Featured autographs - Garrett Richards and Sonny Gray

2015 Topps Triple Threads Garrett Richards UAJR-GR - Unity Autograph Jumbo Relics Sepia serial #'d 14/75

2015 Topps Triple Threads Sonny Gray UAJR-SG - Unity Autograph Jumbo Relics Sepia serial #'d 06/75

Certified autograph cards of MLB players seem to be a dime a dozen and within a product like 2015 Topps Triple Threads - maybe there one too many variations of basically the same type of card, with just a different color scheme and serial numbering.

These cards will never be worth more than what I paid for them since they are not considered big hit pulls from the product - however, for about the price of a blaster box, I like the idea I was able to pick up a pair of nice looking cards featuring a couple of pitching aces.

Ranking the 30 MLB teams on my watch - Oakland Athletics #5 of 30

It seems like GM Billy Beane has found a formula for building a MLB team in Oakland that can contend for the playoffs - even if they aren't as good as other teams when they get into the postseason.

The A's are a division rival of the Angels and I don't particularly care for their recent success - still 10 or 11 years after Moneyball came out, it's impressive how bit players as well as natural talents [as far as pitching is concerned] have been cobbled together by Beane and his staff to help the A's win two consecutive American League West titles.

I didn't know much about Sonny Gray except having a few of his cards and thinking he might be just another midlevel pitching prospect - but after having a fine debut season and a postseason start to remember, the slightly built flamethrower will dictate where the A's will go in 2014.

If he gets hurts and/or is ineffective, the A's might not get as far as they've been the past two seasons - if things falls into place however, Gray might be the type to light the league up on fire and might be my dark horse candidate to win the 2014 American League Cy Young.