Card of the Day: 3/20/16

2012 Topps Pro Debut Signatures Charlie Tilson

     Charles Everett Tilson was born December 2, 1992 in Wilmette, Illinois. The Cardinals chose Charlie in the second round of the 2011 draft. During four seasons in the Cardinals farm system, Charlie has compiled a .296 batting average while scoring 212 runs and stealing 76 bases. He's been a Minor League All-Star for the past two seasons, but is trying to break into an already crowded Cardinals outfield. Charlie attended Spring Training in 2016, but was optioned to Triple-A Memphis just six days ago. If someone in the outfield gets hurt, expect to see Charlie filling the hole. 

Card of the Day: 3/18/16

2013 Topps Making Their Mark #MM41 Shelby Miller

It opened my eyes about how baseball really is and how wins and losses don't really matter so much, but at the same time, how great they are. I want to win every game I pitch. It's a crazy game and you can have a good game and still get the loss. -Shelby Miller

Card of the Day: 3/6/16

2012 Gypsy Queen Autographs Allen Craig

     Allen Thomas Craig was born on July 18, 1984 in Mission Viejo, California. The Cardinals acquired Allen in the 8th round of the 2006 draft. Craig played 4+ seasons (2010-2014) with the Cardinals. He put up his best number in 2013 when he batted .315 while belting 13 home runs, driving in 97 runs, and scoring 71 runs. The Cardinals traded Allen during the 2014 season along with Joe Kelly to the Red Sox in exchange for John Lackey and Corey Littrell. Craig has been a mere shell of the player he was in St. Louis. Since leaving the Cardinals, he has only played 65 games and his batting average is an abysmal .139 with Boston.

Card of the Day: 2/28/16

2007 DAV Tony LaRussa In-Person Autograph

     When I first became a manager, I asked Chuck (Tanner) for advice. He told me, "Always rent." 

-Tony La Russa

Card of the Day: 2/21/16

2014 Donruss Signatures Kolten Wong

     Although rumors of a potential trade involving Wong going to Colorado and Carlos Gonzalez coming to St. Louis were abundant this off-season, our guy is still with the team. He'll have some competition at second base, though, since the Cardinals traded for Jedd Gyorko. A true platoon may develop with Wong starting against right-handed pitchers and Gyorko against left-handed pitchers. Both are capable of hitting with power and providing solid defense in the middle infield. A platoon situation may just push both these young players to discover their true potential. If all goes well, Wong and Gyorko could develop into a long-term, middle infield combo after Peralta's contract expires.

Card of the Day: 2/14/16

2013 Bowman Sterling Autographs Oscar Mercado RC SP

     Oscar Mercado was born in Tampa, Florida on December 16, 1994. For the past three seasons, he has been working his way through the Cardinals farm system. In 2015, Mercado played for the Peoria Chiefs, a single-A affiliate, batting .254, scoring 70 runs, and stealing 50 bases. If he continues to progress, Oscar could be the long-term solution to the shortstop position for the Cardinals.

Review: 2016 Topps Series 1 Jumbo

     It's been a while since we've been excited about an upcoming release. Perhaps it is the full-bleed design on this year's cards or just the fact that Illinois basketball is terrible this year and has left us poking around the house, staring out the window, and waiting for spring, but whatever the reason, the three weeks leading up to Topps' flagship release seemed nearly unbearable.

     We'll start with some background. Topps Jumbos include 10 packs with 50 cards per pack. The checklist sports 350 cards plus several photo variation short-prints and super short-prints. In addition, the product includes rainbow foil parallels, gold parallels, black parallels, vintage stock parallels, and clear parallels. A variety of insert, game-used, and autograph sets are thrown in as well. Each Jumbo box contains at least 2 relics and 1 autograph. Plus, Topps inserted original buybacks stamped with the 65th Anniversary logo.

Let's start with the base:

Collation: 350 out of 350 (100% completion) plus 80 duplicates

It's always good when you can get all the cards you need for the set out of one box. We have to admit that we snaked the Cardinals for our PC and only got duplicates of the Lance Lynn so we're still eight cards short of the set.

Design: Full-Bleed

     We love the full-bleed design. It's clear that Topps is riding the success of 2015 Stadium Club by incorporating the full-bleed into their 2016 flagship set. They feature great photography and crisp logos.

Cardboard Quality: This year's Topps are still a little flimsy, but for the price and taking the photography into account, we don't think it detracts much from the overall product.

Next up, let's have a look at the parallels.

Rainbow Foil (6)

     The Rainbow Foil cards aren't much more than shiny, unnumbered parallels.  For the most part, our rainbow haul was less than impressive. We received Nathan Eovaldim Mike Zunino, Luke Gregerson, Chris Coghlan and Alcides Escobar. Our standout rainbow foil was this Chris Davis/Nelson Cruz/Mike Trout card:

     We'll follow up with the Gold parallels which weren't any more impressive.

Gold Parallels (4)

     We received four gold parallels which are base cards stamped with a gold honeycomb on the edges and numbered to 2016 on the back.

     Besides the Wainwright that we unveiled in yesterday's Cardinals post, we missed on these as well. The names Marcus Semien, Justin Turner, and Chad Bettis inspire fear in the hearts of no one.

Our vintage stock parallel pull wasn't any better.

Vintage Stock (1)

     Don't be disheartened by the lack of star power surrounding this Chris Colabello parallel numbered 92/99. As retro product connoisseurs, we appreciate Topps' effort with these parallels. The fronts feature the glossy base design with an old-school Topps logo. The backs have no gloss cardboard. There's nothing like the feel of a vintage baseball card. These are numbered out of 99.

Once again, the Topps brand is heavy with insert sets, many of which we didn't get our hands on. Nonetheless, we were more than satisfied with the insert designs and the players we pulled from the box.

First Pitch (5 and a duplicate)

     We know some people like these First Pitch inserts, but if asked, we would leave them out of the lineup. Not to mention, it's irritating when we pull insert duplicates from the same box if we haven't gotten the complete set. With that said, it's still pretty cool to see Bill Withers on a baseball card.

Wacky Packages (1)

     How bout some New York Deli Mitts? Granted, they aren't Cardinals Eggs, but we love this product. What can we say? We grew up in the 80s hoarding Garbage Pail Kids stickers. We're sad that we only pulled one of these promos.

Berger's Best (10)

     Berger's Best is a collection of 65 reprints. One for each year of Topps beginning in 1952. Rather than reprinting the card backs, Topps included a short essay regarding the player. Once again, we pulled a duplicate without completing the set.

     Fortunately, that player is Willie Mays on the 1952 Topps design so it didn't sting all that much. We think we did pretty well with the Berger's Best. We pulled these active players:

     How can you go wrong with Kris Bryant and Clayton Kershaw rookie reprints? We also pulled a slew of Hall-worthy players:

     Bench, Ricky, Murray, Smoltzy, and Piazza. Not too shabby. We've loved Topps reprint issues since 2001. These make the grade.

Pressed Into Service (6)

     Sure, it's fun to know that some of these guys appeared on the mound, but did they really require their own insert set? At least it added another Musial card to the checklist and to the Cardinal Sauce collection.

100 Years at Wrigley (6)

     The 100 Years at Wrigley insert set is fun although we take issue with non-cubs being included in the set. Especially since we didn't pull the Musial. The Cubs have gotten so little over the past 100 years that we just think it's twisting the knife a little to include The Man and The Babe in this set. 

Perspectives (10)

    Besides some of the autograph and relic cards, we think Perspectives is the best offering in this product. We managed to land some up-and-comers, some HOFers, and even a couple Cardinals. Perspectives is a big win for Topps this year.

.

The Hits (2 relics and 1 autograph)

Scouting Report Relic CC Sabathia

Commemorative No-Hitter Pin Clayton Kershaw

Scouting Report Autograph Kurt Suzuki

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 

Concluding Thoughts: As always, Topps' flagship product was fun to bust. It is neither overwhelming nor underwhelming, it just is what it is. Overall value for the money spent is pretty close to even and the variety of parallels and inserts make for an interesting break. We do admit that it is a bit disheartening when a manufactured pin is the best card in the box. Luckily, the collation was great and we won't have to crack another one open until Series 2 is released.

In the meantime, Collect Hard!

Marc

Card of the Day: 2/7/16

2010 Topps Chrome Signatures Bryan Anderson RC

     Bryan Douglas Anderson was born in Thousand Oaks, California on December 16, 1986. The Cardinals drafted Bryan out of high school in the 4th round of the 2005 free agent draft. He played 25 games over two seasons (2010 and 2012) for the Cardinals. Anderson was granted free agency after the 2012 season and, since, has seen limited playing time for the Chicago White Sox and Oakland A's,

Card of the Day: 1/31/16

1998 Best Peoria Chiefs Britt Reames autograph

     William Britt Reames was born in Seneca, South Carolina on August 19, 1973. He was selected bu the Cardinals in the 17th round of the 1995 free agent draft. Britt played his rookie season for the Cardinals in 2000, but was traded in the off-season along with Fernando Tatis to the Montreal Expos for Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline.

     In 2000, it appeared that Britt had a bright future waiting for him in the Major Leagues. He won two and lost only one in 7 games started for the club that season while posting a 2.88 ERA. In addition, he struck out 31 batters while only walking 23. After the Cardinals traded Reames, his career took a turn for the worst. Britt never posted an ERA lower than 5.00 and only won 5 games in the following five seasons. 

Card of the Day: 1/24/16

2012 Bowman Sterling Prospects Autographs Steve Bean

     Stephen William Bean was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2012 free-agent draft. He has struggled during four seasons in the Minor Leagues. He showed promise with the GCL Cardinals of the Gulf Coast League, posting a .320 batting average, but struggled with the Johnson City Cardinals in 2013. He played for the Peoria Chiefs during the 2014 and 2015 seasons and most likely will return to Peoria in 2016 unless he's traded. In four seasons, Bean has posted a cumulative .223 batting average and caught only 34% of runners trying to steal. Bean's Major League hopes look bleak if he doesn't get things turned around this season.

Anatomy of a Trade: Knowing When Fair Is Fair

     Seven days ago, our regularly scheduled broadcast was interrupted to make a special presentation of a special card that had made its way into my possession. That card was this:

2015 Topps Heritage Real One Dual Autographs Sandy Koufax/Clayton Kershaw 7/25

     Once I received the card, it posed an interesting challenge for me. Although it's an amazing card, it didn't fit in our collection which is devoted solely to the St. Louis Cardinals. I thought about selling it on eBay, but as mentioned in "Why Would a Grown Man Collect Baseball Cards," I'm completely disenchanted with the business of buying and selling baseball cards, especially through eBay. I thought about taking it to the local card stores around here and seeing what it might bring, but to be honest, the card stores around here leave a lot to be desired. My next step was to contact Blowout Cards and Dave & Adams Card World to see if I could work out a deal for store credit. Chris at Blowout wasn't interested and Steve at DA Card World low-balled me. I realized that I may have to brave the eBay fees if I wanted to move this card. It was a realization that made me shudder in distaste, I brainstormed to think of more alternatives and was left with only two other options: consign with Beckett (even more fees, yuck) or trade it. Honestly though, who can appreciate this card for what it is, who wouldn't immediately flip it for some quick cash, and who has the type of card portfolio that could even come close to filling my Cardinals needs on this level? I could think of only one person: aceecards at Trading Card Central.

     I did a quick scan of his Photobucket and let me tell you this guy's bucket is almost as inspiring as walking into Cooperstown itself. And that's just the baseball. It's the same for the other major sports as well as boxing, golf, Olympics, you name it. The first Cardinals card that I came across was a Dizzy Dean cut autograph. I knew I was in the right place. I sent acee a message and he replied that he was, indeed, interested in the Koufax/Kershaw dualie, but Diz was unavailable. I understood. Although the cards were in the same value range, it isn't every day you see a Dizzy autograph. Koufax is a little easier to come by. I took some time to look through the rest of his Hall of Fame autos and made a list of cards that interested me. It looked like this (in order of priority):

1) Frisch cut auto

2) Medwick cut auto

3) Brock Sterling auto 5/10

4) TTT Ozzie auto

5) SS Sutter auto

6) Gibson/ Brock dual 7/100

7) SS LaRussa auto

8) Tribute Musial auto

9) SS Musial auto

10) Heritage Musial auto

11) Gibson Sterling auto 5/10

12) SI Brock auto

13) Heritage Schoendienst auto

     I sent this amazing list to acee and asked him to make me an offer. It didn't take long before he replied with this:

the ozzie white whale 1/1 from triple threads
the tribute musial
and the gibson sterling
and the brock sterling

     

     At first, I was disappointed that neither of the cut autos were part of the deal, but I understood for the same reason as the Dizzy. When I had made the list, I didn't realize the Ozzie was a 1/1. That was the sole factor in taking the offer seriously and to acee's credit, he admitted that he wasn't sure what the value on the Koufax was. I asked for some time to think about it and I started crunching the numbers. When all was said and done, we were a couple hundred bucks apart in value by my estimate. I asked acee if he could throw in either of the other Musial autos or the Sutter along with the LaRussa and he replied that he could throw in the Sutter, but the others were off the table. I sensed that he thought I was beginning to ask too much. In contrast, I was struggling with the idea that I wasn't getting enough. We were still over a hundred dollars apart in value and I began thinking that I could sell the Koufax, buy all the cards he was offering, and have a little left over. I thought about it a little longer and realized that I was never going to find all those cards in one place, I wanted the Ozzie 1/1, the only way I could get it was by making a deal with acee, and he was saving me a lot of time of searching through listings to find those cards. After I put it into perspective, it didn't seem like such a bad deal. I messaged him back and told him that if he threw in the Sutter it was a deal. For four days, I second-guessed myself, wondering if I was getting enough in the trade. Today, I received a package containing these cards:

2007 Sweet Spot Classic Signatures Silver Lace Bruce Sutter 3/42

2008 Topps Sterling Career Stats Triple Relic Autograph Lou Brock 5/10

2008 Topps Sterling Quad Relic Autograph Bob Gibson 5/10

2002 Topps Tribute Marks of Excellence Autographs Stan Musial

and the card that became priceless the minute that it was added to the Wall of Cards

2006 Topps Triple Threads White Whale Autographed Relic Printing Plate Ozzie Smith 1/1

     It wasn't until I had these cards in my hand that I truly appreciated how much acee gave up for that one card. Sure, I gave up value, but he gave up four amazingly beautiful cards plus a more than decent throw-in. Seeing that we were both seemingly at a point where I may have been asking too much, but by the numbers I was getting the short end of the deal, I can only surmise that this deal worked because of these three reasons:

         1) Mutual respect for each other and each other's situation

         2) A mutual appreciation for the game AND the cardboard, and

         3) A realization that there are more important things than money.

     Sometimes, the numbers don't match up and the deal is still fair. I gave up a little value in acee's favor because I knew he was giving up a fair amount even though, at the time, I didn't realize exactly how much I was gaining. What I lost in value, I gained in these ways:

   1) 1st 1/1 added to the Cardinal Sauce collection,

2) 1st Sutter autograph in the Cardinal Sauce collection,

3) 1st Brock autograph in the Cardinal Sauce collection,

4) The top three cards in the Cardinal Sauce collection,

5) 2 other excellent additions to the Cardinal Sauce collection, and

6) convenience.

     There is another gentleman at Trading Card Central  who we don't see much of anymore, but whose mantra is: Collect Hard! I'd say, in this instance, acee and I did just that and, in closing, I wish to pass that same sentiment on to you readers.

Collect Hard!

Marc

Card of the Day: 1/22/16

2010 Topps Turkey Red #TR-36 Matt Holliday

     Matthew Thomas Holliday was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma on January 15, 1980. After graduating from Stillwater High School in 1998, Matt was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 7th round of the free-agent draft. He made his rookie debut for the Rockies on April 16, 2004 at the age of 24.

     The Cardinals acquired Matt from the Oakland A's on July 24, 2009 in exchange for three Minor League players. Matt garnered the distaste of fans by making a few crucial errors in left field during the 2009 postseason. The Cardinals still re-signed him at the end of 2009 for a sum that seemed excessive.We have to admit that we were part of the crowd calling for Holliday's departure from St. Louis. Since that time, Matt has made amends on numerous occasions.

     For three seasons, Holliday reaped the benefits of Albert Pujols batting behind him. Since Albert's departure, Matt has become the premier hitter in the Cardinals lineup. Holliday, a hit-before-power guy, is a line drive hitter who consistently posts decent power numbers while nurturing his career .307 batting average. He may never reach 500 HR or 3000 H (due to his penchant for walks), but he will forever be remembered as one of the Cardinals best hitters. 

     

Card of the Day: 1/17/16

2013 Topps Tribute Autographs Lance Lynn 79/99

     Michael Lance Lynn was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 12, 1987. He was selected in the first round of the 2008 free-agent draft.

     Whether you love him or hate him, Lance has been a consistent pitcher for the Cardinals over the last four seasons. His current career ERA is 3.37 and over the last four seasons, he has accumulated 60 wins and 766 strikeouts, He will be missed during the 2016 season while he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Card of the Day: 1/16/16

1992 McDonald's/Pacific #25 Bill White

     We interrupt this post for a special presentation. We had planned to review Bill's book, Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play, but it has been preempted to bring you this breaking news.

     Sometimes, a collector receives a card that is too special not to share. Even when it doesn't feature players from one's said team, in our case the Cardinals. That card is this:

2015 Topps Heritage Real One Dual Autographs Sandy Koufax/Clayton Kershaw 7/25

     Ok we know these guys aren't Cardinals and, be certain, we despise the Dodgers (even more than the Cubs) but we have great respect for the Dodgers organization and especially the greatest left-handed pitcher that ever took the mound.

     Sanford Braun Koufax was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 30, 1935. A hometown boy, he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers on December 14, 1954. He made his Major League debut just six months later at the age of 19.

     Sandy compiled some impressive stats in a career shortened to just twelve seasons by arthritis in his pitching arm. He posted a career 2.76 ERA. In addition, Koufax rung up 2396 batters on strikeouts while striking out more than 300 in a season on three different occasions. He won the World Series four times with the Dodgers (1955, 1959, 1963, and 1965), is a 4-time NL MVP, is a 7-time All-Star, is a 3-time Cy Young Award winner, and won the NL MVP in 1963.

     That Kershaw guy, he's not Sandy, but he isn't too bad, either.

     

     

Card of the Day: 1/10/16

2014 Topps Triple Threads Jumbo Jersey Autographs Kolten Wong

     The Cardinals have a long history of outstanding second basemen. Kolten Wong is the current torchbearer in that line. He's played 2+ years at the position and continues to amaze fans with his glove while adding a little pop with the bat. We thought it would be fun to play a game and see how his first 3 seasons stack up against those of Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Frankie Frisch, and Red Schoendienst along with fan-favorites Tommy Herr and Julian Javier.

We'll give you the numbers; you try to guess who posted them.

Batting Average

.316  .302 .291  .270 .260  .250

Home Runs

23  14  14  13  4  0  

Runs Batted In

201  135  129  103  101  62

Runs Scored

274  210  199  154  129  83  

Stolen Bases

98  56  44  38  34  33

Fielding Percentage

.987  .978  .977  .969  .960  .936

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS

Answers:

Batting Average          Home Runs                Runs Batted In (RBI)      

Hornsby- .316             Wong- 23                   Frisch- 201                      

Frisch- .302                 Hornsby- 14               Hornsby- 135                  

Herr- .291                    Frisch- 14                  Schoendienst- 129           

Schoendienst- .270     Javier- 13                    Wong- 103                      

Javier- .260                 Schoendienst- 4          Javier- 101                      

Wong- ,250                 Herr- 0                        Herr- 62                         

Runs Scored                    Stolen Bases                         Fielding Percentage  

Schoendienst- 274           Frisch- 98                             Herr- .987

Javier- 210                       Javier- 56                             Schoendienst- .978

Frisch- 199                      Schoendienst- 44                 Wong- .977

Hornsby- 154                  Wong- 38                             Javier- .969

Wong- 129                      Hornsby- 34                         Frisch- .960

Herr- 83                           Herr- 33                               Hornsby- .935

Card of the Day: 1/3/16

2005 Bowman Sterling John Nelson Jersey/Autograph

     John Clark Nelson was selected by the Cardinals in the 8th round of the 2001 free agent draft. He played eight games for the Cardinals in 2006, going hitless in five at-bats. The Cardinals shipped him off to the Cubs in July of 2007. He couldn't even make it as a Cub and never played another Major League game.