Forever DeJong

[loud sigh]

The Cardinals seem to have a pretty nice team this year.

As usual, they've decided to get really good not in June, or May...but August. The narrative of this game changes so often that if you get good close to the end, you're in the clear. Doesn't matter whether or not you deserve it. And the Cardinals, at least this season, kinda deserve it. They've shaved off any remnants of the depressing 2017 team (including the inconsistent duo of Piscotty and Grichuk), and have picked up some nice reinforcements (welcome back to St. Louis, Matt Adams).

Not only that, but their farm system is spitting out a TON of winners. John Gant, Jack Flaherty, Harrison Bader, Tyler O'Neill, Austin Gomber, Jordan Hicks. It's proof that after their high-spending phase, the Cards still kept some cards close to their belt, and kept the future with the team, so that what's happening now, a mostly-homegrown resurgence, makes sense. The people aiding in this come-up, with some Mikolas-esque exceptions, are all pretty much homegrown. I can say that firmly since the duo of Fowler and Ozuna are both injured (though Ozuna will thankfully be back soon).

I'm internally horrified at the prospect of this team's rise to glory, especially as they head towards the Cubs in the standings. This team can be versatile, it can hit for power, and it could DOMINATE the postseason if given the right momentum. And as someone who's been spurned by the surging Cards in the postseason before (especially 2011), I'd rather the Cardinals not take over the postseason this year.

It's been five years since we had a World Series between my two least favorite teams, the Red Sox and Cardinals. And I think we can go a lot longer.

Coming Tomorrow- The unsung hero of this perennially great Houston Astros team.

"The Price is Wrong, Bitch!"

Okay, I'm pretty sure I've used that line a million times since starting the blog, but today I think it makes a bit of sense.

See...David Price and Dennis Eckersley...don't seem to like each other all that much. There's been this petty brawl between the Sox lefty and the former Sox reliever going on over the last week or so, over some small stuff that honestly shouldn't have incited a petty brawl. One person's calling the other classless, the other says the one should show their face, and it keeps going back and forth. It makes sense that it's happening in Boston, because Boston's the birthplace of meaningless disputes.

The Price-Eck feud is made even more relevant considering the fact that right now, I'm sitting in a beach house in Barrington, Rhode Island, in the heart of Sox country, and this is all the sports fans seem to care about. Not how well the team's doing, not Chris Sale's Cy Young caliber season, not the fact that the Sox just completely STOLE Addison Reed from the Mets, but this...for lack of a better word, bullshit, between a broadcaster and an overhyped lefty. Price isn't even having a terrific season, at least not by David Price terms, and Drew Pomeranz and Chris Sale are out pitching him. So if this is his idea of jumping back to relevancy...WHY?

I mean, I get that the Sox are in second, and they need anything they can get to stay popular, but this isn't really the way. Continued bad publicity like this will ensure they wind up in third rather than back in first. And it'll ensure that Price never has a grade-A season ever again.


I'd like to point out that while I am in Rhode Island, a good 45-minutes from Boston, in a beach house with relatives who've never been to Fenway...that I actually hadn't even begun thinking about a pilgrimage. Hm. That WOULD be a good idea...

Coming Tonight: His team's beginning to get picked apart by buyers, and he's the last healthy young starter they've got left.

Custom Card of the Day: Phillips Edition

I'm going to use this really nice Brandon Phillips custom to make a statement about something I really, really don't like about the All Star Game.

No, not that one.

Or any of these.

No, this one's a new one. One that that is making its debut this year, at least in the world of baseball.

You see, this year the All Star rosters will be announced not by a press release, or the managers simply posting them online, but on a 30-minute-long special on ESPN (or MLB Network, one of the two).

Let me give you a few reasons why this pisses me off.

1. You do not need thirty minutes to give two sets of rosters for an All Star Game, MLB or no. You can just as well say 'LOOK. LISTS. HERE THEY ARE', instead of just padding out thirty minutes for something that could be resolved in two.
2. Because this is a thirty minute block, this means that there will be approximately five minutes of actually giving the fricking rosters, and therefore there will be SEVENTEEN EXTRA MINUTES of just people f--king talking about them. We do not NEED seventeen minutes of sportswriters talking about this shit. That is what we have our own opinions for.
3. If somebody we really like that really deserves it doesn't make the cut, we go 'oh, that really sucks'. Meanwhile, the sportswriters will spend two minutes talking about why, how, and all the above about this one player that didn't make it. WE CAME FOR ROSTERS. TWO SETS OF ROSTERS. NOT OPINIONS ON EVERY PLAYER NOT ON SAID SETS OF ROSTERS.
4. The sportswriters know as well as we do that they will be gasping to fill time in between the announcements of the rosters, so it will turn out like a condensed version of one of those Results Shows for one of your favorite reality shows. You get a lot of filler, padding, things we really don't need to see, a shitload of commercials to placate you more, and then we get what you actually came to see, only 51 minutes later than it should have been. It's television's equivalent of supermarkets strategically placing a bunch of crap in front of the milk, eggs and bread, AKA the only shit you actually came to see. Yeah, it's exhausting, but when there's so much else to exploit, what's the point of just, you know, GIVING THE PEOPLE EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANTED AND NOTHING ELSE?

(takes asprin)

So really, the sportswriters will be struggling to find anything to talk about that's actually important. Don't be surprised if somebody brings up LeBron James just to feel refreshed again.
5. The NBA did this tactic first, but the NBA already has a lot of flair, pomp, circumstance, etc. Plus, they actually get the players there as they announce that they'll be on the team, which makes it kind of cool, and showy and drawn out FOR A REASON. NFL started doing it this year because...hey, Deion Sanders isn't on TV enough already! No, but NFL's version was a lazy, 30 minute 'picking teams' ceremony that could have been handled in a press release. So the MLB is taking the advice from the wrong role model here, in simply standing on TV, talking about crap, and THEN giving the rosters.

But wouldn't it be really cool if they did what the NBA does? If they had people like Giancarlo Stanton, Yasiel Puig, Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter showing up onstage when there name's called, to a sea of adoring fans and stuff like that? Wouldn't that be awesome? Why can't the MLB do THAT?

There. Rant over. Tomorrow night, you'll have your rosters, and I'll react to them in full. But if they botch this somehow, then you'll have another rant on your hands.

Coming Tomorrow- A Braves outfielder that I always make customs of early on.

Custom Card of the Day: Frustrating Verlander Edition

Okay, let me clarify that title a bit before I sprawl right into my rant. You see, Justin Verlander does not frustrate me. Far from it, actually. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he's garnered that awesome custom above.

What frustrates me is the fact that due to a minor technicality, Justin Verlander will not be pitching in the All Star Game that he was voted to be a part of.

The reason being that Verlander pitched today, the Sunday before the All Star break. If he pitches today, then he can't pitch, like, ONE INNING of the All Star game in two days. And that I don't freaking understand. The All Star game does not involve strenuous activity to warm up, or train, or anything. All you do is go out there, pitch for a little bit, and then wait for Jim Leyland to give one of the other pitchers a chance. You can do that on two days' rest. But evidently, the MLB says you can't, and now Verlander has to miss out on the All Star game, and one that he DESERVES to go to.

That is my least favorite rule in all of sports, because it takes away a much-needed privilege, one that many players kill for. And the MLB has done nothing to fix this rule, because they don't wanna disrupt the tradition of the ASG being on a Tuesday, because that certainly works with everyone's schedule. Also, since Jim Leyland is the one MANAGING the AL team, couldn't he have just, you know, gotten another pitcher and put HIM in? Like, Verlander could miss a start, he has an All Star game ahead. Couldn't Leyland have just brought up another starter, or just gotten Porcello or somebody to do it? It's easily solvable, but because the fans wanted JUSTIN VERLANDER, then it's worth missing an All Star game over.

Here's something else that's infuriating- the replacements the managers are pegging for dropouts like Verlander, Jeff Locke, and Jordan Zimmerman, are people that really shouldn't be at an All Star game. For instance, Mark Melancon of the Pirates was brought into the roster, which baffles me, because all he is is a middle reliever. You can't stack a pitching staff full of middle relievers that you're not even gonna use. Get some starters that are lying around. I'm sure Zack Greinke didn't have anything better to do. Though I will say that Sergio Romo at least partially deserves it. Just not effing Melancon.

So, yeah. Pretty bummed that Verlander isn't going to be pitching at the All Star Game, because he'd probably be starting. And I know I'm made my stance clear on this issue before. I'm just letting it out there. I mean, I'm sure the Tigers fans aren't bummed, because they still have, like, 20 other players representing them.

At least this didn't cost me anybody on my teams.

Coming Tomorrow- Somebody having to do with the All Star Game or Home Run Derby. Also, I have a Tim Lincecum Highlight card to make.

Wait just one second here Topps...

Dear Topps,

It has come to my attention that you are bringing back Topps Archives for next year. Archives was a favorite set of mine, and I applaud your courage for bringing back an old favorite. This letter, however, is not one of commendation.

This set, according to Beckett, is to include current players in a choice of four vintage designs (54, 71, 80 and 84). This fact enrages me for two reasons. One: Topps Archives was a full retired product, and now current players are taking it over? It's a bit misleading by calling it Topps Archives. Why don't you just call it Topps Lineage. That's basically what it is. Don't disgrace the name of a fine product by correlating it to something it is not.

Two: This idea of taking current players and photoshopping them into older Topps designs is not a new one. As a matter of fact, I HAVE BEEN USING IT ON THIS BLOG FOR THREE YEARS NOW!

That's right: Topps Archives 2012 is, in itself, a parody of my Custom Cards which I have been making since the blog's inception in 2009. While the idea was not necessarily original (you yourself had those magazine cutouts back in the 80's), it was still a cool idea, one that I went with for three years. When I started them, I got quite the acclaim. I still get the same acclaim, because they look cool. Not only do the cards look old, but my versions are almost like works of art. I use different photoshop filters to make it look nice.

So my question to you is this: If you wanted to put out a product based solely on a creation of mine and mine alone, why didn't you just ask me to do it for you? People occasionally comment on my blog, and say "Hey, these are great, Topps should hire you". One person pitched a 50 card insert set and everything. And now you have this, which is basically a 200 card custom set. Only instead of doing dozens of designs of the 60's, 70's and 80's, you include four. I'm sure my 50 card insert set would be better than that.

I know that none of you have ever seen my blog, let alone even heard of it, so I won't be hiring a lawyer. I'll still be making these custom cards, and I'll feel enraged when novice bloggers compare them to "that awesome Archives set Topps put out." And sure, I'll buy the product. But if it's not good, I won't buy much of it. That's the same treatment I gave Lineage; it tried to hook me in with a decent set idea, but it just was disappointing.

On a final note, if you ever decide to do a second edition of Archives, my email is on the sidebar. If not, or even better, if you decide to keep doing this set and neglect the fact that I reached out to you through a post, then I'll make mine better than ever, and more than ever. And I'll keep making them until you stop.

That's the option: Either admit to being influenced by my customs, or be defeated by them.

Sincerely,

Jordan, of Mint Condition

P.S.- I'll respect you all even more if you stop it with Opening Day and Topps Attax. And maybe if you listen to all of us and bring back Topps Total. That is all.