Sports: October 2005 Archives

Astros shortstop Adam Everett breaks his bat in the 5th inning. He ended up grounding into a double play.

I caught Astros relief pitcher Mike Gallo smiling at me as he walked out to the outfield during batting practice.

Astros third baseman Morgan Ensberg takes a ball from White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia in the 6th inning of Game 4 of the 2005 World Series.

You're just going to have to bear with me for at least a week as I post photos from Game 4 of the 2005 World Series.

Here, Jose Vizcaino gets turned around after a high, inside pitch from White Sox relief pitcher Neil Cotts in the 8th inning.

Manager Ozzie Guillen hoists the World Series Championship trophy after the Chicago White Sox beat the Astros 1-0 to sweep the series.

I was on the field for the post-game celebration. It was an absolutely freaking amazing experience, and there are many more photos to come.

I lucked into a job working as a photo runner at the World Series here in Houston. Last night I picked up my credentials and had two hours to wander through the press box and around the field before the game started! This is the best temporary job ever.

(Photo taken with my cell phone. I'm taking the "big" camera tonight.)

This photo isn't sharp enough for me to really love it, however, I was happy with the action it captured. The hardest part of shooting football for the first time, for me, was trying to follow the ball from the narrow view of a camera lens. I kept on getting faked out by, well, the fakes! I did better as the game went on.

Galveston Ball High School players. Ball won the game by a landslide. When I left at the end of the third quarter it was 50-something for them, and 14 for Clear Creek.

On Friday night I went to a high school football game. I hadn't done that in 10 years. It was Clear Creek's homecoming and I went to meet another local photographer and get some practice shooting "ball sports." I do so much running and triathlon photography but have never really tried something like football. It was a great experience. I got basically nothing good from the first quarter, but by the third quarter I started to get the hang of 1) following the freaking ball in the first place and 2) what to look for.

These have had some work done, but mainly to reduce noise. Even with my f/2.8 lens I had to go to ISO 3200 to be able to shoot with a fast enough shutter speed.

Another shot from the ballpark on Monday. I took a ton of photos, especially in the 9th inning as I thought the Astros were about to win Game 5 and go to the World Series. Little did I know when I shot this that it'd take one more game! :)

I am posting this to EXORCISE THE DEMONS that haunted Brad Lidge in Game 5. Whoosh. Bam. They are gone and dead. No demons here, and none in St. Louis. Tonight is a clean slate. Roy, I believe in you. GO ASTROS.

I personally think that "The Juice Box" is a pretty silly nickname for Minute Maid Park, and yet it's sort of clever at the same time. Here's a panorama of the field I took on Saturday just before the start of Game 3.

Confetti litters the seats at Minute Maid Park on Sunday after the Astros won the NLDS in the 18-inning Game 4.

Yesterday I sat through the longest postseason baseball game ever. 18 innings. 6 hours. 2 grand slams. 500+ pitches. Roger Clemens in relief. All won in the bottom of the 18th by rookie Chris Burke (#2 being held up in the air here) with a home run to send the Astros to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row!

Go Astros!!

Chipper Jones and Ryan Langerhans of the Braves relax before last night's NLDS Game 3 here in Houston. The Astros won! Hooray! Tomorrow they try to win a third game and clinch the series.

Unfortunately the 'Stros weren't in good position for me to get any above-average photos of them while they were warming up. By the time we got in the stadium they were already taking batting practice, not milling around the dugout like the Braves.

This guy is at every major race in Houston, and he always carries his American flag. On Sunday, it was only 10 miles. Last year I saw him at the marathon. I think his name is Felix.

I shot the USA 10-Miler here in Clear Lake on Sunday morning. Afterward, a lot of runners took advantage of the trash cans full of ice that had held cold drinks and used it to ice their tired leg muscles! I guess these two were impatient and decided to share. :)

The Astros won the Wild Card yesterday in dramatic fashion -- on the last day of the season with a 6-4 victory over the Cubs. Our seats were crap, way out in right field behind the foul pole. But we did get this nice view of the O's Bros (Roy Oswalt's cheering section) as they cheered for a strikeout and shook their K signs in the 8th inning. Oswalt had already left the game, but that didn't matter. The whole stadium was screaming.

(Why one of the O's Bros was wearing a Clemens shirt, I do not know.)