Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2012 Orioles

 

I was bitching about the rookie rules the MLBPA has set up a few days ago, I guess i'll start this 2012 Orioles post with a little more- Manny Machado's rookie season was in 2012. It was his first season, it was the season where he had the most breakout success, and according to baseball reference, he exceeded rookie limits during that season because he played 52 games. So really only the cutoff thing was preventing Topps from making a rookie card of him for Update. You know, that and wanting a high profile rookie for the 2013 set. 

And on one hand, I sort of get the mentality of saving him for the next year's set, but one thing that you need to remember is that Topps had the power to make a card of him for 2012. They put SPs of Jim Thome, Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in their new uniforms into Update. Now, would Topps be ballsy enough to release a rookie card as a short print only? YES. THEY WOULD. They did it with Alex Gordon in 2006, and they did it with Jacoby Ellsbury in 2007. Maybe they'd grown up slightly by 2012, but they could have done something like this.

Honestly, Machado was the centerpiece of a 2012 Orioles team that could have been way bigger had it not been for that breakneck Game 5 of the ALDS. He hit .262 with 7 homers, 26 RBIs and a 1.6 WAR. He would later proceed to have 7 WAR seasons at age 22 and 23 before Juan Soto made it cool. 

Topps missing Machado I can understand, but Topps missing Chris Tillman during his breakout season as a starter? A little more suspect. After a few seasons of struggling to stay afloat as a starter, Tillman had 15 games to change the minds of fans, and he pulled it off, with a 9-3 record, a 2.93 ERA and 66 Ks. These numbers would soon make him one of the more important arms for the O's, culminating in an ASG nod the following year.

Steve Pearce had a tumultuous 2012 to say the least. After starting the year trying to make camp with the Yankees, he'd stay in the minors before Baltimore would select him off waivers in June and throw him on the team. In 28 games with the O's, he'd hit .254 with 14 RBIs and 3 homers. After this, the Astros would pick him up for a bit, and eventually he'd be returned to the Yankees. And at the end of the season, Pearce would re-sign with the Orioles, who'd utilize him well for the next few years. I learned while doing this post that Steve Pearce played for all five AL East clubs, which is a pretty awesome stat. 

After spending an entire season in the Cleveland minors system, Nick Johnson was determined to get back to the majors after hitting his peak with New York and Washington. The O's took a chance on him, and tried him at DH as Chris Davis was heating up. Johnson, comparatively, hit .207 with 11 RBIs and 4 homers in 38 games. The numbers wouldn't be enough, and he'd be cut midseason, leading to his retirement. 

Also trying to find stability again was former Brewers bench bat and super-ute Bill Hall, who had come into some trouble after the Red Sox signed him in 2010. He'd split 2011 with the Astros and Giants, and only played 7 games with the 2012 Orioles. His power numbers had diluted, as had his defense, and he only hit .222 with 1 home run. Like Johnson, Hall would call it quits after the season.

Perhaps the most intriguing roster addition for the Orioles prior to the season was Lew Ford, a former prospect with the Twins who flamed out after a strong 2004, tried playing in the Japanese and Mexican leagues and fought his way back. The O's were expecting big things from Ford, and sadly he only hit .183 with 3 homers in his 25 games there. 

As for some waiver deadline pickups, Joe Saunders was having a nice season for the Diamondbacks, diluted by a weak offense, but the O's came for him in late August and he had 7 starts with the club. One of which I was in attendance for, and it was a scorcher against my Yankees where he got the win, thanks to a still-debated out-at-first call in the ninth. Saunders was also lights-out in the postseason, allowing only 2 earned runs in 2 starts, one of which was a win that pulled the team into the ALDS. Though his numbers would dilute after 2012, Saunders' season was one of the main assets that got them as far as they did.

Meanwhile, Nate McLouth was all set for a return to form in Pittsburgh, which Topps did document, only to fail to hit for average and be released by May. What Topps didn't document was his time with the Orioles, which was way better and put his career on the right track again. In 55 games, McLouth hit .268 with 18 RBIs and 7 homers, and hit .318 in the ALDS with 3 RBIs. This season also led to an even better, and fuller, 2013 season as an extra outfielder in Baltimore.

Strangest one last. It's been sort of lost to obscurity, but after impressive years with Philly and LA, Randy Wolf actually had something of a career renaissance with the late-2000s/early-2010s Brewers, becoming a consistent option for them. In 2012, his ERA began to build, and he was becoming a bit less necessary. The Orioles needed more potential pitching options, so they got him on a waiver deal late, and Wolf got 5 games and 2 starts for a competitor. The Orioles used Wolf more in relief, though he did get to start those 2 games, even if those were the ones that got more runs out of the opposing offense, but he still won 2 of his relief appearances. Didn't make the postseason roster though. Wolf would continue to pop up on weird teams for the rest of his career. 

Tomorrow, we stay in 2012 and knock out some Padres. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2018: Red Sox

...So yeah. The Red Sox won the World Series this year. Which really says all that needs to be said about my mood.

Look, I'll agree that this was a ferocious, exciting Sox team, with a lot of standouts, a ton of dominance, and so many great postseason moments. But...it'd have been nice if it wasn't the Red Sox. They've won almost as many titles in my lifetime as the Yankees have (Yanks still win 5 to 4). It'd be nice to see some other teams get a title...and yes, I see the irony of being a Yankee fan and saying that. But still.

Even as the designated fifth starter, Eduardo Rodriguez was still hella sharp for regulation. A 13-5 rotation and a 3.82 ERA is nothing to shake a stick at. But, with the impending playoffs, and the Price-Sale-Eovaldi-Porcello combo looking unbeatable, I can see why the comparatively-tame Rodriguez spent the postseason on the bullpen staff.

 ...not that the bullpen needed the help.

Hector Velazquez was the primary setup man, with a 3.18 ERA and a 7-2 record. He was also an impressive long reliever, getting a pen-most 85 innings of work.

 However, Ryan Brasier supplied the intensity in the pen, with only 6 earned runs in 43 appearances, and a 1.60 ERA. He was also one of the more trusted postseason relievers, as was...

Matt Barnes, another homegrown fireballer from the pen. His 96 strikeouts tie Craig Kimbrel's for pen-most, and he only gave up 1 earned run in 8 innings of postseason work.

 These last two already got customs this year, but they deserved another. JD Martinez took his fantastic 2017 and built on it, giving us 43 home runs and 130 RBIs, as well as a .330 batting average, which...coming from a career power hitter is pretty damn impressive. I think he should have been considered a bit more for MVP, but Betts deserved his.

And here's the World Series MVP, who went from a journeyman outfielder with mediocre bench numbers to the SINGLE MOST LETHAL CLUTCH HITTER OF 2018. No one was safe for this guy's Boston stuff. His .394 On Base Percentage was the third highest on that team, behind Betts and Martinez. And his postseason miracle work has already been documented.

In summation...I didn't love that it had to be a Boston team to win it all...but this team was pretty damn spectacular. If anybody was gonna win it all this year, it had to have been Boston, and I'm kinda glad they did.

Coming Tomorrow- A midwestern team that even made last place look fun.

Why Must the Baseball Gods be so Cruel?

As you all can tell, I didn't post at all during the World Series. There were a couple reasons behind this. I was swamped with work, I was out of town all weekend, and I was more focused on getting the box break out.

And, of course, there was the fact that the Red Sox were doing really well.

If I can remove my pinstriped bias for a moment, I can agree that there were some great players and moments with this team, and that it may have been one of the more overpowered World Series teams in recent history. But...why did this have to be a Red Sox team? Why must I suffer?

Steve Pearce was the obvious choice for World Series MVP, because he hit so many home runs this postseason that something had to be done about it. And after the recent spout of inconsistency the guy's had, I'm happy for him. He went from bench has-been to starter, to WS MVP. That is impressive, and I am here for it.

So...that was the World Series. The Dodgers put up a valiant effort, but even without their respective snafus, they just couldn't get past this Sox team. I don't think anyone could have.

I guess this means the post-heavy baseball season has come to a close. As per usual, I find it hard to fill the months without baseball with posts, but I will give it some actual effort this year. I wanna go back to the editorials of old, I wanna talk more about the card industry, and decisions, and I wanna be more active consistently. Yes, I do have a month before Uncustomed Heroes starts up and I can post every day again, but I don't want to have to wait for that.

Expect some content in the coming month. I'll try, for you guys.

CS' Day 5: Walkoffs and Blowouts

Look, this Brewers-Dodgers series may go down to the wire. Both teams are incredible this year, and both teams want this World Series spot BADLY. And last night, where they stretched a 1-1 tie out 13 innings, was the proof. Because both teams, regardless of pitching, or lineup efficiency, are just that good. And it took Cody Bellinger nailing a much-needed RBI single in the 13th to seal it for LA.

As we continue tonight, this series is still tied at 2, and now things are really going to heat up. If somebody wins two straight, they're in. They're moving on. But...is this the kind of series where the Brewers or Dodgers can allow the other team to win 2 straight?

In a similarly-cutthroat series, the Astros learned the drawbacks of starting Dallas Keuchel in the postseason this year, as the Red Sox lineup, including Steve Pearce, J.D. Martinez and Jackie Bradley Jr., proceeded to stomp the crap out of him, and ended the game with an 8-2 win. In Houston. Now they have won two straight, and tonight they could win a third, especially with Rick Porcello facing off against Charlie Morton, a great starter but fourth man for a reason.

I still want the Astros to come back, and I believe they can, but if the Sox' offense is gonna do this every time, it truly scares me.

Tonight, more from both series.

Playoffs Day 2 in Review

This guy, along with some scary stuff from Alex Bregman and the heavy hitters, put the 'Stros up 1-0 against Cleveland, in a game that began with dueling no-nos from Kluber and Verlander.

This guy had an RBI double that got the bandwagon rolling for the Brewers, culminating in a 4-0 win over Colorado, and a 2-0 lead going into Coors Field. The Brewers are in a great place right now, and could claim a victory within the next two games. They'll just need to be careful to not let the Rockies' lineup come alive in their home stadium.

This guy, with some major performance from Chris Sale, kept the Yankees at bay, despite great work from Luke Voit, and cemented a 1-0 lead at home.

And this guy, as per usual this postseason, was on fire, crossing home thanks to a Machado homer, and keeping the Braves scoreless against the homers of LA, giving THEM a 2-0 record going into Atlanta. One more great win by the Dodgers and they're in the NLCS, which would be pretty cool for them, considering what it took for them to get good this season.

Tonight, more AL shenanigans.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2015: Orioles

It's looking like the Orioles may be headed back to being a middle-of-the-road team, and that's pretty sad, because there's a ton of talent in that roster, a lot of fight, too. I really hope they can at least do something next season.

Zach Britton is still one of the toughest closers in baseball, though, and I love how far he's come.

Jonathan Schoop had a less-productive but still awesome sophomore season at 2nd base, proving he can play the position consistently, and giving O's fans hope for life after Brian Roberts.

Caleb Joseph, in Matt Wieters' absence, was the main catcher in Baltimore this year, and he definitely did not disappoint, hitting well, playing nice defensive ball, and saddling Wieters to a backup role after his return (basically).

Ubaldo Jimenez came off a notoriously terrible 2014 to become one of the top arms for the Orioles, pitching big games and taking the place of Chris Tillman as the reliable veteran. Hopefully he'll keep it up.

Steve Pearce took an everyday outfield position, and didn't disappoint, playing well, hitting well, and probably going back to a starting job next year.

Gerardo Parra was a midseason trade that DEFINITELY worked out for the O's, as Parra broke big in a way he hasn't in a while, and even dwarfed his stats with the Brewers earlier this year.

Coming Tomorrow- Well...at least the Padres tried.

Friday Night in Review

How about the Baltimore Orioles, guys. In two games, they have been going wild on the Tigers, considered to be one of the best teams in baseball.

It's happened the same way both times- the bullpen, including former Yankee phenom and current Hagar the Horrible lookalike Joba Chamberlain, is not able to hold the team down during the 7th and 8th. It happened (in a huge way) Thursday night, and it happened again last night, with Delmon Young (wow, the Rookie Class of 2007 was well-represented in this game) having some huge hits to seal the win.

They have today off, but once they get to Detroit, things are going to be huge. After all, if they win, the whole damn thing will be over, and the Tigers will be out...which is a very nice thought if you're rooting for Baltimore.

Meanwhile, the Giants had a very close game that was won by some nice bullpen work, and by some young players getting back home very quickly. Joe Panik, for instance, made some big plays last night. Panik is only supposed to be filling in for Marco Scutaro this year, however judging by the last few months, it looks like he may be sticking around.

That's not to say the Giants have this absolutely wrapped up, though.

This guy also hit a home run last night, along with Bryce Harper. So while the Giants are working with singles and RBIs, the Nats are playing for power. Tonight, chances are we're going to see some of that power in a larger scale. I still think the Nats are the better team, and I don't want them to be screwed this postseason.

Speaking of getting screwed, I do not want the Dodgers to lose this series. Because if they lose, then the Cardinals will inexplicably wind up back in the NLCS, and potentially get back to the World Series, and potentially win again. This would not be good for me, seeing as I really don't like the Cardinals, even without David Freese. They're just infuriating, and last night was no different.

Matt Carpenter just kept beating up Clayton Kershaw, and driving in hits and home runs all over the place. I felt sorry for Kershaw.

The game ended with a 10-9 victory, and it stung a little bit. I want the Dodgers to fight back next game.

How about this guy?

Man, the Angels-Royals game was so boring up to the 11th, when Hosmer had a huge home run to break it all up, and from there it was basically over. I'm so happy for the Royals, who've had three postseason victories in a row, and are in position to sweep when they get back home. This is great news for them, because they deserved this season.

I'll be back with an update after the games.