It's been a rough couple of days for this sports fan. Let's recap, courtesy of some really nice cards from Nick of For Card's Sake.Adam Wainwright is out for the year. Tommy John surgery. Anyone who is into baseball knows that this means that perhaps the best pitcher in the National League, aside from maybe a couple of Phillies, will miss a full calendar year of baseball-related activities because he's having the ligament in his elbow replaced. Also, that pitcher happens to pitch for my favorite team and is one of my favorite ballplayers all around.
Albert Pujols is... well... nevermind. I vowed not to talk about that. No contract talk until the season is over. That goes for this blog, too. Those are his rules, not mine. This card is really shiny and has the good kind of serial numbers on the back (not the cheap looking kind that's on 2011 Topps cards.)
At first I thought this was an ESPN branded set, but it turns out it was just a conveniently framed shot. This card from the 2004 Timeless Teams set also has the nice gold serial numbers on the back.
Can Chris Carpenter step up and perform at maximum capacity, now that Wainwright is shelved for the year? I certainly hope so. Carp is my favorite active Cardinal, especially now that Edmonds (sigh...) is retiring. I'm just concerned that he is on the decline, after seeing some disturbing trends crop up last season like an alarming jump in his home run rate and his lack of effectiveness down the stretch.
Moving on to more local things, Joel Przybilla is no longer a Blazer. As the longest tenured player with the franchise, I felt that Joel was really deserving of his own post. Sadly, I just don't have the time right now. I am cautiously optimistic about the trade that ensued late this morning, but it still sucks to see him go. Przybilla is a shell of his former self on the court, but Dante Cunningham was really fun to watch and the loss of draft picks could hurt in the long run. (In fact, Dante was on the fast track to becoming one of my favorite Blazers.)
Picking up a guy like Gerald Wallace, however, is an opportunity that probably needs to be seized. Heck, picking up Actual Gerald Wallace could prove to be even better. He was an All-Star last season (albeit an Eastern Conference one) and held the de facto "Best Player" title for the Bobcats. It's easy to say that Michael Jordan was fleeced here. I think the move sets up Charlotte decently for the future if Dante Cunningham becomes a better defender and looks a little more like the guy who went off for 18 points and 13 rebounds in a recent game. As for Wallace, I'm at least looking forward to the first time someone accidentally calls him "Rasheed" in a game.
Albert Pujols is... well... nevermind. I vowed not to talk about that. No contract talk until the season is over. That goes for this blog, too. Those are his rules, not mine. This card is really shiny and has the good kind of serial numbers on the back (not the cheap looking kind that's on 2011 Topps cards.)
At first I thought this was an ESPN branded set, but it turns out it was just a conveniently framed shot. This card from the 2004 Timeless Teams set also has the nice gold serial numbers on the back.
Can Chris Carpenter step up and perform at maximum capacity, now that Wainwright is shelved for the year? I certainly hope so. Carp is my favorite active Cardinal, especially now that Edmonds (sigh...) is retiring. I'm just concerned that he is on the decline, after seeing some disturbing trends crop up last season like an alarming jump in his home run rate and his lack of effectiveness down the stretch.
Moving on to more local things, Joel Przybilla is no longer a Blazer. As the longest tenured player with the franchise, I felt that Joel was really deserving of his own post. Sadly, I just don't have the time right now. I am cautiously optimistic about the trade that ensued late this morning, but it still sucks to see him go. Przybilla is a shell of his former self on the court, but Dante Cunningham was really fun to watch and the loss of draft picks could hurt in the long run. (In fact, Dante was on the fast track to becoming one of my favorite Blazers.)
Picking up a guy like Gerald Wallace, however, is an opportunity that probably needs to be seized. Heck, picking up Actual Gerald Wallace could prove to be even better. He was an All-Star last season (albeit an Eastern Conference one) and held the de facto "Best Player" title for the Bobcats. It's easy to say that Michael Jordan was fleeced here. I think the move sets up Charlotte decently for the future if Dante Cunningham becomes a better defender and looks a little more like the guy who went off for 18 points and 13 rebounds in a recent game. As for Wallace, I'm at least looking forward to the first time someone accidentally calls him "Rasheed" in a game.Side note: I'll pretend the Blazers did not play a game last night. It never happened. You can't prove it.
Unfortunately, I can prove that they played a game last night... I was there. It was a great 46 min of basketball and I got chills when Roy came back on the court.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's been pretty glum here in StL area.
ReplyDeleteHey, you forgot to mention Punto out a few weeks, too!
I'm not sure even 1/1's could cure your loss of Adam. My condolences.
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