Sunday, August 17, 2014

Hey Now! You're An All-Star...

The Pirates sent three All-Stars to the 2014 All-Star game held in Minnesota this year.  The obvious choice was Andrew McCutchen as he was voted in by the fans.  The secondary and questionable choices were Tony Watson and Josh Harrison.  Watson was just downright filthy prior to the All-Star break and was arguably the best setup man in the NL.  Harrison was the most questionable player selected as an All-Star especially since he wasn't even a starter for the team he plays for.  It was obvious that Clint Hurdle probably did some lobbying to get Harrison on the All-Star team.  Harrison was a huge spark plug for the Pirates starting in May and carrying all the way to the current games.  He is incredibly versatile being able to play 2B, SS, 3B, and either corner outfield position.  He's the only MLB player this season to throw a runner out at home from both RF and LF.  He's also done it from 2B and 3B this season.

At this year's All-Star FanFest Topps distributed oversized blank back cards of the members of the All-Star teams for fans to try and get signed.  I grabbed both Harrison and Watson off the Bay.  These two cards cost me $17 each.  I also grabbed a Clayton Kershaw which cost me only $6.  Evidently there is a lot more Pirates fans out there than I thought.

I've included a 1988 Bobby Bonilla to compare the size for these jumbo size giveaways.

The past two nights have been tough losses for the Bucs against the Nats. Josh Harrison had a chance to win it for them Friday night but popped out in foul ground with both the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Tony Watson struggled mightily last night and gave up a 3 run lead in the 8th which the Pirates eventually lost in the 10th. Hopefully they can turn things around soon.

7 comments:

  1. If that Kershaw becomes available at any point....

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  2. Those oversized all-star cards are cool. Might have to chase down some of the Athletics from the set.

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    1. Do you know if they're the same as these...

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Topps-Heritage-5x7-All-Star-Team-Set-AMERICAN-National-League-/351140666113?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item51c19d5b01

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    2. Yeah, Fuji I think that's them. After the All-Star game, a bunch of people were breaking them up and selling them individually. I pounced because there was so few available. That's a great BIN for the complete set.

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  3. I'm just happy Harrison hit well after the All Star break. At least it wasn't as bad as Kevin Correia making the team.

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