tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23707190039771218132024-03-13T22:09:49.463-04:00Traded SetsA look at various traded, update, and rookie sets from the late 1980s and early 1990sAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-79136311160215505592009-11-18T20:36:00.005-05:002009-11-19T12:33:29.148-05:00New contest: win a free relic card!I'm back to run a contest to promote the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/">Baseball-Reference.com Blog</a>. I have been a contributor to that blog for over two years. Recently, Sean Forman (proprietor of Sports-Reference.com, which includes B-R as well as sites for the other major North American professional sports) unveiled a major upgrade to the Play Index, a searchable database tool that allows users to look up all sorts of amazing things. The blog is dedicated to showing and discussing those results. Any baseball would probably enjoy reading the blog, which has daily updates.<br /><br />So, I'm running a contest to try to promote interest in the blog. This contest is totally free--you do not have to be a subscriber to the Baseball-Reference Play Index to participate. I am giving away cards to the top 4 finishers in a contest that runs from now until the end of the year, i.e. 11:59 PM ET on December 31, 2009. Those top 4 people will each get to choose one card from the 12 listed at the bottom of this post. See the nice pictures!<br /><br />How do you earn points? It's easy. There are three ways:<br /><ul><li>Every time you post a comment on the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/">Baseball-Reference.com blog</a> (on any post made from today through the end of the year--archived posts do not count) you get a point. Your comment must be directly related to the post and directly related to baseball. You can make multiple comments on the same post and get multiple points, but if it looks to me like you're just padding things out intentionally, I'll ignore your padded comments. To be eligible, you <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">must</span> make a comment on <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">this blog</span> right here saying what your username is on the B-R blog. That's how I'll know to keep a total of your comments.<br /></li><li>If you have your own baseball blog (team fan, stats, baseball cards, etc) and you post a link on your blog to this contest page, you get 5 bonus points added to your total. To be eligible, you must post your blog link in the comments on <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">this post</span> below.</li><li>If you have any friends who like baseball and might want to read the Baseball-Reference.com blog but don't care about the baseball card contest, you can have their comments on the B-R blog count towards your total. All they need to do is post a comment on this blog below saying what their username is on the B-R blog, and who they want to give their points to.</li></ul>That's it! Now here are the 12 cards from which the winners get to select:<br /><ul><li>2007 Topps AS TWH All-Star Stitches Trevor Hoffman</li><li>2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts GM-FP Carlton Fisk / Jorge Posada jersey</li><li>2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee OPC-EFG Ellsbury / Figgins / Granderson triple jersey</li><li>2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot NG1 Nomar Garciaparra jersey<br /></li><li>2008 Upper Deck Goudey M-CY Chris Young jersey</li><li>2009 Upper Deck Series 1 GJ-KY Kevin Youkilis jersey</li><li>2005 Topps Bazooka BM-MT Mark Teixeira memorable moments jersey</li><li>2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts GM-RT Cal Ripken / Troy Tulowitzki jersey</li><li>2009 Upper Deck A Piece of History SS-AL Adam LaRoche jersey</li><li>2009 Upper Deck Series 1 GJ-JA Conor Jackson jersey</li><li>2002 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Jersey Card J-DE Dwight Evans jersey</li><li>2004 Topps Bazooka Blasts BB-AR Alex Rodriguez bat<br /></li></ul><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0w78j30H5sRpoGgveXzMC1m0Zm_qIQt_O6l8HxLF3G22qslmOevLib33RQl1HGnBuyPuu7NCUit1gp9e2WIzezOFTRcvXK-DQJUy4dbg3NNGTWzDyOj2aVoj9QrXI3BbQGs8kue-0tns/s1600/jersey1A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0w78j30H5sRpoGgveXzMC1m0Zm_qIQt_O6l8HxLF3G22qslmOevLib33RQl1HGnBuyPuu7NCUit1gp9e2WIzezOFTRcvXK-DQJUy4dbg3NNGTWzDyOj2aVoj9QrXI3BbQGs8kue-0tns/s400/jersey1A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405866104643650002" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YjsgzT_2DY5ZiQO0OicRQmq-HfJ1mYysLitzNMsFRKAKsnScxZ3uBvI6ehF0GV066MmJ-JdVpTkdHasu5x8rntvS8jxiPGj1Wx_M3pIfJ2Fo8xoX2-9MapUNu9Xk7en6fCiQn0oXHos/s1600/jersey1B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YjsgzT_2DY5ZiQO0OicRQmq-HfJ1mYysLitzNMsFRKAKsnScxZ3uBvI6ehF0GV066MmJ-JdVpTkdHasu5x8rntvS8jxiPGj1Wx_M3pIfJ2Fo8xoX2-9MapUNu9Xk7en6fCiQn0oXHos/s400/jersey1B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405866090475807410" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDpPwIV59ooDuOtmwkh2OF4aJsRSZk1kEIUuaPdrmm6-ub0J95wWC1w7u9fSH2YvAF1GFaqsORLF57J_g1RQIjbPVc9QpOQjcMlEi0J4Frv24Klke5uHtj1O1dLhzu5IDrgSXUmrbT2w/s1600/jersey2A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDpPwIV59ooDuOtmwkh2OF4aJsRSZk1kEIUuaPdrmm6-ub0J95wWC1w7u9fSH2YvAF1GFaqsORLF57J_g1RQIjbPVc9QpOQjcMlEi0J4Frv24Klke5uHtj1O1dLhzu5IDrgSXUmrbT2w/s400/jersey2A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405866082768720354" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-uXpPfvfMEpNVjl53kUD7i7bG_uD6a-MB_3RAMiBkq5NZ91Gqs2dO2_YGqPmVyufZPgldC5OhOHzEvffo-182O5zl2DIKupjMiFzbASvaZq_waqohDf1ct1MaVxW9VFrG9gfaGh8Grc/s1600/jersey2B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-uXpPfvfMEpNVjl53kUD7i7bG_uD6a-MB_3RAMiBkq5NZ91Gqs2dO2_YGqPmVyufZPgldC5OhOHzEvffo-182O5zl2DIKupjMiFzbASvaZq_waqohDf1ct1MaVxW9VFrG9gfaGh8Grc/s400/jersey2B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405866078927229570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, remember--post your B-R username below, and start commenting over on the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/">Baseball-Reference.com blog!</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-88326538062027071662009-09-08T12:13:00.002-04:002009-09-08T12:17:09.767-04:00Wrapping it upSorry for the long absence.<br /><br />We have two contests to wrap up:<br /><br />First, MMayes won <a href="http://tradedsets.blogspot.com/2009/07/mlb-network.html">the MLB Network hat</a> by virtue of his guess of 138 runs scored on July 26th. There were actually 142 runs scored, so that's a good guess.<br /><br />Also, Night Owl won <a href="http://tradedsets.blogspot.com/2009/08/poll-best-card-of-1990-upper-deck-high.html">the 1990 Upper Deck High # tournamen</a>t, thanks to Nolan Ryan winning best card in the set. He wins the set.<br /><br />I'm done with card blogging. I will be focusing on stat-based baseball blogging, primarily on the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/">Baseball-Reference Blog</a>. I will also be starting a personal stat blog and I'll let you know when that's up and running.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-77200056399706728132009-08-21T08:00:00.001-04:002009-08-21T08:00:02.408-04:00When is this card? 2008 Upper Deck Tim Lincecum #362<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbP8DBuVx3MdRmai-vEhlW1ouL5q4H-kwjTCiPwDXgtTbpKLpj85i8CpdkC8ed220nkEnEwWWo4dNzXzVyNHRgqokix6xFPitWTo3bq0SQmK0cUozsDHL40XvoLj2PSR4_J_H2iVgrP4/s1600-h/lincecum.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbP8DBuVx3MdRmai-vEhlW1ouL5q4H-kwjTCiPwDXgtTbpKLpj85i8CpdkC8ed220nkEnEwWWo4dNzXzVyNHRgqokix6xFPitWTo3bq0SQmK0cUozsDHL40XvoLj2PSR4_J_H2iVgrP4/s400/lincecum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369135008241753778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This Tim Lincecum card is easy to date. He's starting at home and there are ample matchups visible on the scoreboard. <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200705060.shtml">Here's the game in question</a>, occurring on May 6th 2007.<br /><br />Interesting notes on this:<br /><ul><li>Second baseman Ray Durham is visible.</li><li>The rightfielder, just slightly visible, is Randy Winn.</li><li>The All-Star logo from 2007 in San Francisco is visible.</li><li>This game was <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/qmNy">the 4th-worst start of Lincecum's career</a> to date, as measured by game score. He went just 4.1 innings while giving up 5 earned runs, 5 hits, and 5 walks. The damage included homers by Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br />ANAGRAM CONVERSATION</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br />Tim Lincecum talking to Milt Pappas:<br /><br />Milt Pappas = Slap Pap, Tim!<br />Tim Lincecum = Nice cum, Milt!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span><br /><br />Lincecum is having a historically excellent start to his career. Among pitchers with at least 400 IP over their first 3 seasons, Lincecum ranks in <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/tV4n">the top 10 for best winning percentage</a>, and that comes for playing for a middling Giants team.<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-11876988521653774542009-08-20T08:00:00.001-04:002009-08-20T08:00:03.782-04:00Poll: The best card of 1990 Upper Deck High # Series<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLBh32W_ZH4UeCVm9VLj4lxAI2NVVxpCwHJMfK8HcMsWNLGe31DnHlbBmL7NFQNPTyg21_g5XNxIJHqL0OSfRA9uYpyamNEwjWoDZyxRDDUvkkI2xeGHn2pQ7F_SbCR0IykZRUKPMbyA/s1600-h/finalA.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLBh32W_ZH4UeCVm9VLj4lxAI2NVVxpCwHJMfK8HcMsWNLGe31DnHlbBmL7NFQNPTyg21_g5XNxIJHqL0OSfRA9uYpyamNEwjWoDZyxRDDUvkkI2xeGHn2pQ7F_SbCR0IykZRUKPMbyA/s400/finalA.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371736554398680914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here it is...the final poll to determine the best card of this set, as well as the winner of the set.<br /><br />I'm skeptical about how Oil Can Boyd won his semifinal. If you are the reader attached to one of these final 5 cards, you might want to encourage all your friends to hit up this post and vote for your card, otherwise I fear that Boyd is going to win. (And I think we can all agree that his card is actually the <span style="font-style: italic;">worst</span> of these 5...)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TtivA6pWTU_ISqTOJuE3clgvkvEjqAx9mH_VLmtobXxZ6t7YMQvwUtbGV1P3zcqQEx2WHPwtva1D8iOKG8CGct698LGC4bo1d3bddTkySvCsGgMseUx2FRXGpkgTRg4m-jalttBXo0U/s1600-h/finalB.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TtivA6pWTU_ISqTOJuE3clgvkvEjqAx9mH_VLmtobXxZ6t7YMQvwUtbGV1P3zcqQEx2WHPwtva1D8iOKG8CGct698LGC4bo1d3bddTkySvCsGgMseUx2FRXGpkgTRg4m-jalttBXo0U/s400/finalB.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371736546711968034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9px;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9px;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=178575&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" align="middle" height="356" width="250"></embed><a class="nzenxzkjcvqzussmzxdx" href="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf"></a><a class="nzenxzkjcvqzussmzxdx" href="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf"></a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-84341956564781892222009-08-20T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-20T08:00:00.146-04:00When is this card? 2007 Upper Deck Albert Pujols #443<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQ7jMDcZdGFreP3WoALeBY3XQDRCi6uWeKzGau5ushG6UIIJIUO5-vRCLOKzlORJIKGmv-aj_4WAn_OZiS5cdun_Awoi8D84WLFZPybekpfYC2x4VK7G2v3ShcM13L6JKOX6dKql5mLo/s1600-h/pujols.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQ7jMDcZdGFreP3WoALeBY3XQDRCi6uWeKzGau5ushG6UIIJIUO5-vRCLOKzlORJIKGmv-aj_4WAn_OZiS5cdun_Awoi8D84WLFZPybekpfYC2x4VK7G2v3ShcM13L6JKOX6dKql5mLo/s400/pujols.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368873776272824514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I can't be entirely sure about the date of this photo, but it's almost certainly from <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200606230.shtml">this game</a> on June 23, 2006. That's the only time that Pujols faced Justin Verlander (the pictured pitcher) that year and it came in Detroit. In the top of the 5th of that game, Pujols doubled to deep right field and was thrown out, I assume either trying to advance to third base or oversliding at second.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Albert Pujols = Jabs polluters<br />Justin Verlander = Turns javelin red<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST STAT</span></span><br /><br />Total bases over the first eight years of a career--<a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/DZj7">Number 1: Phat Albert</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-1026920554597865162009-08-19T08:00:00.002-04:002009-08-19T10:00:14.388-04:00When is this card? 2007 Upper Deck David Dellucci #394<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOOccYxdVsaSAjOjOK1Xl0fIMpDlIQmG_3DkEsIKhVaa5Z38WXOa2_g4Tl3Adhy62bJdH3oETy14Ydz9y3UcvE-sPVvZ3sWLJyZg4niJRU_ttm-n1Gp8JRHTth7t9IwfmMpWJohvo-Tw/s1600-h/delluci.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOOccYxdVsaSAjOjOK1Xl0fIMpDlIQmG_3DkEsIKhVaa5Z38WXOa2_g4Tl3Adhy62bJdH3oETy14Ydz9y3UcvE-sPVvZ3sWLJyZg4niJRU_ttm-n1Gp8JRHTth7t9IwfmMpWJohvo-Tw/s400/delluci.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368869361680700098" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This one is easy to date. The top score is Oakland at San Francisco. Delluci played with the Phillies only in 2006. Dan Haren (#24) pitched just one game at the Giants that year (thanks to interleague play being so limited.) It was <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200606240.shtml">this game</a> on June 24, 2006. The <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL200606240.shtml">other game</a> on the scoreboard is the Nationals (WAS) at the Orioles (BAL.)<br /><br />Incidentally, <a href="http://www.checkoutmycards.com/CardImages/Cards/032/913/01F.jpg">the Jason Varitek card from the same set</a> is from the same game, when Chris Coste was thrown out at home in the 9th inning.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAM</span></span><br /><br />David Delluci = Add lucid evil<br /><br />(corrected)<br /><br />David Dellucci = Civil clad dude<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span></span><br /><br />Ince 1969, Delluci has <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/cnvb">the fewest stolen bases in a season with at least 12 triples</a>. That happened in his 1998 season with the Diamondbacks.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-53879696900636378282009-08-18T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-18T08:00:05.013-04:00When is this card? 2007 Upper Deck Marcus Thames #114<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NEC2KlpoQSvUaQioRM7jfNac3BRr4t5JTQ7kUUoJf7XZ4RlxEwTmReykTKRf-JC4USwn67d5YF9BufI0lI5ImfS6X5_UTqV0SaJ7hFunrzwROwyNE7xe123lvs4Y82QaPIJUlyQMr_w/s1600-h/thames.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NEC2KlpoQSvUaQioRM7jfNac3BRr4t5JTQ7kUUoJf7XZ4RlxEwTmReykTKRf-JC4USwn67d5YF9BufI0lI5ImfS6X5_UTqV0SaJ7hFunrzwROwyNE7xe123lvs4Y82QaPIJUlyQMr_w/s400/thames.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368799120685790994" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This one was a little tough to figure out, mainly because even though this is a 2007 card, it turns out that the photo was from 2005. Thames himself would probably remember this himself since this looks like a pretty awesome catch. (At least, I assume he's about to catch the ball.)<br /><br />My starting point for this card was the bottom right portion of the photo that features a game with a team starting with "H", which can only be "HOU" for the Astros. Roy Oswalt is #44 for them. The home team in that game starts with a letter that also has a leading vertical, and the name must take up less space than "HOU" since it starts further to the right. The only NL teams that fit this category are MIL, FLA, PIT, and PHI (and possibly LA if they used LA instead of LAD.)<br /><br />So I looked through Roy Oswalt's starts, and then tried to match up to a #35 pitcher on one of those other teams. I found a 2006 game where he faced the Marlins' #35 Dontrelle Willis, but then I ran into a problem with the top part of the scoreboard. That game features either the Orioles ("BAL") or the Red Sox ("BOS") at home. On the day of that Oswalt/Willis game in 2006, there wasn't a #30 pitching for Baltimore or Boston.<br /><br />So then I went back to 2005, and it was pretty easy to find the date: <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200505110.shtml">May 11th 2005</a>. Hmm, but that's a Wednesday...unusual since the game featured on the Thames card is a day game. But <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX200505110.shtml">the Tigers game that day</a> (at the Rangers) was a day game, as was the Red Sox game.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Marcus Thames = Rams mustache = Muscat harems<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span></span><br /><br />At the moment, Thames has by far <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/SwEq">the fewest career at-bats of any player with 100+ career homers</a>. Of course, that's a bogus stat since he just hit his 100th career homer. But, he also has <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/K5qe">the fewest at-bats of any player with 95 to 105 career homers</a>.<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-512087559147809392009-08-17T08:00:00.001-04:002009-08-17T13:31:12.906-04:00When is this card? 2009 Upper Deck Raul Ibanez #335<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vWJb_-n5wf_Oqw2BIRa3lujEQleZQ9lI3c1wUySwsNbN57wXbnCwojqw7gKeIEoasoVw290HUmX5d5kqCnNJIBa217la2WvE1FcNs88btt2UZu6YUQFtiR7TytNPSNPx4zbbUBGakMs/s1600-h/ibanez.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vWJb_-n5wf_Oqw2BIRa3lujEQleZQ9lI3c1wUySwsNbN57wXbnCwojqw7gKeIEoasoVw290HUmX5d5kqCnNJIBa217la2WvE1FcNs88btt2UZu6YUQFtiR7TytNPSNPx4zbbUBGakMs/s400/ibanez.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368769066711244370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here's another card we can date. Although there's very little into on the scoreboard in the background, it's pretty easy to determine that the matchups are the Rangers (TEX) hosting the White Sox (CHW) and the Athletics (OAK) hosting the Angels (LAA).<br /><br />Based on the game start times, we can narrow the date down to <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK200807130.shtml">July 13, 2008</a>. The Mariners were visiting the Royals that day, meaning that the scoreboard would show games in Central Time. The LAA/Oakland game was scheduled for 1:08 PM, which is Pacific Time. That would be 3:08 CT, matching what we see on the scoreboard.<br /><br />Ibanez fielded ground balls in the 1st inning, 6th inning, 7th inning, and 8th inning, not to mention other times he might have made such a pose (such as throwing the ball around the infield after a strikeout.)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAM</span></span><br /><br />Ruin ablaze<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span></span><br /><br />Ibanez is having a great 2009 to the surprise of many people. Those folks haven't been paying attention, though, because <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/aaQa">Ibanez is in the top 15 for OPS+</a> among outfielders with 4000 PAs from 2001 to 2008. That doesn't even include his awesome 2009.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-20364769434556573352009-08-14T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-14T08:00:10.389-04:00When is this 2009 OPC card? #501 Orioles team checklist<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDT0L9CQaFJs3331gBi5iz-cuNO4zGfJpPWi1D_cBjAfNmgt8LQAdjLu6xjD14RQZ22wtXRMgA5aaUHBoSuE_UHZejp8Ur1ZH0G_b6IMQG_2FbXzzziWETJfWxrGG3aNeXzdX6XflByw/s1600-h/when5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDT0L9CQaFJs3331gBi5iz-cuNO4zGfJpPWi1D_cBjAfNmgt8LQAdjLu6xjD14RQZ22wtXRMgA5aaUHBoSuE_UHZejp8Ur1ZH0G_b6IMQG_2FbXzzziWETJfWxrGG3aNeXzdX6XflByw/s400/when5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366910808280939170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Here's a nice photo of Camden Yards. That looks like an Angels player at first base. On the out-of-town scoreboard, we can easily see two different games of the Pirates at the Phillies.<br />Here's a close-up:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeX51yCxLJ9BiFfeMtVQujck7kQG_-t31AmhyphenhyphenjYUXkmcMQ_kWoKAh8nMGkRHaIgYqnIKvmblwf8qIL7lv14zzvP0PYdS5A6BgElPiq2W0BTMgsFxxYJXPiMQNV2G7GmG7LYhAIi37xRs8/s1600-h/scoreboard.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 101px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeX51yCxLJ9BiFfeMtVQujck7kQG_-t31AmhyphenhyphenjYUXkmcMQ_kWoKAh8nMGkRHaIgYqnIKvmblwf8qIL7lv14zzvP0PYdS5A6BgElPiq2W0BTMgsFxxYJXPiMQNV2G7GmG7LYhAIi37xRs8/s400/scoreboard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368131237076777874" border="0" /></a><br /><br />See the two PIT-PHI games on the right? We've got the following games as well: Reds at Cubs, Dodgers and Rockies, Braves at Marlins, Padres at Astros, Rangers at Rays, Mariners at Twins, and a few other ones that I can't quite read.<br /><br />Check out this list of <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/QuWZ">the Phillies-Pirates games</a> from the last bunch of years. They played a double-header in 2004 and one earlier than that in 2001. Surely the photo couldn't be so old? But in fact, it is from 2001. <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200105231.shtml">May 23, 2001 is the date</a> of this game, as it's the only one that has all the right matchups.<br /><br />The Orioles <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">did</span> host the Angels that day.<br /><br />So, this is an 8-year-old photo on a 2009 baseball card. Wow. I wonder how old the other team stadium photos are? (Unfortunately, most of the others cannot be dated in this fashion.)<br /><br />But here's one cool thing. Guess who that first base coach is? It's #33 Eddie Murray. Bonus Hall of Famer card! The Angels' first baseman that day was--guess who?--Wally Joyner. I bet you didn't think you'd be seeing Wally Joyner on a 2009 baseball card, but there he is. The rightfielder, also visible in the photo, is another retired star: Tim Salmon.<br /><br />Overall all, this card is totally bizarre and totally cool.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAM</span></span><br /><br />Baltimore Orioles = A toilsome broilerAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-50810624624924197392009-08-13T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-13T08:00:11.059-04:00When is this 2009 OPC card? #371 Carlos Lee<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNP8rd3ru_wpYYmP-ADkrNYU491xcDefHAhLLBvaeLCTxYxIbeKmsfC2lhxrw8DqJoa6U6kmmiAv4w0AyILClC6HkAl4T3Fz90r99S7BwVtZccTstK8EySy7JFERNaK2eqzT7O5Ph1J_g/s1600-h/when3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNP8rd3ru_wpYYmP-ADkrNYU491xcDefHAhLLBvaeLCTxYxIbeKmsfC2lhxrw8DqJoa6U6kmmiAv4w0AyILClC6HkAl4T3Fz90r99S7BwVtZccTstK8EySy7JFERNaK2eqzT7O5Ph1J_g/s400/when3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366910795729520018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />First off, this is an interesting photo of Carlos Lee. While it's great to see him about to catch a fly ball, there are two problems: 1) it's a routine fly ball, making it less than totally exciting and 2) his glove is obscuring his face. If it were a more unusual catch, I could forgive the blocked face.<br /><br />I plan on showing a series of the best and worst cards from this set coming up, and this will be among the worst cards.<br /><br />Anyway, let's see if we can date the photo.<br /><br />Here's what we know:<br /><br /><ul><li>That's the left-field scoreboard at Minute Maid Park so this is an Astros home game.</li><li>Other games that day include the Padres visiting the Marlins, the Mets visiting the Diamondbacks, and the Cubs visiting the Cardinals.</li><li>The scoreboard at this stadium doesn't just show basic totals, though. It shows full linescores for each game, meaning that, for example, the Padres scored 1 run in the 2nd inning and 1 run in the 3rd inning of their game. This should make it pretty easy to identify the date.</li></ul>Turns out that the Padres visited the Marlins for<a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/fuM8"> just one 3-game serious in 2008</a>. By clicking on the 3 box scores, it's easy to figure out that the day in question was May 4th, 2008, based on <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/FLO/FLO200805040.shtml">this box score</a>. We can also see the NYM/ARI and CHI/STL matchups from that day. Turns out that the Astros hosted the Brewers that day and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU200805040.shtml">won in the 12th inning</a>.<br /><br />Interestingly, Lee was taken out of this game after he made the last out in the 9th inning. I'm not sure why that would happen unless he had a minor injury of some sort. He played in the next series of games so he couldn't have gotten very badly injured, if at all. Checking out the box score, Lee had two outfield assists in the first two innings!<br /><br />As for outs that Lee recorded in the game, he caught a Ryan Bruan fly ball in the 4th inning and a Prince Fielder fly ball in the 7th inning. This photo has got to be one of those two balls. With a game start time of 1:06 PM central, this photo was taken sometime roughly around 3:00 to 4:00 PM eastern on 5/4/2008.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Carlos Lee =<br /><br />Carol's eel<br />Real close<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span></span><br /><br />Lee is often overlooked as being one of the best players in the game, but among guys with at least 4500 plate appearances since 2002, <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/8tAT">he's in the top 15 for OPS+</a>.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-88585987603928137232009-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-12T08:00:00.377-04:00When is this 2009 OPC card? #330 Jake Peavy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8Yl5qAI_cmsu-qoKmspnPdhZ6tE_QU71LJNi2iBOnr2LeGwh0fKg0mtsw-FBfOOdEPoLtsCypz_tHF9WFk438QO_fItcuZnKkEcVXGJPSdLCUCnFe9IRHH7aSZw0sxHoHz8igizRlPs/s1600-h/when2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8Yl5qAI_cmsu-qoKmspnPdhZ6tE_QU71LJNi2iBOnr2LeGwh0fKg0mtsw-FBfOOdEPoLtsCypz_tHF9WFk438QO_fItcuZnKkEcVXGJPSdLCUCnFe9IRHH7aSZw0sxHoHz8igizRlPs/s400/when2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366910794562562210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's sweet to show pitchers doing something other than pitching and this is a nice photo of Peavy digging in as he approaches 3rd base. That ass probably belongs to 2008 Padres third base coach Glenn Hoffman.<br /><br />So, can we find the date for this card?<br /><br />For starters, we know that it's a Padres home game since they're wearing white uniforms. We can also see that the Dodgers visited the Rockies that day, and either the Braves (ATL) or the Cardinals (STL) visited a team with a short abbreviation, probably the SF Giants. Plus to Nationals played at home.<br /><br />This one was very difficult to figure out. Turns out that there are no 2008 games that fit all the above criteria. However, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN200704190.shtml">this game in 2007</a> fits just fine.<br /><br />On that day (April 19, 2007) all of the following happened:<br /><ul><li>The Rockies (COL) hosted the Dodgers (LAD)<br /></li><li>The Giants (SF) hosted the Cardinals (STL)</li><li>The Nationals (WSN) hosted the Phillies (PHI)</li><li>The Padres hosted the Diamondbacks</li></ul>How, the one thing that doesn't quite fit is that the team visiting the Nationals seems to have only 2 letters in its team abbreviation (which the Phillies do not.) However, other than the Padres, the only other NL team that ever uses a 2-letter abbreviations is the Padres (SD) themselves and since they are the home team in the game featured in the photo, their score would not be shown on the out-of-town scoreboard. Furthermore, the Phillies beat the Nationals that day by the score of 4-2, which is the score shown in the photo.<br /><br />Finally, in the Padres game, Peavy hit a triple in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Since it's somewhat rare for pitchers to be running between second and third, I think we can safely assume that this card is indeed from the 4/19/2007 game.<br /><br />That game started at 12:36 PM (west coast time) so this photo was probably taken between 4:30 and 5:00 eastern time.<br /><br />Incidentally, Glenn Hoffman was also third base coach in 2007, so I still think that's his ass.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Jake Peavy + Hoffman's ass = Pajamas off! Sky heavens!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span><br /><br />Since 1901, only 22 times has <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/wb55">a pitcher struck out at least 200 batters in a season but finished with an ERA+ below 100</a>. Peavy did it in 2006, and is just 1 of 2 guys to do it in the last 12 seasons. Nolan Ryan did it 5 times and the vast majority of the pitchers who did it were very good.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-16972527196965619462009-08-11T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-11T08:00:01.343-04:00When is this 2009 OPC card? #470 Prince Fielder<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-10betKD9U1Jgg2wxV6NAubIEqDI8J06Xp7ojgx2Mxy32uZLhABy5G1g97WQ4yxtMkg5Aia_85Hi73UMrqOrA6W8WfXOrlUxOi8Jw9RmiHNXxX7tsBjC9pYR0fCOrKtQop8Vpw7X7Xjk/s1600-h/when4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-10betKD9U1Jgg2wxV6NAubIEqDI8J06Xp7ojgx2Mxy32uZLhABy5G1g97WQ4yxtMkg5Aia_85Hi73UMrqOrA6W8WfXOrlUxOi8Jw9RmiHNXxX7tsBjC9pYR0fCOrKtQop8Vpw7X7Xjk/s400/when4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366910803583781394" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Other blogs have already posted this card. I found it alarming because of just how large Fielder looks. That's <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2008&t=PIT">number 12 Freddy Sanchez</a> taking his lead.<br /><br />So when was this photo taken?<br /><br />Let's see. We need to start with <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/ETzf">2008 games of the Brewers visiting the Pirates</a>. Based on the team matchups visible on the scoreboard, we can easily narrow the game down to August 29, 30 or 31.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT200808290.shtml">The August 29th game was a night game</a> and the photo was clearly taken during the day. <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT200808300.shtml">The August 30th game was also a night game</a>, despite it coming on a Saturday.<br /><br />So this photo was clearly taken on August 31st, 2008. But we can tell a little more, even. Sanchez got to first base only once in <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT200808310.shtml">the game</a>, walking to lead off the 4th against C. C. Sabathia. This game was part of Sabathia's excellent streak for the Brewers last season. Since the game started at 1:35 PM, this photo was probably taken sometime around 2:15-2:30 PM on the last day of August.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAM</span></span><br /><br />Brewers / Pirates = Wet raspberries<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span></span><br /><br />Over his Age 23 and Age 24 seasons, Fielder cracked <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/sSQG">the top 20 for most total bases</a>. A few other recent players make the top 20, including Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Nomar Garciaparra, Hanley Ramirez, and Troy Glaus.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-91204267402423335512009-08-10T13:33:00.002-04:002009-08-10T13:37:12.818-04:00What the heck??Hubie Brooks is getting roundly trounced by Oil Can Boyd in <a href="http://tradedsets.blogspot.com/2009/08/tournament-semifinal-3.html">semifinal #3</a>. That's not right. If you haven't voted yet, please go over there and vote for Brooks.<br /><br />Also let me take this opportunity to comment on the future of this blog. For the time being, I'm going to concentrate on the 2009 O-Pee-Chee set. I'll be posting a "When is this card?" post each day this week (Friday's is AWESOME!) and also we'll look at some of the best and worst photos in the set next week.<br /><br />After that, I'm not sure what will happen. Things have been incredibly busy for me at both work and home lately although I expect that to settle down some. I was looking at getting my hands on one of those early 1990s Stadium Club sets that came in the Skydome model, but now I don't think I want to spend the cash needlessly. I may look for another set to write up--but if anybody has any ideas, or even a set you want to donate to the cause, just let me know.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-25926957376806464002009-08-10T10:00:00.000-04:002009-08-10T10:00:03.586-04:00When is this 2009 OPC card? #173 Adrian Beltre<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRBi0KQmtcOwnHj-KC1_KmeyFJibpoiabTfyCCFU3Go692zKVrDRMqiTcGvdT6Ru0xzjf1FGEOHfRQ03bW7sYFB6fNEy4pKPL_L_-K75YylsN7d9oBD_VVGWxEDLvVhhyPCqTC2bvMtk/s1600-h/when1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRBi0KQmtcOwnHj-KC1_KmeyFJibpoiabTfyCCFU3Go692zKVrDRMqiTcGvdT6Ru0xzjf1FGEOHfRQ03bW7sYFB6fNEy4pKPL_L_-K75YylsN7d9oBD_VVGWxEDLvVhhyPCqTC2bvMtk/s400/when1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366910787278172706" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There is a handful of 2009 O-Pee-Chee cards with photos that can be dated.<br /><br />Let's start with an easy one, this Adrian Beltre card.<br /><br />On the scoreboard in the background, we can see that the Angels were playing at the Tigers that day. Checking out <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAA/2008-schedule-scores.shtml">the Angels' 2008 schedule</a>, we see they played two series at Detroit. One was over April 25 to April 27 and the other was Sept 2 to Sept 4. We can also see in the photo background that the Yankees were visiting the Rays on this day. Over the April dates, though, the Yankees were at the Indians. However, the Rays did host the Yankees Sept 2, 3, and 4.<br /><br />In the photo, the pitcher for the Angels was #20, which <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2008&t=ANG">was Jon Garland</a>. He pitched for the Angels on September 3rd. Zach Miner was the Tigers' starter in that game and <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2008&t=DET">he wore #31</a>, jiving with what we see in the photo above. Lastly, the Rays' starter that day was Edwin Jackson, and <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2008&t=TBR">he wore #36</a>, also matching up with what we see in the photo.<br /><br />So, clearly, this photo is from September 3rd, 2008.<br /><br />On that day, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX200809030.shtml">the Mariners were visiting the Rangers</a> and they lost 1-0. Beltre did manage 2 hits, though.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Adrian Beltre =<br /><br />Radiant rebel<br />Ran liberated<br />Alert brained<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STAT</span></span><br /><br />I just wrote recently about Adrian Beltre over at <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/2028">the Baseball-Reference.com Blog</a> where I pointed out how overrated he is and how bad his 2009 has been.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-8802842993480373322009-08-10T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-10T08:00:06.991-04:00Tournament semifinal #5<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvVDuuoe4nqcNCdfnrVvvZ5ubeEBUI7txTUWXDr0iOtpiqsz27rJB9xbq2Bg2pPF3YH-zXjoN3rWfWfjp8cChxlydQvOpRMEFkjG0SImXi_5_brnirES6AOyT6wQ9ku12tj2XIhj8IgU/s1600-h/tournament5A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvVDuuoe4nqcNCdfnrVvvZ5ubeEBUI7txTUWXDr0iOtpiqsz27rJB9xbq2Bg2pPF3YH-zXjoN3rWfWfjp8cChxlydQvOpRMEFkjG0SImXi_5_brnirES6AOyT6wQ9ku12tj2XIhj8IgU/s400/tournament5A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366895508646164658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I picked the sky blue background to match a couple of the cards. Nice!<br /><br />Make sure you're a follower of this blog, and then vote below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xI4644ETtd_FJyC-prX0rmLbQVzUUk-bC2tWGqvnlqK1t84HXEziFMy9qI5sQbeAWOZ-TE5iQwbYj0Dd5dSmnvZzkiY8bz8JLRV_NioAHLkU8O1HkNtVfdc581b0CX7exPvkPx22BzE/s1600-h/tournament5B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xI4644ETtd_FJyC-prX0rmLbQVzUUk-bC2tWGqvnlqK1t84HXEziFMy9qI5sQbeAWOZ-TE5iQwbYj0Dd5dSmnvZzkiY8bz8JLRV_NioAHLkU8O1HkNtVfdc581b0CX7exPvkPx22BzE/s400/tournament5B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366895505623330962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=176787&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" align="middle" width="250" height="340"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-37052751578459540252009-08-07T08:00:00.000-04:002009-08-07T08:00:03.136-04:00Tournament semifinal #4<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOw46deEy2oSvsL2MX_l4u_QcVbORkkASx2aFaZEdvN9HUTPs5Q7sD5JO2NgkRKcFycYx0p1l962ZUqVgTGBNvd3-3cIdoVxn1PZLR0o3lePgm7XOt5OTXZFyFSxfVJ8gSwvdPgeujtI/s1600-h/tournament4A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOw46deEy2oSvsL2MX_l4u_QcVbORkkASx2aFaZEdvN9HUTPs5Q7sD5JO2NgkRKcFycYx0p1l962ZUqVgTGBNvd3-3cIdoVxn1PZLR0o3lePgm7XOt5OTXZFyFSxfVJ8gSwvdPgeujtI/s400/tournament4A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366894441538081602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Vote below! Can anyone beat HOFer Carter? I doubt it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9VpLv2E64V-cbVqxynale9rkB45WMJ2O-jT0slgh5lDR7UysbZ60rJg2pBHofU7JjR1mIN4M8mhcY8eIWgK1aY6Xj_Z5-17oBA4YC-NfZJCmY-_hUHmBLs9kRWz44rdjRyz0oGnJZMw/s1600-h/tournament4B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9VpLv2E64V-cbVqxynale9rkB45WMJ2O-jT0slgh5lDR7UysbZ60rJg2pBHofU7JjR1mIN4M8mhcY8eIWgK1aY6Xj_Z5-17oBA4YC-NfZJCmY-_hUHmBLs9kRWz44rdjRyz0oGnJZMw/s400/tournament4B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366894432727854098" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=176785&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" align="middle" width="250" height="340"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-39427005567089629002009-08-06T08:00:00.001-04:002009-08-06T08:00:05.492-04:00Tournament semifinal #3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAXAwrPLUBvNeWXdTCQxh_YOEK5G_M0aAAYnlK2SqkPCxMZXPQYhLaxFXjOvAAFesOOBx7ndPX05hf38IFs6abp9dYtWCG-fC9QzEno_ZRQ2KUrJ5yh0YxraRwTjG20avN3NdwkYnr6U/s1600-h/tournament3A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAXAwrPLUBvNeWXdTCQxh_YOEK5G_M0aAAYnlK2SqkPCxMZXPQYhLaxFXjOvAAFesOOBx7ndPX05hf38IFs6abp9dYtWCG-fC9QzEno_ZRQ2KUrJ5yh0YxraRwTjG20avN3NdwkYnr6U/s400/tournament3A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366540530802503202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Semifinal #3<br /><br />Follow the blog (if you're not already) then vote for the best card below. I myself can't see any reason for voting for any card other than Hubie Brooks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlh3I_KR27UkXO0ZxJqgJpGfvN2VVtkGzUdEW3R8Ka0mpVa3cQk6wBqXlHmd-54EmcwMawVa9GsfuQA3cBW5hj5n-etgbH3Pz8AGiGIODQ8PwQk0ymYWMNR4tj7ZLPk16gNU9SrovxNw/s1600-h/tournament3B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlh3I_KR27UkXO0ZxJqgJpGfvN2VVtkGzUdEW3R8Ka0mpVa3cQk6wBqXlHmd-54EmcwMawVa9GsfuQA3cBW5hj5n-etgbH3Pz8AGiGIODQ8PwQk0ymYWMNR4tj7ZLPk16gNU9SrovxNw/s400/tournament3B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366540279132713138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=176630&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" width="250" align="middle" height="340"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-5330452341648468632009-08-05T10:30:00.002-04:002009-08-05T10:35:15.861-04:00Tournament semifinal #2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMR7zWZ97BLLAq_LFh5UpfI7ODfAd4b6exoi8q65WcofFVwy8ScreN2Fedq0o94pMMXwUhA0e6PNOnjtDd_5s5dBJBZKmiqCsfWOtWAb6yg6imLfDwpQwJXCSpgrwBd3Jyy-R7Xkfgis/s1600-h/tournament2A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMR7zWZ97BLLAq_LFh5UpfI7ODfAd4b6exoi8q65WcofFVwy8ScreN2Fedq0o94pMMXwUhA0e6PNOnjtDd_5s5dBJBZKmiqCsfWOtWAb6yg6imLfDwpQwJXCSpgrwBd3Jyy-R7Xkfgis/s400/tournament2A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366487442267358898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here's semifinal #2. Remember--you must be a follower of this blog to vote, and you can vote for whichever card you this is best for any reason. Aside from the Fetters card (which is interesting for <a href="http://tradedsets.blogspot.com/2009/07/contest-what-is-mike-fetters-writing.html">other reasons</a>) these are some really nice photographs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EgymLBeNJOcdDf1JbS4H74ZGDyh0yttpnBWBdtWJJKvHPx_lEeNuqgsI12YsH3DNQQMITLYmWijD5AaDYZCsiDnHrKXqO0tuTzVnC4h5cTCSX-5nwX2ZY89lFyVUUyQY9Mej6djLOgg/s1600-h/tournament2B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EgymLBeNJOcdDf1JbS4H74ZGDyh0yttpnBWBdtWJJKvHPx_lEeNuqgsI12YsH3DNQQMITLYmWijD5AaDYZCsiDnHrKXqO0tuTzVnC4h5cTCSX-5nwX2ZY89lFyVUUyQY9Mej6djLOgg/s400/tournament2B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366487438718984738" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=176594&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" width="250" align="middle" height="340"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-24110795074201661922009-08-04T09:44:00.002-04:002009-08-04T09:51:01.126-04:00Is Mark McGwire a Hall of Famer?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntyCrFaTOeUsx-tOsZ_iNPJIRGNpwzzmZxX_XrHYxizKHMiPRuvDFX_DY5UM9FGHwxryGm7DZIqC_87zX70FJM2ntqkKELtM61N3X6WNUPOOwoCPCL855fzKqTZcvTnxMbbgtwZXIeQM/s1600-h/mcgwire.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntyCrFaTOeUsx-tOsZ_iNPJIRGNpwzzmZxX_XrHYxizKHMiPRuvDFX_DY5UM9FGHwxryGm7DZIqC_87zX70FJM2ntqkKELtM61N3X6WNUPOOwoCPCL855fzKqTZcvTnxMbbgtwZXIeQM/s400/mcgwire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366105735787747250" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm curious about whether you think Mark McGwire is Hall of Famer, considering ONLY his stats. I don't know how to judge the steroids/PEDs issue yet.<br /><br />Please vote in the poll below and feel free to add a comment.<br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=176434&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" align="middle" width="250" height="388"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-61847849486186245012009-08-03T10:41:00.002-04:002009-08-03T11:08:21.818-04:00Tournament semifinal #1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qjowYZUyN85dNshj4g6nRUkYHqqbKdFN3K9grMkLhBw02BD4A12lN5jqzTgwN6zoS_V1Rg4YVZReun5yaGWg2douujlf7aFNoGZcPvYDs4wQmvjJV_UN4euh58iKdAI15rcUSgOin-s/s1600-h/tournament1A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qjowYZUyN85dNshj4g6nRUkYHqqbKdFN3K9grMkLhBw02BD4A12lN5jqzTgwN6zoS_V1Rg4YVZReun5yaGWg2douujlf7aFNoGZcPvYDs4wQmvjJV_UN4euh58iKdAI15rcUSgOin-s/s400/tournament1A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365748285079402354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So here we go with tournament semifinal #1. Each of these cards has been assigned to a reader. If you need a reminder, <a href="http://tradedsets.blogspot.com/2009/07/tournament-settings.html">here is the list</a>.<br /><br />I don't have a lot to say about these players--I wrote everything I had to say on their original posts earlier on this blog.<br /><br />There are just two rules for voting:<br /><br />1) Please make sure you are a follower of this blog (see sidebar) before voting, otherwise your vote will not count.<br /><br />2) Vote using whatever criteria you wish, such as best player, best photos, best-looking cards, nicest guy, etc. The poll is below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTppAEyyfl0rIk-yKw7DbxQwf0fKgi5iI_Bkl52-u2RGNhatJU1jfka_rZ4ATn53r9Xrs-RNI0jMkSwZTGwzOcAt3jzWLeIqRnWCbgLGgwZwZfKwAIz9eiefyIum96YDjrKFxDT3vYfkw/s1600-h/tournament1B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTppAEyyfl0rIk-yKw7DbxQwf0fKgi5iI_Bkl52-u2RGNhatJU1jfka_rZ4ATn53r9Xrs-RNI0jMkSwZTGwzOcAt3jzWLeIqRnWCbgLGgwZwZfKwAIz9eiefyIum96YDjrKFxDT3vYfkw/s400/tournament1B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365748278869550962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=176292&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" align="middle" width="250" height="340"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-34871682770560530632009-07-31T12:25:00.003-04:002009-07-31T14:51:06.054-04:00Tournament settings<a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/scoreboard?date=20090728">The total number of runs scored on Tuesday</a> was 199. That means the cards get ordered by decreasing length of the player's name.<br /><br />So here are the 25 cards as well as which reader is assigned to each card.<br /><br />1 #702 "Rookie Threats" madding<br />2 #777 Keith Hernandez Carl Crawford Cards<br />3 #761 Gary DiSarcina White Sox Cards<br />4 #745 Dave Winfield dayf<br />5 #783 Mark Langston D a V e<br />6 #737 Carlos Baerga Don<br />7 #708 Tom Brunansky T-Dog<br />8 #786 Cecil Fielder Real_Name<br />9 #742 Mike Fetters AceWild<br />10 #711 Dave Justice Captain Canuck<br />11 #791 Hubie Brooks FanofReds<br />12 #749 Oil Can Boyd Stormy<br />13 #726 Todd Hundley Kevin<br />14 #714 Glenn Braggs Fuji<br />15 #729 Jeff Reardon Bo<br />16 #758 Nick Esasky Brian<br />17 #766 Dave Parker steveisjewish<br />18 #774 Gary Carter Rod<br />19 #797 Randy Myers Drew<br />20 #723 Jim Leyritz Mmayes<br />21 #718 Greg Myers Luke<br />22 #754 Joe Carter mmosley<br />23 #793 Kevin Bass skoormit<br />24 #734 Nolan Ryan night owl<br />25 #771 Fred Lynn RoofGod<br /><br />Night owl, you damned nearly got yourself either Joe Carter or Kevin Bass (both Giants on these cards.) They missed only because "Rangers" comes alphabetically after "Giants".<br /><br />These cards are going to be posted in 5 sets of 5 starting next week. Remember, the readers assigned to the card that wins the entire tournament will win the entire set, so get ready to argue on behalf of your card.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-55274208860953039402009-07-28T08:00:00.000-04:002009-07-28T08:00:02.049-04:00Tournament orderOur tournament of the 25 best 1990 Upper Deck High # series is going to start soon.<br /><br />I'm going to order the 25 winning cards based on the total number of runs scored during Tuesday's games. I'll add up all the runs and then take the last digits. For example, if the total is 125 runs, then the number I'll use is 5.<br /><br />Here's a list of the 10 possible numbers and the way I'll order the 25 cards. Then I'll assign the cards to the numbers you chose. This makes it all fair and square.<br /><br />0: increasing by card number<br />1: decreasing by card number<br />2: increasing by name alphabetically<br />3: decreasing by name alphabetically<br />4: increasing by team name then player name alphabetically<br />5: decreasing by team name then player name alphabetically<br />6: increasing by age<br />7: decreasing by age<br />8: increasing by length of player's name then by team name alphabetically<br />9: decreasing by length of player's name then by team name alphabeticallyAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-9924667976351991322009-07-27T11:25:00.002-04:002009-07-27T11:27:29.376-04:00Moving dayMy family and I are moving to a new home today and tomorrow so I'm not sure if I'll be posting very much.<br /><br />But in the meantime, here's a little game for you.<br /><br />The street number of our new home is one of major significance in baseball history. Guess the number and its baseball significance and I'll send you some free cards. Post your guess below and enter as many times as you like.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-57992124975793085932009-07-27T08:00:00.001-04:002009-07-27T11:19:55.456-04:001990 Upper Deck #797 798 799 800<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3RGsmQy45ymuB4Syhk4Twst0Lnqy8oU4CM8zUVYIFkPxiGbXyWHXPGdahiAjCBMm9_hXHlppSk9MiyOjPXifE0T8jh-opSJJtNTd_wx0_BD6bCQIMDPJrKH-wk5uIcqYv1aNUbPiou8/s1600-h/797A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3RGsmQy45ymuB4Syhk4Twst0Lnqy8oU4CM8zUVYIFkPxiGbXyWHXPGdahiAjCBMm9_hXHlppSk9MiyOjPXifE0T8jh-opSJJtNTd_wx0_BD6bCQIMDPJrKH-wk5uIcqYv1aNUbPiou8/s400/797A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361755426598314530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/myersra01.shtml">Randy Myers</a><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jamesch02.shtml">Chris James</a><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gullibi01.shtml">Bill Gullickson</a><br />Upper Deck Checklist 701-800<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST PHOTO</span></span><br /><br />The James card is similar to Keith Hernandez's card and has an equally nice batting-cage shot on the back. Overall, a very nice card. The Gullickson card is neat too. On the front, he's sitting in front of that wood paneling in front of which many Astros have posed. On the back is the final picture of the set, and it's a sloppy-haired candid photo.<br /><br />But let's not ignore the checklist...I really like that mottled yellow background on both sides and how the checklist is self-referential, listing itself on the back.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST STAT</span></span><br /><br />Chris James hit pretty well <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/P3Dz">against HOF pitchers</a> except for Nolan Ryan. He also <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/qbQW">hit multiple homers</a> off Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine and a single homer off Roger Clemens. He also homered once against Randy Myers, also pictured in this group. Plus he was 4-for-9 against Bill Gullickson with a triple.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST IN 1990</span></span><br /><br />Chris James had his most playing time in 1990 and put up his best season. Gullickson had a typically average season.<br /><br />But it was Randy Myers who had the best season in 1990. He was, of course, the leader of the Nasty Boys with the 1990 champion Reds. He had 86 innings, 98 strikeouts, and a 192 ERA+.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Randy Myers = Many dryers<br />Chris James = Jams riches<br />Bill Gullickson = Bill sucking - LOL!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST CAREER</span></span><br /><br />James and Gullickson had some good seasons but Myers is clearly the best of the bunch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6INStdW5GrWkhmrOlrp6FBazq_ZsvZvh4HNMVoXVpWQI9vvBsxhaNcZW6_pOUSLcNn7y5Pw7jrkb2Sus-NWeoj6RNrOYIl7ym_Cv3W-n6hW7Ln92zYVtPvKDFmAM-IN2Xt6ekaE1gjO8/s1600-h/797B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6INStdW5GrWkhmrOlrp6FBazq_ZsvZvh4HNMVoXVpWQI9vvBsxhaNcZW6_pOUSLcNn7y5Pw7jrkb2Sus-NWeoj6RNrOYIl7ym_Cv3W-n6hW7Ln92zYVtPvKDFmAM-IN2Xt6ekaE1gjO8/s400/797B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361755425290128306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=175270&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" align="middle" width="250" height="296"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370719003977121813.post-23031435766803879942009-07-24T08:00:00.001-04:002009-07-24T11:13:27.216-04:001990 Upper Deck #793 794 795 796<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbWPf4VcqbUfCaM22TOaE31SV1TlKEtogBmX7l7vuNzwGCAOlgJSxWpzO2YSirfFFNBiMzPyq-fXO3LQ1C7T-ymHpmaXiZNKfX32L2o3Q_RHanwUKrhKghQ7eJqAc47rmD09gGfVXSdw/s1600-h/793A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbWPf4VcqbUfCaM22TOaE31SV1TlKEtogBmX7l7vuNzwGCAOlgJSxWpzO2YSirfFFNBiMzPyq-fXO3LQ1C7T-ymHpmaXiZNKfX32L2o3Q_RHanwUKrhKghQ7eJqAc47rmD09gGfVXSdw/s400/793A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752098561572146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/basske01.shtml">Kevin Bass</a><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithbr01.shtml">Bryn Smith</a><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/samueju01.shtml">Juan Samuel</a><br /><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsa01.shtml">Sam Horn</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST PHOTO</span></span><br /><br />I like the Smith card. It's two photos probably from the same spring training game but taken from very different angles. On the front, the guy in the background is a 3B, probably Todd Zeile even though he was primarily a catcher that year. On the back, the background player is probably 2B Jose Oquendo.<br /><br />I dig the Kevin Bass photo card, too. The posed shot on the front is unusual and neat. But, he stole Terry Kennedy's bat (#16).<br /><br />Nice smirk for Juan Samuel, too, and an action shot showing him do what he did best (run, I mean, not get thrown out...heh.)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST STAT</span></span><br /><br />Juan Samuel <a href="http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/4JA9">led the universe in strikeouts</a> from 1984 to 1987, including leading the NL each of those years. My eye tracks down that list to #5 <strike>Gyrates Tip</strike> Gary Pettis, who managed 496 strikeouts in 4 seasons despite hitting only 9 home runs. Yes, NINE!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST IN 1990</span></span><br /><br />Hmm, this is a toughie. Bryn Smith had a down year in 1990 and Bass and Samuel both had slightly below-average OPS+ numbers. I'm going with Sam Horn, who had 14 HR and 45 RBI in just 79 games. The knock on my choice is that he played only those 79 games.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST ANAGRAMS</span></span><br /><br />Kevin Bass = Vans & bikes<br />Sam Horn = Harm son (of Sam Horn..?)<br /><br />Tough anagrams here as the short names "Bryn Smith" and "Juan Samuel" aren't very fertile material.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST CAREER</span></span><br /><br />Another very tough decision. Bass, Smith, and Samuel finished with slightly above-average numbers. Horn finished with really good numbers except for perhaps the most important one: games played. I can't pick a batter with just 389 career games as having had the best career. Nobody had much post-season experience, with Bass and Samuel just getting a whiff each. (No pun intended on the use of the word "whiff" although we could certainly apply that term to Samuel and Horn both.)<br /><br />Anyway, at the end of the day, I'm going with Juan Samuel. He was runner-up for Rookie of the Year, a 3-time All-Star, topped 40 steals 4 different times and twice led the league in triples.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeJK4OdtJpmZNrSNjRav26kI25RvPdzFPPyryYNN1miAn3zoyYPfHne5dQ8jKYvPe_pnKWRFi_mV3-cHgVTdNRhB2DLD3YgwpmJGMtG4_2XEkoBA_AhcCSBHMPE_aAKCwLA0LM_0jXGo/s1600-h/793B.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeJK4OdtJpmZNrSNjRav26kI25RvPdzFPPyryYNN1miAn3zoyYPfHne5dQ8jKYvPe_pnKWRFi_mV3-cHgVTdNRhB2DLD3YgwpmJGMtG4_2XEkoBA_AhcCSBHMPE_aAKCwLA0LM_0jXGo/s400/793B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752094447392450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; height: 20px; text-align: center; width: 250px; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"><a href="http://www.vizu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: underline;font-size:9;" >Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="vizu_poll" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="js=false&pid=174848&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=1F8031&questionText=FFFFFF&answerZoneBG=1F8031&answerItemBG=F8ECB1&answerText=000000&voteBG=000000&voteText=ffffff" width="250" align="middle" height="296"></embed>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com2