fewer wins.

Silver Lining

It's been a bad season for the Colorado Rockies.  When people ask me how the Rox are doing this year, I usually say something like "well, they aren't the worst team in baseball."  Which is true, but pretty much the most you can say about the team.  Still, there have been a few bright spots:

1. Josh "RutLegend."

2. Cargo is still awesome.

3. Eric Young Jr's emergence.

4. Um, filling out this list is harder than I thought it would be.  How about fun Sky Sox games?

5. Sweeping the Mets and listening to Mike Francesa loose his mind about it:

Friday Fathomings

Pop quiz: which former Rockie and native of Peoria, IL, has a baseball card which is currently on my bulletin board at work?



Yep, that's the guy!
 

Thor's Day Thoughts

I feel like I have seen this before:



That's right, I have seen this before.  Harp smash, indeed.  Déjà vu.

Odin's Day Oddity

MLB Fan Cave is at it again:



What do you think?  Has this caricature jumped the shark?

Tuesday Two-seam

First it was Pittsburgh.  Now Washington D.C. has seen a praying mantis invade a baseball game:



What is this, a sign of the Apocalypse or something?

Monday Minutiæ

One thing seen at a baseball game that I would love to have: a hot dog cannon.



One thing seen at a baseball game that I would hate to have:

Hot Air Balloon Eclipse over Cleo Mudrock Park

Hat tip: Mom.

Pikes Peak over Rampart Park

Sunday SIERA

I've heard that people don't like the MLB Fan Cave.  I've also heard bad reviews about The Expendables movies.  Even if those two entertainment entities are as bad as people claim, their existence is worth it if only to see Derek Holland's impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Saturday Shuuto

Bryce Harper continues to amaze:



"Be as sexy as you can."  Words to live by.

Good News About Instant Replay Everyone!

According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, Major League Baseball will be testing two different instant replay systems during baseball games next week.  Instant replay is a common topic on OSITF and in the PFBL.  In fact, thanks to a recent poll, we know that 88% of OSITF readers are in favor of instant replay, in one form or another.  So don't believe the Selig-speak about nobody wanting it.  Check out Passan's article for the details.  I know it isn't a full rollout, or even a guarantee of one in the future, but, to quote another awesome sci-fi franchise...

Friday Fathomings

I just... I just don't know where to start with this one:



Hat tip: NotGraphs.

A Rockies sweep is more rare than a perfect game!*

EY Jr. is safe!  Photo from his twitter.

*This season.

Yesterday in Seattle, Félix Hernández threw a perfect game: twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down.  Yesterday in Denver, the Rockies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 thanks to a walkoff double by Tyler Colvin, completing a three game sweep of the Brew Crew.  One might think that the perfecto was the most uncommon thing to occur yesterday, but this year that is not the case.  

Thor's Day Thoughts

David Cone won the 1994 AL Cy Young award with the Kansas City Royals.  David Cone is now an announcer for the New York Yankees on the YES Network, where he drops timely references like this:



Alright, so Rapper's Delight is one of the greatest songs of all time.  But it came out in 1979.  Do you have any more modern references, Coney?

Congrats, Félix

I thought that Melk tasted a little funny...

BREAKING: Giants OF Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games without pay after testing positive for Testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance.

— MLB (@MLB) August15, 2012

That means that home field advantage for this year's World Series

Odin's Day Oddity

Bruce Chen, a Panamanian-born LHP for the Kansas City Royals, recently weighed in on which Olympic event he would like to play:



And by "Female Dutch hockey-field-team," he is referring to this squad.

Book Review: Curious George at the Baseball Game (Kindle edition)

If you're looking for a quick read about baseball that isn't too heavy on sabermetrics, look no further than Curious George at the Baseball Game written by Laura Driscoll with illustrations by Anna Grossnickle Hines, a 2006 installment in the classic franchise created in 1941 by Margret and H.A. Rey.  Spoilers after the jump.

Tuesday Two-seam

I wonder what might have been so historically significant about Friday's Rockies/Giants game that it warranted a visit from a time traveler...

A brand new orange and blue shirt

What, were you expecting Peyton Manning???

Monday Minutiæ

If I were a Baseball player, I would do this all the time!



And not just with popcorn.  I would chow down on the peanuts, hot dogs, ice cream, and Dr Pepper of unsuspecting front row fans.

Sunday SIERA

This video was my introduction to Munenori Kawasaki:



But apparently this guy is already a legend!

Saturday Shuuto

When I saw this video, I thought it make a fun animated gif.



So I asked

Spotted: sloppy social media-ing

Can you spot the error from this page?

Click to enlarge.

No?  Look closer...

Friday Fathomings

Heads up!

Get your head in the game, Eppley!

Thor's Day Thoughts

Please do not feed the duck, he is tomorrow's starting pitcher for the Rockies.

August 8th is a beautiful day.

Odin's Day Oddity

I know how you feel, Tracy, but I cannot understand what you're saying.  Good thing Vin Scully is here to translate:
Did you say . . .

Houston... We have a problem...

My guess is this is going to make you laugh so hard you cry.  It did me.  I want to know how many times you watch this in a row.  My number was 3.

Tuesday Two-seam

Don't make Bryce Harper angry.  You wouldn't like Bryce Harper when he's angry.

HARP SMASH!!!

Monday Minutiæ

WARNING: batted or thrown bats or balls can be dangerous, so please keep alert at all times.

Sunday SIERA

The best part of this video--in which a DJ/intern is ejected from a minor league game for playing Three Blind Mice--is the fact that the announcer calls it "awesome," "absolutely awesome," and "so cool."

Saturday Shuuto

Here is an 84 year old trying to read a "Twit"...

If you have a "Tweeter," be sure to follow OSITF!
Follow @OSITF_blog

Three things I would change about baseball right now

1) Institute instant replay for everything except balls and strikes.

2) Make every television broadcast feature one player or umpire who is "mic'd up."

3) Baseball returns to the Olympics, including an NHL-style break in the MLB regular season.

Required Reading

Bring Baseball Back to the Olympics - by Alex Remington on FanGraphs.

Friday Fathomings

Continuing on yesterday's minor league blow-ups theme...

Chick-Fil-A

I'm not exactly sure where we all fall out on this one, but I know one thing: a lot of members of this League and it's blog followers are going to get a kick out of this!

Thor's Day Thoughts

Joe Mikulik--everyone's favorite minor league manager in the Rockies organization (no offense, Stu Cole)--is at it again:

In case you don't remember his first epic ejection, here it is:

I want one!

But do I really have to go to a Doyers game to get one?

Shirt of the yeaR

The Colorado Rockies, who are on pace to lose 103 games, have been running a YEAR OF THE FAN promotion all season long.  One of the more interesting parts of this promotion is the opportunity to design a shirt that will be given away to all fans at the final home game of the year.  Today I submitted my entry.  Behold:

Click to enlarge.  You know you want to.

A winner, don't you think?

Odin's Day Oddity

How bad are the Rockies?

They can't even count to three!