Featured player: Mike Golic
1990 Score #519 - I was going to throw this card away, because it is a new [as in 19 years old] card and it is in 'beater' shape. On the other hand, Golic has become this star in the media as a former NFL defensive tackle turned commentator on Mike and Mike in the Morning. I've sort of warmed up to the show broadcast on ESPN 2, because it is on, when I'm up at night and it is nice to find a live-broadcast show - instead of endless stream of informercials for "getting bigger."

I really don't pay much attention to the things going on in the show, other than what he and co-host Mike Greenberg have to say as far as an 'immediate reaction' to maybe the latest sports news. As a baseball fan they have Peter Gammons, Tim Kurkjian and Buster Olney on different days. As a whole, Golic has some interesting things to say all-around [not just about football and/or the NFL] and comes more across as a every day guy talking about sports, rather than some 'holier than thou,' ex-jock.

Not to make this like a Wikipedia entry, but he also admitted to steroids and was subject to a roast gone wrong.

Featured player: Pat Neshek
Minor League card [one of two he seems to have in case you want to send him some autographed cards from your collection] - reading the small blurb about transactions and injuries on Yahoo! baseball page, I found out Neshek had torn a ligament and I immediately thought 'he's done because it means he's getting Tommy John surgery.'

Neshek has achieved cult-like status on the Internet, sharing a special connection with fans through his Web site. He has blogged about his life as a baseball player and also just a guy who among other things, likes to collect baseball cards, autographs and other related memorabilia.

After being likely done for the year, hopefully he can bounce back. From what I've read in another report, he isn't going to require that TJ surgery, though I fear it may be what he'll end up eventually getting.

Featured pick up: Jim Edmonds
1993 Topps Jim Edmonds BGS 9.5 [$9.95 plus $3.95 s/h on Ebay] - the San Diego Padres were struggling and offense was a sore spot. Edmonds was seen as part of the obvious problem with an on-base percentage of .265 and a slugging percentage of .233 after just 26 games. In 90 at-bats, he only hit .178 and was released by the team on Friday.

I picked this card up back in January, though I could see where it was more for sentimental reasons, than anything else - grading has mushroomed over the last decade, where it is easier to find cards graded a 'BGS 9.5' or a 'PSA-10,' particularly mass-produced, fifty-cent rookie cards.

It remains to be seen where Edmonds will end up, but these days, where performance-enhancing supplements might not be so wise to take - perhaps age has caught up with Edmonds and being '37' doesn't mean you are going to enjoy another resurgent season from a player supposed to be 'done' already.

Votto, Votto, Votto

Joey Votto just had a three home-run game [3-for-4 with 4 RBIs, helping his Cincinnati Reds to a 9-0 win against the Chicago Cubs on May 7].

2007 Bowman Draft Joey Votto patch card serial #'d 2/99 [$10.99 BIN plus $3.50 s/h on Ebay] - I don't claim the card is anything special but it was shiny and had a patch piece on it. He is about ready to in his first full Major League Baseball season in 2008, likely battling for National League Rookie of the Year honors. I figured this was an appropriate card to blog about. His first cards came out back in 2002 Bowman Draft and he also had a Futures Game material card from 2006.

Stragglers

I'm going to see if I can dump out some of the cards I picked up as part of the 80 cards I got for $2 and blog about them.

1994 Bowman Tim Salmon - an ugly card perhaps, because the one thing you think about is the image is a 'butt shot' and I simply don't admire him like that.

1998 Upper Deck Tim Salmon - a better Salmon card; capturing him sliding headfirst.

1992 Bowman Kevin Flora - while I don't claim to religiously remember every player who toiled for my hometown Major League team's organization, I remember Flora suffering through some sort of tragedy that somewhat derailed his professional baseball career. After some google.com searches, there is New York Times story, dated February 28, 1996 floating about, talking about losing his wife and nephew in fatal car crash back in 1993.

Featured pick-ups

1.) I dug out 80 cards out of a scrap commons bin for $2 - whenever I go to the card show, I usually spend a buck or two digging out random cards. The cards are usually 20 for a dollar but when I last went on Saturday, it was double the cards for a buck.

2.) Some of the cards I found maybe be blogged about, particularly commons with unique qualities, filed under the 'collecting topics' part of my collections - some cards I found are just cheap finds like 2000 Bowman Scott Linebrink x3, Eric Byrnes x2, Carlos Silva x2, Vicente Padilla x2 and Phil Dumatrait x2.

3.)While, it may not be the most spectacular collecting activity - pointing out something unique about otherwise common cards adds value to the collecting experience. It is also a challenge at times to point out something unique about otherwise common cards, but it is what makes it fun.

4.)My favorite collecting topic are 'bonus babies,' where a star player makes a cameo in common players' cards - I've got about 15-20 different categories to file certain cards in and each stack of commons is a new opportunity to find cards featuring great action, personality and otherwise unique images.

5.)It seems like I'd be happy if I can just have stacks of scrap cards to go through- as long there are interesting qualities to them that maybe overlooked.

Famous Baseball Feats

1.) Ed Sprague - the former Major Leaguer admitted to taking andro and once hit a home run with a corked bat. I remember I would collect cards of guys whom I thought would be good players. I don't know if I paid too much attention to him during his career, but I remember trading a Larry Walker card I got signed in the mail for either Sprague's autographed card or unsigned card in 1996. I also traded for his 1992 Upper Deck card because I thought he was going to be a decent player and also didn't realize he had a 1988 Topps Traded.

2.) Jordan Schafer - was given a 50-game suspension for HGH, even though there is no current test for it in the major or minor leagues. He was a breakout prospect in 2007 and looked to be a guy who was going to be the future in centerfield for the Atlanta Braves. I think one blurb I read compared him to Grady Sizemore, though looking at his stats, my guess would have been the guy who is in centerfield for the Braves right now, Mark Kotsay. Now, I think his status is up in the air. You wonder how some players inexplicably never make it or get bounced around. It might be a little too dramatic to say, but maybe this suspension will derail his career.

This guy is no Chris Shelton -

1.) Mr. Justin Upton is just crushing the baseball right and it is interesting how fast things have come together for this phenom - we don't really know if he can keep up his torrid start, but there is something to be said about a 20-year old Major Leaguer putting up superstar numbers.


2.) From his amateur days, everyone said he was going to be a superstar - his hot start has separated him from guys who maybe good prospects, who maybe projected to be all-stars. He is beginning to fulfill his immense promise and looks to be a superstar.


3.) Chris Shelton was a guy who hit something like 10 home runs in the first month of the season for the 2006 Detroit Tigers - everyone thought he was going to be a future superstar, but he didn't match the production and is an a 'AAAA slugger' type in the Texas Rangers' organization. Shelton had the talent to play in the Major Leagues once, but I doubt he has much in common with Upton.

Is Major League Baseball life?

1.) You may love Major League Baseball - but more than ever, MLB wants you to invest in your love for the game. If not, then there is not as much options for you as a fan. This trickles down from the way you watch your games to the way you get your autographs. They want you to buy your game ticket in advance, make you commit to ticket packages and basically pay up instead of be a casual fan.

2.) Baseball can get dull - but you still love the 100 different things that may go on within the game, like a battle between a pitcher and a hitter or perhaps a finely executed double play but you feel less of a connection with the stars on the field.

3.) You may be lucky to get two or three different games a week and the MLB is only concerned about which package you'll get for your TV and the Internet - you'll typically get a pretty good in-depth regional game coverage if you live in a Major League city, but you don't get as much 'around the league' game broadcasts if you'd like to see out of town teams or stars unless you purchase a package. I suppose it builds up the regional mentality of rooting for your home town teams, but it saps the interest you have for the league as a whole, not like anyone notices.

4.) I enjoy going to the game less because there is less interaction with players - less access in some areas just enjoy something like watching players warm-up and or take batting practice or infield. Tickets are too much to go on a game-by-game basis anyway and nosebleed seats are par for the course.

5.) Stuffy, conservative color commentators and experts [Rick Sutcliffe and Jeff Brantley came to mind] - let me enjoy the game or talk about as aspect of the game I don't know about. Don't pimp a player's virtues with tired cliches that you don't use for any other player. We get a guy like David Eckstein is a hard-working player. We get people love him because he is the all-American kid who made good. Don't berate a guy for two innings or more for making a bonehead play that already has happened. Here is a secret, Manny will alway be Manny as long as he plays the game and it doesn't help me as a fan for you to point out how him watching a 400-foot flyout at home plate is somehow leading to the game's ruins. Talk about the players and the game, like Vin Scully [broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodgers] does so well. It is refreshing to inform the viewer of the nuances during the game, good and bad i.e. that is a good play or the particular player. On the other hand, too much negative editorializing or positive praise, even as a commentator type [and not exactly the objective play-by-play guy] pisses me off.

6.) New baseball thinking vs. old baseball thinking - I value hitting power and on-base percentage and the best lineups utilize players with those qualities. On the other hand, I don't think Juan Pierre is the worst player in the game, when you do. I would venture to say, if a stathead's wet dream are only guys with the ability to hit for power and on-base percentage and do little else, then they are missing the point entirely.

7.) Biases and politics within the game play on - guys will be called out when things don't work out and some guys will not get their just credit whether as a player and or manager. Blogs, forums and the mainstream media does a great job of emphasizing the players and managers they don't have much confidence in.

8.) Storylines are only so good - when the media doesn't jump on the bandwagon.

9.) You know, if you like collecting autographs - the better players in the Major Leagues have a 100 different things to do besides sign for you either in-person or through the mail.

10.) Nothing can replace performance on the field - where it matters.

Featured cards
2008 Topps Heritage Ken Aspromonte and R.C. Stevens 1959 Topps buy backs

Topps made it somewhat easy to acquire these original 1959 Topps buy back cards. Inserted as box toppers, at a rate of about one per two boxes, they are embossed with the Topps 50th Anniversary logo, which distinguishes them from similar cards not bought back for the program.

I suppose they are altered because they are embossed, but then you wouldn't be able to keep track whether or not a card was a buyback or not. Having an actual piece of trading card history [and not merely a reprint] is pretty cool.

I picked these two cards in the mail, purchased individually from the same seller on EBay, for the price of about two packs of cards [$1.79 each BIN with $2.59 combined s/h].

Featured Card - 2008 Topps Opening Day Fausto Carmona - this card should be in everyone's collection. After pulling it in a pack of Topps Opening Day, it has got to be one of the centerpiece cards in my collection. Just take a look at the 'morning fro' on the guy's head. Don't we feel that way at times in our lives? There is too many cards out there today, lacking the type of personality the image on this card has.

This card brings a smile to my face and transcends any collection, whether you are a prospector, a vintage collector or someone collecting for the something to blog about.

Give me 100 more cards like these and I'm be happy like a pig in mud.

Featured Card - 2008 Topps Heritage David Wright New Age Performers insert #NAP5

This insert card stood out among the other cards I flipped through in a three pack break of 2008 Topps Heritage. It pictures a modern player and the design is something cooked up 2008, not 1959. On the other hand, just for the second, you see the font, the bright, almost garish colors and imagine it maybe something you can conceivably pull out of a pack of 1959 Topps cards.

Featured Card - Tim Salmon/Mark Langston

I picked this 'oddball' card up for a nickel in a '20 for $1' commons bin. It features two California Angels' stars of the early 1990s, Tim Salmon and Mark Langston.

I remember Salmon being a favorite because I found his 1991 Bowman rookie card when it was a quarter back in 1991/1992 and I think I 'traded' for it, just because he was an Angels' player [though relatively unknown and still in the minor leagues].

Some time later, Salmon was annointed the Angels' top prospect and had an American League Rookie of the Year winning year in 1993. I most certainly believe I officially jumped on the bandwagon and became a 'frontrunner' as someone had said to me.

Salmon became the face of the franchise, providing the up and [mostly] down Angels' teams with a powerful middle of the lineup presence through the rest of the 1990s.

Salmon, who was a very good player during his 14-year career in the Major Leagues was very productive, but at times not healthy. It seemed like the last several years of his career, his bat hand slowed down as well as his range in the outfield.

While he never made the all-star team, considering everything he's done, the pinnacle of his career was winning the 2002 World Series, when he helped lead the Anaheim Angels defeat the San Francisco Giants. He hit .346 with nine hits in 26 at-bats, including two home runs and five RBIs. His on-base percentage was .452 and his slugging percentage was .615.

He fell short of hitting 300 home runs for his career and I think Angels' fans were kind of disappointed he didn't get the milestone home run to close out his playing career. He is a franchise legend, though probably falls just a notch below being a player considered to be a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.

Featured beater

1970 Topps Tom Seaver #300 - when your bored, you have to resort to doing things to entertain you. I guess this is what I'm doing with this post and I guess this was the reason the card pictured is where it is today.

Out of a bundle of poor-fair 'vintage' cards selling for a buck each, I thought I'd scored with at least a card of a Hall of Famer worth the buck I paid for. It wouldn't be pretty, but I didn't think it would be this ugly.

There are creases all over the card and apparently it is autographed by one of the youth owning this card 39 years ago.

This card was going in the garbage, but it is probably going to stick around for a while. I almost want to get a professionally graded example of this card, just so I don't feel like this is a centerpiece to my collection.

Featured pickup
2007 Upper Deck Premier Patches Miguel Tejada patch card serial #'d 38/98 - I really believe Tejada is going to have a 'bounce back' season with the Houston Astros this year. It will be interesting to follow his statistics through the season because he might be in jail for lying about his involvement with steroids.

His batting average is probably going to hover around the .285 mark. He is going to hit around 20 home runs and drive in around 95 runs. His on-base percentage will probably be around .340, with his slugging percentage around .460. Those aren't great numbers, but post-steroid era, that is a decent year. I expect him to be as durable as he once was, especially when 2007 was a fluke as far as getting injured was concerned.

After signing a big free agent contract, Tejada toiled for some forgettable Baltimore Orioles' teams through this decade. While he was obscured in a number of ways, despite performing well, he is now is strictly seen as a 'has been' with a shady steroid past.

I picked the card up for $5 at a local show running two times a week. I thought it was a sharp card and I almost didn't care who was pictured, as long as it was an 'okay baseball player.'

Ironically, I saw a similar card last month, at a card show/fanfest the Seattle Mariners/San Diego Padres have in Peoria Arizona. It wasn't a good enough pick-up then at $5, because I thought the card is irrelevant. He's been traded the Astros and people had soured on him. Of course, a $10 Vladimir Guerrero patch card [from the same set] wasn't good enough either.

I do remember him when he was hitting his prime in Oakland, where he'd be as accomodating signer as anyone in the game, though his signature wasn't that great. I got a picture with him myself and a single-signed baseball. After his Oakland days, the autograph even got worse and he strictly dictated when and where he would sign.

Looking back, Tejada sort of falls under those players who lulled fans into 'believing the hype,' where he posted monster numbers through his prime. Maybe he wasn't a pure home run slugger, hitting 40-50 home runs, but a guy who fanboys may have projected monster career numbers for, because he was doing it for several seasons, not considering he was Mr. B-12/Mr. Steroids.

Update [4/18/08] - Tejada was ambushed by ESPN's E:60, but was caught in another lie when age was brought up and the E:60 correspondent actually had a copy of his birth certificate revealing he was born in 1974. What was Tejada supposed to say, when apparently the only thing noting his actual birth year was legal documents i.e. than his green card. Either the teams he played for were ignorant or it was common knowledge, not just to the general public, where available information on players can be inaccurate [i.e. height/weight].

I don't think it affects his playing career much at all. He might have been losing a step defensively but he was still pretty consistent - part of that maybe due to steroids/PEDs, but he played in 162 games a year, had something like 650 at-bats a year until he got hurt in 2007.

He got his big contract and he was worth the money he was being paid - if he was Jose Ortiz, then he'd be shining shoes back in the Dominican right now, but if he made it because of lying and possibly taking PEDS, he also made it in spite of it.

I was looking back when the Oakland Athletics brought him up to the Major Leagues in 1997 and while he was actually 23 and not 21, it would be in-line as far as the age an 'average' prospect is called up - someone in the Athletics' organization must have known his true age or else the organization would have waited perhaps a year or two later.

What this incident really does, is just adds onto the distrust fans have for particular [types?] of players - what else is he lying about or players of his ilk lying about? Fans don't care about your hardships in trying to make it unless you are Josh Hamilton, great hope, et al. It wouldn't be a leap for them to assume Tejada was lying about the steroids/PEDS he might or might not have been using.

Next up: Vladimir Guerrero and Albert Pujols

Featured pack breaks

2008 Topps [$1.50 each x 3 from a local card show] - gotta get some initial 2008 breaks out of the way.

Pack one
# 189 Esteban German
Checklist
# 133 Mike Bacsik - I'm looking for certain cards featuring just the right image captured on cardboard, the right graphics to make the image standout. It may or may not evoke something, but the card just symbolizes what a baseball card should be.

# AR 9 Mark Ellis 50th Anniversary Topps All-Star Rookie insert - it is a pseudo retro design, which I tend to like. I think I like the idea of being able to pull retro themed inserts, because they are quaint and it makes me feel like I'm pulling a card from Topps' rich history.
# 186 Lastings Milledge
# 294 Brian McCann
# 45 Dontrelle Willis - a nice, seamless airbrush job.
# 117 Boof Bonser
# 28 Kyle Kendrick
# 200 Manny Ramirez
# 241 Ervin Santana Pack two
# 99 Postseason Highlights subset [ALCS] - featuring Papi and Manny being Manny
# 256 AL MVP subset - featuring A-Rod
# 322 AL Leaders subset [strikeouts] - featuring Scott Kazmir, Johan Santana and Erik Bedard; some writers are actually saying Bedard is a better bargain than Santana, though I personally don't think Bedard is an iron-clad superstar talent like Santana.
# 279 Damion Easley
# 14 Lenny DiNardo
# 173 Jamie Moyer
# 146 Aaron Hill gold parallel [serial #'d 0084/2008] - this guy quietly had a pretty good season last year.
# 90 Vladimir Guerrero
# 313 Kameron Loe
# 147 Marlon Anderson
Pack three
# 65 Billy Wagner
# 217 Postseason Highlights subset [World Series] - Josh Beckett
# 7 Mickey Mantle
# 165 Tim Lincecum
# 22 Ron Washington
# 84 Brian Fuentes # YR 7 Year in Review insert - Alex Rodriguez
# 203 Jason Tyner
# 182 Billy Buckner
# 80 Alex Rios

Comments - Topps is the product you grab when you don't have time and you are on the go. Besides the gimmick cards [Kazuo Uzuki and Rudy Giuliani anyone?], it is the same old cards you'll find at your show's commons bin [in due time].

• It is only three initial packs, but there maybe 'more' cards with light enough backgrounds, so they are more suitable for getting autographed randomly. Maybe those who selected the photos took more time [when they could] to feature a nice, clean image.
• Maybe it is a wrong perception, but in the past, there didn't seem to be any consistency with the images being used. They seemed to be 'all over the place,' just because there were too many different photographers/services being used.
• The circus team lettering may not be so appealing, but it is sort of appealing, where the cards shouldn't be taken seriously. They should be played around with, flipped, glanced at and collected otherwise.

The first 2008 card releases are out with 2008 Upper Deck and 2008 Topps

1.) So what [?] - you realize they are such a small part of the experience. It is just another pair of baseball card releases to mark another year gone by. You are almost too sophisticated to care about new cards just because they are marked '2008' on them and they are the first products out. The stats on the back of the card don't matter because 'currently' you have numbers and numbers available on the Internet.

The excuse of picking up cards to check on 'updated' stat lines for your favorite players are obsolete - you may want to build a set, but with new products coming out, doesn't last past spring training.

2.) Lack of updates - you understand how these sets are essentially planned and probably printed in advance. On the other hand, a product nearly devoid of any updates [traded players, free agent signings] from the past off-season is just discouraging, especially when you are eager to bust some packs just to see what the 'new' cards look like.

3.) Veteran cards - the autograph collector [in-person/through the mail] appreciates a comprehensive checklist, but at some point, cards featuring certain players, career relievers, journeymen and utility infielders just pile up.

4.) Gimmick cards - the 2008 Upper Deck Presidential Predictor cards are sort of 'out there,' since it takes a more satirical stance, rather than a 'conservative, this is your father's insert' stance. I don't know how original the idea is, but UD seems to go for sensationalism [only if to copy Topps' efforts from past year or so].

5.) Using similar images - Upper Deck still does a good job of mixing things up and featuring cards with 'personality shots,' but it seems like they tend to put in a fair share of the typical, 'hitting, running, pitching, baserunning' shots, along with 'useless' cards [to the autograph collector who cares about aesthetics] featuring a 'boring studio shot,' of a player wearing a dark, batting practice jersey or using a card featuring no 'light' space at all.

The Character Assassination of Francisco Rodriguez

1.) It is disheartening and a sore spot when I hear Angels' fans bash one of the franchise's best closers - I don't claim to know K-Rod and maybe I tend to fall into the side where I plead ignorance to his basic intentions as far as enjoying personal success and helping his team win but the disrespect is galling for a guy who should be beloved as an elite closer.

2.) Despite the fact Angels' owner Arte Moreno seems to reward players with long-term contracts, where he has to overpay if he has to, fans suddenly want to lowball K-Rod - it is a self-fulfilling prophecy for a core of Angels' fans to see K-Rod fail, blow out his arm or just leave. Suddenly it is the Angels' goal to watch out and not cave in. They preach the sentiment that K-Rod is some sort of mercenary and will leave for greener pastures just because he can.

3.) A core of Angels' fans can't seem to tolerate or dismiss K-Rod's 'antics' as typical closer bravado - which closer in Major League Baseball doesn't have an edge to feed off from? A jerk of the neck, a twist, a symbolic gesture to state 'the game is over?' Why are Angels' fans dissatisfied with K-Rod? Maybe it is Tego Calderon's fault. Maybe if K-Rod had an entrance music fans can relate and chant to [like Guns and Rose's "Welcome to the Jungle," Metallica's "Enter Sandman" or "Hells Bells" from AC/DC], he'd be held in higher respect.

4.) Fans want Scot Shields to close in the worst way [to put it politely and in P.C. terms, wanting to see the 'fan favorite' to succeed [for whatever reason besides just pure performance] where they feel the guy they don't want is somehow not doing the job to their satisfaction syndrome] - Shields is the guy whose arm went dead and got a little nutty during a prolonged period of time in 2007. Love the guy's contributions, but he had a 7.36 ERA in the second half last year, including a 9.00 ERA in August. I know for a fact, there is a core of fans, who still want to annoint him the closer, while burying K-Rod's accomplisments. It isn't everyone else in the Angels' bullpen making up for K-Rod's supposed faults, it is the other way around.

5.) Wouldn't it be ironic if he did leave and saved 50 games for some contender like the Detroit Tigers - and help lead them to a World Series championship? Angels' fans just don't know how good they have it.

Featured Pick-Ups
2002 Diamond Collection Jim Edmonds Franchise Connections bat card serial #'d 083/100 and 2003 Topps Finest Moments George Foster autograph - I paid $7 for the bat card with the St. Louis Cardinals' logo engraved on the game used bat swatch. I think I overpaid for the Edmonds' card, but I collect his cards on the side and I thought it was somewhat unique.

I paid other $7 for the Foster certified autograph - maybe several years ago, I wouldn't have cared for the card, but I needed to fill a hole in my award winners collection. I had to pick up the hard signed certified autograph card of the 1977 National League MVP.

2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set [$9.00 BIN plus $7.95 s/h on Ebay] - hand collated sets maybe a low-risk, low-reward purchase if you want to see what a particular product's base cards look like. Some releases, particularly 'late in the year' feature base sets with a handful of first-year player cards and/or true rookie cards.

Throw away the coach's cards - apparently former Utah basketball head coach Rick Majerus' card comes in handy. Ignore the other sports' cards - keep the Jennie Finch and Amanda Beard cards handy though.

Gawk at the Summer Sanders card - wondering why Donruss didn't use a The Sports List [remember that show] era image [or even an NBA Inside Stuff] of Sanders. Her autograph would be going for more than $10-$15 on EBay, if a more attractive image was used.

Flip through the baseball draft picks cards - see there are a few non first-year minor leaguers included, though you can hardly tell from the other baseball draft picks wearing their amateur threads. Wonder why

Wonder why Donruss had to included two Cobi Jones base cards in the set - only to smirk and realize the other card is of women's soccer player Michelle Akers.