FINALLY!!!! AFTER ALMOST 2 YEARS!!!!
I have successfully added 38 unique players appearing on a relic or autograph card with Jason Bay to my collection. This was a fun project and maybe one day I would like to get 38 jersey/bat relics and 38 autographs. But for now, I AM HAPPY!!!
I can cross that off my 2013 Goals.
2008 Triple Threads Booklet (3/3) TTRDC16 CANADA
This was the final card I won from the ebay seller selling off a large Jason Bay collection. The seller neglected to include full names in the description of the item which I think helped my chances of winning this extremely low numbered booklet. Featured on the card are jersey swatches from Russel Martin, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden, and Justin Morneau. Jason Bay has part of a patch and Shawn Hill (a pitcher) features a bat relic. What's most fascinating to me is that the 3 players on the left hand side of the card have all played with the Pirates at some point in the career. CAN the Pirates finish above .500 this year? Yes they CAN!!!! Get it? That's a joke, son.
I now sit at 38 different players to have either an autograph or relic with the 2004 Rookie of Year. 38 DIFFERENT PLAYERS APPEARING ON A MEMORABILIA OR AUTOGRAPH CARD WITH JASON BAY!!!! Here's a list of the others that I have memorabilia cards with Jason Bay *if bold and yellow it means I also have an autograph of them with Bay too
Albert Pujols
Alex Rios
Alfonso Soriano
Andruw Jones Bill Madlock Bobby Crosby
Carlos Lee
Craig Wilson
David Wright
Edgar Martinez
Erik Bedard
Freddy Sanchez
Gary Carter
Jacoby Ellsbury
JD Drew
Jose Castillo Justin Morneau
Ken Griffey Jr.
Kenny Lofton
Mario Lemieux
Mark Teixeira
Manny Ramirez Matt Holiday
Nick Markakis Ralph Kiner
Rich Harden
Russell Martin
Shawn Hill
Torii Hunter
Xavier Nady
And here is a list of the players that I have autograph cards with Jason Bay
Adam LaRoche
Bill Mazeroski
Casey Kotchman
Dale Murphy
Dave Parker
Dustin Pedroia
Tom Gorzelanny
Willie Parker
To celebrate Opening Day here's a recent card show pickup featuring this year's Opening Day Pirates starter along with an Opening Day starter of yesteryear for the Bucs.
When I bought this card, I was merely looking for a cheap Zach Duke certified auto to finish out my trifecta with. The fact that it features current Pirate pitcher Erik Bedard is just icing on the cake. I got this dual auto for $5.
I actually had a good feeling today that the Pirates would beat Doc and the Phils.
It started out well for the Pirates getting two consecutive hits to open the game putting runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and budding superstar Andrew McCutchen at the plate. Cutch grounded into a double play and the Pirates were unable to get anyone on base until Cutch was plunked by Doc later in the game.
Bedard pitched well. He got himself out of jams when needed and gave up only 1 run during his 7 innings of work.
After 2 hours and 14 minutes on Opening Day the Pirates are 1 game below .500 and will face Cliff Lee and the Phillies on Saturday after getting Good Friday off. Jeff Karstens will take the mound for the Bucs.
I've been away for some time and didn't get a chance to react to the Pirates off season moves as they happened. Some made sense, some didn't. For this I'm going to give my opinion of the Pirates off season so far by looking at some cards I have.
The Good
The Pirates signed Nate McLouth to a MINOR LEAGUE deal for $1.75 million.
I like this signing a lot. Nate was awesome when he was in Pittsburgh. He even won a gold glove in CF in 2008 for the Bucs, as he was a breakout star. After signing a very team friendly contract in the offseason of 2008 and being told that "Nate McLouth is a large part of our plans for the Pirates future," he was traded to Atlanta in the summer of 2009 for Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez. Charlie had a breakout year last year. Jeff made his major league debut after starting the season in AA. Gorkys was promoted to AAA and is still ranked as the best defensive outfielder the Pirates have in the system. Nate on the other hand struggled A LOT for Atlanta and was even demoted to AAA while over there.
I have 2 jersey relics of Nate the Great and am happy to move them in my cardboard stack of "Former" Pirates to Current Pirates. The Allen & Ginter relic is like every other Ginter relic out there. Plain, boring, blah. But the Topps Authentic Ticket Stub & Jersey Relic is unique. I like this concept and hope Topps can revisit this idea again soon. I just wish Nate was wearing #13 instead of #49 in the photo.
It's nice to see a fan favorite back in Pittsburgh. Now if we could only get Jason Bay or Jose Bautista on a 1 year minor league contract, all will be right with the world
The Good
Ryan Doumit signs with the Twins before the Pirates have to offer arbitration for him, thus ensuring the Pirates get a draft pick compensation for losing Doumit (a type B free agent).
The Good
The Pirates signed often injured, but very talented Erik Bedard to a 1 year deal for $4.5 million + incentives. I like this signing. With the Pirates buying out Paul Maholm and his $9.75 contract, they lost a veteran lefty. While I will miss Paul, I think Erik will fill that role nicely for half the price. Let's just hope he can stay healthy.
The Bad
Ryan Doumit signs with the Twins on a 1 year deal for only $3 million and we sign Rod Barajas for $4 million.
I'm going to miss Doumit a lot. It's really sad actually. Doumit was never a top tier fielder, but his bat was something special. There was a number of times that I just knew he would come up with a huge hit when the Pirates needed it most. He's actually one of the main reasons, Trevor Hoffman was taken out of being the Brewers closer in 2010 when he hit 2 grand slams in back to back nights in the 9th inning off the then all-time saves leader.
I still plan on collecting cards of Dewey, even though he did stuff like what's below when runners were attempting to steal a base.
I'll miss you Ryan Doumit. At least, you're reunited with Matt Capps and Steve Pearce.
Anyone got an opinion on Rod Barajas? Because I sure as hell don't. I'm still mourning losing Doumit.
The Ugly
The Pirates avoid arbitration of players who could have proved to be useful next season. That list includes Steve Pearce, Ronny Cedeno, and Ross Ohlendorf. I don't think any of these guys are big time stars and probably don't deserve being on a 25 man roster for any team except the Pirates, but here's some facts. Prior to injuries Steve Pearce and Ross Ohlendorf were absolutely amazing in 2009 and 2010. They both wouldn't have gotten much of a pay increase and probably deserved taking a flyer on at spring training this year. Ronny Cedeno, for as inconsistent as he can be with the bat, is actually a damn good short stop. Few NL shortstops provided a better fielding UZR or fielding percentage than Cedeno.
I'm not terribly upset about these releases, but am dumb founded on taking a guy like Clint Barmes at SS and giving him all the money that these 3 could have made collectively. Clint Barmes is not that good. PERIOD
