Feeling Blue

I try my best to avoid all things Wal-Mart, and for the most part I'm pretty successful at it. I live in a progressive city that tends to frown upon big box stores inside its retail core, so one has to really hunt for these places and make them a destination rather than just stop by on your way to somewhere. After seeing the Target red parallels in the 2011 Topps Update set, I knew there would be a blue counterpart in the Wal-Mart exclusive packs and decided to at least see what they were like.

This is kind of disappointing, however. Topps apparently used the same weird metallic light blue that they use for the recent Opening Day parallels, minus the little sparkles. I guess I was hoping for something more along the lines of the 2003 Topps base set. Speaking of which, I really need to make some headway on that set.

Here's some other junk that I got in the five Wal-Mart looseys that I snagged. This one is going in the Play at the Plate pile. I don't actually know who Craig Gentry is, even though he was on the World Series roster and made some appearances. It hasn't been THAT long since October, has it?

This is just bright... really bright. Correia's card just barely missed out on my Pirates post from the other day.

I could complain about the Fish overspending when they don't really have a fan base, but I guess they'll figure out on their own why throwing a bunch of money around will come back to bite them soon enough.

I find the title of this card, "Career Grand Slams Through 2010", to be a little strange considering Lou Gehrig is on it. Sadly, A-Rod is close to catching him according to the back.

Okay.

I decided against collecting the Kimball Champions card, but I won't say for sure whether or not it has anything to do with my frustration that my scanner always cuts off at least one of the borders when I scan them.

I also got one of these code things...

...which turned into this. B-Webb 4 Life!

Airbrushed Fridays: 2007 Topps #361

All I can say is that it was not a great day to be a Blazer. Here's a late night edition of Airbrushed Fridays to forget that the NBA exists for awhile longer.

Adam Kennedy is a second baseman who has been converted to a utility player in recent years. Kennedy was originally a Cardinals first round draft pick in 1997 and began his career in St. Louis before being shipped to Anaheim, where he would spend his most productive years, as a piece in the Jim Edmonds deal. He won a ring with the Angels while gaining a reputation for his "dependability" and "not terribleness".

Why did Topps airbrush Adam's photo? Kennedy was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in what was supposed to be a glorious reunion between Kennedy's first team, who happened to be defending champions. It didn't work out so well. The Cardinals were expecting more "not terribleness" and instead got "mostly terribleness".

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? Kennedy was assigned uniform #7 (sadly, not 47, because AK47 would have been easier to root for) and never wore #2 with the Cardinals, a retired number reserved for Red Schoendienst. As a sign of things to come, Kennedy was also at the plate without a bat in this shot.

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.

Still The Man

Well, there is no danger of anyone else becoming the best player in Cardinals franchise history anytime soon. Stan The Man is the best.

30 Teams in 30 Posts: #12

At number 12 on the charts is the last remaining Cardinals division rival to make the list. The Pirates found themselves in unfamiliar territory last season when they occupied 1st place at one point after the All-Star Break. Just as soon as they seemed to realize it (basically as soon as fans started showing up to the games) things went horribly wrong and Pittsburgh collapsed even faster than Atlanta did down the stretch. The midsummer signs of success in Pittsburgh is a sign of an improving team, and Pirates fans can only hope they hang on to some of the young talent (Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, some of the pitching) instead of letting it go the second there's a chance to go somewhere else.

I think I dislike the Pirates the least among the NL Central foes because they're sort of the anti-ESPN cool. Interesting uniforms, homegrown talent and some sweet disco-era history. Barry Bonds notwithstanding, there's not much to be ashamed of in the Pittsburgh legacy - except the losses, of course. And there have been quite a few of those.

I hear that PNC Park is absolutely gorgeous and, by the attendance it usually draws, it seems like it's not just me that's missing out so far. Albert Pujols has absolutely owned anything and everything that has taken place in that park, which will make it a shame if he ends up with some crummy American League team like the Angels. (Note: First person to guess tomorrow's hot bidding team on Pujols wins a prize.)

Favorite current Pirates player: Jose Tabata. His name is fun to say. He's one of those guys that tempted me into spending a fantasy pick on, only to disappoint with his injuries and overall Pirateness. His name was still fun to say, though.

Least favorite current Pirates player: Joel Hanrahan. With Ryan "Demon Eyes" Doumit gone, I guess I had to pick Hanrahan simply for being good. He shut down the Cardinals on multiple occasions as I recall.

Favorite Pirates player of all-time: Willie Stargell. I was a little too young to remember Stargell as a player, but I heard plenty of stories. My dad often recounted seeing Stargell hit a home run onto a ridiculously unreachable balcony at the old Civic Stadium here in Portland during an exhibition game. Well, I got to see Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield at Civic, so there's that!

Least favorite Pirates player of all-time: Barry Bonds. I was always firmly on the Bobby Bonilla side of the Bonds/Bonilla debate, and if I had invested heavily in '80s rookie cards I would have probably lost a lot of money on this. It's easy to dislike Bonds now that we know what a monster he was, but I didn't even like him then. He was just really unlikable.

The Pittsburgh Pirates snag a spot at #12 in my reverse-ranking of favorite teams as of the moment I picked them on October 4th, 2010. Yes, that was more than a full calendar year ago! All of these cards are very much up for trade, so please contact me if you're interested.

The Sky Is Falling, Kind Of

It's full blown panic time in Cardinalville, at least if you're one of those sorts who reads the internet texts and the breaking bottom lines on the TV. Pujols may well be a Miami Marlin by the time you get around to reading this. Or, perhaps, he will be a member of Mystery Team C, whoever that ends up being (it usually doesn't exist.) I hate getting caught up in reading about contract negotiations, so I think I am going to bow out of the speculation and just see what happens. If some team is going to offer an an insanely lengthy contract with a ridiculous amount of money attached, so be it. It doesn't seem right that he'd leave after being the face of the organization for a decade-plus, but it could and certainly may happen. I'm okay with it.

Here's my first 2011 Topps Chrome card, and like the rest of the cards in this post, it came to me in the mailbox from Rod at Padrographs. Rod is giving away a bunch of stuff (postage donations gladly accepted) and I hear that people like stuff, so if you're into stuff you should check it out. Meanwhile, when I look at Colby Rasmus, it's hard for me to believe right now that he won't be the biggest name that leaves the team this year.

And this is what we call a vomitcard. And that's not just because the craptacular Ryan Theriot is the featured player. Hey-o!

Back to happier thoughts, here's another puke encrusted card. This time it's World Series MVP and All Around Good Guy David Freese.

In other, lesser known Hot Stove talk, the Cards are looking at possibly shaking up their starting rotation a little bit with rumors involving the departures of Kyle Lohse and/or Jake Westbrook. Carlos Martinez is one of the hot young prospects waiting in the wings, but he's probably got quite a ways to go. I'm also still trying to come to grips with the marriage of Topps Heritage and minor league baseball. I would probably be all over this if it wasn't a hobby-only release. In any case, I certainly appreciate the Cardinals-affiliated cards.

Good Luck Ducks: Inaugural Pac-12 Championship Edition

Just six days after the conclusion of the regular season that saw a crushing Civil War victory by the Quack Attack comes the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game. Not only is it scheduled on an odd night, but the decision was made prior to the season to award the team with the overall best record in the conference the right to host the game. Therefore, this marks the third consecutive week that the Ducks will play at Autzen Stadium. Attempts will be made to make this a "neutral site" game, but the game will likely be sparsely attended by the blue and gold clad UCLA Bruins fans.

UCLA comes in as the de facto Pac-12 South Champions despite an overall record of 6-6. The Bruins had to petition (successfully) the NCAA governing body in order to be permitted to play in a bowl game should they lose to the Ducks tonight and are only in the game because of an upset loss by Utah last week against Colorado. The Bruins did themselves no favors by losing to USC last week 50-0 and just fired their head coach, Rick Neuheisel.

Speaking of Neuheisel, who went 21-28 in his 4 seasons in L.A., Oregon fans don't like him very much. I believe it all started when he ran up the score against the Ducks in a bowl game way back when against Colorado by calling for a fake punt with his team up 38-6 late in the game. He cemented his legacy when he took the head coaching job with the rival Washington Huskies, with which at one point he celebrated a victory at Autzen by jumping up and down on the 'O' in the center of the field. Neuheisel's Bruins have not been competitive in recent years against Oregon, however, with the Ducks outscoring UCLA 84-33 in the last two games. Tonight's game is not expected to be close, either, but you can never tell what a team who has just lost their coach will do. (Neuheisel will coach the team for this game.) This is big for the Ducks as a victory means they will play in the Rose Bowl for the second time in three seasons.

Above footage from the 2010 UCLA/Oregon game at Autzen.

Game time is 5:00 PST with national coverage on FOX. Quack Quack!

Airbrushed Fridays: 1974 Topps #399

Big Ducks game tonight, but first there's some business to attend to of the airbrushed variety.

Mike Paul was a left handed pitcher who spent parts of seven big league seasons with Cleveland, Texas and the Chicago Cubs. He appeared in 228 games in his career, starting 77 of them and finishing 59. As we flip over the card, we are also about to learn that he's a fan of swimming. Go Mike!

Why did Topps airbrush Mike's photo? Paul was traded to the Rangers for a PTBNL right before the trade deadline in 1973. That player eventually turned out to be one Larry Gura.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? He has a glowing cap and a mysterious collar, the stripes of which lazily disappear for some reason.

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.