I got this card in the mail earlier in the week from Pat over at Hot Corner Cards, and it made me do a little research.
Anyone out there remember Sergio Santos?
So, I take a look at the card and think to myself, "this is a series 2 card, and is this guy even with the Jays anymore?" I have barely heard his name all season, so I had to do a little digging to find out what is going on with him.
Turns out that Sergio had surgery back in May to clean out some bone chips in his elbow.
The Jays picked up the White Sox closer back in the 2011 off season for Nestor Molina, who is currently pitching in AA for Chicago. Makes me wonder how the Jays got him on the cheap after a 30 save season two years ago.
I'm beginning to wonder if the Sox knew that this guy was damaged goods. 11 games, 9.2 innings pitched since the beginning of last season. Sergio turns 30 today, and you have to wonder where his career is headed if he can't stay healthy.
Then again, with the state of the Jays pitching staff the past two seasons, he kind of fits right in....
I decided to use my day off yesterday running some errands, and getting some things done around the house. It's funny, but every time I started to sit down at the computer to write something for the blog, I started feeling guilty and wound up thinking of something I could do.
Damn, that's not good.
Part of the errands that I ran yesterday involved aisle 21 at the local Wal Mart. 4 rack packs of series 2 to augment what I had purchased the previous week. The cost?
You guessed it, $21.12. When I saw that on the register, I immediately thought of the classic Rush album of the same name (number?). I figured that was somewhat of an omen, and therefore I decided I should show off some of the cards I was able to pick up.
Let's start with some great catches, or potential great catches...
I kind of like the Chase it Down inserts, the Reddick in the upper left is a helluva shot. The emerald Nolan Reimold is a pretty good shot as well. It's up for grabs, as are the other 3 if you need them.
No, this isn't the same Rizzo that you'll find in the movie Grease...
Anthony's first full season as the Cubs first baseman is turning out well so far, 3rd in the NL in doubles, 5th in extra base hits as I write this, plus great numbers defensively at first are making it look like Rizzo will be a fixture in the North Side for quite a long time.
I've also snagged quite a few of the '72 minis so far as well.
Some great names from the past and present are here. I was glad to get the Josh Johnson for the Jays collection. Is anyone collecting the set of these, if so, I'd really enjoy seeing scans of them when the set is complete.
The cut to the chase inserts are still pretty cool as far as I'm concerned.
My luck getting retired veterans on the insert cards continues.
I'm sure my July 4th morning is going to be spent going through the stack of Series 2 cards I've obtained over the past 3 weeks, getting them sorted out and seeing what kind of a want list I'll have.
I just may do that while listening to Rush. I guess it would only be appropriate.
I've included a You Tube video of the album for your listening pleasure, just in case.
Still trudging our way through the 1500 card set. What's cool is people are still finding serial #'s to send to me. Even though it may be 1 or 2 at a time now, the cards are still greatly appreciated.
Here's a look at the next 5..
Card # 856: Santiago Casilla
Serial Number: 770
Team: San Francisco Giants, card # 25 out of 50
How did San Francisco know? 6 years in Oakland, 5.11 ERA and 1.578 WHIP. 4 years so far in SF, 2.19 ERA and 1.183 WHIP. Talk about a career turnaround...
Card # 857: Mike Lowell
Serial Number: 878
Team: Boston Red Sox, card #27 out of 50
Lowell was one of those players that was never "great", but he was a solid player for a long time, and he won. 2 World Series wins with Florida and Boston were probably a lot more rewarding than any personal honor that Mike could have won.
Card # 858: Zach Duke
Serial Number: 698
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates, card # 30 out of 50.
It's funny how posts like this help me get in touch with players. I hadn't even heard that Duke was released earlier in June by the Nationals, and 4 days later was signed by the Cincinnati Reds. Will be interesting to see if he can get his career turned around in the Queen city...
Card #859: Troy Glaus
Serial Number: 1223
Team: Toronto Blue Jays, card # 38/50
Picked 3rd overall in the 1997 draft, behind only Matt Anderson and J.D. Drew. All 3 of those players are no longer in the big leagues. The two players picked right behind Glaus are either having career years (Jason Grilli) or fighting to stay in the big leagues after several great seasons (Vernon Wells). At 9th overall that year, there's a guy who's currently on the longest hitting streak so far this year in MLB (Michael Cuddyer)
Card # 860: Josh Johnson
Serial Number: 776
Team: Miami Marlins, card # 28 out of 50
OK, first I have to say this. The orange used to work for me, now not so much. I'm just praying that he can find the form of 2010 when he led the NL in ERA at 2.30. The Jays could use this guy to step up and be the #1 pitcher that he can be when he's on.
