Custom Card of the Day: Cano Edition

Robinson Cano is the only Yankee who is currently worth his pay. He's hitting like crazy, not getting injured, getting lots of All Star votes, all the good stuff. Really, he's one of the few favorite players who I can still count on, as Jeter, A-Rod, Teixiera and Granderson are all hurt, and Rivera's on the way out.

The only downside to all this is that there's a chance he might not be playing for my team next year.

I mean, ever since I got into baseball, Cano's always been there, randomly popping up and then taking control of everything. Initially, I thought he was one of those players that only Yankee fans really knew about, like the rest of the world wasn't really opened up to him yet.

And then, of course, he got good, and everybody saw how awesome he was, and he got like 50 all star nods. And now he's at the point that he's so good that he could be playing 2nd base for, like Boston or Detroit next year. Actually, I bet that if the Yanks don't take him, the Tigers will gobble him up. Not the Angels, because they have Kendrick. The Tigers will just, out of absolutely nowhere, take Cano if the Yankees don't.

Although part of me thinks that Cano would rather stay with the Yankees, and stay with the team that made him so good, than just risk becoming expendable somewhere else. And something tells me Cashman would rather spend money on him than on Granderson, which is sad because he's one of my favorite players.

So, whether he stays or goes, Cano is, and always will be, really awesome at playing 2nd base.

Coming Tomorrow- Four years ago, he was the best pitcher in the AL. Now he's probably one of the best pitchers in the NL. Seconded only to his team's first starter.

Blaster of Topps 2013 Series 2. Yeah, seriously.

I feel like I've had very good luck recently with retail shops landing new products. Back when I started the blog, I was lucky if the local Target could get the new stuff within a week of its street date. Of course, today I was at Target, and 2 days after Series 2's release, found a box. Things certainly have changed.

My guaranteed patch was a rookie card patch of Justin Verlander, which is awesome, considering what an awesome pitcher he's become. And also, I have that rookie card.

Now onto the packs,

Pack 1-
629- Trevor Plouffe. Not the best way to begin the series, but he's okay. I feel like the Twins are suddenly devoid of star power, for some reason. Like, they have Mauer, Morneau and Vance, but nobody else worth a damn. Plouffe is just evidence of this.
654- Brandon Barnes. Oh look, an Astros rookie (feigns excitement)
644- Ryan Lavarnway EMERALD SHINY. These have really lost their luster.
27- Oh hey, it's the poster boy, MIKE TROUT! And...HOLY MOTHER OF SOMEBODY, I GOTS MYSELF A SHORT PRINT! Instead of the regular version, where he's sliding with his mouth open, I have the version where he's signing autographs. That's AWESOME!
586- Jose Quintana
522- Dallas Keuchel
554- Resident Advisor Dickey RED...and he's on the Blue Jays. So, score for the Photoshoppers!
577- Oh, nice, I got a Matt Harvey.

Pack 2-
371- Jeremy Affeldt
359- CC Sabathia checklist, which is nice.
A Josh Hamilton 72 mini, always welcome.
411- Jesus Guzman
355- Carlos Marmol, who's sucking even more than the rest of his team. This is a rarity, because Carlos plays for the Cubs. (awaits boos)
543- Donovan Solano. Jeez, did the Marlins just hold open tryouts or something, because I've never heard of most of their starters.
609- Scott Baker
409- Logan Morrison RED

Pack 3-
437- Dayan Viciedo, who's certainly sprung up nice for Chicago
551- Wellington Castillo
549- Huston Street, who has become the third consistent awesome Padres closer in a row (Hoffman, Bell, now Street).
Making their Mark insert of Ike Davis, who has been certainly been making a mark in AAA.
OOOH! It's a World Baseball Classic insert of someone I've heard of! Anthony Rizzo, for team Italy. That's pretty cool.
455- Buster Posey MVP
365- Mike Baxter,
539- Phil Coke

Pack 4-
611- Drew Storen, probably a bit relegated after the Nats got a better closer in Rafael Soriano.
578- Brett Jackson
592- Nick Markakis, whose star has gone down a bit since his team got hot.
Chasing History insert of King Felix.
373- Derek Jeter checklist
612- Hey, it's ROBINSON CANO!
356- Greg Dobbs, former Philly
466- Jerome 'Not Jeromy' Williams

Pack 5-
519- Zack Greinke, on the Dodgers. Another point for the photoshoppers.
343- Alex Avila, who is already being considered an aging catcher after just 5 seasons. And that says something.
383- Matt Harrison RED
Code card. Fine, I'll bite
I unlocked Ryan Zimmerman. meh
Cut to the Chase insert of RICKEY HENDERSON! Awesome!
480- Lance Berkman on the Rangers
366- Ervin Santana
361- Erik Kratz RED. Funny, it's been a good year for backup catchers in the NL East.

Pack 6-
552- Francisco Cervelli. Just not for backup catchers in the AL East
345- Jenrry Mejia
605- Aramis Ramirez GOLD #D TO 2013. Wow, at least I got a semi-star from this.
Yoenis Cespedes 72 mini
354- Casey Janssen
538- Brett Wallace and his freakishly big Anime eyes
501- Tommy Milone RED
631- Chris Carpenter RED. Huh, the only Cardinals pitcher who isn't playing well. Hell, he isn't even playing.

Pack 7-
545- Alex Presley
555- Joel Hanrahan, who is injured this season, giving way for Andrew Bailey. So maybe next season then?
546- Carlos Quentin. Grr.
397- Mike Aviles EMERALD SHINY
Chase it Down insert of Cameron Maybin. So are these supposed to be as useless as those inserts from Topps Football?
572- Lorenzo Zoil Lorenzo Cain.
434- Wei-Yin Chen RED, the 2nd greatest Taiwanese pitcher
413- Brett Gardner RED

Pack 8-
387- Jean Segura.
591- Derek Holland, wearing a throwback
518- Nolan Reimold. I forget, is he back to being good again?
Chasing History of Carl Crawford. I mean, with that bad leg, I don't know if he can do much chasing...
529- Collin McHugh. Oh wow, a Mets rookie that ISN'T Zack Wheeler.
431- Blake Beavan
427- Chris Nelson. Traded to the Yankees.
351- Asdrubal Cabrera RED

Pack 9-
475- Garrett Jones
606- Mark Trumbo, who hates not being as good as the other Angels rookie
508- Felix Doubront
Making the Mark of Andrelton Simmons
564- Francisco Peguero RC
581- Hey! It's Andrelton Simmons. Funny, we were just talking about him...
446- Chris Parmelee
441- Jose Bautista. Because all steroids eventually wear off.

Pack 10-
515- Brian Roberts, between one of his many injuries
608- Ricky Nolasco, most likely trade bait in a month
632- RA Dickey Cy Young
Eddie Mathews 72 mini, which is awesome
439- Marco Estrada
493- Johnny Giavotella
367- Carlos Ruiz, who I will never forgive for taking steroids
414- Mark Buehrle

Well, that was a nice start to Series 2.

Custom Card of the Day: Dunn Edition

Here's a question: if Adam Dunn hadn't have sucked in 2011, would we be remembering his 2012 season at all?

I mean, here's a guy whose career has been thoroughly consistent. He hits well with the Reds. He gets traded to Arizona, cracks it open. Plays well for two seasons in Washington. And then they hand him to Chicago, and he has the one inconsistent year of his career, before hammering the crap out of the ball in 2012. Aside from that little fluke, you've got a consistently powerful hitter.

So, say in 2011, he goes to the White Sox and has a solid, albeit unspectacular, 30 Homer season. He gets an All Star nod, spends the year off the DL, and ends the year like he starts it. I'm not saying it happened, but let's imagine it did.

He goes on to do basically the same thing in 2012, only he starts a little grander than he finishes, and hits a few more home runs. If that were to happen, would people be as bat-crap crazy as they were for him after the poor season?

Well, no.

You have to remember, the people who saw Adam Dunn come back in 2012 had seen a different Adam Dunn, an inconsistent, slumping, ineffective one. So he comes back, and really gets off to a great start, and everybody loses their minds. Now, take away the crappy 2011 season, and the reaction goes down. People think 'oh, he's doing what he did last year. No big deal.' It's why nobody is too surprised that Dan Uggla's hitting well, or that Felix Hernandez is pitching well. These people have been so consistent that you learn to accept that. With Adam Dunn, it was surprising because of the year he wasn't good, and how it made an effect that he'd never be good again, only for it to be shattered.

Of course, now Adam Dunn's doing exactly what he had been doing before the slump, and now everyone's saying he's not as good as he was, and he's gone downhill.

You can't win with these people.

Coming Tomorrow- the only member of the New York Yankees who isn't infuriating the fans right now. Though, wait until the offseason and he might start.

Custom Card of the Day: Morse Edition

 

There are many advantages to being a word-of-mouth player. No, really.

 

A word-of-mouth player's career doesn't begin as a rookie. A word-of-mouth player settles into a number of teams, loses hope, and then all of the sudden sprouts out of absolutely nowhere, and starts playing well midway into his career. And then you look back into your collection and see this guy's been around for a while, and you might even have his rookie card and didn't know it.

 

R.A. Dickey is a great example of a word-of-mouth player, because the 2012 season alone landed him back in everyone's binders, solely due to everyone talking about how good he was. Mark Reynolds was another word-of-mouth player, because after his rookie year, he took like 3 or 4 years to sprout into this awesome player he is. Hell, I took JJ Hardy out of my binders for a period of time, and now look how he's playing. He's an early frontrunner for the All Star game, and this from a mediocre infielder from 2008.

 

But of late, Michael Morse has become the patron saint of the word-of-mouth player. Until the 2011 season, I don't think anybody outside of Washington knew who he was. I went to a Nats game in 2011, and all of the sudden the people were talking about Morse like he was some sort of God. And I'd never heard of him, really. I'd heard of Zimmerman and Desmond, but not Morse. And that game, Morse came late and promptly smacked the ball around. And there was the seed. From there, I scoured my collection for Michael Morse cards.

 

I didn't exactly find his rookie card, but I found a few cards of him on the Mariners (billed as Mike Morse) from 2006 and 2008. And I saw that he'd began as a middling, non-hitting outfielder, which was odd, because I thought the 2008 Mariners already had a Ben Broussard in their roster.

 

Yet last year, he really became a mainstay for the Nats. He was so powerful that he managed to hit a home run backwards.

 

Of course, now he's back with the Mariners, still hitting home runs, though his audience has gone down a tad. He's still good, he just sorta left the picture a little bit since he's on the Mariners, land of the dead prospects.

 

Yet I still enjoy it whenever he hits one out. Because I remember when I saw it like I'd never heard of him before.

 

Coming Tomorrow- He was awful in 2011. He was awesome in 2012. Now...he's alright, I guess.



Custom Card of the Day: Gattis Edition

I absolutely love this card, and it's probably one of the best I've done all year. It's that good.

Gattis is a strange case. And yeah, I mean that honestly.

Evan Gattis has been playing games this year behind the backstop for Atlanta. And he's been really, really good at it. He's a great hitter, great backstop, all around great addition to the squad. Justin Upton's not hitting, well who cares, we have Gattis. That's the mindset.

Only problem is that somebody else is competing with him for the job. Now, any other team, that somebody else would just be optioned or traded in a heartbeat. Here, we're talking about Brian McCann, an All-Star catcher, and the guy who took the stardom from Chipper when he left town last year. And he's competing with some guy who was called up in April.

Now granted, McCann spent the last few seasons on and off the DL. And also, he's beginning to contract Aging Catcher's Disease, (or Mike Napoli's Disease), where his days might be numbered solely because of his time spent behind the plate. But it must feel like an insult to come back from an injury only for the fans to NOT WANT YOU, because of this rookie that's doing your job better than you have. That must hurt.

I will admit that as of right now, I'm liking Gattis more than McCann. Gattis has a certain appeal to him, like he's more of a wild card than McCann, and he has more long term potential than McCann. Besides, there are a dozen other teams who need a really good catcher. We may see McCann somewhere like Seattle or even the Bronx next year.

But to conclude, I'm liking Gattis, and I hope he sticks around.

Coming Tomorrow- He had a nice season last year with the Nationals. Now, he's back where he started, panicked, depraved, and actually hitting.

Custom Card of the Day: Encarnacion Edition

The Blue Jays should be thankful that they still have Edwin Encarnacion, as he's the only one who's performing his job correctly, currently.

I mean, they got people like Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Emilio Bonifacio, and all these heavy hitters just to hit, and the only one that's actually hitting is the one they got 5 seasons ago. Not even Bautista's doing anything for them. It's become the Edwin show.

To be honest, this doesn't surprise me. Encarnacion has this Colon-esque way of being consistent for a long period of time after he barely performing at all. And besides, last season when Bautista was on the DL, in came Edwin, bashing away, and hitting homers, livening the team.

I wouldn't be surprised if Edwin racks up more homers than anybody else in the majors, and the Blue Jays still end up in last. That might even happen.

Coming Tomorrow- Yeah, I know I'm a little late, but FINALLY, here's a custom of that huge mega superstar rookie out of Atlanta.

Three Rack Packs of Topps Archives Baseball

I know, I know, I just got some last week. But the appeal was just too enticing, and I felt like I needed some more. So I got 3 rack packs full of the stuff. The results weren't as good as that of last week's, but it's still pretty good.
Since these packs had a few doubles, I will give an insult for every double, and a compliment/joke for every card I need. And to help all set builders, all the doubles are in italics

Pack 1-
123- Jean Segura. His team had a great surge, then their lack of winning any games plummeted them to the bottom of the division. Ha.
200- Mike Trout. Sadly, not as good as Bryce Harper.
2- Gary Carter. I know it pains me to say something bad about a Hall of Famer, but he's a bit overrated in terms of catchers.
77- Tony Cingrani. Don't know 'im.
1983 All Stars of George Brett, which is pretty awesome.
60- ROBBIE! Robinson Cano! One of the best second basemen in the game right now. I hope we hang onto him.
127- David Price. So...something nice about him. Uh...he's right? Sorry, I'm not used to saying something other than the Happy Gilmore line.
164- Dan Uggla. Another really good second baseman.
17- Hanley Ramirez. WOW! Both marlins rookies from 2006 back to back. That's awesome.
112- Kris Medlen. Was a lot better last year
176- Jose Altuve. Just mentioning that he's on the Astros is an insult in itself.
105- Mike Moustakas. To be fair, his Royals team is doing pretty well.
26- Jayson Werth. Not as good as he was with the Phillies
83- Jim Johnson. Not as good as he was last year.
65- Paul Konerko. I'm glad he's been so consistent for the White Sox.
146- Eddie Murray. One of the Orioles' best hitters.
167- Rod Carew. Another awesome Hall of Famer.
21- Adrian Beltre. Hmmm...I have to say something good about Beltre...no, I can't do it.

Pack 2-
57- Todd Frazier. He's yet to really determine his own staying power
105- Mike Moustakas. He's not as good as Hosmer and Butler
153- David Ortiz. One of the best DHs of all time.
24- Ben Zobrist. He's better than people give him credit for.
1983 All Star of Nolan Ryan. Jeez, Topps. Can't you at least step up the collation?
84- Coco Crisp. I absolutely love his name.
121- Ian Kennedy. It's hard to say something good about a guy who was just given a mondo suspension for a brawl, but he was good last year
161- Anthony Rizzo. The one guy on the Cubs who's doing things correctly
42- Mariano Rivera. Greatest closer of all time. AND Topps gave him his card number, 42. Which is awesome
(The rest of this pack is all doubles. And it infuriates me so. So if anyone needs a Gary Carter, Tony Cingrani, Paul Molitor, Kyle Seager, Doug Fister, Robinson Cano, David Price, Dan Uggla or Hanley Ramirez, please take these doubles out of my hands.)

Pack 3- (none of these are doubles)
88- Derek Holland, with a weird mustache
102- Matt Moore, who's been pitching well
169- Pedro Alvarez
25- Dexter Fowler, finally having a great season
Chris Sale Tall Boy mini
108- Austin Jackson, who's cooled down since his huge season last year
174- Ike Davis, who's inconsistent as the wind
7- Jon Jay. Oh, a Cardinal
55- CC Sabathia, one of the Yankees' best pitchers, and who I still think was robbed in the 2010 AL Cy Young race.
96- Edwin Encarnacion, who's hitting well
106- Tim Lincecum. The hell happened to this guy?
165- Stephen Strasburg, who suddenly stopped pitching really well this year.
27- Manny Machado RC, which is awesome
73- Aroldis Chapman, a dominating closer.
139- Matt Holliday
196- Johnny Cueto
13- Ryan Zimmerman. Remember when HE was the biggest star on the Nats? Like, in 2009?
87- AJ Burnett, who's done well for Pittsburgh.

Those were some alright packs. Wish there weren't as many doubles, though.