Me and Luis...

Speed is a great asset; but it's greater when it's combined with quickness - and there's a big difference.

~Ty Cobb

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As a fan of the Ems I've been attending games for the last 5 or 6 years, mostly w/ one or both of my kids.

This year, somehow, I am the Ems photographer. I work with a Pentax *ist DS digital camera and 2 lenses. Primarily for the sports work I use my 50 - 200mm Pentax zoom lens but on occasion (like the team picture this year) I use my 18 - 55 mm Pentax zoom. Ideally I'd have a longer and faster telephoto without the zoom, a 300mm or longer... but those puppies are spendy. Maybe next year.

Back when I was young... and we only had film... I owned fixed lenses (wide angles, telephotos) that were top of the line because of lens quality and speed. I was nervous about digital because it meant new camera gear. I was raised on film and had used it for decades. And I'm always leery of new technology. After I had taken about my first 500 or so images I knew digital was for me. No film, no processing... in that 500 image space I had saved enough from not having to buy film and pay for processing and I could see them right now!

The art and business of photography has not changed, the manipulation of the camera in achieving a desired (or often accidental) end work remains the same. F stops and exposure... focal length and film speed (ISO)... its all the same. So now I have Civic Stadium and all its thousands of people as my task to visually record. And that my friends, from this photographer's view, is pretty darn cool indeed.

So now in 2007 I am an Ems fan armed with a camera and decades of developing my eye and technique. And this year's team is a fan's delight. Loaded with talent, the Ems are chasing 1st place Salem-Keizer, a real good and tough team to beat. One of the reasons for the Ems success is the always exciting Luis Durango:



Listed at 5' 10" and 145 pounds Luis Durango is about as quick with the bat as any batter I've seen. When he is at bat the defense knows who Luis is and what he can do and what he does. He bunts , bloops and blasts. He can drop a bunt down either line and be to 1st base before the play is even close or he can rip one over the outfield in the holes for extra bases. The infield plays in for a bunt and he bloops singles over their heads and in front of the outfielders. Which means he gets on base. A lot.

Last week Luis was number 3 in the league with a .353 batting avg, he was #1 in total hits w/ 47, he was #4 in on base percentage at .430, he was #3 in runs scored with 30... and he was leading the league in triples with 5 (thats those over-the-outfielders-heads blasts!). And to go along with all that, credit Luis with 2 homers and 14 RBIsAnd he is a burner on the bases. Luis' uniform is usually dirty before the end of the 1st inning.

So here in pictures is the Luis Durango of the Ems' first half of the 2007 season (and as always, these images are copyrighted, reprint w/ permission only). Enjoy the pictures. Better yet come out to Civic and cheer Luis and the boys of summer on! Its a great tradition and a wonderful family experience. Baseball, on a summer's eve? Nothing better...

Sunday morning...

I like my Sunday mornings. Yep.

What a game last night! Dang... Mitch Canham's first homerun as a pro and it is a Grand Slam, an over-the-scoreboard-no-doubt-about-it kinda hit. He has quickly grown as the "hometown" favorite. It could be he is the best received Beaver (OSU) ever in Eugene (UO, Ducks). I can't be sure about that because I haven't been here forever...

And another crowd pleaser is Brian Lauderdale, out of Roswell, GA. Back from last year's Ems team, he is one of my faves too... he had a whale of a game, getting 3/4 of a full cycle with 2 singles, a double and a triple. The lack of a homerun is hardly a fault in a game like this, where the game went almost 4 hours and it took 8 runs for the Ems to win against a stubborn Vancouver (BC) team. Anyways.... Lauderdale... engaged in a version of baseball you only get to see once in a while at home plate or close to home... played Tackle Baseball!

I mean I'm a multi-sport kind of guy, I love baseball, basketball and football and play all 3. Ice Hockey... well, its too darn cold and if maybe I'd been introduced to it at a younger age... Soccer? Nah (even tho' I realize it is almost THE international sport). But, as a multi-sport guy, when the opportunity arrives to mix things up... have you ever tried to dribble a football? or played basketball in a pool? Lauderdale was on his way home and had no chance to beat the throw to the plate. He didn't beat the throw, but he sure decided to take the shortcut to the plate. Which (and you won't find this on any map) meant he had to go through the catcher. He almost made it. Almost...

Nice job Brian!

As a solid object the Vancouver catcher gave up some ground and ended up flat on his keester, but managed to hang on to the ball. To his credit. I mean it was, truly, a full blown, shoulder down, "I'm-on-my-way-and-you-ain't-stopping-me" collision. And the visiting Canuck catcher is not a big guy... lucky for him Brian is only 5'10 and 170 pounds.

So... here is the next gallery, from the series that ended Friday night with the Everett (WA) Aquasox, featuring another with those un-celebrated groundskeepers, Russ Eisenstein (the radio voice of Ems baseball on 1120 AM), beautiful women and handsome men, some Ems fans having a good time, an inflatable giant bat, Luis Durango airborne, another gorgeous Oregon sunset (which to me is when Civic Stadium is its most beeootiful)... and more!

Enjoy: