Airbrushed Fridays: 1976 Topps Traded #146T

Lousy rotten Braves have just taken the lead in the 7th on the Cardinals as I write this. Where's John Rocker to make fun of when you need him?

George "Doc" Medich was a right-handed starting pitcher who spent 11 seasons in the majors with 7 teams, primarily in the '70s. He earned the nickname Doc from... now, help me out here, please... was it because of his last name or was it that he literally became a licensed medical doctor by the end of his baseball career? Doc bowed out of the league following a lone World Series appearance for Milwaukee (against the Cards) where he allowed 6 runs in 2 innings. He also lost his medical license due to a drug addiction. (Man, this is not the happiest entry in this series, is it?)

Why did Topps airbrush George's photo? Like many things the Pirates would do later in their franchise history, Medich's trade was a rather one-sided affair that would prove to benefit another team. The Yankees picked up franchise staple-to-be Willie Randolph along with George Brett's brother and the Acid Man in a late December 1975 exchange.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? The only visible portion of the top of Doc's cap is repainted a safety vest yellow with no consideration for a team logo. He should probably do something about that sweaty lock of hair that the cap isn't containing as well. Additionally, I think they left Doc's collar in Yankees navy blue.

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.

Cardboard Tales of Woe: Vol. 1

Somewhere between the ages of 12 and 14 - I really don't recall - a friend of my father's showed up at the house unexpectedly to drop off a gift to me. I remember my dad looking on with a look of trepedation, the kind of look usually reserved for me when I told him I was going to ride my bike more than a mile from the house. I don't really think he cared much about the gift I was going to receive, but I think he figured I would screw it up just the same.

His friend brought me a paper bag full of 1979 Topps cards. The cards certainly weren't pack fresh, but they weren't well-handled, either. The fact that they were transported in a paper bag certainly wasn't doing them any favors, but the cards were in pretty reasonable shape overall. There were the usual gum stains, a few creases here and there and some random what-I-hoped-was-candy stains. Lots of cards had centering issues, but overall, they weren't far off from what you'd expect from a relatively untouched lot of cards from that year. Most of the stars were there, including a rookie with funky sideburns named Osborne Earl Smith.

To this day, I swear there were more than one Ozzie cards in the bag. I sorted them, organized them in binders, and went about my way with them, trying to take care of them as best as I knew how at that young age. I know I traded a lot of the stars off, but for the most part I kept at least one copy of every card. That is, of course, except for Ozzie Smith. I feel like there were some shenanigans going on as I recall trading one of the Ozzie cards, but there's no way I would trade BOTH of them, right? I didn't exactly trust everyone that I was around with my cards in our neighborhood, and I guess that's reason enough to try to put the blame elsewhere. It could have been me, though. Ozzie was my favorite player and yet the idea to collect his cards above all else had yet to solidify in my brain. I was more easily impressed with shiny and new in the budding era of the brand new shiny rookie card while these late '70s cards that I could barely relate to were kind of ugly and uninspiring. But Ozzie... man. What happened? I believe at some point I made a deal for a Ken Griffey 1989 Bowman card, valued at around $5 at the time.

It wasn't until recently that I finally owned another Ozzie rookie. It only took a year or two before the price of virtually every card in the set multiplied several times over, and Ozzie's cards skipped just out of reach of my price range. I've traded off the bulk of this lot over time, which is fine by me. I have my girlfriend Erin to thank for bringing me my first Ozzie Smith keeper rookie card. It's not a perfect card and until I removed it from the case, I actually feared that it was trimmed. I don't believe it is, however. It's just missing pretty much the entire lower border and it's also ever so slightly skewed at an angle. Still, it's the one I'll cherish the most although I will always be on the lookout for more. Something about this sad tale will make me want as many copies as I can manage, I'm sure.

Also thanks to Erin, I was able to add some more Ozzies to my collection. Here's a silver signature parallel of the 1994 Collector's Choice variety. These relatively unloved cards always seem to have great photography.

This shiny little devil is a 1980 Topps card masquerading as a 2001 Topps Archives Reserve in a chrome refractor style. Or is that vice versa? I'm not sure. I like it, though. The original version proved to be a lot more attainable to me than his rookie.

Should I get my act together and finally put my Ozzie Smith "haves" list online? It would make sense, wouldn't it?

Threat Level Blazers

With a Game 5 loss, the Blazers are facing elimination in their series against the Mavericks. Game 6 is back in the City of Roses Thursday night. Let's examine the Blazers prospects in what is clearly the most predictive way possible... by opening up a Panini Stickers pack!

6 - Eastern Conference (THREAT LEVEL: LOW. It's rather unlikely at this point that the Blazers will advance to the Finals, though many have predicted that the Mavericks are still a vulnerable team due to past playoff failures. Much tougher challenges would await Portland were they to pass the first round, although the Eastern Conference cannot be completely ignored. This sticker is a little unusual because the surface somewhat reminds me of an iron-on patch or something similar.)

265 - Andrei Kirilenko (THREAT LEVEL: LOW to MEDIUM. Sure, the Jazz failed to make the playoffs, but they're always a threat as one of the Blazers' most hated rivals. Things may never be the same in the post-Jerry Sloan area, however.)

33 - Bill Walker (THREAT LEVEL: NONE. The Knicks were unceremoniously dumped from the playoffs in straight sets by Boston and resumed being a joke in spite of their making the playoffs this season. Any progress made with key up-and-coming cogs like Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler was undermined by the trade for the despicable Carmelo Anthony. Also, Bill Walker... don't really know him all that well.)

284 - Baron Davis (THREAT LEVEL: NONE. Things went from bad to worse for Baron Davis, whose drive and determination are already somewhat suspect. He's in Cleveland now. At least he doesn't have to look at Blake Griffin's face anymore.)

350 - Evan Turner (THREAT LEVEL: LOW. Turner is an up-and-comer, and the Sixers made a surprise appearance in the playoffs. They're down 3-1 to the Heat, but I honestly expect them to force a Game 7 considering the way Miami's season has gone lately. I would love for them to be the first to fall in a series after leading 3-0.)

44 - Marreese Speights (THREAT LEVEL: LOW. Pretty much what I said up above.)

123 - Gerald Wallace (THREAT LEVEL: N/A. Hey, it's a Blazer! Crash traded in his orange headbands for some red ones from what I hear. His impact on this playoff series has been less than expected, but there's still some time for him to wreak some havoc. At the very least, he's going to brawl with someone before the series is over. Count on it.)

367 - James Anderson (THREAT LEVEL: NEGLIGIBLE. Anderson was a first round pick last summer but hasn't had much of an impact on the current squad as a rookie. The Spurs... I'm not sure what they're doing. It's almost as if they don't have any idea that they're down 3-1 to a so-called* 8th seed in their series.)

*So-called because Memphis threw their last couple of games in order to finish with a favorable playoff matchup. This aspect disgusts me, but they're looking like geniuses right about now.

How Did I Miss This?

I've had a stack of '70s cards on my desk for quite a long time that I pick through when I'm looking for material for my Airbrushed Fridays posts. The cards originally came from Smed's Baseball Card Blog and are heavy on the airbrushing victims, although there were some other interesting cards in the pile. It took me a really long time to notice that one of the cards was an actual factual Hank Aaron card from his playing days. Amazing! Sure, Hammerin' Hank was playing for the Brewers and in the twilight of his career at this point, but this is an awesome card to own.

Smed's is hosting a Spring Cleaning event if you haven't already had the chance to partake. He's unloading tons of cards for nothing more than some items off his wish list and the cost of shipping. Having received a number of packages from him in the past, I am sure that it will be well worth your while to sign up, both in value and fun factor. Check it out! I can't promise that you'll receive a Hank Aaron card or anything, but I'm sure that there's plenty of great stuff to be had.

SuperRoy

What happened yesterday afternoon in Portland was amazing. It was national news, the lead story on ESPN, etc. People are still talking about it. To make a long story short, the Blazers entered the 4th quarter trailing by 18 points, having shot just 28% for the game. They missed their first 15 shots in the 3rd quarter (it was actually a close game at halftime) and at one point trailed by 23. The hero of the day, once again, was Brandon Roy. His alter-ego, the guy that feels sorry for himself and doesn't know how he fits in with the team anymore with his broken knees, stepped into the phone booth once again and put on the SuperRoy cape. Buckets ensued. 15 of 20 shots were made in the 4th. A four-point play tied the game late and the Blazers went on to even the series.

I couldn't find another Roy card to post that I haven't already scanned, so I went with the 2010-11 Donruss team card, which is not only my favorite Blazers card of the year but might actually be my favorite card of the year, period. It also offers perhaps the only tangible evidence that Fabricio Oberto actually played for the Blazers. Check it out: he's the fifth player from the right. Thanks again to Cardboard Collections for the card.

Check out some very well-compiled video of the game here.

Airbrushed Fridays: 1985 Topps Traded #74T

In a world of video trading cards, what will be the new airbrushing technology? Will players be replaced with their EA Sports/2K Sports video game likeness? Will robots be involved somehow? The mind wanders...

Johnnie LeMaster was no-hit, no-field shortstop who played primarily for the San Francisco Giants from the mid-'70s through the mid-'80s. He somehow managed to amass more than 3500 plate appearances in a career that saw him total just a .566 OPS. Rarely does someone who ranks so low in so many statistical categories actually see that much playing time. Usually these types are reserve bench players... "good clubhouse guys"... possible future coaches? No Johnnie, who has an entire article dedicated to his candidacy as the worst player ever. (This is where I feel obligated to remind everyone that I personally have zero career plate appearances and that number is not likely to change.)

Why did Topps airbrush Johnnie's photo? While it's possible that his former team no longer wished to associate with him and requested that Topps "do something else" with his helmet, the actual story is that Johnnie was traded twice in May 1985, first to Cleveland and later to Pittsburgh. Such luminaries as Mike Jeffcoat, Luis Quinones and Scott Bailes were involved in these matters.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? The airbrusher can be proud of him/herself in this case. Not much stands out aside from the weird goldish color of the helmet, which dominates the entire photo. Still, it appears that there are some brush strokes on the brim of the helmet where the black is, and also some weird shading on the rest of the helmet.

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.

Victory at Last

It took them until Game 3 of their first round series with Dallas, but the Blazers are finally on the board with a win. Brandon Roy came off the bench to finally do the thing he does best - which is to say, basically the only thing he can do at a high-caliber NBA level. He was aggressive and he made some shots. His offensive numbers are something akin to a horror show after about Game 20 or so of this past season and that extended into the first two games of the series. If he's going to contribute, it has to be in a game like this with an opponent like Dallas. He can post up their smaller guards. He can shoot over them. He can take Peja Stojakovic to the hole (not really fair - I'm pretty sure Charles Barkley could dribble past him right this moment.) He's only valuable if he's shooting and being aggressive, or posting up and distributing the ball as a backup point guard. It's time that both player and coach understand how to use him effectively.

Chris "D-League Defensive Player of the Year" Johnson joined the fray in a surprising late 3rd quarter substitution and actually helped spark a rally himself with two key blocked shots. Jason Kidd was actually pretty lousy and Dirk Nowitzki didn't get sent to the free throw line every time a Blazer made eye contact with him.

Thanks to Cardboard Collections for providing the card. Game 4 is Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PDT. Hopefully I will have another Blazer card to post after that game.

30 Teams in 30 Posts: #19

In the wake of the extremely hilarious Mike Leake story, here comes a team on the countdown that many would probably assume I'd have ranked much lower on this list. Things had kind of died down after the summer flare-up and subsequent meltdown that started with a key series featuring the Cards and the Reds last year. Punches were thrown... kicks were landed... backup catchers' careers died on that field. It's long over now, though. So why is it that I find myself loathing the Reds all over again?

Well, an interesting story came out of the Jim Edmonds camp earlier this month, as a personal favorite of mine had some intriguing comments about his former (and final) MLB team. (Does anyone not think that Brandon Phillips' Twitter is the single most annoying thing on the internet?) Whatever the case may be, this along with the Reds hot start reminded me that they are the real enemy in the NL Central right now, unlike the hapless small bears and the team with Prince Fielder.

Favorite current Reds player: Scott Rolen. There are a few ex-Cards to choose from on this roster, but Rolen is the obvious choice here. He's one of the best defensive third basemen to ever play the game, and he's had stretches of dominance at the plate as well. Even with all of the serious injuries he's gone though, it's nice to see him still have an impact with the bat. Last year he had his best year at the plate since the Cardinals title season in 2006.

Least favorite current Reds player: Brandon Phillips. His "little bitches" comment last year came completely out of left field and caused me and likely thousands of other Cardinals fans to take a closer look at him. He used to just be a really good fantasy baseball option at 2B to me, but I dislike him so much it caused me to pass on him and I try to never let personal feelings get in the way of a competition like that. (I did draft him one time this year, so I'm not totally in the clear.)

Favorite Reds player of all-time: Kal Daniels. Okay, listen guys, I tried. I really did. It's hard to pick a favorite Reds player. Eric Davis was supposed to be the next Rickey Henderson and he had some amazing seasons but was always somehow disappointing and/or injured. Pete Rose was Pete Rose. You can admire his gamesmanship but you can't stand looking at his face. Barry Larkin ended Ozzie Smith's run at 34734 straight Gold Gloves and All-Star appearances. I pick Kal Daniels. I was always convinced he was a superstar and he flamed out quickly and spectacularly. At least I didn't get to know him well enough to dislike him.

Least favorite Reds player of all-time: Barry Larkin. I don't actually have anything against Larkin except for the reasons mentioned above. I just had to pick someone. He was a great player and seems like an alright guy. Actually, you know what? I say Rob Dibble. What a complete waste of a human being. Just look him up.

The Cincinnati Reds arrive at #19 in my reverse-ranking of favorite teams as of the moment I picked them on October 4th, 2010. All of these cards are very much up for trade, so please contact me if you're interested.

Rainouts Are No Fun

Here's a few Cardinals cards to tide you over until tomorrow's doubleheader, half of which I probably won't be able to watch. Stupid job.

Man, I need to clean my scanner.

This is the one guy that I really think needed these off days. I know that his bat has shown signs of life lately. That pretty much goes for most of the roster. I just don't like seeing Pujols overworking himself in mid-April.

Dig those crazy socks! This is from the "Lost Cards" series. One thing I really miss out on for not being a St. Louis native is Stan Musial's lasting presence in that city.

Thanks to The Lost Collector for these three 2011 Topps needs.

Minor League Cards, Major League Price

I'll admit it. I really like minor league cards. I like the idea of them, at least. I don't like them being hobby exclusive, or three dollars a pack for 8 cards that are no more or less "premium" than the regular Topps base set. I bought two packs recently after finally finding someone that actually sells them. One is here. Here's the other.

364 - Lars Anderson

380 - Su-Min Jung (The backs of the cards are quite similar to the base set, but there are no stats on the back to speak of. I really, really don't like this.)

384 - Cody Rogers (Cody Rogers could not be more pleased with his life.)

438 - Bruce Billings (Baseball Prospectus 2011 breaks from its usual tone of sarcasm and negativity to say this about Billings: "his low-90s fastball and solid slider proved effective in his new role [in the bullpen].")

TT9 - Jeremy Hellickson Tools of the Trade (Numerous people in numerous places told me to draft this guy, so I did. Let's hope those people were on to something.)

241 - Juan Carlos Sulbaran (DRAGONS! Huge GE logo! I love minor league baseball.)

293 - Robert Stock (Here's the token Cardinal prospect. Stock's stock dipped a bit last season according to Baseball Prospectus.)

222 - Tanner Scheppers (You know those people who say "yeppers!" when they are acknowledging in the affirmative? I don't like those people.)

Trading with The Angels, In Order

As much as I love the Cardinals and love receiving cards of said team, it's almost a relief to open up a package that someone has sent me in the mail and see a bunch of cards from a set or several sets that I'm collecting inside. I feel like I have so many sets on my want lists right now that I'm not getting anything done. Of course, maybe that's me letting my work life bleed into my hobby life a little too much. I received such a package from The Angels, In Order: full of want list needs even if it was Cardinals-free.

Ah, Kurt Miller. Life was so young and fun back then. Just posing for pictures, tossing up baseball in the air... not a care in the world. Kurt Miller ended up with a career ERA of 7.48 with a WHIP heading dangerously close to 2. This packaged knocked out a significant chunk of my 1993 Upper Deck needs, including quite a few of the Star Rookie cards. They can be hard to find in decent shape and I also just, for whatever reason, was missing a lot of them. I'm now down to missing less than 40 total cards for the set, which is nice.

At this point, short printed 2008 Heritage cards are like shiny undiscovered treasures to me. I need a ton of them and have no aspirations of getting all of them any time soon. I was so happy to receive this that I actually posted a Josh Beckett card on my blog.

Included were a handful of 2007 Heritage SPs as well. Rafael Soriano is one of the best closers in the entire league, if not the best. So what did the Yankees go and do? They threw huge money piles at him to not close. He's setting up for Mariano Rivera at the moment. Still, I don't really hate the strategy as Rivera won't last forever and they probably established some pretty good relations with his future replacement by throwing said money piles his way in the meantime.

And speaking of the Yankees, there's this guy. Hopes are dwindling that someone less deplorable will replace Barry Bonds as the all-time career home run hitter, not that Rodriguez himself comes without his own tainted past. Many were looking towards Griffey to somehow be that guy, but he rather rapidly turned into someone who would more likely need assistance crossing a busy street than need a hanging breaking ball to mash over the wall.

Mavericks vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs are off and running once again. Looking at the current labor situation, it could be awhile before this happens again. Last time the league had a lockout they were able to avoid completely wiping out a season, but it definitely damaged the league financially and resulted in some scheduling craziness for a season. The Blazers are in the playoffs for the third year in a row and are looking to get out of the first round for the first time since the year after that lockout, but will have a tough road to climb against a 3rd seeded Dallas team. I'll post a card for every win the Blazers can pull off in the playoffs this year, not counting these two that I dug up at a card show last weekend.

Predictions? Well, let me tell you a story. Every year I convince myself that the Blazers should beat their opponent, much less that they can beat them, and eventually hopes and expectations are dashed and I stop caring about basketball until the fall. Is this year's team any different? They have improved drastically since acquiring Gerald Wallace. They scrap and hustle and have one of the most valuable players in the league in LaMarcus Aldridge, a deadly shooter as well as one of the best "above the rim" players. Aldridge just kills the Mavs.

However, this team has found bizarre ways to flounder about, lose games they have no business losing, can't shoot three pointers to save their lives (even though they insist on trying.) They failed to win 50 games this year, which is pretty much a benchmark standard for a good NBA team. They are not a deep team any way that you look at it. I'm incredibly amused by all of the national press they've gotten leading up to tonight's opening game, praising their depth. What depth? They are basically 7 1/2 players deep if you count Brandon Roy, who has been relegated to backup PG duties, as that 1/2. No one else on their active roster even belongs on the floor. Aldridge and Wallace will likely play 40-45 minutes a game in this series if they can stay healthy. Of course, they are one injury away from Chris Johnson or... heaven forbid... Luke Babbitt seeing meaningful minutes.

Of course, every time I've written off this team this season, they've turned around and beaten up on teams like the Spurs and the Heat. I'll just go ahead and write them off right now and expect a short series in the Mavericks' favor. Go Blazers!

Airbrushed Fridays: 2007 Bowman Gold #68

I'm still waiting for the March Radness contest winner to claim his prizes. If you're one of the non-winners who is still in line for a prize, please be patient. I'll send you guys an email when it's time for you to make your selection.

Juan Pierre is an outfielder who manages to alienate just about every sector of MLB fandom outside of the announcers that are paid by his very same employers to cover him on a daily basis. His team's fans don't like him because of his empty batting averages and incredibly low on base percentages. Opposing fans don't like him because he's a hustle guy that makes their team look bad with his speed if mistakes are made. I presume that his parents must like him, but he's in that class - somewhere between "scrap" and "grit" - where baseball announcers and the older men that associate with them sing endless praises of his tireless endeavors. He "plays the game the right way" and he's "the first guy to the ballpark and the last to leave."

Why did Topps airbrush Juan's photo? Oh, did I happen to mention that Pierre was a Cub? After one "Juanderful" season as a 3.3 WAR player with Chicago, he was signed in November 2006 by the Dodgers. He's now coming off a season where he led the AL in steals with the other Chicago franchise.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? Where is your uniform number, Juan? Why is your "road" uniform so white? What is going on with that strangely slanted Dodgers logo on your sleeve? So many questions...

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.

Who Are These Guys?: Volume 2

Cards on Cards historians will note that back in February of 2009 I ran a post about some Cardinals players that I had never heard of until I happened upon their cards. I fully intended on making this a regular feature, but like many ideas I have, it got shelved in favor of other more distracting things. On a night where the Cardinals were already leading their game 12-0 while I still making my way home from work, I figured it was as good of a time as any to bring this thing back. Here are the ground rules: all players featured must have induced a head-scratching moment or two when I first acquired their cards, and said card must be from the period of time where I did not collect such things (1994-2005). Furthermore, the players must actually look like Cardinals. No minor league cards (even though I love them) or gas station attendants posing with souvenir redbird hats need apply.

- Shaun Boyd (2001 Topps): Boyd was a 13th round pick out of high school in 2000 who primarily played in the outfield, but also spent a couple of seasons at the keystone. He peaked at the AAA level in 2006 when the Cards cut him loose. He spent another year in the Phillies system, but didn't crack the bigs with a career minor league OPS of .743.

- Chris Morris (2001 Topps): Morris was picked in the 15th round of the same draft. Like Boyd, he also played the outfield, but he was a college prospect. Morris had an even rougher time of it at the plate, and he topped out at AA in 2005.

- Mike Gulan (1996 Bowman): Mike Gulan's Wikipedia entry is a testament to the true Wiki-enthusiast. It is someone's job, somewhere, to ensure that every player that's ever had an official major league appearance has his own page. I'm guessing the sort of person that obsesses over this would also do a great job at organizing my unlabeled VHS tapes from the past twenty years. I'm really surprised that I'd never heard of Gulan when I first acquired his card just a few days ago. He was a second round pick back when I was still in high school. He crushed 155 HRs over 12 professional (minor league) seasons, and had cups of coffee with the Cards (9 ABs in 1997) and Marlins (6 ABs in 2001).

- Troy Farnsworth (2001 Bowman): Farnsworth, a Utah native who is probably not related to Kyle Farnsworth or Hubert J. Farnsworth, was a late round pick in the 1998 draft. He played the corner infield spots and had some power, but not nearly enough average or on-base talents to move past AA.

- Allen Battle (1995 Bowman): Allen Battle was a 10th round selection way back in 1991, part of a parade of Joe Torre-era prospects who simply couldn't hit. He made his big league debut during Torre's final year at the helm as a reserve outfielder. Battle was part of a four player package that netted the Cardinals one Todd Stottlemyre, who had a major role in the Cardinals return to the playoffs in Tony La Russa's first year. La Russa is now in his 16th season with the Cards, which is just mind blowing.

- Les Walrond (2003 Donruss Team Heroes): Walrond was drafted in the 13th round of the 1998 draft, taken 12 picks ahead of Juan Pierre. He never actually appeared in the majors with St. Louis, but did log 7 appearances with the Royals in 2003, 10 games with the Cubs in 2006 and 6 games with the Phillies in 2008. He's also been known to take his southpaw talents to Korea and Japan at times.

- Kevin Ool (2006 Bowman): I'm breaking my own rule here a little bit, as this card is more recent than my target range. I can assure you, however, that I never bought any Bowman packs in 2006. I'm not sure if I even knew that there was a Bowman anymore in 2006. Kevin Ool's name was just too tempting not to include, however. This is another card I picked up just a few days ago. Ool is the first guy on today's list not to be drafted by St. Louis. He was a Boston selection in the 16th round of the 2003 draft and moved onto the Cardinals organization a couple of years later. By 2007 he was done.

- Kevin Joseph (2003 Donruss Team Heroes): Joseph was also not an original Cardinals draft pick. The Giants dialed him up in 1997 in the 6th round, just 7 picks ahead of some guy named Tim Hudson. He came to the Cards by way of a trade for the legendary Jason Christiansen and appeared in 11 innings over 11 games in 2002.