Bad Wax

I don’t often veer off the subject of cards on this blog, but I just finished watching the series finale of Chuck and I have to say that it could have been the best finale I have ever seen.  There are so many ways that they could have ended the series, so many cliche endings, but they didn’t they went full tilt into what has made the show what it was, simply brilliant.  If you have not watched the finale, don’t read further this will ruin it for you.

I started watching Chuck from the very first episode and was immediately hooked.  Not so much for the content itself, which was ok, but for the way the characters interlocked together.  The writing and the casting were perfect.  There was no way a show like this could have worked unless everyone bonded and that bond could be seen and felt on the screen.

The show was on the chopping block for many years, in fact after year two most media outlets were calling the final episode the series finale.  To top it off it seemed like a great place to end the episode, no cliffhanger and everything was wrapped up.  Then a curious thing happened where the fans (Chuck Fandom) rallied together and saved the show from extinction.  The show then continued for three more years, leaving us fans with cliffhanger after cliffhanger.  The show and the characters took on a life of itself forever evolving.

So when it was announced that this would be it’s last season, most fans of the show including myself were ok with it.  Strangely enough the story had unfolded perfectly right before our eyes.  The entire relationship of Chuck and Sarah had us invested enough to let us know how it would end.  Then the writers did the unthinkable, removed Sarah’s memory which crushed Chuck.  The two actors Zac Levi and Yvonne Strahovski acted better in the final two episodes then the entire series run and that says a lot.  I have read in more than one review of the final two episodes, what I thought, for a fan of the show, there shouldn’t have been a dry eye in the house. Myself included.

There will be other geek chic shows, and some will go on to have the success that Chuck had if not even more success.  However, right now I have to say that this was the best series finale I have seen since another recently ended show Rescue Me.  I’m sure that I will might feel the same way about Fringe when it ends, but I doubt it.  For my money Chuck was about as perfect a series as you can have.  Great beginig, solid season finales and an emotionally gut wrenching finale.  It might be a very long time before we get to see a series like this again. Goodbye Chuck and Sarah this one fan will miss your show.

The spring of 1986 is when I got back into card collecting after a 3 year hiatus while my hormones demanded that I pay more attention to girls.  Once I had a nice girl my friend Frank convinced me to start buying cards again.  So this started in 1986 but went full blown in 1987.  The cards that made the 1987 set so exciting was the amazing collection of rookies.  The 1986 rookie class in both the AL and NL were insanely good.  I’ve previously spoken about Cory Snider and Mark Eichhorn, but today I want to reflect on Danny Tartabull.

This is the card I will always associate with Tartabull.  Although he is only barely known as a Mariner (even though he broke into the league with them), it still remains one of my all time favorite cards.  If you recall (or maybe you don’t, I’m old as hell if you remember correctly) he was traded for slew of bottom of the rotation / crappy relievers to the Royals which even at the time I thought was nuts.  I mean it didn’t matter in the long run because no one even went to the games in Seattle at that time.  As a Royal though his career really took off.  He hit 0.290 with 124 home runs and 425 RBIs in five full seasons.

Then he signed with the Yankees.  Not the 1995 – 2012 Yankees that valued highly paid players, no the 1992 Yankees where Stienbrenner ruled with an iron fist and when you didn’t perform well, he called you out and so did the Yankee fans.  They spent a huge amount (at the time) 5 years / $27 million, hmmm they were even overpaying players back then.  Thinking back, maybe it wasn’t so smart to sign a 29 year old for big money for more than three years.  Predictably, he did well for two seasons and then just fell apart.  Really though if you think about it, he hammered the ball through his prime years and then slowed down, in other words it’s what should be expected.

He would go on to have one more big season after being traded twice to the White Sox where he slugged 27 homers and had 101 RBIs.  He only scored 58 runs though which is the second lowest total of any hitter who had 100 RBIs or more.  Towards the end of that season he broke his foot and it never healed properly.  The Phillies signed him for one more season but the foot kept him from being productive and after three games he called it a career.  Overall I think he had a nice career, it’s a real shame that he’ll always be remembered for his final three seasons with the Yankees. He does have one certified autograph card from the 1997 Leaf set.  It can be had for $1 on eBay.

Do you remember Danny?  What did you think of his career?

I am doing this post specifically for bobbum because he (or she) feels that I post too much hockey.  Even though I’ve only posted like 10 posts about hockey of the past two months, apparently that is too much hockey for bobbum, MY BAD.

Now that I’ve addressed his (or her) concerns I can focus on the real reason for this post that got wiped out last night.  First, Scott Boras is awesome.  How he can generate a 200+ million dollar contract for a player with absolutely no other suitors is beyond me.  The only ace he had in his pocket was a $20 million, one year contract from Milwaukee.  Have the Tigers ever heard of bargaining? They didn’t really have to give him 9 years or $23.5 million a season.  I think and this is just me snowballing that Dombrowski could have negotiated a 5 year $100 contract with ease.  Of course nothing is easy when Mike Illitch gets involved.

Illitch got to see Fielder as an 12 year old, blasting out homers in batting practice at old Tiger Stadium and has wanted him on the team since.  When Victor Martinez went down with injury, it was just a natural to bring him home to Detroit (he grew up in nearby Grosse Pointe).  So how is this going to work with two of the top first basemen in the league on your team?  I am assuming since Prince is a mountain with arms (5’11″, 275lbs.) and not really know for his defensive ability, he will spend some serious time DHing.  However, can you see him as a DH (as a 27 year old mind you) for the rest of his career?  In one way, it’s not a bad idea, minimizing any injuries that can occur, while allowing him to completely focus on hitting (which he is quite good at).  On the other hand, are you wasting his talent (as defensively unsure as he is) by having him sit on the bench when your team is in the field?

I’m sure that Both he and Cabrerra will both be splitting 1B and DH duties, but it does make you wonder what is in store for Cabrerra (maybe a move back to third base).  Ironically, both men have serious eating issues (they love to eat that is), so what happens as they get older and their body breaks down because of the excess weight.  Name me the last 250lb + guy (hitter now, we know there are a ton of fat pitchers), that played exceedingly well into their mid – 30s? I can think of maybe two, Gwynn and Puckett, although I can’t be sure of their weight.

The Tigers should be in good shape though (round is a shape right? I kill myself sometimes) as from their 3 and 4 hitters they could be looking at 0.285 combined average with 75-80 homers and nearly 200 runs batted in.  Also there has only been one other time when one team had two hitters with over 200 career home runs who were both under 30. Oddly enough it was in Milwaukee with Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron.  So on the plus side I think that Detroit has locked up the AL Central for the next 5 years and maybe that is worth dropping $24 million a year annually for the next 9 years, but the big question is, can Fielder live up to the contract?

I think he can, at least for the first 6 years and really that’s all that’s important from this deal.  He should end up with over 500 homers for his career and more than likely that will be accomplished as a Tiger. As far as his cards go they run anywhere from $25-$45 signed and for a player with a contract over $200 total that is a pittance (see Ryan Howard, Pujols, and A-Rod).  His stuff has always sold for cheaper than it should mainly because his teammate, the Hebrew Injector Ryan Braun (I can say that cause I’m Jewish) has gotten more attention and has more valuable cards.  He is a must buy right now.  I don’t know if he will ever hit 50 homers again, but it’s going to be fun watching him try to do it as a Tiger, just like his old man used to.

I was trying on coming up with a new custom cut design.  I had always wanted to do one using a tobacco brand so I created my own brand, Killer Bee Tobacco.  Then I had to come up with a bold but simple design for the card, here is what I came up with:

I’m sure there will be people that don’t like it and that is OK, but overall I think it’s a fun way to make a tobacco cut.

Wendel Clark

Clark is considered one of the toughest guys in hockey in the 1980s and 1990s.  He left his mark on the game as a Toronto Maple Leaf and although he isn’t one of the top PIM guys, there was no avoiding him on the ice.  He had a very rough and tumble demeanor and could change the momentum of the game with one of his patented checks.  Not only was he a brute when he played, but he also could score.  He was four goals shy of the 50 goal club during the 1993-94 season.

In an time when goons were supposed to be just that, Clark was kind of a renaissance man.  I mean we are talking about a 2000+ PIM and 700+ point guy.  He also is a member of the first family of enforcers, his brother had almost 3000 PIM io his minor league career and his cousin Joey Kocur racked up over 2500 PIMs.  He is also the cousin of Barry Melrose.  At one point in their careers all three played for the Red Wings although Melrose and Clark didn’t play at the same time.

As for the game used, it’s very bland and white to boot.  I like the card design but when you get a plain white jersey it does take away from the card.  In my opinion, they should have gone with the blue jersey.  That being said, Clark is a big draw on eBay and even the white jersey cards have been known to go for $5.  So far with the box I really am impressed as this just went from 3.5 stars out of 5 to a solid 4.0 stars.

Below is possibly one of the biggest hits in hockey history, never ever skate with your head down!

What do you remember best about Wendel Clark? Is this card good or bad?