Custom Card of the Day: Corbin Edition

There's been a lot of talk about the Cardinals rotation, to the point in which it sickens me. I mean I get that those pitchers are great and all, but A.) Jamie Garcia's not pitching too well, B.) Lance Lynn isn't as good as he was last June, and C.) It's the fricking Cardinals.

Besides, there are more worthy pitching rotations in the NL worthy of merit. The Cardinals pitchers are getting all the hype, complete with ESPN love and Sports Illustrated cover stories. Yet they're not the best rotation in the NL. They are the most overhyped rotation in the NL. That doesn't always amount to field performance.

The Nationals' rotation is doing beautifully, with Jordan Zimmermann and Dan Haren having great seasons. The Giants' rotation, as per usual, is doing a fantastic job, despite the usual downgrade from Lincecum, with an addage of some great starts by Zito and Cain.

But there isn't a Nat or a Giant at the top of the post. Because the last time I checked, Patrick Corbin plays for the Diamondbacks.

Now I know what you're thinking. JORDAN!, you mentally exclaim. YOU'RE WRONG! YET AGAIN! The D-Backs rotation is FAIRLY DECENT at best, and isn't as good as you're making it out to be.

First of all, thanks for checking out the blog.

Second of all, I'd like to prove you completely wrong, by examining the rotation one-by-one.

5. Trevor Cahill. Trevor Cahill isn't really the greatest starting pitcher in the world. He was okay in Oakland and he's okay here. This is why he's the fifth starter. That's a bad example. Bear with me.

4. Brandon McCarthy. Head-injuries aside, when this guy's on, he's REALLY on. He pitches very well in those situations, and that was evident last season in Oakland. This year he's waned slightly, but he's still a strong pitcher, and he's still capable of pitching well.

3. Ian Kennedy. I'm putting him third because of his season-to-date, but in any other season he'd be the number one reason to watch the rotation. For a while he made me regret the Yankees let him go in the Granderson deal. He's raw talent, great materials, and he's a great pitcher. 2011 especially was a great year for him, and he's remained a solid, consistent starter. I hope he gets back up to speed.

2. Wade Miley. I've already talked a lot about Wade Miley, but lemme reiterate- this is his second season, and he's already finished high in ROY voting, and somewhat in the middle of Cy Young voting. He's a strong young pitcher, one who a lot of people have already taken notes on. He does everything he's supposed to do, and that certainly helps.

1. Patrick Corbin. So far the man is undefeated, which already says a lot. This is his second season, and while he didn't make the splash that Miley did, he's certainly heating things up now. Also, in his last start he had a complete game, striking out 10 and reclaiming his spot at the very top. He's good, and hopefully he'll continue to be good. I hope. I better not have jinxed him.

So there. All five of those guys can give you a confident start, as well as some major strikeouts. That's a solid, consistent rotation for you.

And if they keep it up, this team will be very, very big come September.

Coming Tomorrow- That annoying closer I talked about yesterday.

Because it happened

...it must be documented in custom form.

Sorry this is a few days late. May is usually my busiest month, and I have a good dozen or so customs on the waiting bench. One of which I'll post tonight.

Still, Trout's expression is too awesome not to savor.

Custom Card of the Day: Quentin Edition

I can't think of anything to say about Carlos Quentin, so here's a sonnet.

In sport, one finds it very hard indeed
To keep one's anger totally in check
Or else the other roster tends to bleed
And one's own career winds up in a wreck
Are Selig's actions here so justified
To rob one player of only a few
When other players tell the world they've lied
And miss but fifty still- this can't be true
If Carlos wounds Greinke, it's barely seen
But still physical violence, tried by law
Yet when stars stuff syringes far between
It's THEY who get the blame, which we all saw
If violence, to Bud, gets nary a 'wow'
I'd love to see him meet with Pacquiao.

Coming Tomorrow- Another person who I don't like right now, only this guy's the closer for the Tigers.

Custom Card of the Day: Buchholz Edition

Haw.

Bahahahaha.

Sorry. Forgive me if I'm laughing over here like Tom Hanks in The Money Pit, but it just feels so good when a rival team gets what's coming to it. Or a rival of any kind. Admit it, you kinda cheered in the theater when Hans Gruber was hurled out the window. Or when Darth Vader threw the Emperor over the edge of the Death Star. It was well deserved, glorious, and people heralded it. Much like the fall of the Boston Red Sox.

Yeah, they had their time. It was last month. Now, the Sox are hurtling downward faster than the aforementioned Emperor. What they're succumbing to is injuries- they've gone through three closers in five weeks, a few starters are getting injured, John Lackey is down for the count again, and a couple other players are being tossed onto the DL like sweaty socks. Hell, even Clay "I swear I didn't pitch dirty on purpose" Buchholz is having a down week. Maybe he's stopped doctoring his balls, or whatever the hell they accused him of doing.

And yeah, I know they'll be back. I know this is a bittersweet victory, but I'm taking it as it is. I know they're just gonna build a new team, exactly the same as the old one, with a lot of the same materials and people manning it. And it's gonna be just as powerful, and just as much of a threat as the last one was. Much like a Death Star.

But still, right now the Red Sox are in third. And I'm incredibly glad that's the case.

(I'm also happy the Blue Jays are in last. MY are they fun to beat.)

Coming Tomorrow- I've posted a custom from each of the 30 teams, except for one, which will get its rep tomorrow, after a 5 game suspension. 

A Rack Pack of Gypsy Queen, plus Heritage

Yeah, still alive. May's not the more free month for me. I had a few things going on. Either way, I FINALLY got some cards, in a racker of Gypsy Queen. I also got a racker of Heritage, but it was mostly doubles.

Gypsy Queen Pack 1-
149- Tom Seaver. Always a highlight
135- Ryne Sandberg. Why did the Phillies give him up?
Collisions at the plate insert of JOHNNY BENCH! So far we're 3/3 on Hall of Famers, which is nice about this set.
91- Matt Holliday mini
242- Asdrubal Cabrera, whose Indians are doing well, surprisingly.
104- Paco Rodriguez

Pack 2-
120- Cal Ripken Jr. Always great to pull a Cal.
No Hitters of Warren Spahn, which is awesome
Glove Stories of Jayson Werth. Ex-Phillie
8- Andre Dawson mini
175- Brandon Moss
217- Neil Walker

Pack 3-
238- Angel Pagan
262- Hisashi Iwakuma, who's had a nice start for Seattle.
346- PHIL RIZZUTO. That's a nice one!
73- Casey Kelly mini
136- Salvador Perez
287- Tony Gwynn.

The guaranteed white paralells-
70- Bob Feller, a great pull as always.
284- REGGIE JACKSON! He's on the A's, but still awesome
257- Craig Kimbrel, another nice one.

The Highlights of Heritage-
83- Carlos Ruiz. Always nice to get Chooch
112- Emilio Bonifacio, who was really good last season.
156- Dayan Viciedo, the sole consistent performer for Chicago.
425- Joey Votto, my short print. Sadly, I think I have this one.
384- Ryan Doumit
263- Vance Worley. I dunno if I have this one or not.
136- Sandoval WS GAME #1
296- Rafael Soriano. I probably have this.
103- Gordon Beckham
194- Mike Moustakas BLACK BACK

Decent enough packs. Can't wait for Archives and Series 2.

Custom Card of the Day: Upton Edition

That is an awesome custom of a player who is playing awesomely right now. Bask in its glory. I don't have that much else to say tonight, other than look at that custom.

Coming Tomorrow- my big 'How the Mighty Red Sox have fallen' post.

Custom Card of the Day: McCarthy Edition

This custom is terrible. The font's wrong, the watermark's in the way, it's sloppily put together. If it wasn't for the colors, it'd be a complete failure.

In honor of this terrible custom, here are five things that are terrible this week.

5. The Philadelphia Phillies pitching. With the exception of maybe Jonathan Pettibone, our once-heralded starters have gone astray. Hamels, Halladay and Lee aren't doing their best, and Kendrick is somehow our lone star picture, with the exception of the up-and-coming Pettibone. It's gotten pathetic, as for whatever reason all three of them decided to just not do very well this year. It's kinda pitiful.

4. Panini Prizm. I'll say it now- I have no intention whatsoever of collecting this set, simply because it's unlicensed, and it looks awful. It looks like something out of the 90's, only shinier and more half-assed. No touchy.

3. Josh Hamilton. Or at least this is the first week that he's been terrible and people have noticed. I mean, how the hell did he go from a huge star to a slumping failure in a span of a year? I really hope he picks up the pace.

2. Carlos Zambrano just signed with the Phillies. I do not like the looks of this. I know he had great seasons with Chicago, but need I remind you, he had great seasons WITH CHICAGO. Like, 5 years ago. He's since become a slumping, mediocre pitcher that doesn't need to be on my team right now.

1. The Boston Red Sox, losing 8 of their last 10 games. Which is pretty nice for the AL East, especially considering who's on top now. But to have a start like that, and to fall off the face of the earth like they did is almost Shakespearean.

So yeah. It's a crappy week for a lot of people. Just not the Yankees. Or Matt Harvey.

Coming Tomorrow- to quote John Malkovich in Red, "I've gotta check the files."