I'll admit I was wrong. I got excited to see the Pirates sign Nate McLouth to a minor league free agent deal. I thought that this would give the Pirates an extra left handed bat off the bench and provide more depth in the outfield. Nate could also be used as a defensive replacement late in games or as a pinch runner. On top of that he's incredibly fan friendly and WAS a fan favorite.
Nate McLouth in 2012 isn't even close to being what he was in 2008.
Nate currently has a worse batting average in the month of May than 2 of the Pirates pitchers. Yup 2!!!!!
For the year he has 18 strikeouts in only 57 at bats (32% of the time). He's been bad defensively too despite having a 1.000 fielding percentage he has taken lots of bad routes which have lead to base hits.
To put into perspective how bad he has been, he is 13th on the team in OPS (on base plug slugging). Very closely behind him are three Pirates pitchers.
Quite honestly, whether he's ready or not, I'm ready for Starling Marte to make his MLB debut. I'm sure it will happen in June so the Pirates get an extra year out of him before he goes to arbitration by being a Super Two. When I did my interview with Phungo I stated that Marte wouldn't be called upon based on how he's doing, but more than likely how poorly Presley or McLouth might be. Presley has already been sent down to AAA. I suspect McLouth won't be with the team come July.
Earlier in the year, I did pick up a few Nate McLouth cards that I didn't have in my collection previously. They were bought very cheap which in hindsight I'm still happy about.
picked up for $2.99 shipped (.99 with $2 shipping)
Not a bad card featuring a steroid user MVP
picked this up for $0.75 shipped
miraculously it was shipped in only a penny sleeve between 2 pieces of cardboard and arrived safely
This was the most expensive of the bunch costing me $4.25
Overall I am happy with picking these up for under $10, but wow is Nate McLouth terrible now.
Gone are these type of memories seen in the highlight film below
One thing is for sure though, the dude picks awesome entrance music to walk up to the plate to.
Last month I posted (with the help of Katy Perry and her bouncing boobs) about how I wanted to complete a nameplate of my last name using players from the Pirates from those Letter cards that UD, Finest, Razor has done in the past. It was a fun idea and I am getting closer to completing the goal. Really really close actually.
Today I got the Bill Mazeroski I won on ebay. Maz cards never go cheap on ebay. Maybe because he's the greatest defensive 2nd baseman of all time. Maybe because a lot of people love him for defeating the Yankees with a single swing of the bat in 1960. Maybe because he's a very humble and kind man. Whatever the reason, it's tough to get steals on ebay when it comes to Maz cards. This "K" was no different as it cost me $19.99 shipped. There's not too many Pirates with Ks in their names though so I had to pull the trigger since the card is limited to 15.
I also managed to grab the letter Y from Jason Bay. This makes my 4th manufactured letter auto by Bay
Here's the layout so far
I also have a S from Don Veal and Jason Bay.
the letter E. Possibly Honus Wagner or Pedro Alvarez. Still need the base auto letter E for my Daniel McCutchen nameplate. This letter is starting to piss me off.
Extra letters for my future nameplate projects that I haven't determined yet.
Julie from Things Are Funner Here runs a great blog highlighting Phillies cards, her Roy Halladay collection, and pack breaks. It's a fun blog. Go check it out!
Recently, Julie sent me a nice selection of Pirates past and present. Above are some of my favorites. The Zach Dodson xfractor is much better than the scan picked up. I don't have any of the international parallels of the Bowman set and I'm happy to make one of the Pirates top pitching prospects Kyle McPherson my first. Unfortunately Kyle has been having "dead arm" since spring training. I'm not sure what that means, but I hope it's nothing too serious.
I always enjoy getting some new Cutch cards to add to my collection. I normally don't chase Wal-Mart or Target exclusives, but when it's Cutch I can't help but excited to open up that binder and slide the new Cutch in next to all the other parallels.
This is the back to a Josh Rodriguez 2011 Topps Target throwback card. Josh was a rule 5 pick for the Pirates in 2011 and had 1 RBI while with the team. He was hit by a pitch with bases loaded.
I also got 2 of my favorite Steelers. Since Julie is a Ravens fan, I'm sure she was more than happy to get rid of these.
Here's the hits of the package that Julie sent me.
Kevin Correia 2011 Topps All-Star Game Jersey (red)
Correia was signed as a free agent prior to the 2011 season. He earned his first All-Star game trip due to being one of the NL's leaders in wins. After the All-Star break, Correia would go on to win only 1 more game and was shut down in August with an injury.
John Van Benschoten Topps 52 AUTO
JVB was one of colleges top hitters prior to the 2001 draft. He lead the NCAA division 1-A in HR, but was converted to a pitcher by the Pirates. He currently has one of the highest career ERA in MLB history.
Nate McLouth red ink AUTO
I'm so happy to see Nate back with the Bucs. The Clear Path to Greatness Red Ink autos were supposed to be short prints. Nate doesn't play by those rules though as he used the red marker to sign all his autographs for the set.
AS A REMINDER...
TONIGHT THE PIRATES WILL TAKE ON THE DODGERS IN HOPES OF BECOMING .500 AGAIN. TOMORROW STARTS THEIR SERIES AGAINST THE SAN FRANSISCO GIANTS. DON'T FORGET TO TRY TO WIN THOSE FREE CARDS FOR THE LET'S GO BUCS CONTEST.
Even though he's wearing a Braves uniform, it's hard for me to pass up former All-Star and gold glove centerfielder Nate McLouth jersey cards for .01. Honestly, I'd buy any jersey card for 1 penny. Nate's one of my favorite Pirates ever. He played hard and was easy to root for. He was passionate and caring towards the fans signing autographs nearly every time I saw him.
I'm so happy to see Nate back with the Bucs, even if he's just used as a fourth outfielder or pinch runner late in games. Nate the Great is back baby!!!
Ryan's Pitch recently completed a trade with me in exchange for a Craig Kimbrel relic I had laying around along with some Yankees and Braves. Here's what I got in return.
2 Gypsy Queen minis that are both new to me....and one is HOF Honus Wagner!!!!
an assortment of Pirates
and the highlight of the trade, a 2009 UD Icons Letterman Nate McLouth "T" numbered 2/40. 2 is his current number with the Pirates so this year it's an ebay 1/1
I have packages that went out to the following zip codes today
10028
90230
71203
72758
85338
29063
12571
75201
91381
29229
21117
I recently bought several cards on COMC and they were all under $2 prior to shipping. You can't beat that with a baseball bat.
What better way to start off showing my COMC of $2 each or less than beginning with some more Jason Bay relics for the collection
a 2008 Allen & Ginter Jason Bay jersey for $1.10 followed by
a Jason Bay Sweet Spot Sweet Swatch Memorabilia for $1.49
How many Jason Bay jersey cards will I have by the end of the year? That could be a fun contest.
a Freddy Sanchez auto for $1.99
For $1.25!!!!!!!!!!!! a dual jersey of Nate McLouth (welcome back to Pittsburgh Nate!!!!!!) and Freddy Sanchez numbered 383/400.
keeping with the cheap McLouth theme is this red ink AUTO rookie of Nate from 2006 Upper Deck Clear Path to Greatness. This card was had for $1.79
A Jose Tabata 2006 Bowman Futures Game Jersey card. What's interesting about this card is that it features Tabata in the Pirates colors for the first time since the All-Star game was played in PNC Park that year while Tabata was a still a member of the Yankees minor league system. This was had for $1.55.
Willie Stargell and Bill Madlock Fleer Platinum Cornerstones numbered 902/1000 for $1. It's not a relic or auto, but a very nice looking numbered card.
In addition, the below two cards of Bobby Bradley posted yesterday were bought for $1.75 and $2 respectively.
I also picked up a bunch of Ryan Doumit and Neil Walker cards that I needed for my PC.
I recently made a trade with Adam from Thoughts and Sox. Adam had read my blog and offered up a care package of Pirates past and present. Since Adam collects Red Sox he has lots of Jason Bay Red Sox cards and was kind enough to bip me with these, the first thing I saw when I opened the package.
Nothing like 8 Jason Bay 2010 Topps cards to get things going....
I have started to add more Jason Bay base cards to my PC over the past year, but have been avoiding the Red Sox years because that trade still bothers me. Adam was kind enough to knock out a few that I needed
and a few more that I needed along with a Van Slyke for the PC.
This is some more of the highlights. I have often seen that Jack Wilson auto on COMC and ebay, but never pulled the trigger on it. Fortunately now I don't have to. He also included a numbered McCutchen that I needed to add to my Finest rainbow. I tried many times to scan the Wilson bowman heritage chrome, but it doesn't scan well for some reason. Just know that it looks amazing in person.
some vintage players on current cards and a current player on a vintage looking card. Oh and an Al Oliver rookie cup card
3 high numbered 2008 Heritage cards and 6 First edition UD cards, one featuring Jose Bautista
O-Pee-Chee and a Mike Gonzalez first edition UD card.
everything else
Thanks for the trade Adam. I hope we can do it again. I got some more Red Sox cards started in a pile for when we do.
Last night I was at Target and saw these memorabilia packs on the pegs in the card section. I decided to take a gamble and test my luck. I'm glad I did because I got some great trade bait. As I was opening the packs I immediately thought of who might want these cards. If you do in fact want them leave a comment below and let's work out a trade.
The first pack I opened was 2009 spX. Not much unique stuff in here except for the Nate McLouth dicut card for my PC. The Hamilton is a sweet looking card. I don't know why I didn't buy more of these when they came out.
Up next was a pack of 2010 Topps Series 1. I've busted a ton of these before so I wasn't expecting much. I was right....
until I saw these two cards
Ok, I know Greg is going to want the Kershaw gold card so until he says no, this card is going in his pile for our next trade.
My last and final pack was a 2008 UD 1st Edition pack. It looks like I got another card for Greg in this pack in the Russel Martin. All cards below are for trade. I also got another Jose Bautista which I showed above in my post from Thoughts and Sox but didn't feel the need to scan it in again.
My guaranteed memorabilia hit of the pack was this Old Judge Lance Berkman jersey card which I'm sure the Dimwit would want if he doesn't already have it.
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
