Braves v. Rockies, 5/23/14

I finally got back to a Braves game!!!!!!!  It’s been over a year since I last got to go, so it was pretty exciting to finally get back to Turner Field again.  I would have had this post up sooner, but I’ve had to work the past few days.  :/

Back in September 2012, a friend and I drove to Atlanta for a game and spent the night, and ever since then we’ve talked about needing to do it again.  But what with one thing and another it wasn’t until this past Friday that we were able to make it happen.  After finagling our work schedules and a lot of discussion, we and another friend headed out on Friday afternoon and got to Turner Field about ten minutes before the game started.  Our other friend was especially excited because she had never been to a Major League game before.  The friend I had gone with the first time had gotten our tickets for us ahead of time (thank goodness!), so we were able to go right on in to the stadium without having to stand in line.  As we looked for the "got your tickets ahead of time express entrance", I saw a family with two boys, and they were all wearing Medlin #53 shirseys.  Pretty much right then I knew the evening was going to be good. ;)  And then after we got inside the stadium and went looking for our seats, we found out that we were just two rows behind the right field wall!  When we realized how close we were to the field, I looked at my friend and said, “Girl, you’re wonderful!”  

As we had expected, what with it being Memorial Day weekend, it was a pretty well attended game.  The people that sat in front of us were fortunately not too tall to block our view (and one of them looked a lot like Giancarlo Stanton, which was a little weird).  We were also several seats over from the guy that dresses up like an Indian at a bunch of games.  Since we were behind right field, the players we saw the most of were Jason Heyward and Michael Cuddyer, which wasn’t too bad.  I’ve really liked Cuddy since his days with the Twins, and if any of the Rockies players HAD to get a homer to tie the game in the 6^th inning, I’m glad it was him (especially since we won anyway).  It was sometimes hard to see what was happening in the infield, especially during the early part of the game when the sun was still showing over the stadium walls, but fortunately my camera has pretty good zoom on it so I was able to get some fairly decent pictures.  And after the sun went down it wasn’t bad at all, especially with the almost constant breeze we had. 

I was really happy to get to see in person some of the guys that have joined the team since we had last been to a game, specifically Chris Johnson, who has become one of my top favorites.  So when I looked at the scoreboard during the third inning and saw that his name had been replaced in the lineup, I was a little upset, wondering why the heck he had been taken out of the game.  Was he hurt?  WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO MY BOY?!?  (I refer to my favorites as "my boys".  It's short for "my favorite boys on the team".)  Then an inning or so later the Rockies put in a new third baseman, too, so it seemed pretty ironic.  I vaguely wondered if the managers had made a deal about their third basemen or something.  Then after I got home Saturday afternoon and got on the Internet, I found this article explaining what happened.  ChrisJ…calm down, buddy.  At least he’s willing to apologize for letting his temper get a hold of him. 

Anyway, here are some funny/cool things that happened during the game, both on and off the field. 

Off the field -

• A vender came near us and called out “Snow cones!  Get them while they’re hot!”  I don’t know if that was unintentional or whether he was doing it to get peoples’ attention, but either way it got our attention!  But, since we didn't want hot snow cones (or cold ones, either, for that matter), we didn't buy any.  ;) 
• When BJ Upton came up to bat in the 6^th, someone in our section started a chant of “Let’s go, BJ!” *clapclap clapclapclap* and pretty much the whole right field bleachers joined in (BJ ended up getting a walk). 
• When Brandon Barnes was brought in to pinch hit in the 7^th the song “Old MacDonald” started playing over the loudspeaker. 

On the field -

• Andrelton Simmons got a really good play at shortstop,
• During the 6^th Justin Upton hit a ball to shortstop and unfortunately most of his broken bat followed it (and Troy Tulowitzki was somehow able to get the ball and not the bat.  If it had been me, I would have probably grabbed the bat, or else been too distracted by it to find the ball.  That's one of the many reasons I'm not a baseball player) 
  
• At one point Justin made a good play at the wall in left field and afterwards JHey looked at him and shook his hand around like “Yow, dude!” 

·         And then, of course, in the bottom of the 8^th we were tied 2-2.  Ramiro Pena, who had replaced ChrisJ at third, hit a double.  Then both Simba and Dan Uggla struck out.  Then up came Gerald Laird, the catcher for the night.  And he hit his second double of the night, sending Pena home and breaking the tie!  And that meant we got to see Craig Kimbrel!  And of course Kimmie came in and did exactly what he was supposed to, striking out the side and bringing the number of saves between his record and John Smoltz’s down to two.  And unfortunately I *just* missed seeing a Freddie/Huggla hug after the game ended.  I had been watching to see if the bullpen boys were going to run out and join their teammates and happened to glance back at the infield right as Freddie and Huggla were letting go of each other.  Drat.  So much for getting a Braves huggy picture.  Oh, well, hopefully there will be a next time.  ;) 

After the game was the fireworks show.  I thought it was a little, I guess you could say interesting, that they played classical music while the fireworks were going on.  You could only really hear it between rockets.  Soon after I realized that that was what they were doing, I thought, “They need to play "The William Tell Overture"'.  They must have read my mind, because that is what they played for the finale.  And it fit nicely (although I think I prefer the slightly revamped version of the overture that was made for the newest “Lone Ranger” movie).

After we left the stadium and were trying to figure out which direction we needed to head in to get to our parking lot, we heard drumming off to one side.  I thought that it might have been the Braves’ drum corps, but when we joined the crowd that had gathered around the source of the sound, we found out that it was just one guy, playing on plastic buckets.  And he was amazing!  He has figured out how to get all different kinds of sounds out of those buckets by angling them with his feet, making them spin, and all other kinds of cool tricks.  He was also a good showman.  At one point he told us that he was going to do a one-handed drum-roll, and then told us all to say “No way!” (which we did).  And he did it!  Wow.  Then at the end of his performance he gave a little background on himself to get us to give him a donation, and he mentioned that he used to be a school teacher.  When he said that some guy in the crowd called out, “No way!”  ;)

It really was a fun trip.  I’m so glad that my friends and I were finally able to pull it off!  Hopefully we’ll get to do it again sometime.  

Here are some of the best pictures I got from the game.  Enjoy!  

This was the view from our seats!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, JHey.

ChrisJ and Simba.

JHey made a good basket catch RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!!!  And he's like "Piece of cake."  ;)

ChrisJ at (his only) at bat.

Huggla on base with Laird at the plate.  If you don't understand Uggla's nickname, see here.

JHey: "Yow, JUp!"

BJ at bat and JHey on base, ready to go.  JHye's stance reminds me a bit of when Jackie Robinson was stealing bases with his crab-like shuffle in the movie "42".

Huggla (and the Rockies' dugout).

This was during one of the Instant Replay breaks.  JHey would watch the footage for a while, while BJ just ignored it like, "Whatever, the umps are going to do what they want to, anyway."

For a couple of innings I ended up standing on the main concourse while I waited for my friends to get back from doing a little shopping, so of course I stationed myself above the bullpen.  Unfortunately, the only guys who came out while I was there were coach Eddie Perez, bullpen catcher Alan Butts, and newbie reliever Ian Thomas.  Oh, well.

See all those white specks on the ground?  I think somebody likes his sunflower seeds.  Like, really likes them.  You could see him spitting them throughout the whole game.

Aw, c'mon, Cuddy, I was just picking.  Seeds are definitely a better habit than some others you could have.

Freddie, Justin Morneau, and Cuddy.

Freddie and Huggla.  <3

Part-way through the game, I noticed that they didn't have enough room on the board to put a space between "Tulowitzki" and "SS", so it's really "Tulowitzkiss".  ;)

Kimmie runs too darn fast for me to get a good picture of him running in (here's hoping for next time!), so I had to settle for a good pic of BJ in front of Kimmie's flames.

The bullpen boys going back to the dugout after the win.  I'm guessing the guy in the jacket is David Hale, the one next to/behind him has to be Alex Wood, the one with the backpack is Thomas, and the last one is Anthony Varvaro.

I got this during the fireworks show.  Made me think of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Got this as we left the stadium parking lot.  I guess since they are going to be replacing the stadium in a few years they probably won't bother fixing the wacky-jawed-ness of the sign's coloring.

As we drove away from the stadium, we found ourselves looking at this beautiful view of downtown.  A great way to end a wonderful evening.  :)

(Kinda) Learning from TV

Yes, TV can be educational, if you are watching it with the mindset to learn.  Of course, I'm really talking about TV shows from the 60s through the early 90s.  I don't watch any current shows, and while there are probably some pretty decent ones out there (I've watched one episode of "Once Upon a Time" with a friend before, and if I had cable I could probably get hooked), but with a bunch of the shows on today pretty much all you learn is how to NOT do the stupid things the characters do, or that it's ok to mess around before you're married, or that *supposedly* kids are really smarter than adults (Spoiler: it ain't true.  Most of the time, anyway.  You do occasionally come across a pretty dumb adult or a very sharp, perceptive kid).  I was really fortunate during my childhood in that, after I outgrew "PBS Kids", my parents introduced me to a bunch of the TV shows that were on when they were growing up and when they were young adults.  And I LOVED them!  I still do.  In fact, I recently made a deal with my mom where I bought all three DVD seasons of "Gilligan's Island" from her so that she could buy a season of a different older show.  We both won that deal. ;)  Anyway, here is my compilation of older TV shows that you can learn something from, if you put your mind to it (I will admit, I am going to be stretching things a bit for some of the shows, but it's all in fun).  Most of these shows are clean, too, although the ones that came out during the 80s and onward can get a bit PG.


The Andy Griffith Show

Clockwise from bottom right: Barney, Andy, Opie, Gomer

Air Dates: 10/1960 - 4/1968

The Show: If you grew up in the South, you have at least heard of this show, if not seen most of the episodes often enough to quote them by heart (don't get me started on "Opie's Charity"!).  The show is about widower Andy Taylor who is the sheriff of the small, backwoods North Carolina town of Mayberry.  He lives there with his young son Opie, his Aunt Bea, who keeps house for them, his faithful (albeit bumbling) deputy Barney Fife, and many other good friends and neighbors.

The Lessons: A part of the reason the show has been so popular for so long is because of its strong stress on family values, of being honest, kind and true to your word.  Many of the talks that Andy and Opie have together are full of little pearls of wisdom, from both ends of the conversation.  You also learn how fun it can be to pick on somebody who takes everything seriously (aka Barney).


Murder, She Wrote

Jessica Fletcher

 Air Dates: 9/1984 - 5/1996

The Show: The main character is Jessica Fletcher, a retired English teacher from the small town of Cabot Cove, Maine, who becomes a world famous mystery writer after her nephew publishes the manuscript she had written while recovering from her husband's death.  After she becomes published, she encounters murder mysteries every time she turns around, and solves every single one of them.

The Lessons:  It is very important to be observant and notice details.  It is always those little things that get overlooked that help Jessica piece together what really happened.  It is also very important to research whatever it is you are investigating so that you understand it thoroughly.


Alias Smith and Jones

Left: Hannibal Heyes     Right: Kid Curry

Air Dates: 1/1971 - 1/1973

The Show:  I know I've already talked in-depth about this show in a different post, but I thought it was worth mentioning again, because...

The Lessons: ...it is chock full of little history lessons.  It teaches you about nitroglycerin, how safes used to be cracked, the Bannerman Detective Agency, different kinds of gambling schemes that were used in the Old West, that the practice of fingerprinting was begun in the 1880s/90s, and many more little gems.  For a history buff like me, that's pretty cool.


The Monkees

Clockwise from top right: Mike, Peter, Davy, Mickey

Air Dates: 9/1966 - 3/1968

The Show: The show is about four friends, Mike, Mickey, Davy and Peter, who make up the rock band "The Monkees".  They go through many misadventures as they try to get work in and around LA, such as stumbling into spy rings, being mistaken for other people, competing with other bands, and getting Davy out of his frequent romantic issues.

The Lessons:  First off, stick to your friends.  Even though the guys all come from different backgrounds and have different personalities, they are always there for each other, even when their knee-jerk reaction is to run the other way.  You can also learn that sometimes it's ok to just have fun and be goofy!  Life was meant to be enjoyed, as long as you do it in a harmless way.  Let the inner kid in you loose, ride with the windows down, try imitating Davy's English accent and sing along at the top of your lungs!  (Speaking of singing, the Monkees also had some pretty good songs.  My personal favorites are "Daydream Believer", "Sometime in the Morning", "She", and "I'm a Believer").


Gilligan's Island

Clockwise from right: Skipper, Mary Ann, Gilligan, Professor, Mr. Howell, Mrs. Howell, Ginger

Air Dates: 9/1964 - 9/1967

The Show: Their theme song pretty much sums up the show, so I'll just share it instead of explaining it myself.  :)
 

The Lessons:  If you know the basics of how a bicycle works, you can make just about any kind of machinery that you might need anywhere.  (Ok, ok, this is one of the ones where I'm stretching it a bit.  But you have to admit, all the different contraptions the Professor comes up with in that way are pretty amazing).  You also learn the importance of carefully checking the weather forecast before taking a trip!  Especially one on the water.  ;)


Columbo

Lt. Columbo

Air Dates: 1968 - 1978, 1989 - 2003

The Show:  The main character is Lt. Columbo of the LA Homicide division (you never, ever learn his first name.  He is always just "Lieutenant").  He always acts like he doesn't quite know what's going on, but in reality he has a razor sharp mind.  One interesting part of this show is that at the beginning of each episode you see the murder actually occur, so you know all the time who did it and get to watch Columbo figure it out. 

The Lesson:  Sometimes it's an advantage to not appear intelligent.  People begin to underestimate you, and then at the right moment you can zing them with the fact that you've had them figured out all along.


F Troop

Left to Right: Sgt. O'Rourke, Cpl. Agarn, Capt. Parmenter, Wrangler Jane

Air Dates: 9/1965 - 4/1967

The Show:  Have you gotten the idea that I like Westerns?  I do.  But this one is a bit different from most others in that it shows "how the West was fun!" (quoted from the back of the DVD case).  F Troop is a US cavalry fort that is commanded by the sweet, naive and accident-prone Captain Parmenter.  His two assistants are Sgt. O'Rourke and Cpl. Agarn, who run an (illegal) souvenir business behind the Captain's back with the nearby Indian tribe, the Hicawis.  All of the soldiers in F Troop have problems which prevent them from being really professional soldiers, e. g. a bugler who's tone-deaf, a lookout who has "20-900" vision, and so on.  And in the nearby town lives Wrangler Jane, who has her Stetson set on marrying the Captain.

The Lessons: That no matter how sneaky you are (or try to be), you're never going to win 100% of the time.  Many of O'Rourke and Agarn's schemes end up blowing up in their faces, sometimes literally.  So it's better to be open and above-board with everything you do.


Home Improvement

Top to bottom: Tim, Jill, Brad, Randy, Mark

Air Dates: 9/1991 - 5/1999

The Show: The show follows the Taylor family: dad Tim, who is the host of the DIY show "Tool Time"; mom Jill, who is trying to become a working mom but always ends up staying home; and the three boys, athlete Brad, smart-elec Randy, and momma's boy Mark.  Between family misunderstandings, the boys growing up, and Tim's great ineptitude as a handyman (and his obliviousness of the fact), the Taylors are kept on their toes.

The Lessons:  My mom pointed out to me some time back that this show has a lot of good lessons for marriage in it.  Unlike most TV couples, Tim and Jill don't just have an argument and then have a mushy make-up after both begin to feel guilty about their part in it.  These two have an argument, brood on it for a bit, try to make it up, have another misunderstanding, think about how they might have been a part of the problem after all instead of it being all the other person's fault, and then eventually come to a compromise.  They work through their many differences and come out as better people and a closer couple at the end of it.  That's what you have to do in real life, work things out and come to a mutual agreement where both people give up something for the good of their relationship.  If I ever get engaged, I'm letting the Taylors be my marriage councilors.  ;)