Sixty Feet Six

Gint-A-Cuffs landed me a few Autos. For some reason, half of them ended up being the non-baseball variety. The first one was the Red Horse Auto (the auto was red, not the horse). The next one was Brock Yates, the guy taking credit for the Cannonball Run. I've got no real reason to doubt him, it's just that I've not been able to confirm his involvement.

Never the less, Jim from Sixty Feet Six Inches had his own little Brock Yates collection going. And, if someone puts their mind to collecting the Cannonball Run guy, I would never stand in their way? I'd consider it bad form. It's one of my two rules. (The other is I never date girls who say "bitchin".)

So, we worked out a trade. I sent him Yates and an assortment of the typical junk that I send out from time to time. He sent me a Ginter Auto and some Indians. This time I got a real live player for my auto!

You can check out what Jim got from me here. Although, I have already told you so you really don't have any reason to doubt me. If you clicked on that link...what the heck did I ever do to you to lose your trust?

Here's what I landed in return:

(And, can we all agree to ignore the fact that this trade went down 2 months ago? Thank you)


Fausto Carmona 2008 Topps Heritage

At this point I'm convinced that Fausto Carmona is actually twins. They are pulling the old switcheroo on us like one of those Lindsey Lohan movies. (You remember. Lindsey Lohan used to be a cute girl before she met Brittany Spears and turned into what appears to be a trailer park 33 year old recovering meth addict grandmother of 3). Point is, I think there are 2 Faustos. Or rather a Fausto and a Gausto.

Gausto pitched in 2006.
Fausto in 2007.
Gausto in 2008.
And, they must have been switching on and off in 2009.

Hopefully Tim Belcher can find Fausto and get Gausto a job selling Peanuts outside the stadium. And put a giant tattoo on one of their foreheads.

I don't care which one.

Grady Sizemore 2009 Goudey Mini

Never been able to quite figure out Goudey. They have regular cards and minis, but the minis aren't really mini size. They're still kind of fat. But not as fat as regular cards. And, I think one year the mini Goudey's were the regular Goudeys and there were no regular Goudeys and that's why the mini Goudeys were the regular Goudeys even though they were mini Goudeys.

Don't bother reading that again. Just trust me. It makes complete sense. Trust the old Uncle Scratcher.

Grady Sizemore 2009 Goudey

The regular Goudey.

Grady Sizemore 2009 Starquest Silver

Jim really knows the way to my heart doesn't he. 3 Sizemores!

Denard Span 2009 Ginter Auto

Here's the motherload. I've said before, I hate the Twins. But I like the Twins players. Now with the trade that sends Gomez to the Brewers, Span should spend more time in CF this year. It's probably his exclusively. And, I feel like he's ready to take a leap. Bad for the Indians. But good for my Ginter Auto!

Thanks Jim for the trade and the extra cards thrown in.

Grady's Take On Acta

The hiring of Manny Acta by the Tribe has been met with a bit of trepidation in Cleveland. There are some who think (mostly because of his W/L record) that it was a terrible hire. There are some who think (mostly because Bobby Valentine is a nut job and they can't think of anyone better) that it was a good hire.

I fall more in line with the latter group, mostly because the people in the former group tend to be morons who think that RBIs (yes, RBIs with an 's'...I'm old school) matter (in that regard I'm decidedly not old school).

But, it doesn't matter what I think. I'm an idiot. That is not in dispute.

What matters is what Grady thinks.


No, not that Grady.


Yes, that Grady. He's the real brains here. What's his take?

Well, I'll show ya:


I think that says it all. It's perfectly clear.

Grady definitely is behind this hire and Manny Acta.

So long as Joel Skinner is never seen coaching 3rd base again. Ever.

I have to go with Grady on this.

My New Sizemore Card

I've been out of town a lot lately. First for a work thing where a bunch of dentists get together and talk about teeth. Then for a funeral, which wasn't unexpected, but still...not good times. So I've missed out on a lot blog posts and I haven't posted anything for a while. I'm trying to catch up.

I did get a little pick-me-up the other day when my new card arrived in the mail. Here it is: A dual auto of Grady Sizemore and Nick Swisher



Not too shabby, huh?

My love for Sizemore is well documented. I named my firstborn son after him (well, not really, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

I'm a big fan of Swisher for one main reason. He's a Buckeye. There aren't too many of us in the majors. As far as I know it's only Swisher, Scott Lewis (Indian's pitcher) and Josh Freeman of the Rockies. Not exactly a murderer's row. But, we take what we can get, and so I decided to try to collect some Swisher cards.

I ran across this baby on eBay a few weeks ago and I had to get it. It ended up being around $20. I have no way of knowing if I overpaid, but that doesn't matter. I also have no idea why these two are on a card together, or why they couldn't have gotten a better picture of Grady (where he isn't making a face like he's taking a dump.) Maybe it's because both of them sign terrible auto's

No matter, it's a cool card and I love it.

My only dilemma is that there are 2 Yankees I love now. Swisher and Sabathia. I have no idea how to reconcile that. Any suggestions?

BTW: Check out the Swisher page on base reference. It has pitching stats. Sweet.

Dinged Corners Contest Winner!

The following is the fastest transaction in the history of the Achiever Card Blog. As those of you who have sent me cards in the past know, it is usually anywhere between 2-5 months before I get up a post about the free stuff I received. It recently occurred to me that I could benefit from posting sooner. The thought process (I'm very logical) went something like this:

1. Blog People send me free stuff
2. Blog People like to know that the free stuff is appreciated
3. When I wait forever to post it may look like I don't appreciate the stuff
4. If I post sooner Blog People will see me writing about them on my immensely popular blog
5. If Blog People see my wit and brilliant writing about the cards they sent me, they will be happy
6. Blog People will send me more free cards
7. I LOVE free cards

I'm telling you, I'm like Spock.

So, I just got some free cards from the wonderful girls at Dinged Corners. (If you don't know who they are you are here by mistake. There is no porn here. Please move along). Actually, these cards weren't necessarily free, as I earned them through hard work and dedication.

First, I had to answer an extremely difficult trivia question. Then I had to type "2007" in the comments. Heck I even had to go back into the Dinged Corners archives to make sure I was spelling "Mazeroski" correctly. I'm a bad speler a lot of the time. The whole thing was exhausting. I had to take a nap. However, as you'll shortly see (if I ever actually get to the cards) the whole thing was worth it, despite the steep price I paid in physical exertion.

But, back to the main point, which is that I'm a genius and have figured out a way to get more free cards. That transaction went like this:

1. On 4-14-09 Dinged Corners holds a contest
2. Through dedicated research and shear force of will, I am able to successfully enter said contest and emerge victorious.
3. On 4-15-09 The contents of the mystery box are revealed
4. On 4-15-09 Dinged Corners asks for help in identifying cards. I am not helpful.
5. HEY! 2007! THOSE ARE MINE! HIP HIP HOORAY!
6. On 4-20-09 The package with my hard earned cards arrives in the mail. Patricia is not messing around with this.
7. Today - Post about the cards. See how fast that was?

So, what did I get? Two huge packs of 2007 Upper Deck. Apparently I was the biggest winner of the whole thing, as I should be considering the time I put in on it. The girls also sent some extra Sizemores, just because they're awesome. As you'll soon see, there was a plethora of Indians in the packs.



2009 UD Starquest Blue
2008 UD Masterpieces
2007 UD Future Stars

Here are 3 of the extra Gradys that were sent. I've always liked Starquest. I think I only need about 17 more colors and I should have the whole rainbow. The back of the card says that Grady "Mashed...33 longballs". If it was me that would have read "Mashed 33 taters".

Grady's so good he can use 2 bats at the same time. The back states "As the mercury began to rise during the 2008 season, Sizemore heated up as well." Seriously, when did they start to employ Robert Frost to write the back of these. That was beautiful.

In 2007, after crushing the league for 2 full seasons, Upper Deck finally decided that Sizemore was a "future star". Yeah. Thanks for the heads up.




2009 Heritage
2008 UD X

I like Heritage. Heck, everyone likes heritage. It's too late to scan it in but the back has a cartoon of "Grady" sitting on a wooden stool in his uniform listening to vinyl on an old-timy record player. The caption states "Grady's favorite band is The Doors." It's glorious.

I really, really like this Upper Deck X card. I don't know if I have any other cards of these. It was so widely panned I didn't even bother with it. Why didn't anyone like it? I think this card looks great. I'm going to look into getting some. I figure maybe it will be cheap seeing as how I seem to be the only guy that likes it.

Here are some of the cards that came in the packs:



Joe Smith and Jason Davis

The Joe Smith Rookie card (allegedly). Formerly a Met, now he's on the Tribe, and we're glad to have him. He didn't do so hot last night, but we still won. Joe was born in Cincinnati, but we won't hold that against him.

Jason Smith. Formerly on the Tribe, now on the ITLTLIU (I'm too lazy to look it up). See how that came full circle? 2 cards. One an Indian, the other not, but not necessarily the one withe the Indian's uniform on? Trippy.




Jake Westbrook and Kevin Kouzmanoff

Jake should be back from Tommy John surgery sometime in July. It can't happen soon enough as the Tribe's staff is underwhelming. He probably won't be full strength until next season, though.

I like to see Kouzmanoff in a Tribe uniform. That way I can pretend that the Kouz for Josh Barfield trade never happened. And it's his rookie card! (Allegedly).




Randy Johnson and Kenji Johjima

I know they aren't on the Tribe but I wanted to put something up for Patricia and Lucy. Randy probably has this big smile in very few cards. He almost looks like a decent fella, as opposed to the guy that we all know has the perennial red...uh...behind.

I know Lucy likes the Asian players, and this really is a fantastic looking card with the sun setting in the background. Normally I would mention that Kenji is an overrated player who plays below replacement level and took at bats away from a better, younger prospect in Clement. He also killed my fantasy team last year. But this is such a nice card that I'm going to avoid that kind of negativity. So, I won't even mention that stuff.




I'll end on Albert Pujols and Grady Sizemore

The Albert is one of those UD Triple Play things with the scratch off on the back. As always, I'm torn on whether to scratch off the back of these. I'd hate to lose book value. Book value is tremendously important to me. I'll have to think about it.

The other Grady Sizemore card is some kind of error. For some reason they put Juan Uribe's name on it. They even got the team wrong and wrote White Sox instead of Indians. Does anyone know anything about this? Is this error very rare. I'd love to find out that this Sizemore is extremely rare and valuable.

Well, that's it. That wraps 'er all up real nice. Thank you Patricia and Lucy. You girls are awesome. Top notch Blog People.

Pre Wantlist Post

A few people have email me lately to ask what I collect, or some kind of wantlist so they can send me some free stuff. Since it's about 10 months since I started this ridiculous blog I guess it's about time to put something together. I promise to work on it.

The first thing I can think of off the top of my head is this. I am definately a huge collector of 2000 Bowman Draft Grady Sizemore Autos. I hope this helps.



Soon I will get a more comprehensive (and serious) list together. Those of you who, for some reason, read my blog will be stunned to find out that it will prominantly involve Turkey Red.

I want to thank all of the Blog People who make this hobby worthwhile. Without you guys (you know who you are) I would have packed up my stuff and thrown it back down in my parents basement months ago.

Oh, and, leave a comment or email me if you have one of these (Sizemore) cards to send me in exchange for about $1.12 worth of junk wax.

More TBL posts later tonight.

The House That Sizemore Built

Babe Ruth homered in the first game at Old Yankee Stadium back in 1923.

The ballpark was dubbed "The House That Ruth Built"

Well, we want to be consistent. Don't we?

Sizemore Auto

I've been away too long. Partly too busy, partly uninspired. Do you guys get like that? You probably have time to post something but for some reason it seems like such a daunting task? That's how I've been feeling lately.

But alas, the life of an important blogger such as myself, knows no repose.

So I was sitting here, bummed out because my Tribe is, once again, getting mauled by the Rangers (I have no idea why the Rangers are so far down in the predictions of all of the experts and prognosticator types. They're going to score around 2,000 runs this season. Kinsler himself might score 350. They even have some 20 year old dude named Elvis. I'm telling you, they will not be denied.) and trying to think of something to post.

Well, I did get a card in the mail today. So here it is:



A Grady Sizemore signed 2003 Just Minors. I got it off the Bay for around $5. I know there's a decent enough chance that the guy who sold it is also the guy who signed it, but it looks like a Sizemore auto and it was only $5, so what could it hurt?

Actually, it was sent from Arizona where the Tribe had spring training so I'll bet that some old guy pushed his way past a bunch of kids to get to Grady in order to make some money on Ebay. This makes me kind of sad. Oh well, it won't be the last time that happens, and I have (what I believe to be) a new Grady auto.

Like I said, I got it today and was pretty happy about it. But, what I really wanted to post about was the exchange that the card prompted between me and my lovely wife, Katie. I've posted some of our conversations before because I get a big kick out of my wife and when it comes to these cardboard rectangles we are rarely on the same page. So I'll transcribe that brief conversation in another episode of what I'll dub:

Mike and Katie - Masters of Communication

Mike (M) - Hey, look what I got in the mail! (obviously excited) It's a signed Sizemore card.

Katie (K) - Wow, that's pretty nice (obviously underwhelmed but trying to be supportive of her husband whwith whom she is stuck). How come he's not wearing an Indians uniform?

M - It's from after he was drafted and in the minors.

K - What team is it?

M - The Expos. I'm not sure who this minor league team is.

K - Why does it say "of"?

M - huh?

K - of

M - of what?

K - of. It says of.

M - of what?

K - of

M - huh?

K - of (points to the "OF" at the right of Sizemore)

M - You mean Outfield?

K - Oh! Hahahahahaha.

M - Hahahahahaha.

And....scene.

I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Good times.

Dubbs Cards: Part 2

Here's more stuff from Dubbs over at Cheese and Beer. I keep seeing his name and blog come up on other sites so it looks like people have caught on. The chances of anybody reading this blog that isn't already reading his blog is very small. Never-the-less, if you are the one person who hasn't been there...GO RIGHT NOW. Come back and read this garbage later.

Let's see what else I got from Dubbs.



11. 2007 Topps turkey Red Grady Sizemore #151

I'm starting all of these posts with Grady Sizemore cards for one simple reason. Grady Sizemore kicks ass. Look at it. How feakin' awesome are Turkey Red cards?

Do you want to know something crazy? Grady only got into the lineup in 2005 because of Juan Gonzalez's steroid use. It's true. By 2005 Juan was back with the Tribe. He actually got the job out of training camp. Sizemore was on his way back to AAA. Juan got hurt and Grady got called up to start the season. The rest is history...or maybe not.

Juan got healthy again and got his chance on April 11. First at bat, Juan injures himself again running to first base. I guess his body had just given up on him after all of the abuse.

Either way, Grady never gave up his spot on the field again. As far as I'm concerned he's the best player in the league. I wouldn't trade him for anybody.

12. 2007 Topps turkey Red Travis Hafner #156

Please please please please let Hafner's shoulder be OK this year. It is way too much fun watching Hafner when he's hot to think that I might never see it again the way it was before.

And, another Turkey Red card. I just wanted to start out this post by proving how freakin' awesome these cards are.

The back of the card tells me that Pronk hit for the cycle on Aug 14. I guess they are leaving it up to us to guess the year. Hard to fathom. I have a tough time picturing Hafner setting down that piano he's always lugging around long enough to make it to third base.




13. 1994 Pinnacle Julian tavarez #411

Good lord would you look at how ugly this guy is?! He's uglier than Otis Nixon, and that's saying something. He's even uglier than...

14. 1993 Score Eric Plunk #131

Plunk's not quite as ugly as these other guys, but nobody's giving him $10 for coming in second in a beauty contest either. I remember a passage from Ball Four. It was something about a girl one of the players was with looking like Joe Torre with tits. This is obviously not a compliment. I have the feeling that Eric Plunk may be the modern day, or at least early 90's version of Joe Torre. I wonder if when any of the fellas laid into a slump buster, they told their teammates the next day that she looked like Eric plunk with tits.

I've heard way to many stories to bet against this particular scenario.




15. 2001 Upper Deck Travis Foley

This isn't that long ago and I have no idea who this guy is. I've never heard of him, and I pay attention.

I want to know why he looks so serious in this card. What does he have to be worried about? Whatever. He's already my second favorite Foley of all time. My favorite is obviously Axel. Travis has a lot of ground to make up is he ever wants to make it to the top of this list.

Unfortunately, he does look like the kind of guy who might fall for the old "banana in the tailpipe". For those of you who don't get that, it was in no way, shape, or form dirty. I promise.

16. 1997 Upper Deck Jose Mesa

FUCK YOU JOSE MESA!!! You go to hell! You go to hell and you die!!!!

Sorry. My therapist says it's good for me to let my feelings out.




17. 2003 Bowman Heritage CC Sabathia #37

I'm so sad. I watched CC grow up (and out) into the dominant pitcher he is today. I have no hard feelings about him leaving. Who wouldn't take $160 mil? It makes me sad to think that he will probably be booed when he pitches in Cleveland. I don't want it to be that way, but it likely will be. I hate to admit it, but Clevleand fans can act very much like 14 year old middle school girls who've just been dumped. So, I'll have to sit there and be embarassed as we boo a pitcher that gave us his heart and soul for his entire career, as if he somehow owes us something.

18. 2008 Finest CC Sabathia #58

And, now I have to chose between wanting CC to win, and the Yankees to lose. As my favorite Nihilists would say: "Eeets naught fair". It was so much better when he was with the Brewers last year. At least he was in the NL and playing for a team that I've always liked. I could enjoy the incredible display he put on the last half of last year, even if I was a bit jealous.

Now, I have no idea how I'll feel about the whole thing this year. I just don't want him booed. He's too good a guy and he doesn't deserve it. It would really make me happy if Cleveland proves me wrong on this one.




19. 1993 Felix Fermin 107

Felix. The Gato. Gato means cat in German or something. So Felix was "the cat" at short. He was considered something of a wiz at short in the years he was with the Tribe. I have no idea if the stats bear this out. It's just what we all thought. I remember a lot of people being angry when Felix was traded for Vizquel.

Cleveland. We know our baseball.

20. 2007 Topps Opening Day Jhonny Peralta #127

Jhonny. Our 3rd baseman who we refuse to play at third base. Check this out:

Our best SS is Asdrubal Cabrera. He plays 2nd.
Peraltas best position is 3rd. He plays SS.
Derosa spent most of last year at 2nd. He'll be at the hot corner.
Yup, we have a pretty decent infield...all playing the wrong position.

It's not like we're talking about moving Capt Jeter off of SS after a Hall Of Fame career. We're talking about Jhonny freakin' Peralta. Why is this so hard?

Speaking of Jeter, the back of Peralta's card includes a testimonial from none other than Bob Wickman who says: "Jhonny reminds me a lot of Derek Jeter. [He} has a chance to be that kind of guy." I think Bob has a future in used car sales.

Well, that's all for now on another installment of "Let's review more of the free stuff that Motherscratcher got." Thanks again Dubbs. I think I have one more of these Left in me. Hopefully I'll get to that soon.

Thorzul's Five

Five dollar. Five dollar group Breeeeaaaak.

Back in January, Thorzul (who rules) had a five dollar group break of a whole bunch of stuff. I was unaware of this at the time. I only got in at the end. There were 9 teams left over and Thorzul offered them for $20. I snatched it up for two reasons. The Indians were one of the teams, and there was Turkey Red involved.

I like Turkey Red for two reasons. Red is one of my all time top 25 favorite colors, and I like turkey.

I guess for me it wasn't a $5 group break as much as a $2.22 group break. I figured I might as well show you a few of my favorite Indians, Turkey Reds, and other stuff.




2005 Donruss CC Sabathia. There is a sideways 'P' on this card. I have not been able to figure out what it's for. It looks like it would have something to do with Purdue but I don't get that CC connection.

Maybe, and stay with me on this one, it DOES stand for Purdue, but instead of the university, it's the chicken. CC obviously eats a lot of chicken. There you go. Mystery solved. I'm like Marge Gunderson over here.

I wanted to show a CC card because of all the crazy synergy, or symmetry, or synergism, or something between me and Thorzul.

1. We both like baseball and baseball cards.
2. We both have a favorite team, just not the same one.
3. We both got to root for CC Sabathia (hence the card up there)
4. Thorzul is an elementary school teacher. I once attended elementary school.
5. If you add up all of the letters in "Thorzul" and "Motherscratcher", then you add 1 letter to honor the Hebrew God of Ryan Braun, you get...THE NUMBER 23!!!!OH MY GOD!!!!

Spooky, I know.

Also I wanted to show you this Dave Rosello card for no other reason than I like it. Dave looks like a swingin' cat. He should have taped the other end of his bat, though.




Here's a 2006 Opening Day card of Garrett Atkins. But it isn't any ordinary card. It's all shiny red and whatnot. It's also number 1897/2006. I haven't priced it but I'm sure it's worth a fortune.



I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking I made the decision about this purchase lightly, without considering all of the consequences and ramifications. Prior to sending in my $20, my wife and I sat down with our pie graphs and spreadsheets to discuss the matter. We poured over all of the available info for hours. We finally came to the conclusion to buy. Here is the conversation that put us over the edge:

Me: There will be some 1987 Leaf cards involved.

Wife: Are the Rangers one of the teams?

Me: Yeah, I think so.

Wife: Well, is Scott Fletcher one of the cards?

Me: How the hell should I know?

Wife: Can't you send this Thardzing fella an email?

Me: I just don't know if we have the time. We have to jump on this deal.

Wife: I guess you're right. I think it's worth it if we can land 2 Scott Fletchers. Less than that and we're getting screwed. Are you feeling luck?

Me: Let's do it.

As you can see, it all worked out, and then some.



Here's the Grady Sizemore Turkey Red. Whenever I get a Sizemore I have to put it on the blog.

The other is John Rheinecker. I don't now who he is and I have no idea what the heck is going on in this card. He appears to be looking at some tomata sitting between third and home. He's already released the ball to leave it sailing over the backstop. Or, he's practicing slapping high fives with his ginormous hand.



Here are two Turkey Red Parallels, one red, one white. These are the first examples that I have in my collection. I think they look pretty sweet. And one of them is Vizquel. Not too shabby.



Jhonny Peralta. This is up here for 2 reasons. One, he's and Indian. Two, this is a short print (I think). I guess that means that this card wasn't made as much as most of the others for some reason. Whatever. Looks the same to me.

Jhonny spells his name wrong. I have no doubt that Thorzul picked up on this, being an educator and all. The story I heard is that his parents wanted to name him Johnny but his dad spelled it wrong on his birth certificate. I choose to believe this story.



Miguel Cabrera Jersey card. This is the only jersey card I have in Turkey Red. Good player. Nice card. Sweet deal.

Thanks Thorzul for the loot. I don't care what Dayf says about you in his emails, I think you're a good guy.

Cards from Dubbs: Part 1

Dubbs over at Cheese and Beer sent me a package a short time ago. He also made me that handy dandy banner you see at the top of my blog. Dubbs takes good care of me. The only thing I can figure is that maybe he feels like he owes me after taking CC Sabathia away from me last season (Dubbs is a Brewers fan). Whatever the case, Dubbs kicks ass, and so do the cards he sent me.

I've been trying to make it a practice to do a thorough review whenever I get some cards from another blogger. That's why it takes me so damn long to get the reviews and the thank yous up. I apologize to all who have sent me stuff that I haven't reviewed yet and I hope this in no way deters anyone from sending me free cards that I don't deserve.

Here is part 1 of the review of the loot from Dubbs who is a good man, and thorough.




1. Cliff Lee - 2003 Donruss Champions

Clifton Phifer Lee. Can you believe that's his real name? I always thought he looked like Don Flamenco.

People think that Cliff came out of nowhere last year to win the Cy Young. He did, in a sense. He had a terrible 2007. A lot of people forget that Cliff went 18-5 in 2005 and finished 4th in the Cy Young. What I hope is that 2007 was the anomaly, not 2008. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

2. Grady Sizemore - 2008 Bowman Chrome

I love Grady Sizemore, and I love Chrome. Be it Topps or Bowman, Chrome are probably my favorite cards. Right now my Sizemore collection stands at about 60 different cards (Dave and Mario are safe for the foreseeable future) but I had yet to lay my hands on this card.

It's a good thing I have it now. As much as I like Sizemore, I wasn't aware of the full extent of his skills. Grady, it seems, "combines precise mechanics with bat speed and lightning hands". I shit you not. Lightning hands. It says it right there on the back of my card.




3. Mark Lewis - 1992 Topps

Mark Lewis was going to be awesome. He was the second pick of the 1988 draft. A local boy from Hamilton Ohio. As far as I remember, Mark Lewis was the most exciting rookie that the Indians had since Joe Charboneau. He was going to save the franchise.

And for a while, it seemed like he really might. Back then, we cared about Avg, Hrs, and RBIs. Probably in that order. There was nothing you loved more than to look up your teams stats in the Sporting News or the local paper and see .300 or higher next to a bunch of your guys names. Mark Lewis was called to duty at the beginning of 1991. In April, he mostly rode the bench but made the most of his opportunities. May rolled around and Mark Lewis would no longer be denied. He played 27 games. He hit .355. That's all that mattered. He was a force of nature. I put all of my hopes and dreams in the capable hands of Mark Lewis.

Then came June.

4. Luis Medina - 1989 Donruss

I have very little memory of Funky Cold Medina the player. I have very strong memories of Luis Medina the Rated Rookie. I couldn't tell you a single thing about him, but I could have described this card to you in detail even though I haven't looked at one closely in years.

Luis Medina was going to be a star. He may not be a force like Mark Lewis, but a star never the less. I know this because he was a Rated Rookie, and the greatest card ever produced also had the same honor bestowed upon it. Only a player worthy of such a great honor would be allowed admittance into the that exclusive club presided over by Jose Canseco. That is how I knew Luis Medina would be a star. In his entire career, Luis Medina hit .207 in 51 games.

I will not be too hard on myself. Nor do I blame Donruss for misleading me. It seems that everyone thought that Medina deserved to be in that club. Before the Indians drafted him in the 9th round of the 1985 draft, Medina was drafted by the Mets (twice), Yankees, Reds, As, and Astros. Inexplicably, he would never sign. I guess he was holding out for Cleveland. Who could blame him? Who wouldn't want to play in beautiful, sunny Cleveland?




5. Victor Martinez - 2007 SP Rookie Edition

Go out and buy a box of this product. Why? Because the cards are cool looking, there are a couple of nice little speed and power subsets, you'll get a few autos, and a box will only run you about $25. You really can't beat it.

Anyway, I really like this set. I can only assume that the boxes go for so cheap because I'm the only one on the face of the earth that does like it, I'm just a sucker for cheap cards. And look at that card. That is a cool fucking card.

The back tells us that Victor "came out blazing" in 2007. You know who came out blazing in 2009? Michael Phelps HEYOOOOOOO!

6. Victor Martinez - 2007 SPX

I'm pretty sure this is what they mean by die cut. I think this is a fantastic card. I don't know what the significance of the "X" is in these cards and this set.




7. Travis Hafner- 2005 Bowman

Travis continues to insist that his shoulder feels great and he has no problem now. I sure hope so. I love Hafner. Good Times in Cleveland whenever he gets going.

The back tells us what Hafner's skills are. One of them is "makes great contact, hitting the ball where it's pitched". Just once I want to hear about the player that hits the ball where it isn't pitched. You know, just to fake out the defense.

Also, apparently Hafner is "aggressive on the bases". With 7 stolen bases in 7 seasons it's sure hard to argue that point. When I think of Hafner that's the first thing that pops into my head.

8. Travis Hafner - 2007 Upper Deck Elements

See, there he is, wreaking total havoc on the base paths. I have it on good authority that before the 2007 division series, Joe Torre told the Yankees that if they lost that series, it wasn't going to be because of Hafner's baserunning, by God. They were going to shut him down when he got on base. As it turns out, they did shut down Hafner. Not a single Stolen Base by him in the series. The Tribe somehow managed to defeat the Yankees anyway. But, it took an act of God (or possibly Jame Gumb). It sure as hell wasn't because Torre ignored Hafner on the Base paths




9. Colin Charland - 1992 Skybox

Who the hell is Colin Charland? I have no idea. Never heard of him before this card. It's a wonder he never did seem to pan out. Starting in 1986 he progressed steadily from A to A to A to A, until in 1989 he was promoted to AAA. He went 5-10 with a 5.49 ERA. No trace of him in 1990. He must have been selling used cars or something. Then back to A in 1991.

He seems like the perfect kind of player to stick on a baseball card and call him a pre-rookie.

10. Reggie Jefferson - 1992 Donruss

By 1992, the mystique of the rated rookie had worn off somewhat. I never had too much riding on the success of Reginold Jirod Jefferson. The most interesting thing on this card is on the back. It says :

How Acquired: Trade from Reds 6/14/91 for 1B Tim Costo.

OK, nothing strange about that. I even remember Tim Costo. Then under the Career Highlights, the first thing it says is "wound up with the Indians in June of '91 due to a clerical error by the Reds"

What? Say that again. A clerical error? Can you believe that this isn't expounded upon or explained further? Baseball reference has nothing. I have no idea what this means. Maybe it means they meant to trade someone else but they filed the wrong paperwork. They said "Ah fuck it. Keep him. We're not doing all that paperwork over"

Reggie had some good years in the majors. His biggest accomplishment in Cleveland was being part of the deal that brought us Omar Vizquel. For that, I will always love Reggie.

OK, that's enough for now. Be back with more from Dubbs, somewhere down the line.

Thanks again Dubbs.

Tribecards Cards: Part 5

One more installment of the cards that I got from David at Indians Baseball Cards. Always.


42. Sandy Alomar Jr – 1990 Classic Baseball or something.

This immediately became the absolute pinkest card in my entire collection. My God, it looks like I pasted a poster of Alomar onto my 8th grade girlfriend’s Trapper Keeper. At least, that’s the way it would have looked if I had a girlfriend in 8th grade. OK, let me rephrase. If there was a girl in 8th grade who would have agreed to be my girlfriend, I would have pasted Sandy Alomar Jr onto her Trapper Keeper and then turned it into a baseball card set. Then I would have made sure that the set was widely distributed in Arkansas. Then I would have just bided my time until 2008, when I would be sure to get one. I love it when a plan comes together.

“That doesn’t make any damn sense” you say? Well, maybe it makes so much sense I just blew your mind.

43. Joey Belle – 1990 Classic Baseball or something

OK here’s another one. Only this time it isn’t pink. Basically, I got the manly equivalent of my imaginary 8th grade girlfriend’s Tapper Keeper for myself and pasted a pre Albert photo of Belle onto it. The only flaw in this whole thing is that I was in 8th grade in 1988, not 1990. But, it’s not like anyone really gives a crap, am I right?

I just wanted to mention that this set has a blank space on the back of each card marked “Autograph”. I guess you’re supposed to stand outside the player’s parking lot after the games in order to get the players to sign in the space provided…on the back…right where everyone wants their autographs. I find this idea strangely awesome.

This means that at some point there was a meeting where they decided to put this space on the back. It was heralded as a great idea. It must have been pretty close to 5 o’clock on a Friday. I wonder how many enterprising young collectors had their 1990 Classic set ruined when a callous player signed on the front of the card instead of the clearly marked space provided?

44. Ken Suarez – 1969 Topps

“Hey Ladies, how you’all doin’ this evening?”

45. Dennis Martinez – 1996 Topps Finest

This is the second Finest card in the bunch and it also has some crazy clear protective coating that must be peeled off. Only it isn’t peeled off. There must be a reason. I break out in cold sweats thinking of all of the terrible things that could happen if peeled back this layer. Good God Man! What if it got a scratch?

Hell no, I’m not going to peel off that coating. In fact, I’m going to look into a way to apply a protective coating to all of my existing cards. And it sure as heck isn’t going to be clear either. It’s going to be all black to keep out the suns harmful rays. Seriously, what if I have a card that needs to be transported some day? What the heck do I do then. Just move it in a penny sleeve and possibly a top loader? What, are you out of your frickin’ mind?

I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep until I figure out a way to add a black protective coating to all of my cards. I could use post-it notes to keep track of what the cards actually are. Then they’d be safe.

There’s no telling how many 1988 Score cards I’ve ruined already. Somebody needs to do something.

46. Joe Charboneau – 1981 Topps

Super Joe Charboneau. The man, the myth, the legend. Rookie of the year for 1980. Rumor had it that Joe could open up bottles of beer with his eye socket. He has a larger than life hero to a city that really needed a hero at the time. I’m not sure what happened to him. Why he fell off. In any other city he probably goes on to become a great major leaguer. In Cleveland, he played for a few more years but never really was Super Joe any more. According to the back of the card, he was the subject of “Go Go Charboneau”. I don’t recall ever hearing this song.

47. Rocky Colavito – 1965 Topps

Is this for real? Did David really send me a Rocky Colavito card? This is significant. As far as Indians fans are concerned, Rocky Colavito is on the same plane as Mantle, Mays, and Ruth. Terry Pluto (a wonderful sports writer) wrote a book about the Tribe appropriately name “The Curse of Rocky Colavito. That’s right, we blame everything bad that’s happened to the Tribe on them stupidly trading one of the most popular players in franchise history (as he was about to enter his prime) to the Tigers.

So we trade Colavito, we had to get someone great, right? Try Harvey Kuenn on for size. That’s right, they traded one of the most popular (to this day) players in franchise history for some freakin’ slappy with no power AND no speed. Well, they hang on to the immortal Kuenn for one year and trade him for Johnny Antonelli and Willie Kirkland.

That’s right it turned out to be Colavito for Antonelli, Kirkland, and one year of Mark Grudzielanek’s step dad. Harvey Kuenn’s baseball reference page is still available for sponsorship, if anyone is interested.

The back of the card, like twisting a dagger, informs us that Rocky hit 4 HR’s in one game in 1959.

Go Tribe.

48. Horace Speed – 1979 Topps

With 4 career stolen bases in 3 part time years in the bigs, Horace Speed’s name is betrayed by the cold, hard, unforgiving numbers.

49. Al Fitzmorris – 1977 Topps

Al Fitzmorris had spent his entire 8 year career with the Royals before he was suddenly and rudely plucked from his obscure comfort by the Blue Jays in the 76 expansion draft. The Blue Jays got one look at Al and shipped him off to the Tribe before he ever appeared in one of their uniforms. Seems that a team that barely existed had little use for Al. The Tribe was happy to have him, though, as they sent 2 players for compensation.

My theory about this card is that they never told him who he was traded to. They just handed him a hat and then a mirror. The picture on this card was taken at the exact moment that Al Fitzmorris learned his major league fate. He didn’t last long after that.

Weep not for Al Fitzmorris. The back of my card tells me that Al threw a 2 hitter against the Twins in August of 1975. Seems that even though Al ended up in Cleveland, he had had his day in the sun.

50. Gorman Thomas – 1984 Topps

I had forgotten about the Gorman Thomas era in Cleveland. He was only in Cleveland for a little more than half a season (OPSing a stellar .726), but remnants of his glorious mustache live on to this very day.

In all reality, Mr Gorman’s greatest contribution was not on the field. OnJune 6 1983, Gorman was sent along with Jamie Easterly and one Ernie Camacho in exchange for the Tribe’s Rockin Ricks…Manning and Waits. Does this deal get done without Gorman Thomas? Better yet, does Cleveland welcome Big Ern into the wigwam if Gorman isn’t sporting a marmot on his upper lip? The world will never know.

What I do know is this; the Gods were smiling on Cleveland that magical June day.

51. Grady Sizemore – 2007 Topps Finest

Of course there were some Grady Sizemore cards in this lot. This is one of the best and seams like the a great card to end this review on. Ending a review on Sizemore is like leaving the ballpark on a warm night after you just saw your team sweep a double header from the Yankees. Life doesn’t get much better.

Thus ends the latest review of the great cards that David sent me, until I can somehow finagle my way into more free stuff.

Peace out Mofos.

My Indispensable Card

Blog Bat A Round Part 2

Here it is on Wednesday, 2 minutes after midnight in Ohio, and I still haven’t contributed to the 2nd Bat A Round. I don’t now if I’ve already missed Gellman’s deadline. I’m hoping he meant midnight in California. The plan was to whip this out (‘scuse me while I whip this out) last weekend, but the Boss had other ideas. The Boss weighs 6 pounds, but damn if he isn’t convincing.

We have been charged with the simple task of displaying the centerpiece of our collection. I don’t know how easy it is for some of you. For me it turned out to be really easy. It took a while but when I realized what card it is, it was staring me in the face the whole time. A “How didn’t I think of this immediately?” type of thing.

Just to build a little suspense, I’ll go ahead and list a few of the cards that crossed my mind. Just for laughs, I dug out an old 1991 Beckett, to look up the “value” of some of these cards. As a bonus, I’ve scanned the cover of the issue.

Say what you want about Beckett, they nailed it with their cover of issue #71. One of the greatest players ever, in one of the greatest uni’s ever, displaying a swing that can make grown men weep tears of joy. Just fantastic don’t you think?

The first card I thought of was the 1984 Topps Mattingly. This card was the prize of my collection for a long time. I don’t recollect how I got it, just that I had it. I must assume that my mom tracked it down for me somehow. In 1991, the card was worth $28. I saw a lot of 2 go on ebay a few days ago for $6 plus shipping. I don’t know what the Hitman did in these past 17 years to deserve such a drastic drop in value, but he must have done something. What else could explain it?

Sorry, got off topic a little bit there.

1975 George Brett Rookie. This is still probably my favorite card because, like a lot of people, 1975 Topps is one of my favorite sets of all time. According to Beckett, my card was worth $160.

1974 Topps Willie McCovey error card. This card says Washington instead of San Diego. I didn’t realize that I had an error card until after the whole Billy Ripken furor.* I remember looking this card up in Beckett and realizing that I had the error when there were 2 different versions of it. I remember how excited I was that day.

*Funny story. In 8th grade I got a staph infection (osteomyelitis) in my right foot. No one is sure how. I damn near lost the thing (my foot). It was very painful, and as a double whammy, I was too young to make sure that I fully enjoyed the morphine I was on in the hospital. Well, when you're 14 and in the hospital, people just get you stuff. It’s like “OH, you have an infection? Here’s a Nintendo game. Feel better now?” Doesn’t make much sense but that’s what people do. Who was I to argue?**

Well, my friend, Mike Goebelbecker, got me a Cavs shirt. The first time I wore it I realized what it said. “Cleveland Cavalers” not “Cavaliers”. “Cavalers” That’s right. Some people made a shirt that got produced, distributed, and sold with the name spelled wrong. Can you believe that? I was ecstatic. As far as I was concerned, anything with an error was a goldmine. This was some limited edition, one of a kind error shirt and was probably worth a fortune. Fleer screwed a lot of kids up, man.

** I also have a friend, Doug Hart, who forgot his lunch money while I was still out of school. He decided to take up a collection. He ended up with $52. He bought his lunch but didn't know what to do with the rest. He came over to my house and just gave me this big wad of $1 bills like I was some kind of stripper of something. I guess he felt funny about keeping it. So, it was OK to misrepresent himself and take up a false colection if it's for a good cause (like lunch), but the stakes got too high and Doug felt a twinge of conscience. Isn't the morality of children wonderful?

Where was I? Oh yeah. Willie McCovey. The error was worth $25, which was $21 more than just the boring old regular card.

1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie. In Feb 1991, this card was worth $110. Apparently it was past it’s peak because it has that little down arrow next to it. As a kid, if you didn’t have this card…well...you were a dork. Sorry.

Since my return, I haven’t really picked up anything to get attached to. I have some cool cards, but nothing I would consider a centerpiece. Nothing that made me jump for joy when I got it. Not yet, anyway.

No, my centerpiece must come from my past collecting. Those cards I just listed are great. I’m glad I have them. They bring back great memories, but is any of them a centerpiece of a collection? So I asked myself what a centerpiece should be. I guess it came down to a card that is indispensable. A card that I wouldn’t give away or trade for anything. Are any of the cards I thought of like that? No, they aren’t. I’d trade any of them to someone who really wanted it. It probably sounds cheesy but I’d let go of any of them as long as I thought the person getting it was really going to appreciate it.

So, what do I have that I wouldn’t give away? When I figured out the right question, the answer was easy.

My 1990 Score Eric Davis. Beckett value 18 cents.

Eric Davis was awesome. He was my favorite player for a long time. People forget how good he was. Look him up on Baseball Reference (here, I did it for you). He had some monster years. But why this card? It’s because my cousin, Jim, got it for me. For Christmas. You’d have to understand how close we were. We were inseparable. We used to joke that we shared the same brain. There was no one in the world I loved more than my cousin Jim. And he’s probably the only person in the world who knew how much I loved Eric Davis, and thought of me when he saw that plaque with the 1990 Score Eric Davis card. He knew I’d love it. I knew the card itself wasn’t worth much, and I knew the plaque wasn’t worth anything either.

Thinking back on it, it’s pretty hilarious that someone, somewhere, decided to make plaques that held major leaguer’s cards and stuffed one with a 1990 Score card. But somehow, I always had the feeling that the sum was worth more than the parts. I don’t think I was wrong, either.

Tragically, Jim died this past summer in a horrible ballooning accident over the Grand Canyon. OK, that’s not true at all. But he did move to Charlotte. He’s still a cool dude. I'll see him at Christmas with his new daughter (we even had kids together). I'm going to bring a long this silly old plaque.

So there it is, the centerpiece of my collection. The one card I one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Unless it was a 2000 Bowman Draft Grady Sizemore Auto. A man has needs, you know?

Cards from Connor

These cards are part of a thank you package from Connor at Treasure Never Buried for his birthday gift. I sent him a smorgasbord (don’t you just love that word?) of packs of cards and he sent me these awesome cards in return. It looked like he had a great birthday. I know I really am enjoying my cards. Here’s what I got:

First is this hand signed, personalized note. Judging by all of the Indians stickers and all of the shininess, Connor really knows what I like!

4 Allen and Ginter Mini cards.
Travis Hafner 2007
Fausto Carmona 2008
Masahide Kobayashi 2008 Mini and Mini Black

I love the Allen and Ginter cards. I’ve been contemplating putting together a set of the. Getting these cards may make that decision a little easier for me. Maybe I’ll try a set of all Black Parallels. I think that would be pretty cool

Paul Sorrento 1993 Leaf

I like these Leaf cards. The backs feature the player over some sort of majestic landscape. Paul is superimposed over the majestic city of Cleveland and it’s Terminal Tower. Of course I didn’t scan the back. That would have involved forethought and planning.

Hafner 2008 A+G State of North Dakota

Apparently the Allen and Ginter set included all of the states and players from that state. It’s a pretty cool idea. I wonder who made the cut from Ohio? I think Hafner is a great choice to represent North Dakota. I know I’d be proud to have him. Then again, when it comes to North Dakota, the pickin’s are probably pretty slim.

Julian Tavarez 1994 Pinnacle

One thing I’ve noticed about Pinnacle and this set in particular is the photography is great. That’s usually a good thing. I’m not sure it is with Julian. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great action shot. It’s just that Julian has…how can I put this…an unfortunate countenance.

I’m not much for research. If I don’t know something, I usually just make it up. I try to let you know when I’m doing this. Unfortunately, this leads me to write things that are less than accurate. For example, it wasn’t too long ago that I referred to Brad Komminsk (on this very blog) as a “decent player”. Oh well, Reggie Jackson don’t hit a home run every time, right?

I bring this up because I’d like to find out if Tavarez ever faced off against Otis Nixon. I have no idea if this ever happened, but my contention is, if it did there was probably some sort of eclipse or earthquake that day. The amount of ugly involved in that matchup would be nothing short of biblical. Since I don’t know where to go to find out if this happened, I’m just going to assume that it did. So, basically:

Remember when Julian Tavarez faced Otis Nixon? The ground shook and they sky turned to black. Yes, God was angry that day, my friends.

Travis Hafner – 2008 Star Quest
2008 Upper Deck
2006 Upper Deck Future Stars

I love Hafner. What I don’t understand here, is how he ends up in a Future Stars set in 2006, his fifth year in the league. In 2005, before this card was printed, he ended up fifth in the MVP voting. Future Star? I guess. Hafner had another great season in 2006 and he’s been on the decline ever since. I think 2009 is his comeback year.

Grady Sizemore – 2007 Ultra
2007 Topps Updates and Highlights
2006 Upper Deck Future Stars

I think you all know how I feel about Sizemore. The Ultra is awesome. I never saw an Ultra set I didn’t like

Another Future Stars. These cards are great too look at. They are shiny and thick. I have no evidence that they have ever caused a seizure, then again I have no evidence to the contrary, so once again, I’m going to assume that they have. Don’t worry, as long as you don’t stare at them too long you’re in no immediate danger.

I also like the fact that Sizemore became a Future Star a year after getting 185 hits, 22HR, 22SB and appearing in 158 games. Look for Evan Longoria, Ryan Braun, and Albert Pujols in the 2009 Future Stars set. Actually, this set has an awesome checklist and I may add it to the sets that I’d like to put together. At the very least I think I’ll keep my eyes open for a box to break!

Daffy Duck – 1990 Upper Deck

I’m not sure if this is part of the regular set or if it is some separate Looney Tunes set. How Daffy became a Mariner, I’m not sure. There is nothing on Baseball Reference about that transaction. The card is great and I’d like to see more of what’s out there. I love all of the Looney Tunes characters. I’m glad to see JV bringing the love for these characters to a new generation.

Masa Kobayashi – 2008 Topps Chrome Auto

This is AWESOME! I love any auto, especially one of my Indians. And this happens to be in my favorite set from last year. Kobayashi had 2 seasons. The first half of the year he was great, even doing some closing. The 2nd half he wasn’t as good. I think he just started to wear down. Next year, Wedge will know how to handle him better and I think he’s going to be one of the better guys in our bullpen.

Thank you again Connor for the great Indians cards. I hope you had a great Birthday, are having a great Thanksgiving, and will have a great Christmas!

Now, go get that turkey!