Black People At The Angels Game!!!!!!!!!

You know when you have good friends? When their team loses - and they still come through with silly shit like this for you. During game 3 of the ALCS, I noticed a severe lack of pigment in the stands. Severe. It's not like I go around looking for black people in every crowd, but you can't help but notice. The first thing I observed was how corny the fans were. Banging "thundersticks" and swirling monkeys in the air. So naturally, I wonder if any black people were corny enough to partake in this bullshit. So I'm scouring the crowd for black people, literally the entire game. I saw none. NONE. I don't even remember seeing any Latinos or Asians to be honest. So I asked my boy Gil (trbo823 for ISSers), who had tickets to game 4, to find me a black person at the game.

There were qualifications that had to be met though! One, they couldn't be a Yankees fan. Two, they had to have a thunderstick. Sure enough, despite the loss (they got FUCKED up), Gil came through with the picture. You should have already clicked that shit by now. In the picture, you see a black man with his black son (John Muhammad and Lee Malvo looking motherfuckers) and what I have been promised is a thunderstick in front of them. You know, when its a job well done, its a job well done. Gil came through in the clutch. Last night, he was the only dude in an Angels cap who did.

You still see that swarm of white people though. You see that shit? How can you lack that much cultural diversity at a sporting event in fucking CALIFORNIA?

Well...

What do you do? You sit here, you watch 160+ baseball games for absolutely nothing. Rocktober 2007 was fun. Unexpected joy ride. This one hurts - because this team is good. They were good enough to win tonight. They were good enough to win this series. And now, nothing. All that work, all that clutch batting, all that overachieving Rockies pitching for nothing. You know why it hurts more for fans like me? Because unlike a Yankees fan, a Dodgers fan, a Red Sox fan - my team isn't going to buy their way into the playoffs again next season. We actually have to grind this out with heart and hard play. No offense to those other fanbases - but there's a reason that anytime a big free agent hits the market, he's penciled in for about 5-6 teams max. I don't know when we'll get another shot. There are no guarantees. It's been fun watching winning baseball in Colorado for a chance, but now I'm greedy. Now I want that trophy.

Happy Trails, Rox. It was quite a ride.
Jim Tracy for Manager Of The Year.
SWING THE BAT, TROY.

Rocktober 2009!!!!!!!!!!

Between 2007's Rockies team and the current squad, I don't know if I've been a fan of a more resilient team. Teams that legitimately don't know the meaning of quit. At the beginning of June, the possibility of a postseason appearance looked less believable than a clean Dante Bichette steroid test. Ten games under .500, a team no longer responding to their manager, and a spirit that seemed to be broken. Enter: Jim Tracy. A man, who should no doubt be the NL Manager of the Year. He became the first manager in baseball history to take a team from 10 games below .500 to twenty games above. The Rockies, who wrapped up a playoff appearance today with a dominant win over the Milwaukee Brewers, are now twenty-three games above .500 and heading into a series with the Dodgers - where they STILL have a shot to win the NL West. A small shot, but a shot nonetheless. Needless to say - this has been another magical run from this team. Every bat, every glove, and every fan in the stands made this happen. Unlike other American sports - it truly means something to make the playoffs in baseball. You play 162 games and only 8 teams get a chance to make it worth it. Truly a remarkable feat. So here's to the 2009 Rockies. There's still baseball to be played. And it feels mighty good to be able to say that.

GIAMBI!

Grand Feeling

Last night, the Colorado Rockies beat the San Fransisco (*wrist flick*) Giants as OF Ryan Spilborghs hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 14th inning. The granny cam after an inning in which the Giants had hit their way to to what seemed to be a insurmountable 4-1 lead. Perhaps a bit of poetic justice as well, as Spilborghs blew a great opportunity in the 10th where he grounded into a double play with a baserunner on third. Additionally, he had a fielding error in the 14th that lead to a Giants triple in what looked like a winning rally. You would have noticed the weight of the world falling off his shoulders while he flew around the bases looking like the white Usain Bolt.

I've been watching Rockies baseball for quite some time, and between this team an the 07 team, the Rockies are starting to establish themselves as a team with great resolve. We're one of the best young teams in baseball and its really a pleasure to see how much this thing turned around after a horrendous start. Salute Manager of the Year, Jim Tracy. The celebration can only last but so long, as the first place Dodgers are in town. Followed immediately by another series with the Giants, this time in San Francisco (*wrist flick*).