Wheeler of Fortune

This is the kind of trade deadline where trumpets blare and alarms sound over a reliever getting traded to the Braves. Like...wow. Breathtaking.

Unless everybody just goes tomorrow, which is likely but chaotic, then it's gonna be one weak-ass trade deadline. This is good for Topps, because that means they don't have to make too many late-addition photos to Update, but bad for me, because I kind of love these wild deadline deals.

Take Zack Wheeler. Any other year, he'd be gone like a week ago. But because so many people have been wishy-washy about whether or not they want to go, his case is suffering. The Mets are now looking to move Syndergaard instead of Wheeler, as Syndergaard has had more prevalent, and better, numbers recently. Wheeler is officially back from the IL, but now his ERA has dropped to 4.47, and he's got one more loss than Thor. If Thor leaves, Wheeler's numbers could improve, but...is that the way we risk it?

I do think it's very somber that this trade deadline involves siphoning off the members of the once-proud 2015 rotation. Wheeler or Thor could go. Possibly deGrom. Matz is injured, and Harvey's a free agent. I don't know how much longer we have with these guys on the Mets, now that they're getting guys like Stroman to be strong starters.

I just want something to happen. Zack Wheeler is having a great season, and I'd hate for him to not leave the Mets if he's making an effort to.

Coming Tomorrow- I'll be at Cooperstown for a bit, so this will be tomorrow night (I think), but probably a Royals breakout.

Slow Market (Again)

4 wins since the ASG break. Ughhh

I wanna be optimistic about the White Sox, because I have a feeling that this central core of Anderson-Moncada-Jimenez-Abreu is gonna get them places within the next few years. But...it's just not working this year. 3rd place under .500 is still under .500. One great starter doesn't compliment the existence of four other shitty ones. Having Alex Colome and Aaron Bummer throwing well doesn't save the rest of the bullpen from being meh.

So I imagine they wanna unload Colome. And I don't blame them, because Colome is still an elite closer, he still throws smoke, and he's still an impressive tool for any team, especially one that's competing, to have. The Sox ain't competing, so they're looking to trade him.

Only problem is we've got three more days til the deadline. And not just the soft, 'hahaha, seriously, don't trade anyone else but we won't enforce it' deadline. The hard deadline. And BECAUSE it's such a hard deadline, and because this is so important...people are holding out. They're not making moves, because they know that one will set off 20 others, and the people who want to leave aren't agreeing to things yet.

...sound familiar? Weren't we JUST going through this six months ago during the offseason? Aren't we TRYING to avoid things like this? I mean, remember, if you wait too long, people start scrambling, and the deals maybe aren't as well thought out as we thought they'd be.

So Colome is still on the market, but mainly because Edwin Diaz, Kirby Yates, Will Smith, Mychal Givens, Ken Giles, Shane Greene and Felipe Vazquez are all still on the market, and they're all just as good. And teams have four days to finish up those deals regarding acquiring them. Because...they couldn't just do any of that in the weeks leading up to the deadline, because the Royals are the only team who are actually taking this seriously.

Again, I could be challenging a hurricane, and the remainder of trade deadline deals could all hit one after the other, but...with four days left, I'm very concerned.

Coming Tonight: [sigh] Guess who's first in the NL Central now...

Could You At Least Wait Until After I've Posted The Custom to Trade the Guy?

Less than an hour after I made this custom yesterday, I hear news that the Marlins have traded him to Philadelphia.

Which...okay, not a BAD move, just...I was planning on posting this damn thing in a few weeks, when it came up in the rotation. And now I have to take it out of the rotation right after making it, and post it now so it doesn't feel belated. That's what I just had to do with the Fernando Rodney custom.

I mean...either I should stop scheduling customs so far in advance, or teams should just stop making big trades after July 31st. Because it's hard to do customs this month without hitting a minefield.

Again, I appreciate the move in terms of bringing a big hitter to Philly, but...now I've gotta make another Marlins custom, and I don't like doing that!

A Bitterly-Reviewed Hanger Box of 2018 Topps Series 2

You'll notice that there's been a shortage of baseball card-related material on this baseball card blog.

To be honest, it's not even my fault. We've just finished off the most dry card spell of the season, with a lot of products (like Gypsy Queen, Opening Day and Pro Debut) that I don't have a ton of interest in, give or take a few singles. Also, it's seeming more and more like Topps doesn't especially care about its card output, as early looks at the checklist proved that there were some glaring flaws of logic in the execs' thinking, ones that weren't ever going to be rectified.

So this hanger box of Series 2 (followed tomorrow by a blaster of it) is just out of necessity, really. The 2018 Topps set has been, while a technical and photographical improvement on 2017, another step backwards in terms of general creativity. To be honest, I've already become kind of mad at the fact that this set was produced in, like, January, and a lot of things have happened since that have rendered these cards obsolete. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna count all the cards that either have the wrong uniform or simply don't need to be there (combos and team cards don't count).

So, here's the hanger box:

424- Matt Wieters. It's theraputic that my first card of the series is a guy who took 7 years to get a Topps card.
404- Alex Claudio
544- Yadier Molina. I agree that the abundance of facemask flaps is ruining batter's box action shots on cards. How can you gauge the excitement if most of the face is obscured?
488- Joe Panik.
361- Middle Infield Marvels- Altuve/Correa CL
471- Josh Harrison. I still don't like the fact that the twitter handles take more space from the stats. Not at all.
505- Taylor Williams. All of these are fine so far.
388- Taylor Motter! AHA! Unneeded Card #1. He's pictured with Seattle, and is currently in the Twins organization.
414- Danny Valencia. Unneeded Card #1. He's currently floundering with Baltimore, instead of his picture M's uniform.
523- Matt Bush. Perhaps he should have stuck to hitting
656- Brian Goodwin
671- Tyler Clippard. Unneeded Card #3- Pictured with Astros, now with Blue Jays.
543- Luis Castillo. Proof that the Reds' pitching is in dire need of improvement.
462- Paul DeJong. Injured, but still a key part of this up-and-coming Cards team.
422- Victor Caratini
698- Ryan Sherriff. Excessive rookies don't count as Unneeded.
655- Andre Ethier. Nor does this. This is a pretty striking and beautiful final tribute for the legendary Dodger, who's probably hanging it up (unless someone signs him).
683- Adam Eaton. Glad to see he's finally healthy, and surging.
669- Matt Chapman, the A's anchor right now
460- Robert Gsellman. I do really enjoy the horizontal photography here.
549- Alex Gordon, who FINALLY remembered how to hit
415- Jace Peterson...as a Yankee??? Unneeded Card #4. Yanks released him in April.
522- Guillermo Heredia
609- Austin Hedges
465- Padres TC. Once again, we don't need to carve out space to print Twitter/Insta handles that are too f--king self-explanatory. Are you doing this for the stupid people who wouldn't think to just google 'What's the Padres' twitter handle?'. "OHHH, IT'S (A) PADRES!!! I HAD NO IDEA!!!"
442- Jesus Aguilar, a cool action shot that looks better sideways.
629- Max Scherzer...the best pitcher in baseball. Yep.
665- Tommy Pham
690- Cardinals TC
425- Shelby Miller, with a nice horizontal walk-up card. One could argue that this one's also Unneeded, as he's not debuted yet this season, but...I'll be generous and allow this one.
516- Ken Giles in a cool closer-catcher card
680- Enquire Hernandez
474- Jeff Mathis
Salute Legends: Roberto Clemente. Still not a fan of the simplicity of this insert set, but I won't turn down pulling a Clemente card.
83T- George Springer AS. Great reproduction of the AS cards, always a nice one.
400- Jose Altuve...shiny. Okay then.
533- Kennys Vargas...INDEPENDECE DAY PARALLEL, #'D TO 76. Considering that I literally saw this guy play for Rochester the other day, it was very nice to get a parallel of him, especially so low.
Instant Impact of Jose Abreu, a guy I always enjoy pulling cards of.
2 Aaron Judge inserts I'm not gonna go over because you're all sick of him
Legends in the Making of Kyle Schwarber. One of the few inserts I enjoy in this set, and Schwarber, considering his 2018 season, is a good choice
Legends in the Making of GIANCARLO STANTON. OOOOOOH, THAT'S EVEN BETTER!
371- Cole Hamels. Still among the best
457- Hanley Ramirez. Borderline, but not Unneeded, seeing as he just got released a week or so ago. Pity, too.
359- Wade Miley. Hasn't played a game in a Brewers uniform yet, and yet...here he is. Alrighty then. Unneeded Card #5 it is.
464- Travis Jankowski
360- Taijuan Walker, who's currently on the DL, but at least pitched this year, ergo he deserves a card this year.
437- JJ Hardy. Unneeded Card #6. He didn't even retire gracefully, so no Sunset Card needed for him.
450- Joey Votto. Class act. Probably a future HOFer, too
432- Albert Almora.
570- Trevor Williams, having a big comeup for the Pirates this year
446- Lucas Duda. I'm 90% sure this is a photoshop job, but even if it is, it's one of Topps' better ones
678- Chad Bettis, FINALLY BACK for Colorado
545- Nicholas Castellanos. The fans ADORE this guy in Detroit, and with his swing I can see why.
472- Matt Garza. Another guy that didn't really need a sunset card. Unneeded Card #7
508- Ryon Healy. Not a great PS job.
617- Doug Fister. Marginally better PS job, but wondering where they got the all-red uniform from. Probably Boston, but looks more like an Angels uniform, which...I could have SWORN he pitched for, even if they did sign him and dropped him before he could start a game.
507- Zack Greinke, still one of the best
606- Jake Arrieta. I seriously doubt this is a photoshop job, because...I mean, it's Arrieta as a Phillie. They got a real photo, I think. Which is nice.
530- Jason Vargas. THIS ONE, THOUGH...not a great PS job. If you're gonna rush out players in new uniforms, at least put some f--king effort into them.
509- Santiago Casilla.
510- Freddie Freeman. MVP?
358- Brad Brach
520- Jim Johnson. If there's no twitter/insta, they paste a big #TOPPSBASEBALL on there, like it's a big MAGA or something. Why do they think that wasting card space for something like a #TOPPSBASEBALL thing is a good idea? It's barely practical. Twitter shit like that is disposable. Cards last longer than that.
670- Asdrubal Cabrera. Finally back to his old tricks
583- Tommy Joseph. Hasn't played in the majors yet this year, or for Philly...or Texas, or whoever he's with right now. Unneeded Card #8
534- German Marquez
369- Chris Taylor
362- Miguel Rojas
538- Jason Castro. Got injured post-Opening Day, so still deserves the card
515- Greg Bird. Glad to see he's finally hitting
504- Scott Schebler.

So...while there's a lot of good base stuff, and a few good inserts (and a nice parallel), Topps Series 2 is more of the same from Topps. Laziness, lack of creativity, and a lot of unneeded cards that will only be rectified by Update...which then won't have any room for the other cards that Update is meant for. But that's a rant for another day.

I also bought a blaster of this, and you'll see that tomorrow.

Saving Philly: Nick Williams Edition

Since the 2011 season, you know, when the Phillies were actually really good, every year of Philadelphia baseball has been met with sharp disappointment, save for one player who, halfway through the year, decides he must singlehandedly save the team.

In 2012, it was Juan Pierre, who decided to have one of the best seasons of his career as heroes, like Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino were being traded, and other heroes, like Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, were heading towards career-ending injuries.

In 2013, it was Domonic Brown, who decided that the prospects had to be right for one year, and had an insane month of June, earning an All Star nod and, for a brief moment, making Phillies fans actually feel like they were right about him.

In 2014, it was Marlon Byrd, an old forgotten friend who'd made his way back to the top, and back to Philly, and proceeded to have the best year of HIS career, hitting 25 home runs, narrowly avoiding trade negotiations, and giving the fans something worthwhile to care about.

In 2015, it was Jeff Francoeur for most of the year, having an unbelievably fun season and getting some respect points before his 2016 final season. In August, someone usurped him for the title, as Aaron Altherr came up from the minors and subsequently started hitting like an absolute pro, phasing Francoeur off the title.

Last year it was Odubel Herrera, who had the best year of HIS career, and was literally the only player in Philly who did anything worth writing home about.

This year...Nick Williams, who came up in early July, has diverted all attention to himself. He's got a killer swing, can hit in the clutch, and has been farming in the minors for YEARS, finally getting a chance to show his worth (you know, after the Phillies have exhausted all of their aging free-agent pickup options). I say he's carrying the team because Aaron Altherr's injured, Herrera and Maikel Franco are having down years, and Aaron Nola can't carry the team if he's only there to do so every five games.

I still think it's frustrating as hell that we've GOTTEN to this point in Philly, that for the past six seasons the whole team's been on auto-pilot, and we have to rely on a single player to bring jolts of momentum and get everyone else to start working. This is an uninspired, less-than-boilerplate roster that's NEEDED to be great for a few years, and can't seem to get anything started. And as a guy who was really happy with this team at the turn of the decade, it frustrates the hell out of me. We were in a WORLD SERIES ten seasons ago! JUST TEN SEASONS, GUYS! I was hoping we'd hold out as a great team for more than a couple years.

Still, for right now, hopefully Nick Williams will keep it up for more than this one season. We need guys like him who can be on for a while.

UPDATE: Apparently the Phils have called up Rhys Hoskins. Maybe this team can be carried by more than one person after all...

Coming Tonight: One of the few major players on his team that was remarkably not traded, despite still being one of the most underrated second baseman in baseball.

ABOUT DAMN TIME!

Let's refresh the obvious.

It took EIGHTEEN INNINGS for Game 2 of the NLDS to end. EIGHTEEN INNINGS. Keep in mind. It took nine innings to tie up the game, and then it took NINE MORE INNINGS for NEITHER TEAM to do JACK SHIT.

I'm sorry, but that isn't the most interesting baseball game to attend, or even to watch at home. It was just three hours of sitting and waiting for things to happen. If I wanted to do that, I'd go fishing.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for baseball being tough, and well-matched, but it must have been pathetic to watch a succession of people not scoring any runs. You don't watch the playoffs to see that.

Thankfully, Brandon Belt got the memo and ended up ending the game with a huge hit, and giving us another Giants victory, which I can deal with. As long as it means the game is no longer going on, it's fine with me.

Monday night will be in San Francisco. Hopefully the game will end at a reasonable hour, even by San Francisco standards.

Custom Card of the Day: Beltran Edition

Back in February, when all of the Spring Training photos come out, it is a Mint Condition tradition to make a 'wish-list' of sorts, of all the recently-traded players that I desperately need to make customs of. Some of the more obvious ones were up first, like Robinson Cano.

Unlike a lot of other years, there are a lot of people that are on that list that I still haven't customized. And a lot of them are Yankees.

If you've been watching the blog carefully, you'd notice that Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and now Brandon McCarthy haven't been customized. The only excuse I can make is a genuine one- they haven't had really good photos.

I had to dig deep for this Beltran custom, but I keep checking Ellsbury and McCann's photos for something outstanding...and I never find it. It's very infuriating, because I want to customize these guys. These guys are playing pretty well, at least for 2014 standards.

It's similar to last year, where I waited to long to make one for Kevin Youkilis, although unlike Youk these guys haven't made as many trips to the DL. I have opportunities. I just don't have good photos.

Long story short, if you see a Jacoby Ellsbury custom in the near future, expect it to be really good.

Coming Tonight- A Cardinals' prospect that has been doing rather well lately.