Sunday, January 5, 2020

Fresh Arms, Fresh Ink


A couple of card shop pickups, no big deal. 

On a vacation day last week, I headed out to the suburbs and stopped in a card shop for what ended up being just a few minutes. The guy apparently had a few errands to run and needed to leave, and when you're basically a solo operation that means you get to kick everyone out of the store. There aren't any card shops that I'm aware of in Portland proper, so my visits to these types of places are rare, but I also didn't feel like sticking around the area longer than I needed to when I had things to do back in the city.

I accomplished what I set out to do and bought some supplies. I also snagged a couple of nice looking chunky 2019 Panini autographs of Cardinals hurlers. Dakota Hudson wasn't blowing anyone away last season, but at least superficially he seemed to be a decent arm in the rotation in 2019. Only time will tell if Hudson is a starter for the long haul, but he hasn't really done anything to call his role into question as of yet.


On the other hand, it seems like the Cardinals aren't entirely sure what to make of Daniel Ponce de Leon. He was kept on a very short leash last season, so his contributions to the team felt pretty minimal. It will be interesting to see if he's given another crack at making the rotation, which is starting to feel crowded with Gwang-hyun Kim being added to the mix. Adam Wainwright is coming back. And, yes, it does seem like the team will highly encourage Carlos Martinez to remember that he was once (actually twice) an All-Star starting pitcher and push him to claim one of those spots. 2020 will be an interesting year for St. Louis pitchers.

2 comments :

  1. I went to the Sportsroom in Beaverton on Hall Blvd (what we all used to know as Mitchell's). That and one around SE 181st & Powell are the only places I've been to in probably a couple of years. Are there any others around? Public transit accessibility is my main restriction.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are highly encouraged, but then again, so is eating your fruits and vegetables.