The Rangers are making me dizzy

And now for your reading pleasure...we have a picture free post.

Let me get this straight. The Rangers failed to re-sign Pudge Rodriguez. I'll miss Pudge, but the Nationals overpaid in my opinion. Saltalamacchia is injured and is going to be a question mark. Taylor Teagarden is very unproven. They don't want to give Jason Kendall or Rod Barajas a two year deal so those two are likely signing somewhere else. I wasn't really on board with Kendall, but Barajas would have been ok. So the best backup option was Max Ramirez. So, let's trade him to Boston for Mike Lowell. Weird thinking if you ask me. All that said, I like Lowell and think he can help the Rangers. It helps that Boston is picking up most of the $12 million Lowell is due for 2010.

Let's not forget that the Rangers traded opening-day starter Kevin Millwood to Baltimore for Chris Ray and the proverbial PTBNL. According to MLB.com, that player could be the 3rd pick in today's Rule 5 Draft so I'm interested in that. I'm not overly interested in Chris Ray. He missed all of 2008 after Tommy John surgery and probably was rushed back into service by the Orioles. He managed to go 0-4 with a 7.47 ERA in 2009. Now, the Rangers will be picking up about $3 million of Millwood's salary which would save them about $7 million. It appears they are waiting on the results of a physical to finalize a deal with Rich Harden for $7.5 million in 2010 with an $11.5 million option for 2011. Maybe Rich can stay healthy and make the Rangers want to exercise that option and give him a $4 million raise. Big (or formerly big) free agent pitchers don't usually thrive in Texas.

So far, the biggest Rangers free agents haven't signed anywhere. Hank Blalock, Marlon Byrd, Eddie Guardado and Joaquin Benoit are still free.

I'll be watching with interest to see if the Rangers get the Orioles pick in the Rule 5 Draft. As for any more deals by the Rangers...I won't be surprised, but I may need to sit down. I'm dizzy.

So long Pudge

This isn't breaking news anymore, but Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez has left the building. Or the Ballpark. I'm sad to see him go, again, but at least the Rangers tried to keep him. His 2 year, $6 million dollar deal with the Nationals was most likely the very best financial deal he was going to get anywhere. Depending on which story you read, Pudge is supposed to be a mentor and backup for Jesus Flores, but it is highly likely that he opens the 2010 season as the starter with Flores rehabbing from right shoulder and elbow surgery.



Pudge has put up incredible numbers over the course of his career, but the three most important numbers remaining are hits, batting average and of course the money.



He has 2,711 hits and would need two extraordinary seasons with Washington to reach the magic number of 3000. Considering Pudge hasn't had more than 150 hits in a season since 2006, he may need another contract after this one to make it.



Pudge has a career batting average of .299. Over the last three seasons his batting average is .269 so he has some work to do to pull the average up over .300 and keep it there.

As far as the money goes, at this point in his career it makes sense to go where the most money is, but that is one part of all sports that I don't like.

While I'm sorry to see him go, especially to a team like the Nationals, I understand it's a business. I just hope he goes in the Hall of Fame as a Ranger.

Thanks for all the great seasons Pudge.

The rest of the cards from Omegawax

I showed one of the cards Omegawax sent me in the last post. I'll post the rest of them now. Austin contacted me saying he had an autographed Play at the Plate card. "Would I like to trade for it?" Yes. Yes, very much so.

He didn't just send the auto either. There were Clarks and Mauers and Blalocks oh my.

That sounded better in my head so let's move right along.

What is better than a 2006 Fleer Ultra Joe Mauer? How about a 2006 Fleer Ultra Joe Mauer with a gold background. The Mauer collection is coming along nicely thanks to the efforts of my fellow bloggers.

This 2007 Fleer Ultra Michael Young is one of my favorite Young cards. I'm not a big fan of cards featuring the backs of players, but this one works for me. The ball flying off the bat is sick. Or is it sweet? Or...oh forget it. I just like it.

Austin didn't tell me if this 2009 UD Series 1 Hank Blalock was a TTM or in person auto, but all that really matters is that it's mine now. Very nice Austin! Now, I like Blalock. But there is something better than an on card auto of Hank.

An on card auto of Ian Kinsler!! This 2006 Fleer Tradition Ian was as much a surprise as the Blalock and is my first Kinsler auto. Austin you really went above and beyond.

Here is the starting point of the trade. A very nice 2008 Stadium Club Elliot Johnson on card auto. This is going to be featured on my blog header if, no when, I get that scanner.



I think there were more autos in this package than I've ever gotten at one time before. Thanks Austin and please check out his blog if you haven't already!

100th Post Already?!

I have been dreading this since I noticed it looming on the horizon. I realize that for many of you, post #100 is a distant memory, but it has been staring me in the face for a few days now. I wanted to have something dramatic and exciting to feature for #100. I wanted something funny or maybe even a great pull to highlight. Something, anything, to say "Hey, I'm post #100 and I'm important!"

But, I don't have any of that.

With Christmas fast approaching, I literally cannot even go buy another blaster, discounted or otherwise.

I haven't done the research necessary for an in depth post on any one card or player.

I haven't typed up any of the interesting (to me at least) personal stories from years of going to the ballpark.

My son hasn't turned me into a big ball of mush with some unexpected moment of pure joy. For some reason he is "I want, I want" mode right now.

What I have is this. A big thank you to the bloggers who introduced me to the blogosphere. I don't want to hurt any feelings by not mentioning names, but you know who you are. I comment on your pages frequently. Your blogs are the ones I go to first every afternoon when I wake up. (Hey, I'm not lazy, I work nights.) We've completed multiple trades and you've probably, but not necessarily, gotten unexpected envelopes in the mail from me. Several of you encouraged me to get off my fat rump and start blogging and stop using the lack of a scanner as an excuse. Thanks for that.

Thanks to everyone who is a follower of my humble little blog and to the ones who don't follow, but still read. Thanks for every single little (or big) comment, from the one word type to the ones that are practically blog posts themselves.

Thanks to every blogger out there for providing entertainment, information and quality reading material for the deep, dark nights when absolutely nothing is going on at work. I am in awe of those of you that have been doing this for years or have such vast knowledge, not just of baseball, but of those little slices of heaven we call cards. I sometimes struggle to come up with information to go along with a player's card and some of you could write biographies about some of your favorites.

Most of all, thanks for making me appreciate baseball cards as little bits of history. For looking at the "whole" card, the background, the design, and the back. I've gone from card hoarder to collector. From the guy who would leave the base cards on the counter, to the guy who will study every card just to enjoy it for what it is. It's not about the "hits", it's about the card and the story behind it.

I'll leave you with a card that celebrates a fact about my all-time favorite player.

This 1986 Donruss Highlights Will Clark celebrates Will becoming the 53rd player to homer in his first MLB at-bat. He was on the April 8th Opening Day roster and hit a homerun off HOF'er Nolan Ryan that helped the Giants win the game 8-3. Thanks to Austin from Omegawax for this card.

Thanks again everyone. I plan to be around for awhile. I hope you do too.

2009 Topps 206 Blaster Break

While strolling through Wally world I just happened to walk by the miniscule card section. "Really, it wasn't on purpose honey."

Yea, she didn't buy it either.

I was a little surprised to see the retail phantom had restocked the section and there was a whole row of 2009 Topps 206 blasters. Right next to a row of 2009 Topps Heritage High Number blasters. I'm more interested in the 206 so that is what I picked up. I'm not going to show you every card from every pack. Just a few highlights.

This was the first card in the first pack. It doesn't happen often, but I like starting off with one of my favorite Rangers.

The one per pack thick parallels were Ian Kinsler (yes!!), Sonnanstine, Drew, Matsuzaka, Street, Owings, Holliday and Coghlan. I don't hate them. Yet. I might start if I try to put the set together. I am glad I pulled the Kinsler.

The minis were Mariano Rivera, Jason Giambi, Ryan Braun, Ivan Rodriguez, Matsuzaka, Kazmir, Samardzija, and Manny! They were all Piedmonts except for the Polar Bear Pudge. I'm undecided on chasing the minis too....I'm still after so many A&G minis!

The two most interesting cards were the Derek Holland (another Ranger!) and the Jackie Robinson. They look nice and normal on the front.....

...and like this on the back. I read on another blog (I'd give credit, but I can't remember where) that these are No Numbered SP variations.

I like these enough to at least put together the base set. I think I'll pass on the Heritage High numbers. Not that I don't like them, I just can't afford to do it all.

Cards from Offy

A couple of months ago, Mike over at Offy's Sports Site was having a moving sale...or trade bait post. He had a few Rangers hits on the list so I jumped and this is what he sent.

1994 Pinnacle The Naturals Dean Palmer. I don't know if this card would scan any better, but is super shiny and reflective and all that.

These are 1993 Colla Collection Bookmarkers. I have a vague recollection of these, but I didn't have any in my collection. I'm especially fond of the Pudge bookmarker, but I won't be using it in any books.

2007 Bowman Kasey Kiker auto. First, Kasey has a terrible signature. Second, it's on card so I don't care. Kasey spent 2009 at the Texas Double-A affiliate, the Frisco (Tx) Roughriders. He went 7-7 in 25 games (23 starts) with a 3.86 ERA.

2007 SP Rookie Edition Joaquin Arias auto. First, his signature may be worse than Kasey's. Second, it's on a sticker, so maybe he thought he should write really, really small. Joaquin has appeared in 41 games for the Rangers over the 06, 08 and 09 seasons. His average over that time is .295, but he went 0/8 for 2009.

This 2007 A&G Hank Blalock jersey makes me want to go back to Hawaii. It may be a plain grey swatch, but it's got a tropical feel to it.

This 2006 UD Future Stars Josh Rupe card is my favorite of the bunch. It really is a clear acetate card, the white in Josh's "picture" is from the paper I put the card on for the photo. It's another sticker auto, but I really like it. Rupe has pitched in 70 games for the big league club from 2005-2009. He has a 4-2 record, with 4.95 ERA in 132.2 IP.

Mike, thanks for the trade. Maybe you should move more often!

My own Staggering Trade of Genius

Back in early September, I contacted Matt over at Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius. I had some cards off his wantlists and thought we might work out a deal. Boy did we ever work out a deal. I love opening that mailbox and seeing a padded envelope with my name on it. What could be better you ask?

How about opening the mailbox to find this?

Then you open the box and find these.

And these.

And these.

Isn't that awesome. Sorted by player or variousness. I love it. But you didn't think that was all did you? These were in there too.

Sure I noticed the Yaz pack and the even more various Rangers. But, VINTAGE RANGERS!!That caught my eye right away. Scoff if you want. I know there aren't any 1950's or 1960's Rangers. I still ripped open that pack first. But I'll post them last. By the way, this 8 pack box was the ultimate Hot Box for this Rangers fan.

We'll start at the bottom and go up. Normally I wouldn't bother posting a Mark Teixeira card, but this 2008 Topps Chrome is nice, shiny and #287/400. It does seem to emphasize the fact that Mark is a blow-hard. I mean, look at that face.

This very nice 2009 Legendary Cuts Ian Kinsler only looks like a postage stamp. I would buy a sheet of these if they were stamps.

I really like the throwback uni on this 1998 Pinnacle Inside card. The 1992 UD Ted Williams Will Clark is amazing. When Mr. Ted Williams says you are "Probably the best clutch hitter in the game" you know it's true. Seriously, it's an undeniable fact. Really.

Don't clean your glasses or your monitor. This pic is a little blurry. I do apologize for that and hope you won't stop following the blog or blacklist me. I still have my fingers crossed to get a scanner or money to buy a scanner for Christmas. We have here one 1989 Star Ryan, one 1991 Star Ryan, one 1991 Mother's Cookie Ryan and very nice goldiRyan from 1992 Leaf.

Here we have two absolutely marvelous Pudge cards. The 2007 Turkey Red is great. It looks like Pudge might be throwing into the first base dugout though. The 1997 Topps Stadium Club Matrix card is amazing. I've never seen any of these Matrix cards, but this one is stunning. AND it's a play at the plate too.

One of my all-time faves is Carl Yaztremski. He was the one guy I really hoped to pull back in the early 80s. Here we have a 1990 Topps All-Star Commemorative card (I think these came in rack packs) and a nice 1980 Topps Yaz card.

4 nice 1978 Topps Rangers that will fit great into the collection. I really wonder who that guy is way back on the left side of Dave May's card.

I really like Tom Grieve. He was the Rangers GM for awhile and has been a part of the Rangers TV broadcast team for awhile. He's a likable guy. The three 1974 Topps Traded cards are new to me. I had the Jenkins card but not the rest. Thanks for the Vintage stuff Matt!

Here we have, in logical right to left order, a 1976 Topps Steve Foucault, a 1978 Mike Hargrove and a 1979 Mike Hargrove. These just serve as a reminder of how few vintage cards I have.

I never would have guessed my favorite cards of any trade would be checklists, but these are my faves this time. I know for a fact that I didn't have either of these, but I really like them.
We have the 1974 checklist with facsimile autos and the 1975 which I look forward to seeing on Night Owl's coverage of the hippest card set ever.

Matt, thanks again for an incredible trade. I look forward to making another trade with you.