A Royal Blues Year in Review, Part Two

Part One covered January through April. Let’s move right along to May and beyond!

Ha, tricked you! You thought I'd use a pic of Hosmer here, didn't you?

May
I caught one Storm Chasers game as a regular fan before leaving on the Epic Road Trip Adventure. (Here’s a snippet of that travelogue…I should really get around to sharing more, right?)

Photos from the road trip are here. I went from Omaha to Palm Springs, by way of Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Reno, San Francisco, and California Highway 1. No, that was not the most direct route, but it was the most fun (except for the day I drove through multiple winter storms, and then ended up in a hotel room with no deadbolt lock). Anyway!

Click through to access full-size, then set as your wallpaper. You're welcome.

June
I continued my wall-to-wall Jeff Francoeur coverage with an attempt to justify a Frenchy All-Star bid. It didn’t work. My boss in Palm Springs turned me loose with my camera, with good results. Mike Moustakas gave me a reason to reveal my eavesdropping habit, and in totally unrelated news, my photography made its way onto the cover of a gay magazine in Palm Springs.

I have no idea whose feet these are. He tried out for the team, and didn't make it.

Dear Mike, sorry I'm an eavesdropper.

July
I met Johnny Bench on what was otherwise a terrible birthday. Luis Mendoza threw a no-hitter, that was then ruled a one-hitter, then a no-hitter, then a one-hitter. I congratulated him anyway. LIVE Magazine published more of my photos, but misspelled my name. Awkward.

August
I got back from Palm Springs in time to see this hilariously sour face Kila Ka’aihue made after hitting a home run. Then I graduated from college, finally! Jeff Francoeur was extended for two years, ugh. On the bright side, that post prompted one of my fellow Storm Girls to ask me to teach her about BABIP.

No I will not let it go

A site makeover in August allowed me to make sweet custom banners for posts. This one was one of the first to have one, and is still my favorite. Friday Fireworks are always winners. (The next post had an F-15 in the banner, which is also pretty sweet.)

September
Two words: Jazz hands! Nine words: Do MiLB players want to be in the playoffs? Lots of Chasers players had previous MiLB playoff experience. These eight guys kicked a lot of butts in the postseason. The Chasers went on to win the PCL, which was the most fun I had watching sports all year. Also in September, I officially kicked off the Amazon Pledge Drive, which has been an awesome success so far because you are all so sweet and thoughtful.

Oh, Jarrod.

October
Lance Zawadzki’s departure made me question my faulty memory. That….was pretty much it for October here.

November
Penn State things happened, and I wrote about Joe Posnanski and also pleaded with Husker fans to behave themselves at the game that weekend. On an infinitely lighter note, Naturals outfielder Tim Smith, who might be this blog’s official Favorite Player next season, shared some thoughts about hitting lessons and baseball in general. 310toJoba dropped by to dig into Ichiro’s stats this season.

December
Pretty quiet around here this month, isn’t it? I did a few posts over at Ladies…., including one about Manuel Pina, and another was about Derek Jeter’s gift baskets. It is one of my favorite Ladies… posts I’ve ever done.

If A-Rod gave gift baskets to ladies

Thanks for a great year here! Let me know what you want to see more of in 2012…and be safe as you celebrate the new year!

Related posts:

1. A Royal Blues Year in Review, Part One
2. A Royal Blues year in review
3. A Royal Blues timeout