Custom Card of the Day: Chapman Edition



After the huge Bryce Harper thingy yesterday, I guess I've settled down with a lower profile player. On a similar note, WHY IS THE GUY ABOVE A LOWER PROFILE PLAYER???

Think about it- the guy was destined for a great career, except the Reds have been stupidly keeping him as a reliever. He's a great pitcher, but he should be a starter. Same with Neftali Feliz. You can't waste these guys.

Oh well. At least I had a consistent month...

Coming Tomorrow- I need to make more.

Custom Card of the Day; Bryce Harper Edition



Well..he's kinda the big baseball story of the week. How could I NOT make a custom of him?

I'll say this: I watched his debut appearance, and he's a monster at the plate. Whatever people are saying about the guy, they're 100% correct. I think he could be a really good player. However, if Topps lies to us and gimmicks his rookie card, I'm losing all respect for them.

There, I said it Topps. Don't screw up with Harper.

Coming Tomorrow- Another prospect phenom, this one stuck at a middle-reliever role.

Custom Card of the Day: Gio Edition



Well, there's been a lot in the news about the Washington Nationals. For one thing, they're at the head of their division, with a good lineup and stellar hitters. But mainly, it's because they have one of the better pitching staffs in the NL. And yes, even as a Phillies Phan, I can say that.

First of all, there's Stephen Strasburg. After years of trying, he's finally awesome. And I love that. Then, there's the guy above. He's been brought in from Oakland. It's funny, but Gio was one of the additions to the Matt Holliday trade, and was send to Oakland there, in exchange for Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez and others. Gio's an awesome pitcher, and the Nats really need him. Rounding it out are people like Ross Detwiler and Jordan Zimmerman, who would be middle relievers on any other team, but have risen to stardom here. And lastly, there's Edwin Jackson. I'm not alone in thinking that at this rate he could beat Octavio Dotel's record of most teams played on. I can never tell which team he's on at a moment. Now he's here in Washington, but I don't think he'll stay there. Sure, he's racking up SO's, but he's never constant.

So yeah, the pitching staff is the reason everyone's been talking about the Nats toda- wait, what's that? Bryce who?

I might as well make a custom of him for tomorrow.

Custom Card of the Day: KosFu Edition

Ah, Japanese prospects. Some of them are never what they're cracked up to be. Think back to Kasuhisha Ishii, Hideki Okajima and Yasuhiko Yabuta. They all had short lived careers, and they all have quite long names. What I mean is that not all Japanese prospects pan out.

Even the ones that are said to save a franchise that hasn't won a World Series since before most of their ancestors were born, and are said by SI that they will, and end up leaving said team in last for two seasons before ditching them and heading to Cleveland and now their cross-town rivals.

What I'm trying to say is enjoy watching Kosuke Fukudome. He's a decent player that can hit a little bit, but he can' save a team just by being on it.

Coming Tomorrow- Gotta make more. Any more requests?

Custom Card of the Day: Vizquel Edition



In the four years I've been making customs, I have never made a card of the man above. I have no idea why. He's been on three teams in those four years, and he's also a borderline Hall of Famer. Also, he's in his forties, and still a position player.

In other words, he is the Jamie Moyer of infielders.

People have been saying Jamie Moyer is old by saying he played with people like Ron Cey, Dickie Noles and Rich Gossage as their careers were winding down. Omar Vizquel? Vizquel and Moyer are the two last surviving players who played games in the 1980s. Let's put this in perspective. George W. Bush was still the Rangers' GM. The Red Sox still hadn't won a World Series since the 1910's. Even Richard Nixon was still alive. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME!

Vizquel is playing for his sixth major league team in 24 seasons. He's getting ample playing time, and he might stick around longer. This boggles the mind.

Coming Tomorrow- In 2008, he was the biggest prospect in the game. Now...I could care less. So could the team he's playing for, aways South from his old stomping grounds.

1 More Rack Pack of Gypsy Queen

I feel like since I've been buying cards less and less, the products have gotten better and better. Unforutnately, they haven't been getting cheaper and cheaper, but that's besides the point. Either way, the last two sets I've binged upon (Heritage and Gypsy Queen) have been very good, mostly gimmick free, fun sets to collect. So my dad happened to pick up a rack pack for me, and here we are again.

Pack 1-
18- Jackie Robinson. That's a great way to start off the packs.
55- Matt Holliday. I guess St. Louis needed another big star after Pujols left, and this is it.
142- Carlos Gonzalez.
256- AW YES, THIS IS A NICE PARALLEL! NOLAN RYAN #'D TO 599! THAT'S A NICE ONE!
202- Jason "Fozzie Bear" Motte Straight Cut mini
67- Josh Hamilton.

Pack 2-
200- Felix Hernandez. Still didn't deserve the AL Cy Young in 2010. I will stand by this until the day I die.
234- Carlton Fisk. Forever recognized for a home run in a series he didn't even win.
254- Brooks Robinson. Great player.
269- Willie Stargell. Good god, that's 3 Hall of Famers in a row!
238- Rollie Fingers mini. FOUR!
Hallmark Heroes of Sandy Koufax. FIVE! FIVE HALL OF FAMERS AND FELIX HERNANDEZ!

Pack 3-
178- Jose Valverde. Was somehow the AL's best closer last year.
15- Asdrubal Cabrera. Currently baseball's second best Cabrera,
167- Brett Gardner.
27- Mark Reynolds.
177- Nick Markakis Gypsy Back mini
Future Stars of Mark Trumbo. Only if he's at another position.

And now the Brown Borders.
295- Doc Gooden. Pretty nice.
242- AL KALINE! Very nice.
238- Rollie Fingers. Wow, these were good brown borders.

All in all, great packs. A lot of Hall of Famers, and a Blue Border of Nolan Ryan. Good stuff.

Custom Card of the Day: Chipper Edition



Back when I was younger, I didn't know too much about baseball. Hell, the first real baseball player I'd ever heard of was Derek Jeter. But, at a young age, there was always some way of showing 7 or 8 year olds which players were awesome, in any sport. And it was called Backyard Baseball.

For the unaware adults, BB was an old computer game where you'd make your own team and essentially play a 6 to 9 inning game, with cool hitting or pitching bonuses. As a bonus, they'd throw in actual players. The ones I already knew at the time were obvious: Jeter, Giambi, Rodriguez and Ichiro were easy ones. I knew Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Jim Thome. But through the game I learned about others like Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr, and even obscure ones like Jeff Conine and Richie Sexson.

Then there was Chipper Jones. I remember him cause he was the skinny one, and he seemed kinda young. Also, because I was 7, I thought it was funny that his name was Chipper.

So the years go by, and I keep playing that game. I learn how to assemble my hitters, so that the bigger hitters were kept to the middle of the lineup, and the young, fast ones would lead off. Due to my thinking, Chipper Jones always led off. He was the young one.

2007 comes, and that's when I first get into baseball cards. Thankfully I'm older now, but I'm relearning about who's good and who I put in the binders. Finding cards of all the players I knew from BB sure helped, cause I already knew Ken Griffey was good, and I already knew Randy Johnson was good, and so on.

Then I pull my first Chipper card. At this point I was flustered because a lot of people (Bagwell, Sosa, Nomar) weren't showing up on cards. I saw Chipper, and I was thankful that The Young One had stuck around.

It is at this point that I turn his card over. This is the exact moment that I stopped calling him the Young One. Cause he was 35.

Of course, I've learned to respect Chipper over the years, and he's definitely an Atlanta legend. Hell, I don't think there's anyone that really hates Chipper; he's just a great player, and a fun player to watch. And no matter how old he gets, he's still a pleasure to watch play.

This year, Chipper announced 2012 would be his last season. I can admit I saw this coming, but it's kinda weird. I've gotten accustomed to seeing Chipper on the Braves for all my life. It's just weird seeing him not there, not at third. It would be like turning on NBC on a Saturday night at 11:30, and finding some other show on.

Still, even as his career winds down, you kinda have to marvel at Chipper Jones. He'll always be The Young One, and he'll always be an Atlanta Brave.

(No, I will not do that for YOUR birthday)

Coming Tomorrow- The other aging infielder who celebrates his birthday today. Only this guy's 46. And started playing before Chipper.