Freese and Darvish win the Final Man Vote!!!

Freese, Yu!!!

Three years ago at this time, "Bran-Torino" was the word. Last year, Paul Star and the Flyin' Hawaiian punched their tickets to Phoenix. This time, after a bit of tweaking, it was a wire-to-wire finish on both sides of the ballot, leaving no doubt about who was going to be added to the rosters to the AL and NL All-Star Teams.

The fans have voted. Over fifty million votes were cast. Twitter feeds and hashtags were trending. And in the end, David Freese of the Cardinals and Yu Darvish of the Rangers won spots on their respective All-Star Teams as the winners of the Final Man Ballot.

Yes, alliances were formed once again, (the Beltways Ballot), and thanks to mobile voting and twitter, many famous fans put their two cents in. But 8.4 million votes were cast for the defending World Series MVP, the most for any player amongst the ten, while the Japanese wunderkind received just over 7.3 million votes.

Freese joins a contingency of Cardinals, including starters Rafael Furcal, and Carlos Beltran, along with pitcher Lance Lynn and catcher Yadier Molina. Yu joins seven of his teammates and his manager on the AL Roster (23.5% of the 34 man roster now consists of Rangers). The Texas reps include starters Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, pitchers Matt Harrison, Joe Nathan, and infielders Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Chipper Replaces Kemp on NL ASG Roster

One of the Final Man Candidates on the NL side of the ballot has been named to the 2012 National League All-Star Team.

Matt Kemp was voted by the fans to start the 2012 All-Star Game. However, he has not played since the end of May as he has been on the shelf with a strained left hamstring. So today, it was announced that Ryan Braun, who finished fourth in the fan voting, will now take Kemp's place in the starting lineup.

Taking Kemp's spot on the roster is Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves. Jones, who announced that this year will be his last in a MLB uniform, was leading the Final Man balloting as of Tuesday morning. This will be the eighth time he's been named an All-Star. Chipper will be joining fellow Braves All-Stars Dan Uggla and Craig Kimbrel in Kansas City next Tuesday.

Thanks to Jones addition, the leaders in the final man voting are now David Freese of the Cardinals and Yu Darvish of the Rangers. There are still two more days left to vote, so get to it.

More players will inevitably have to be replaced on these rosters, so stay tuned.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The 2012 All-Star Rosters Have Been Announced...What Do You Think???

The MLB All-Star Game rosters have been announced. Here are the players who are going:

National League Starters (with 2012 Topps Card # and retail team set if applicable.  Note #US numbers are subject to change, but the player is presently scheduled to appear in the 2012 Topps Update Series at that card number.)

1B-Joey Votto, Reds (#498, CIN1)
2B-Dan Uggla, Braves (#565, ATL8)
3B-Pablo Sandoval, Giants (#185, SF12)
SS-Rafael Furcal, Cardinals (#415, STL9)
OF-Carlos Beltran, Cardinals (#612, STL4)
OF-Melky Cabrera, Giants (#15 with the Royals, SF3)
OF-Matt Kemp, Dodgers (#330, LAD1)
C-Buster Posey, Giants (#398, SF13)

National League Pitchers

P-Matt Cain, Giants (#155, SF4)
P-R. A. Dickey, Mets (#279, NYM10)
P-Gio Gonzalez, Nationals (#519, WAS6)
P-Cole Hamels, Phillies (#190, PHI11, selected by MGR)
P-Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (#600, LAD8, selected by MGR)
P-Lance Lynn, Cardinals (#US178)
P-Wade Miley, Diamondbacks (#558, selected by MGR)
P-Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (#556, WAS1)
RP-Aroldis Chapman, Reds (#265, CIN15)
RP-Joel Hanrahan, Pirates (#531, PIT16)
RP-Craig Kimbrel, Braves (#20, ATL13)
RP-Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies (#345, PHI15, selected by MGR)
RP-Huston Street, Padres (#369, selected by MGR)

National League Reserves

1B-Bryan LaHair, Cubs (#394, CHC12)
2B-Jose Altuve, Astros (#187, HOU13)
3B-David Wright, Mets (#240, NYM1)
SS-Starlin Castro, Cubs (#167, CHC1)
SS-Ian Desmond, Nationals (#131, WAS2, selected by MGR)
OF-Ryan Braun, Brewers (#1, MIL1)
OF-Jay Bruce, Reds (#220, CIN2, selected by MGR)
OF-Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies (#373, COL2)
OF-Andrew McCutchen, Pirates (#497, PIT1)
OF-Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins (#567, #US154, MIA12, selected by MGR)
C-Yadier Molina, Cardinals (#174, STL5)
C-Carlos Ruiz, Phillies (#117, PHI9, selected by MGR)

National League Final Man Candidates

OF-Michael Bourn, Braves (#429, ATL7)
3B-David Freese, Cardinals (#273, STL1)
OF-Bryce Harper, Nationals (#661)
2B-Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks (#527, ARZ15)
3B-Chipper Jones, Braves (#305, ATL12)

American League Starters

1B-Prince Fielder, Tigers (#650, DET1)
2B-Robinson Cano, Yankees (#400, NYY13)
3B-Adrian Beltre, Rangers (#310, TEX8)
SS-Derek Jeter, Yankees (#30, NYY1)
OF-Jose Bautista, Blue Jays (#100, TOR1)
OF-Curtis Granderson, Yankees (#290, NYY7)
OF-Josh Hamilton, Rangers (#300, TEX1)
C-Mike Napoli, Rangers (#37, TEX7)
DH-David Ortiz, Red Sox (#506, BOS9)

American League Pitchers

P-Matt Harrison, Rangers (#481, TEX11, selected by MGR)
P-Felix Hernandez, Mariners (#430, SEA5, selected by MGR)
P-David Price, Rays (#80, TB1)
P-CC Sabathia, Yankeesº (#607, NYY6)
P-Chris Sale, White Sox (#149, CWS13)
P-Justin Verlander, Tigers (#639, DET10)
P-Jered Weaver, Angels (#250, ANG11)
P-C.J. Wilson, Angelsª (#613, ANG13)
RP-Ryan Cook, Athletics (#US260, selected by MGR)
RP-Jim Johnson, Orioles (#523, BALT13)
RP-Joe Nathan, Rangers (#632, TEX6, selected by MGR)
RP-Chris Perez, Indians (#436, CLE16)
RP-Fernando Rodney, Rays (#US203)

American League Reserves

1B-Paul Konerko, White Sox (#105, CWS1)
2B-Ian Kinsler, Rangers (#550, TEX9)
3B-Miguel Cabrera, Tigers (#200, DET5)
SS-Elvis Andrus, Rangers (#439, TEX13, selected by MGR)
SS-Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians (#130, CLE12)
OF-Adam Jones, Orioles (#125, BALT1)
OF-Mike Trout, Angels (#446, ANG7)
OF-Mark Trumbo, Angels (#106, ANG4)
C-Joe Mauer, Twins (#535, MIN1, selected by MGR)
C-Matt Wieters, Orioles
DH-Billy Butler, Royals (#145, KAN9, selected by MGR)
DH-Adam Dunn, White Sox (#199, CWS10)

American League Final Man Candidates

RP-Jonathan Broxton, Royals (#US19)
P-Yu Darvish, Rangers (#660)
RP-Ernesto Frieri, Angels (#US138)
P-Jason Hammel, Orioles (#68)
P-Jake Peavy, White Sox (#518, CWS2)

Notes:
º Injured, will not participate
ºº Elected not to participate
ª Named as replacement

If you notice, not counting those injured, there will be two 34-man rosters here (including the Final Man winners). In 2010, a new rule was implemented to allow for one "re-entry" player...somebody who can go leave the game and then possibly later on get back in at another position. Previously, only catchers were allowed to leave the game and be re-inserted later. But unlike 2010, (when Omar Infante (NL) and Ty Wigginton (AL) were selected), I don't see any potential utility candidates on either roster.

This year, four players do not have any cards from either the eponymous Topps set or the retail sets. Once again, Mr. "I'm-Too-Good-For-Topps" aka Mr. "I'm-Being-Held-Hostage-By-That-Other-Card-Company," Matt Wieters, was named to the AL All-Star Team (Player Vote). He still has yet to appear on any Topps cards since his debut. Although past history with Topps and these situations (see Hideki Matsui for example and his lack of Topps cards in his first few years in the majors) eventually works out, nobody except the heads of the Topps Company knows if and when he shows up on a Topps card. (For those who follow me on twitter - @bdj610 if you want to follow me -, I posted a tweet to @toppscards about this). Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn, Athletics pitcher Ryan Cook, and Rays pitcher Fernando Rodney do not have cards in either 2012 Topps Series 1 or 2, but all are scheduled to appear in the Update series (subject to change). To alleviate their slights, I will be using the team's stadium cards to fill-in for them (found only in the team retail sets). No word on Wieters (although there are a ton of TBD's). I included both Mik...er...Giancarlo Stanton's Series 2 card (which refers to him as "Mike") and his potential Update Series card (which now correctly refers to him as Giancarlo) numbers as well.

Lots of youth on both rosters.  Both young guns from the Angels, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo, both were selected via the players ballot.  And if you look at the Final Man Nominees, all five AL candidates are pitchers (yes, they need one more because Sabathia's injury and Wilson's inclusion still leaves 12 active pitchers on the AL roster).  Of the selections are wunderkind Yu Darvish of the Rangers, and Comeback Player of the Year nominee Jake Peavy of the White Sox.  On the NL side, Bryce Harper of the Nationals is getting a final chance of entry as an All-Star (to join Strasburg...first of many pairings???)

On a final note, CC Sabathia is injured and will not participate.  So in his stead (as requested by AL skipper Ron Washington) will be former Ranger and present Angel C. J. Wilson.  Now the rule for pitchers is that if they are set to pitch on the last day before the All-Star break, they become ineligible to appear in the game. They still get to participate in the All-Star festivities, are still officially All-Stars, but just won't play. I have not yet seen any news about All-Star pitchers that could be affected by this as of yet.

Let's hear the answers to these questions:

Who do you think should have been chosen that wasn't (not even for the Final Man ballot)?

Of the players selected, who shouldn't be going to the game?

Were the guys you wanted from your team chosen?

If not, then who should have represented your team?

Let the debates begin.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Where I've Been These Past Two Weeks...

For those wondering where I have been these past two weeks and why I haven't updated either the Sports Card Blogroll or this humble, little blog (aren't you wondering???), it's because I've been busy working on my latest project, bdj610's All-Time All-Star Team Tournament.

I explained the purpose of my pet project back in May, and what I've been doing ever since is getting scans (too much work to get cards from my collection) from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum and putting the cards of all the players that have made my All-Star Teams since 1987. This time, though, I thought it would be a good idea to use the Topps cards from the year the team was created. So all I have been doing is posting pictures of the cards of every player from each team. I thought it would be easy to do, and in fact, the 1987 and 1988 teams I had no problem finding the cards of every player and the team they played for that year (helps to use the traded sets too). My problems started with the 1989 Topps set.

In 1989, Harold Baines started the year with the White Sox, but was traded to the Rangers. Probably because it was too late in the season when he was traded (his number was retired by the Sox, making him one of the few active players to have his uniform number retired), he did not have a 1989 Topps Traded card with his new team. So what do I do? Should I add his 1990 card which would throw off the point of painstakingly putting the cards together from one year (green bordered Rangers card...ugh)? Or do I dare try my hand at making fake cards, thus creating a 1989 Topps Harold Baines Rangers card?

Mind you, I am no Goose Joak. I'm not a Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius. Heck, I'm not even Ben Henry. And I'm definitely not the guy who runs the talented White Sox Cards blog.  But somehow, I was able to find a picture of Harold as a Ranger in 1989, cut his name from the White Sox name plate, paste it onto a Rangers name plate, and would you believe it?

At left, the original 1989 Topps Harold Baines card #585. At right, my handiwork.

What do you think? Authentic looking or really bad attempt at photoshopping?

I had to make cards for players who either somehow did not make that year's Topps set, or were not depicted with their new team, even in a Traded/Update set. The years 1996-1998 were the worst as there was no Traded or Update set to save me.

Go to the new site, and check out my teams (at present, I will have my teams from 1987 to 2006 up) and see if you can figure out what cards are fake. Some will be obvious. Others, not so much. Let me know what you think. When all the cards are on the site, the tournament (which was the point of the blog in the first place) will commence.

And maybe I'll be able to get back to more important matters.

Like getting that Series 2 Master Set in time for the All-Star Game!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. Does anybody out there have used code cards from the Series 2 Golden Giveaway? I just want a copy of each of the ten cards from the set for my collection. Please email me at bdj610@hotmail.com and let me know. Thanks. jba

A Quick Lunchtime 2-Pack Break of 2012 Topps Series 2

I’m just sitting here at my desk eating my lunch of leftover jambalaya and ramen noodles, thinking about what to do with the two packs of 2012 Topps Series 2 that I bought on Saturday (yes, since my last post, I did go to Target before the last dance show of the evening). And I thought, I have four minutes before I punch back in, why not go ahead and post what I got from those two packs.

Okay, before it’s time to get back to work, here is what appeared in the packs of cards I purchased on Saturday.

Pack 1 (rip):

• #481 Matt Harrison, Rangers
• #650 Prince Fielder, Tigers (note that the 2B/3B stat category has been corrected and the BB header is back instead of W…finally)
• #355 Mark Buehrle, Marlins (photoshopped Marlins jersey…why didn’t they fix the color border on the Marlins from teal to orange? The color border is supposed to match the color of the surfboard. The border on this card appears to be blue)
• #433 Nate McLouth, Pirates (didn’t know he came back to the Pirates this year…)
• #383 Andre Ethier, Dodgers
• #ACA-16 Sandy Koufax A Cut Above (die cut card…corners are sharp - all seven of them)
• #TM-58 Prince Fielder 1987 Mini card (two Fielders…great)
• #460 Thomas Field RC, Rockies (a shortstop who is living up to his last name, get it?)
• #390 Taylor Green RC, Brewers
• #359 Danny Espinosa ASRT, Nationals (remember, there is a regular card AND a card with a trophy)
• #535 Joe Mauer, Twins
• #404 Jonathan Sanchez, Royals

Pack 2 (tear)

• #421 Heath Bell, Marlins (again with a photoshopped Marlins jersey)
• #389 Alexi Casilla, Twins
• #449 Shane Victorino, Phillies
• #369 Huston Street, Padres (he’s still playing???)
• #534 Hector Gomez RC, Rockies (that’s two…TWO Rockies rookie cards)
• #418 Jarrod Parker RC, Athletics
• #562 Henderson Alvarez, Blue Jays (Gold sparkle parallel card)
• #GF-44 Matt Dominguez Gold Futures
• #410 Jeff Locke RC, Pirates (how did he get a card ending in “0”?)
• #463 Francisco Cordero, Blue Jays
• #578 Wade Davis, Rays
• #475 Chris Dickerson, Yankees

Pictures to come later. Opinions to come later. Time to go back to work.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2012 Topps Series 2 Was Live This Week...and Not a Post from Me??!

Sorry for the lack of posts, especially during Topps Series 2 season. I've been so busy with my filling out my latest project, bdj610's All-Time All-Star Team Tournament that I haven't been doing much else online.

Am I excited that Series 2 is out?  Absolutely.

Am I thrilled that there finally is an updated checklist?  Yes!!!

Am I thrilled that Topps put back the HOF/legends SP's in series 2?  You bet!!!  (will get to this in a minute)

Have I gotten any cards yet?  (sob)  No, not yet.

Today would have been the perfect day to run to Target and grab a few packs, just so that I can at least join in the chase for that elusive #661 (the one that if I don't find, I'll wait patiently until factory sets arrive...I'm in no rush).  But alas, bills had to be paid (groan), and with this weekend being my daughter's dance recital, any extra funds will be going to all that goes with her show (food, tickets, after-show parties...)

Yes, money is tight, but it doesn't mean I can't be excited about Series 2.  If you didn't know by now, not including the Harper SP, there are 25 other short printed celebration/fun with mascots/pied-in-the-face cards that not only includes players whose regular cards are in series 2, but now also add onto the fun in series 1.  To wit, Derek Jeter's #30 card now not only shows him in a vertical leap that we all know was chosen by that guy who caught the #3000th hit, but now shows him celebrating with his teammates (maybe it was because of said hit...who knows?)  Also, the Rally Squirrel makes another appearance in Series 2, albeit as a stuffed animal instead of live rodent.  Here are the rest of the cards, if you need to know received the treatment.

Series 1 SP's in Series 2 (how weird sounding is that??!)

• #30b Derek Jeter (celebrating with teammates)
• #80b David Price (celebrating with a trophy)
• #85b Jason Heyward (throwback jersey)
• #158b Josh Reddick (with the rookie cup, batting...so now you have two ASRT cards of Reddick to go with a third that doesn't)
• #207b J. P. Arencibia (with the rookie cup, fielding...so now you have two ASRT cards of Arencibia to go with a third that doesn't...repetitive isn't it...)
• #273b David Freese (celebrating with fans, holding a squirrel doll)
• #280b Ryan Howard (looking out towards the field at Citizens Bank Park)
• #330b Matt Kemp (showing off the Beast Mode t-shirt).

Had to look it up, but "Beast Mode," according to the Urban Dictionary is "A hype, energetic, outgoing, wilding out state of mind."  If I had to fathom a guess, I would think that means when baseball players, and all athletes for that matter, push themselves further and harder during their workouts than normal, probably as their pre-season or regular season gets closer.  Here are the pics:

On to Series 2 SP's in Series 2 (makes no sense, just typing that for consistency):

• #331c Albert Pujols (yes, "c", at press conference)
• #350b Evan Longoria (signing autographs)
• #398b Buster Posey (riding the trolleys in SF)
• #430b Felix Hernandez as Larry Bernandez (will explain this one in a minute)
• #462b Brett Lawrie Pie in the Face
• #497b Andrew McCutchen (wearing Homestead Grays...the Parrot makes another appearance)
• #537b Ichiro Suzuki (wearing his trademark shades)
• #540b Dustin Pedroia (with the US flag in the background as he's tossing the ball...Patriotic)
• #600b Clayton Kershaw (wearing Brooklyn Dodgers jersey)
• #639b Justin Verlander (holding two balls...commemorating his two no-hitters)
• #650b Prince Fielder (signing autographs)
• #660b Yu Darvish (throwing left handed, he apparently does this in practice...nothing new it seems)
• #661a Bryce Harper (yeah, we know all about this one...consider this one shortprinted in lesser quantities than the others...then again, a factory set card will come soon)

King Felix as Larry Bernandez is a tribute to the Mariners ever popular tickets commercials.  The subplot is that the King wanted to pitch MORE than he would otherwise be allowed to do, so Larry Bernandez tried out for the team.  The marketing stunt proved so successful, hence Bernandez' own bobblehead night.

Now, just like the series 1 variations, I'm not going to be running amok on the Bay looking for them.  I'm more interested in these:

• #30c Joe DiMaggio
• #273b Stan Musial
• #330b Willie Mays
• #331d Babe Ruth (yes, now there's a fourth #331 card)
• #497b Roberto Clemente

Now that's more like it.  Here are cards I'm going to put on my wantlist.  With only 5 cards (the cream of the crop of HOF's no doubt), this should be an interesting set to go after (among other things).

I will wait patiently on the Bay hoping that master sets will come down in price after the hysteria.  In the mean time, maybe I will run to Target and get at least a couple of packs to tide me over. 

Who knows?  I might actually get something good.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

You Mean It Finally Happened??! Topps Was Actually Right!!! (Well, Almost...)

I'm just getting word that a pitcher from the New York Mets has finally pitched a no-hitter.

Is this true?

It seems so.

Who did it???

That guy!!!

Okay, so Topps was almost four years late on the date.  And he did it against the St. Louis Cardinals, and not the Florida Marlins.

But Johan Santana, just as the card predicted, has just pitched the Mets first ever no-hitter!!!

Somewhere, Mark Hendrickson is breathing a heavy sigh of relief.  Congratulations Johan on your accomplishment.  Congratulations to the Mets who have finally gotten their no-no after 8019 regular season games.  Topps, you got this one right...somehow.

Now I have to wonder what those guys who had the Mets "No No-Hitter" blog are going to do now???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama