Catching Up?

 

I swear I'm catching up. I swear I'm catching up.

Late last November, a package from Nomo's Sushi Platter landed in my mailbox. Topps Update was still new and, you know, it was still 2013. A lot of this stuff looked pretty fresh at the time.

Brock Peterson's tenure with the Cardinals consisted of 23 games but just 28 plate appearances. The Cardinals didn't really have a job for him going forward, but he's landed with the Nationals. The future of a fringe big leaguer is always uncertain (and Peterson turned 30 after last season), but he's better off right now than he was a year and a half ago. According to the back of the card (you all read those, right?) Peterson lived in a clubhouse storage closet shared by 11 other players while playing independent league ball before he caught on with the Cardinals organization.

These would look so much better if Panini had a license to put logos on them. Otherwise, sometimes I wonder what is the point? As with all things Cardinals, it still will find a place in my binders along with the other Golden Age cards I received.

Short prints bug me. Short prints really bug me when they're Cardinals and are also part of sets that I collect. There's also been a recent trend of putting a disproportionately large amount of star players in the short print portion of these sets. Bugged. Fortunately, I have two of these Matt Holliday buggers now.

There's a lot to like about the Cardinals rotation in 2014, but there are some question marks. Given how Shelby Miller was treated in the playoffs and the rumors about his health, he has to be one of those question marks. He's probably not in Jaime Garcia territory or anything, but there's an air of mystery there.

Finally, here's a card so glorious that I didn't really even want to touch it. I'm afraid I'm going to hand it over to Erin, however. (Does anyone have another one they're not attached to?!)

Up For Grabs Cardinalpalooza: Jim Edmonds

Previously on the Cardinalpalooza: Adam Wainwright | Joe Torre | Scott Rolen | Willie McGee | Red Schoendienst | Enos Slaughter | Bruce Sutter | Albert Pujols | Ray Lankford | Mark McGwire | J.D. Drew | Colby Rasmus | Yadier Molina | Allen Craig | Stan Musial | Rick Ankiel | David Freese

Just one left after this. As always, the list (and it's a big one) follows at the end of the post.

Let's get down to it. Jim Edmonds is one of my all-time favorite players. I followed the Pacific Coast League pretty closely back when I was in high school, and remember Edmonds from his time with the Angels AAA affiliates (Edmonton and later Vancouver.) I remember a lot of players from those days, which incidentally is what makes this blog so fun. He had some early success with the big league Angels, which included an All-Star season and some MVP consideration.

Most of Edmonds' career with Anaheim was highlighted with amazing defensive plays (I think they were called "Web Gems" to some) and lowlighted with some frustrating injuries. The Angels likely thought they were getting something of value for someone who hadn't quite lived up to the hype of his first full season when they dealt him to St. Louis for sell-high candidate Kent Bottenfield and serviceable Adam Kennedy, but the trade couldn't have gone better for the Redbirds.

Edmonds soared to new offensive heights immediately upon arrival in St. Louis, putting together season after season of stellar work at the plate while maintaining his Gold Glove caliber defense. Having already admired his work prior to to his donning of the Birds on the Bat, I found a new and exciting favorite player to follow.

Edmonds was always known for his flashy glove, and it's true that he caused himself to have to dive for more balls than your average center fielder because he played the position shallower than most. He was a walking YouTube highlight reel before there was such a thing. And even though he was seemingly hell-bent on playing for every rival team in the NL Central before he was forced to hang it up for good, Jimmy Ballgame remains one of my favorite players ever.

The list:

2000 Fleer Tradition Update #U55
2000 Pacific Omega #116
2000 Topps Traded #T91
2000 Topps Finest #149
2000 Upper Deck #474
2001 Bowman #70
2001 Donruss #33
2001 Donruss Classics #33 [2 available]
2001 Fleer Focus #58
2001 Fleer Futures #90
2001 Fleer Tradition #10 [2 available]
2001 Leaf Limited #14 [2 available]
2001 Pacific #350 [2 available]
2001 Topps #702 [2 available]
2001 Upper Deck #381 [2 available]
2001 Upper Deck Gold Glove #51
2001 Upper Deck MVP #189
2001 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects #54
2001 Upper Deck SP Authentic #52
2002 Donruss #23 [2 available]
2002 Donruss Diamond Kings #88
2002 Fleer Flair #15
2002 Fleer Premium #158
2002 Fleer Tradition Grass Roots #U4 of 10gr
2002 Fleer Ultra #36
2002 Leaf #46
2002 Topps (Gold Glove Award) #712 [2 available]
2002 Topps Opening Day #60
2002 Topps Post #5
2002 Topps Stadium Club #11 [2 available]
2002 Upper Deck Ballpark Idols #116
2002 Upper Deck Piece of History #53
2002 Upper Deck MVP #169 [2 available]
2003 Bazooka Minis #205
2003 Donruss Diamond Kings #145
2003 Fleer Box Score #38
2003 Fleer Tradition (Banner Season) #474
2003 Fleer Tradition Update (All-Star) #U238
2003 Fleer Ultra #22
2003 Topps Opening Day #108
2003 Topps Stadium Club #82
2003 Topps 205 #11
2003 Upper Deck Masters with the Leather #L10
2003 Upper Deck First Pitch #158
2003 Upper Deck Honor Roll #100
2003 Upper Deck Patch Collection #102
2003 Upper Deck Victory #84 [5 available]
2004 Donruss Team Heroes #390
2004 Fleer Platinum #118
2004 Topps #560
2004 Topps (Gold Glove Award) #713 [3 available]
2004 Topps Opening Day #110 [3 available]
2004 Topps Total #340
2004 Upper Deck Power Up #14
2004 Upper Deck Diamond Collection Pro Sigs #87 [2 available]
2005 Donruss #338
2005 Donruss Diamond Kings #209
2005 Donruss Studio #261 [2 available]
2005 Fleer America's National Pastime #32 [2 available]
2005 Fleer Authentix #33
2005 Fleer Patchworks #11
2005 Fleer Showcase #93
2005 Fleer Tradition #125
2005 Leaf #183 [2 available]
2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia #3
2005 Playoff Prestige #115 [2 available]
2005 Topps (All-Stars) #724 [2 available]
2005 Topps Grudge Match (w/ Carlos Zambrano) #GM4
2005 Topps Cracker Jack #223
2005 Topps Total #375
2005 Upper Deck ESPN #79 [2 available]
2005 Upper Deck Flyball #29
2005 Upper Deck MVP #42
2005 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects #89 [3 available]
2006 Fleer Tradition #49 [5 available]
2006 Fleer Ultra #38 [7 available]
2006 Fleer Ultra Gold #38
2006 Fleer Ultra Diamond Producers #DP3 [5 available]
2006 Topps #535 [4 available]
2006 Topps (Gold Glove Award) #258 [6 available]
2006 Topps Cardinals Team Set #STL4
2006 Topps Co-Signers #69
2006 Topps Opening Day #129 [4 available]
2006 Topps Opening Day Sports Illustrated for Kids #8
2006 Upper Deck Artifacts #84
2006 Upper Deck First Pitch #181
2006 Upper Deck Future Stars #66
2006 Upper Deck Sweet Spot #21 [2 available]
2006 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Update #88
2007 Bowman #59
2007 Bowman Chrome #59
2007 Fleer #45 [3 available]
2007 Fleer Mini Die Cuts #45
2007 Fleer Ultra Retail #149 [4 available]
2007 Fleer Ultra SE #149
2007 Topps #39 [7 available]
2007 Topps Wal-Mart #WM10 [2 available]
2007 Topps Co-Signers #13
2007 Topps Opening Day #48 [5 available]
2007 Upper Deck #448 [3 available]
2007 Upper Deck First Edition #287 [3 available]
2007 Upper Deck Goudey Red #59 [2 available]
2007 Upper Deck MLB Artifacts #67 [2 available]
2007 Upper Deck SP Authentic #48 [2 available]
2008 Topps #192 [3 available]
2008 Topps Opening Day #82 [2 available]
2008 Upper Deck #69 [3 available]
2008 Upper Deck First Edition #56

Collect tha Police

More oddball Cardinals cards. I like it.

Joltin' Joe Average Card Collector sent me another package recently, which contained some additions to my Cardinals Police card lexicon. I covered the various Police set cards I'd received lately in great length (seriously worth checking out! I even used a jump.) back in October, but it was nice to get ahold of a few cards from years that I hadn't yet seen.

I'm thinking that 2000 isn't the year of my favorite design... of anything, really. People were really obsessed with the futuristic Y2K impending doom look back then.

There were more oddballs in the package besides the regionally issued Kansas City Life police cards. This is my first Drake's Big Hitters card from the 1982 set.

I also own very few TCMA cards, so this Terry Moore card from 1983 was another welcome addition. Moore was a 4-time All-Star and 2-time World Series winner, but played a couple of generations before my time.

Finally, what trade post would be complete without a Blazers card? This Rod Strickland Electric Court parallel reminds me that I really need to put some extra work into my Blazers collection. The team this year has been very exciting, and seems to be on track to be a playoff contender for the first time in awhile.

Airbrushed Fridays: 2013 Topps #637

Can we start counting the days until pitchers and catchers do their thing?

Who is he? Ben Revere is a speedy, rangy outfielder with a penchant for highlight grabbing glovework. He doesn't hit a lot, however, having driven in just 81 runs in 1400 career plate appearances.

How did he get here? After coming up with the Twins, Revere was traded last offseason for Vance Worley and a minor leaguer.

Repeat offender? No

Other versions of this card: None

Airbrushed Score: 7

Comments: Is there even such a thing as this Phillies uniform design, with the double blue piping on a plain white jersey? The color on the cap seems way off, too.

I Won Something

It all would've been sweeter if the Red Sox didn't win the World Series.

Just to show you how backlogged I am, I'm going to talk about something that happened in October. As in, you know, last season. I decided to challenge Night Owl Cards to a little minibet over who would win the Cardinals/Dodgers playoff series, something that I also did (and lost) back in 2009. While the two teams previously met in the divisional round, this time the pennant was at stake and I made the unfortunate suggestion to tie the prize to the player who won the NLCS MVP. The unlikely winner ended up being Michael Wacha, whose cards by then were threatening to reach Puig-like levels.

I didn't want to break anyone's bank on what amounts to a friendly little wager and suggested that any suitable replacement auto would do, and I think I made out pretty well with this blue Joe Kelly auto. (Night Owl gave me an IOU for a future Wacha card, but it's really not necessary. Really!) I already had a copy of the white (regular?) Kelly auto from this set, so it was nice to get this blue version. Kelly has pitched well enough as a starter and reliever to figure into the Cardinals future plans no matter how crowded the rotation gets, and he also offers "secret weapon" status as one of the team's faster baserunners. (He just needs to learn how to get on base now.)

More Cards cards were to be had, including this Chris Carpenter mini insert from the short-lived Topps Lineage set.

When I first started collecting cards, I remember the little shop up the street had a bunch of these old Topps scratch-off cards. I don't know why I never dove in and bought some of these. My theory is that I was too young to be able to resist playing the game and scratching them off.

I recently put in a request for a few of the Ginter minis Night Owl had on offer awhile back. The older the set, the harder it's been for me to get ahold of any of the inserts and parallels, but I suppose that's to be expected. I think Donald Tusk looks like he might be related to Rainn Wilson.

Finally, I have been dilligently (not really) working on collecting the 2013 Ginter set, and this package put me a bit closer to that goal. I'm never quite sure which card(s) to feature from a blob of base cards from a set everyone has already exhausted, so this time I just went with Young Reggie.

Up For Grabs Cardinalpalooza: Adam Wainwright

Previously on the Cardinalpalooza: Joe Torre | Scott Rolen | Willie McGee | Red Schoendienst | Enos Slaughter | Bruce Sutter | Albert Pujols | Ray Lankford | Mark McGwire | J.D. Drew | Colby Rasmus | Yadier Molina | Allen Craig | Stan Musial | Rick Ankiel | David Freese

We're down to just three more players to feature on the Cardinalpalooza, a feature I expected would last through the summer of 2013 at the latest. I'm slow, I can't help it! The final two players to be featured are my two all-time favorite Cardinals, so it is fitting that I am talking about one of my favorites from the current team here today. As always, the list of available cards follows at the end of the post.

Adam Wainwright is indelibly etched into Cardinal lore for his role in the 2006 playoffs, where as a rookie he was thrust into the closer's role after Jason Isringhausen's injury and Braden Looper's ineffectiveness. That 2006 team was running on fumes, having floored it through the entire 2004 and 2005 seasons without remembering to stop at the gas station on the way back into town. Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds were fraying at the seams, and the team had to rely on young blood like Wainwright to push them across the finish line.

Wainwright was the prospect piece in the J.D. Drew trade. Atlanta sent over serviceable but frustrating starter Jason Marquis, who logged quite a few innings (and headaches). Ultimately, the deal would be all about Wainwright, who was on the path to be a upper crust starting pitcher.

By the time the Cardinals would find themselves back in the playoffs in 2009, Wainwright was leading the National League in pitching wins and innings pitched. Only Chris Carpenter's brilliance kept the spotlight from being firmly on Wainwright alone.

Oddly enough, the Cardinals would find themselves again a World Series winner by 2011, but it would with Waino on the sidelines. He sat out the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but returned to form in 2013 after an up-and-down 2012.

The list:

2006 Fleer Flair Showcase Wave of the Future #WF-3
2006 Fleer Tradition #48
2006 Upper Deck #424
2006 Upper Deck Star Attractions #SA-AW
2007 Fleer #48 [2 available]
2007 Fleer Ultra Retail #152 [5 4 available]
2007 Fleer Ultra SE #152
2007 Topps Update #UH79
2007 Topps Finest Finest Moments #RFM-AW
2007 Upper Deck #954
2008 Topps #244 [11 10 available]
2008 Upper Deck #61 [4 3 available]
2009 Bowman #137 [5 4 available]
2009 O-Pee-Chee #131 [2 available]
2009 Upper Deck #348 [4 3 available]
2009 Upper Deck #883 [4 3 available]
2010 Bowman #104 [2 available]
2010 Bowman Gold #104
2010 Topps #136 [8 7 available]
2011 Topps Update (All-Star) #US-125
2010 Topps Attax Code [5 4 available]
2010 Topps Chrome #43
2010 Topps National Chicle #102 [3 2 available]
2010 Topps Opening Day #62 [3 2 available]
2010 Upper Deck #467 [3 2 available]
2011 Bowman #42 [3 2 available]
2011 Topps #645 [4 2 available]
2011 Topps (League Leaders w/ Roy Halladay + Ubaldo Jimenez) #11 [4 3 available]
2011 Topps (League Leaders w/ Josh Johnson + Roy Halladay) #82
2011 Topps Topps 60 #T60-39
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #202
2011 Topps Lineage #83 [3 2 available]
2011 Topps Lineage Diamond Anniversary Refractors #83
2011 Topps Opening Day #151 [3 2 available]
2012 Bowman #59
2012 Topps #495 [2 available]
2012 Topps Archives #53 [2 available]
2012 Topps Gypsy Queen #196 [2 available]
2012 Topps Opening Day #60 [5 4 available]
2013 Topps #50 [2 available]
2013 Topps Update (All-Star) #US93
2013 Topps Archives #135 [2 available]
2013 Topps Mini #50

[updated 01/14/14]

2014 Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Results

And the winners (and "winner") are...

The contest is done and we have some prizes to give out. The Prowling Cat took 1st prize this year, with the most possible points and 22 correct selections (out of 35). In second place was Brian, who represented all condiment-as-a-meal lovers with his entry Ranch Dip a la Carte. My Cardboard Mistress will get a special prize as well, finishing in third place by points but making the most correct selections (23). Finally, Rhubarb_Runner of “é rayhahn, rayhahn” added to his 2011 worst place title by again finishing with the worst entry of them all. Normally, the Cards on Cards Tanking Committee would be all over some sort of investigation, but there wasn't a huge difference between the first place and last place entries this time around. Everyone placed somewhere on the short spectrum between "suck" and "could've been worse" this year, which is what makes predicting the outcomes of sporting events so much fun!

As mentioned in an earlier post, Cardboard Hogs walked away with the Belk prize. Both this prize and the first place prize will be in the form of 2014 Topps cards that haven't quite been released yet, but I will get those in the mail as soon as they exist.

If I mentioned you here and I don't have your address (or even if I do and you like being helpful), please drop me an email and I'll work on getting your prize.