I could never narrow it down

Now that I've taken a couple of days off after the Monday marathon of insanity, it's time to get back to the real world, or so to speak.

Over the 2+ years I've been blogging, I have taken the time to read a lot of blogs, and to get to know some of the best people the hobby has to offer.  What's great about a lot of collectors that write is that you get to know them.  What they like.  What they don't like. 

It's like you become a part of their world when they write. 

You get to know the collectors with specific player collections.

One blogger who collects this guy is a self professed "Junkie"

You get to know those who collect specific teams:

Original 6 uniforms still are the best...IMO

You even get to know people that stick with specific eras:

Don't see these in a PWE everyday.   Thank you Pat!!

But what a lot of bloggers have out there that I don't, and probably never will, is a very specific want list.

Card lists of around 10 specific cards that these bloggers really want.  Team or player specific lists that bring their world into extreme focus. 

I have a want list.  It's bloody huge.  I could never narrow it down, and an attempt to do so would probably take me a month.  I'm surprised that I can narrow down the number of sets that I want to complete to 5. 

I can see it now.   My list of cards probably would be 1000 cards long.  Maybe one day when I've finished up a lot of the older sets that I want to complete I'll be able to put together a top ten list of singles.

Who am I kidding?  It'll probably be a top 10 list of top 10 lists...

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 966-970

We come to the final post in the Monday SNI marathon.  The 40 cards today leave only 530 remaining to complete the 1500 card insanity set.  Keep em coming!!

Card # 966:  J.J. Putz

Serial Number:  801
Team:  Arizona Diamondbacks, card # 31/50

J.J. was a roommate of some guy named Tom Brady in college.  I guess you could call his 2007 season in Seattle a "lights out" season.  J.J. finished 65 of 68 games that year, saved 40, and had a WHIP of 0.698. 

Card # 967:  David Aardsma

Serial Number:  1042
Team:  Seattle Mariners, card # 27/50

I'm sure that if I sorted all the players last names that I've featured in these posts, Aardsma would probably end up first.  The current NL batting average leader, Michael Cuddyer, is 0 for 8 against him lifetime.   

Card # 968:  Alex Presley

Serial Number:  1060
Team:  Pittsburgh Pirates, card # 32/50

Looks as if Alex is going to miss the postseason again this year, since he was recently traded for Justin Morneau.  The biggest knock on Presley was that he didn't use his speed to get on base enough.  Add that in with a guy who doesn't take a lot of walks, and that makes it tough to stick in a town that has a deep outfield.

Card # 969:  Sam Fuld

Serial Number:  1081
Team:  Tampa Bay Rays, card # 35/50

You know you're reaching for something to write about a player when you discover that the players 6 career home runs have come on 6 different counts. (0-0, 1-1, 2-0, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2)

Card # 970:  Drew Stubbs

Serial Number:  507
Team:  Cincinnati Reds, card # 32/50

Likes to hit in Petco Park, has a career .306 average there.  Drive a little bit up the coast to Dodger Stadium, and he hits a whopping .129.  Maybe the pitching is responsible for some of those numbers?

thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 961-965

This is the 2nd to last post for the SNI marathon.


Card # 961:  Ryan Raburn

Serial Number:  759
Team:  Detroit Tigers, card # 25/50

Raburn is the 2nd position player during today's marathon that has pitched during a major league game.  He actually fared quite well, 13 pitches, 8 of them for strikes, struck out one during a clean 9th inning.  Yes, Cleveland lost the game 10-3 to Detroit.


Card # 962:  Rafael Soriano

Serial Number:  725
Team:  Tampa Bay Rays, card # 34/50

Soriano is all or nothing against Ryan Howard.  Howard is 2 for 8 lifetime against Rafael, with both of those hits being home runs.  Only one player has 3 career HR's against Soriano, and that is Dan Uggla.

Card # 963:  Daniel Murphy

Serial Number:  817
Team:  New York Mets, card # 37/50

Daniel Murphy must really believe in making a great first impression.  Murphy is currently 1 for 1 against 30 different pitchers in his career.


Card # 964:  Aaron Hill

Serial Number:  824
Team:  Toronto Blue Jays, card # 42/50

I hated to see Hill leave Toronto, but the trade at the time looked like something that both Aaron and Kelly Johnson needed.  Unfortunately for the Jays, Johnson only played one year for them and didn't perform all that well, while Hill is averaging a little over .300 in the desert heat.  Oh, and he's hit for the cycle twice since the trade...

Card # 965:  Ubaldo Jimenez

Serial Number:  1470
Team:  Colorado Rockies, card # 24/50

After struggling last year in Cleveland, Jimenez has quietly helped the Indians try to chase down the Tigers this season.  His numbers this year are a lot more normal for him, ERA in the mid 3's, less than a hit an inning and just a bit more than 1 K per inning.

thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 956-960

The set is now up to 64% complete.  I hope you're enjoying the crazy amount of insanity today...

Card # 956:  John Buck

Serial Number:  1382
Team:  New York Mets, card # 36/50

I was glad that the Pirates made the deal for Buck and Byrd, but I hated to see that Vic Black went the other way to the Mets.  Black might be the 8th inning man for the Mets in 2004.  Buck has had some of the best designs on his goalie style masks, and I was kind of disappointed that nothing fancy was painted on his mask when he came to Pittsburgh.  I guess he's thinking that Pitt is a short term stop for him anyhow...

Card # 957:  Lance Berkman

Serial Number:  1275
Team:  St. Louis Cardinals, card # 37/50

I would love to see his body hold up for one more solid season.  Lance is just 95 hits away from 2000 for his career.  Maybe not HOF numbers, but the Big Puma was one of the best clutch hitters in the game for the Astros during the 00's.


Card # 958:  Alfredo Aceves

Serial Number:  309
Team:  Boston Red Sox, card # 33/50

Aceves needs a home right now, he isn't on the 40 man roster for the Red Sox.  "Ace" struggled for the Sox in both 2012 and 2013, and we'll have to see where his future lies in 2014.  Maybe a return to the Mexican League?

Card # 959:  Michael Saunders

Serial Number:  1469
Team:  Seattle Mariners, card # 26/50

"The Condor" was born in Victoria, BC, and has played in all 3 outfield spots for the M's in 2013.  Needs to get on base more (his average is currently at .234) and strike out less to ensure a spot in the every day lineup.  

Card # 960:  Michael Young

Serial Number:  1083
Team:  Texas Rangers, card # 41/50

Wherever Young lands next year (I have a feeling it will be back in the AL as a DH), he should hit the 2000 game mark for his career.  2500 hits is also a possibility, he stands currently at 2367.  It's too bad that he never played for the Jays, he probably would have had a great career north of the border.

thanks for reading, Robert

Serial insanity cards 951-955

5 more:

Card # 951:  Bobby Parnell

Serial Number:  1106
Team:  New York Mets, card # 35/50

The promotion to closer seems to have been good to Parnell.   He's posting career bests in ERA, WHIP and HR allowed (only 1 so far this year).  The Mets still need a couple of more pieces in the field to go along with Wright and EY to get back into the pennant chase in 2014.

Card # 952:  John Danks

Serial Number:  286
Team:  Chicago White Sox, card # 28/50

A former first rounder of the Rangers in 2003, Danks signed a pretty good deal after the 2011 season (5/$65 million).  Missed a good portion of 2012 with injuries, and the home run ball has hurt him this year (28 allowed).  Seeing this guy turn it around will start to help the south siders back from mediocrity...

Card # 953:  Kyle Seager

Serial Number:  593
Team:  Seattle Mariners, card # 25/50

Kyle is posting career bests in HR, batting average and BB for so far in 2013,  and at age 25 it looks as if he could man the hot corner for the M's for a long time.  I just noticed that this was his rookie card, I'm going to have to check and see how many RC's I have in the SNI set...

Card # 954:  Brayan Pena

Serial Number:  720
Team:  Kansas City Royals, card # 30/50

Having a great season as the #2 catcher in Detroit.  The Tigers look as if they are going to hold off the Royals this year, which makes me a little sad, because it has been good to see the resurgence of the Royals.  2014 should be very interesting again in the AL Central...

Card # 955:  Rafael Soriano

Serial Number:  622
Team:  New York Yankees, card # 43/50

The Yankees become the first team to reach the 43 card level, and looking up Soriano's stats, I see now that he has saved 40+ games for three different teams.   Anyone know if he's the first to accomplish that?

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 946-950

Another 5 more cards in the insanity marathon. 

Card # 946:  Geovany Soto

Serial Number:  952
Team:  Texas Rangers, card # 40/50

5 years ago he looked like the catcher of the future for the Cubs.  Rookie of the Year, 28 HR's, average in the .280s, everyone thought he was going to have a great career.  How the mighty have fallen.  Soto hit .198 in 2012, and is now the backup catcher in Texas.   

Card # 947:  Mark Kotsay

Serial Number:  1179
Team:  San Diego Padres, card # 35/50

As of this writing Mark needs 96 more games to reach the 2000 mark for his career.  Not sure if he'll get another contract though, hitting .191 at the age of 37 usually doesn't have GM's knocking on your door. 

Card # 948:  Wilson Valdez

Serial Number:  887
Team:  Philadelphia Phillies, card # 30/50

Valdez's card says 2nd base, but he's a little more versatile than that.  He pitched one inning in relief in 2011, and got credit for the win.  Wilson spent the majority of the 2013 playing for the Camden Riversharks in the Atlantic League.  

Card # 949:  Javier Lopez

Serial Number:  1079
Team:  San Francisco Giants, card # 29/50

Lopez is like a fine wine, getting better with age.   Since 2010, his season ERAs have decreased each year, and is throwing in at least 70 games each year (should hit 70 this year, he's at 64 as of this writing).  Has never averaged an inning per appearance in those 4 seasons, so the term LOOGY is a term that was reserved for him. 

Card # 950:  Dustin Moseley

Serial Number:  1196
Team:  San Diego Padres, card # 36/50

Anyone feel like watching a WWE match right now?  Now that is one helluva vertical jump.  Moseley pitched one game in 2012, giving up 5 runs in 5 IP.  The Padres released him after that and he's currently not in baseball.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 941-945

These 5 cards bring the set to 63% complete.  I'll be adding another percentage point during the marathon.   Here's some more insanity for you...

Card # 941:  Jonathan Papelbon

Serial Number:  869
Team:  Boston Red Sox, card # 32/50

Numbers don't lie with this guy, how about a career ERA of 2.63 and WHIP of 1.023.  This might be the first full season of his career where he doesn't achieve the 30 save mark.  He needs 4 more as of this writing...

Card # 942:  Brandon Webb

Serial Number:  1445
Team:  Arizona Diamondbacks, card # 30/50

One could only imagine how many wins that this guy would have earned had shoulder problems not derailed his career.  Over a 4 year period, his win totals went from 14-16-18-22.  

Card # 943:  Don Kelly

Serial Number:  1116
Team:  Detroit Tigers, card # 24/50

Don could legally change his name to Super Utility Man, and everyone would completely understand.  Has played 6 different positions + DH in at least one game each of the last two seasons.  Hard to believe that the only position he hasn't played during his 5 years in Detroit is shortstop.   Huh?

Card # 944:  Carlos Lee

 

Serial Number:  234
Team:  Texas Rangers, card # 39/50

I liked this guy.  Carlos was never on a team that I liked, or even followed, but for some reason I could find a reason to cheer for this guy.  Probably because everywhere he went, he hit.  .285 career average, 358 career home runs.  He spent only 59 games in Texas in 2006, but hit .322 with 9 homers.

Maybe the nickname "El Caballo" had something to do with it as well...

Card # 945:  Ryan Howard

Serial Number:  1220
Team:  Philadelphia Phillies, card # 29/50

This is the 4th card of Ryan Howard in the SNI set.  Also, there are 15 total players with the first name of Ryan featured so far ( Adams, Anderson, Braun, Church, Dempster, Doumit, Drese, Franklin, Howard, Kalish, Ludwick, Madson, Raburn, Spilborghs, Zimmerman).  Did anyone get tired just reading that list?

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 936-940

Here's post #2 on the marathon, heavy on the star players here.



Card # 936:  Justin Upton

Serial Number:  409
Team:  Arizona Diamondbacks, card # 29/50

Doesn't it seem like Justin has been around forever?   So far, it looks as if Atlanta has come out on the better end of the Upton deal. With Chris Johnson in a dogfight for the batting title, Atlanta appears to have received a couple of players that should be the backbone of the club for the next few years. 

Card # 937:  Elvis Andrus

Serial Number:  279
Team:  Texas Rangers, card # 38/50

Just like Upton, it almost seems like Andrus has been around forever, and he's just 24 years old.  There's one stat that he owns that makes me think he's a National League pitcher.   Elvis is averaging 15 sacrifice bunts a season since he came into the major leagues.  That's a lot for anyone, let alone an AL shortstop...


Card # 938:  Carlos Santana

Serial Number:  213
Team:  Cleveland Indians, card # 31/50

I will hand it to the Indians, they've been smart in how they have used Santana in the field.  Spelling him with starts at first and DH is definitely going to help everyone in the long run.  By the way, these blue parallels from 2013 Topps Opening Day are not good for my mental health.   I like them waaaaayyyy too much.

Card # 939:  Brandon McCarthy

 

Serial Number:  172
Team:  Oakland Athletics, card # 42/50

Brandon might be the poster child for better head protection for pitchers.  He took a line drive off his skull last year, and suffered a seizure this year while on the DL that was attributed to the head injury.  Something needs to be done...

Card # 940:  Jason Heyward

Serial Number:  1222
Team:  Atlanta Braves, card # 36/50

Jason resumed full baseball activities on Friday the 13th.  Might we say a Dave Parker type of goalie mask on his face when he returns for the post season?  It's also hard to believe that he's only 23 years old.  Doesn't it seem like he's been around forever?

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 931-935

The first 5 cards towards cleaning the entire pile of serial numbered cards off of my desk.

Enjoy!!

Card # 931:  Alex White

Serial Number:  717
Team:  Cleveland Indians, card # 30/50

Had OK numbers during his brief stay with the Tribe in 2011.  When traded to Colorado, the numbers exploded in the wrong direction.  Has missed all of 2013 due to Tommy John surgery, and is currently the property of the Houston Astros.

Card # 932:  Terry Francona

Serial Number:  713
Team:  Boston Red Sox, card # 31/50

Does anyone out there recall a manager being fired from a club after 8 years in which his team didn't win less than 86 games and his team took two World Series?  If you know another one besides Francona, let me know.

Card # 933:  Scott Linebrink

Serial Number:  573
Team:  Atlanta Braves, card # 34/50

2011 saw the end of a pretty good career for Linebrink.  Over 600 games, career ERA of 3.56 and a WHIP just over 1.300.  Appeared in 70+ games over 3 straight seasons for the Padres between 2004-2006.


Card # 934:  Tim Hudson

Serial Number:  584
Team:  Atlanta Braves, card # 35/50

A free agent after the 2013 season, Tim may be going into free agency with only his 2nd career season below 10 wins (he currently has 8).  Both of the sub 10 win seasons have seen Hudson miss a lot of starts due to injury.

Card # 935:  Brian Wilson

Serial Number:  427
Team:  San Francisco Giants, card # 28/50

The beard is either hiding or non-existent in this photo. Beard or no beard, I really do hope that his comeback from Tommy John surgery, be it in LA or somewhere else, is successful.  Characters like Brian are what make baseball such a great game.


Thanks for reading, Robert

If you're not going to put the damn things away, write about them.

The great desk cleanup continues.  There are spots on the desk that are visible that I probably haven't seen in a couple of months, if not longer.  Yes, progress has been made but there's still a ways to go.

So, while trying to get caught up on the serial insanity cards (the marathon is coming Monday), I decided that with nothing else to write about as far as trades or new purchases, I'd grab five cards from the Jays pile that hasn't been put away yet and write a quick blurb about them.

A week ago, I had a lot more of these to write about.   No matter, let's have a little fun...

Let's start with the ugliest card of the five.

Wow.  That's bad.  1993 Score #506 all star card of Joe Carter.  I was never a real big fan of art cards that show the player with a skinny body and a oversized head.  Now you see why...

This is a name that will make me wince every time I have to try and type it.  Noah had a pretty good season in high A/ double A, 23 starts with a combined ERA just over 3.  Give it another couple of years and we may see him wearing the Blue Jays logo full time in T.O.  [EDIT:  Thanks to Max for setting me straight, Noah is on the Mets now, and I probably will not have to worry about typing his last name anymore.  whew!]

1998 Pacific Omega # 248.  I mentioned recently my love of Omega, and the baseball stitching for the "borders" on this card only enhances that for me.  It doesn't hurt that the card features a great double play leap by Gonzalez.

I've long loved the red jerseys that the Jays roll out on Canada Day, and Pat Hentgen is wearing his in style.  This card features him against the Orioles during his Cy Young season of 1996 in the July 1st game that Pat and the Jays lost 7-4.

After a disastrous 2012 at AAA and in the majors, Carreno recovered in 2013 and threw quite well in AA/AAA.  With the sad state of the rotation this year, Carreno may get a shot to start again next year.  This is one of the few Bowman releases I like, the black borders are sharp in my opinion.

I'm hoping that I will not have to do too many more of these posts once this desk is cleared off.  Then again, procrastination has always been a strong suit of mine...

thanks for reading, Robert