Bad Wax

I know I’m late getting this out and I apologize. I had too many personal items to take care of to complete this post. It’s actually a very slow weekend. Other than in Minnesota, where the Twins are sending out people to sign like crazy. There is alos one listing of a Hall of Famer, so do your best to get out there and get these free autographs. Here are the ones that I have been able to find.

7/19/08

• James Shields - Rays - From 11am - 2pm - International Plaza, 2223 N West Shore Blvd. Tampa, FL
• Jason Bartlett - Rays - From 11am - 2pm - International Plaza, 2223 N West Shore Blvd. Tampa, FL
• Jason Hammel - Rays - From 11am - 2pm - International Plaza, 2223 N West Shore Blvd. Tampa, FL
• Ferguson Jenkins - Cubs - Afternoon - Little Cubs Field - South McKinnley Ave. Freeport, IL
• Ferguson Jenkins - Cubs - 7pm - ? - Riverhawks Stadium - Loves Park, IL (admission to game required)
• Radhames Liz - Orioles - 11am - 12pm - Chik-Fil-A - 2008 E Joppa Rd, Parkville, MD
• Boof Bonser - Twins - 11am - 12pm - Twins Pro Shop - 15050 Cedar Ave. S Apple Valley, MN
• Brendan Harris - Twins - 11am - 12pm - Twins Pro Shop - 15050 Cedar Ave. S Apple Valley, MN
• Brian Buscher - Twins - 11am - 12pm - Twins Pro Shop - 15050 Cedar Ave. S Apple Valley, MN

7/20/08

• George Shuba - Dodgers - Keyspan Park - Brooklyn, NY - Free with admission to Cyclones game

That’s quite a few great signature opportunities. Also a nice list of players to get as well. If you are able to go out and get some of these autographs, please share your successes here. Good Luck!

So I’m going through some stats from the minors and I stumble across a very familiar name, Francisco Liriano.  I’m thinking to myself, oh yeah he is in the minors isn’t he?  So I decide to do a search of his autographed cards, and they are dirt cheap.  I’m talking $2 - $5.  Wasn’t he one of the most collected guys not 2 years ago.  A can’t miss prospect who was winning games left and right.

In 2006 at just 22 years old, he went 12-3/2.16/1.00 with 144 strikeouts in 121 innings.  Then then arm problem happened and he went under the knife and missed almost a year and a half.  He came back fresh from surgery and just didn’t have it in spring training.  So what did the Twins do?  Why let him start the season in the majors.  He foundered in his first 3 starts, so they sent him down to the Florida State League where he threw one game.  Then they moved him up to AAA where he’s been at since the end of April.

Well it’s mid July and he is still in Rochester, just dominating.  He’s been dominant since mid June, it was time to call him up.  I’m not sure why the Twins are waiting so long to pull the trigger.  Right now he is 7-2/3.53/1.16, with an opposing batting average of 0.234.  Sounds like he is back on track to me.  What are they waiting for?  I think it’s time to move Bosner to the pen and get this guy back in the rotation.  Don’t count out the Twins if they bring him up.  They have just enough talent where he could turn the tables for them.  Here are a sample of some of his autographs.

Name: Matt Williams

Position: 3B

Team: Arizona Diamondbacks

Age: Currently he is 43. In 2003 he was 37.

Best Season: 1994 - Rough year for baseball, with the strike and everything, but even worse for Williams who was on pace to break the Marris record of 61 home runs. Through 112 games he was hitting 0.267/43/96, which would be his greatest season (even when compared to full seasons).

Set it’s from: 2003 Donruss Signature Series.

How obtained: eBay auction

Why this Card?: The year was 1989 and I was getting ready for college, I went for campus tours of Arizona State University and the University of Arizona (U of A is where I finally went). While up in Tempe, we went to a Phoenix Firebirds game. Actually that was my first minor league experience. The star of the team at the time was Matt Williams (although he was bound to be called up any day). I watched him hit a homer and a double that day and from that day on I followed his career. I never had an autograph of him, then I saw the card on eBay and had to have it. Matt had a very productive career hitting a career 0.268/338/1218. Not Hall of Fame worthy but definitely Hall of Very Good worthy.

But What About the Set?: This is one of those high dollar sets. Each “box” or tin is actually a pack of 4 cards. You get one autograph and 3 base cards. The set is 100 base cards and 50 short printed rookie cards. The set has some nice rookie cards in there such as Bonderman, Webb and Wang. There are 229 signed cards in the set, ranging in book value from $10 - $120. I would never ever waste my money on a pack but I have several of the autographed cards (none of which I paid more than $3 for). The tin sells on eBay for around $40 a box.

Beckett’s Value: $25.00

eBay Value: I got it for $2.25.

Will it ever be worth more?: No and it’s not even worth the $25 the book has it listed for. But for one guy, whose first minor league experience was watching him hit a homer, it’s worth a lot.

With very little fan fare, the 2008 Team USA Baseball was announced and as many people already speculated, there were a lot of names that played in the USA side of the XM Futures game. This year you will have a chance to see this potentially potent team in action, but only if you are willing to travel to the Triangle in North Carolina. They have 4 games in the area, one in Cary at the USA training complex and three at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. If you at all follow minor league ball you are probably very aware of the names on this list. If you aren’t then you should get to know them. These guys are going to be in the majors very soon and quite a few of them are going to make one hell of an impact. Here is the USA roster:

There are so many top 100 prospects on this list it makes my eyes hurt. I definitely plan to be at a least two of the games, trying to get some autographs. What I would really like to do is try to get some interviews for the website. I am curious to know what you guys think about this list of players and what you think their chances are in medaling. Also let me know if you are going to any of the games, it would be fun to finally meet some of my readers and fellow bloggers.

A few more free autograph opportunities showed up for this week that I just wanted to get out there.  This is in addition to the ones listed earlier in the week.

7/16

• Dave LaPoint - Cardinals / Yankees - Commerce Bank Ballpark - Bridgewater, NJ - 5:15pm - 5:45pm - Free with admission to the game.
• Dome Zimmer - Cubs / Yankees - Commerce Bank Ballpark - Bridgewater, NJ - 5:15pm - 5:45pm - Free with admission to the game.
• Jim Frey - Royals / Cubs - Commerce Bank Ballpark - Bridgewater, NJ - 5:15pm - 5:45pm - Free with admission to the game.

7/17

• Pat Neshek - Twins - Franklin Rogers Park - Mankato, MN - 6:00pm - ? - Free with paid admission to the Moondogs game.

7/18

• Rex Hudler - Expos / Cardinals / Angels - Roscoe’s Famous Deli - 4:00pm - 6:00pm -  116 West Commonwealth St. Fullerton, CA.

Please do your homework before going to these events just to make sure that the above players will actually be there.  A simple phone call will confirm what I have on here.  If you live anywhere near the Neshek signing you should go, I have met him before and he is a great guy to get anything signed and talk about cards and autographs in general.

There are some thing in baseball that make watching and following the game of baseball fun.  One of the hallowed records that begs to be broken year after year is hitting 0.400 or better.  Many players have come close since Ted Williams did it in 1941.  I consider this mark more unattainable than hitting 73 home runs again.  If there is one record I want to see fall in my lifetime, it’s this record.  This year Chipper Jones was the man that has come the closest.  Although he recently got injured I still hold out hope that he can get to 0.400 again, but it’s not looking good.

One look in the minors tells a different story, a player by the name of Ben Revere is hitting in a zone lately and as of yesterday he was hitting 0.401 after 60 games even!  Last year he was the first round pick of the Twins (pick 28 overall).  He signed quickly and spent the year in rookie ball (GCL Twins).  He hit 0.324/0/29/21 in 191 at bats. At only 20 years old he has the eye of a grizzled veteran. He has only struck out 40 times in his career.  To put that in perspective, Cameron Maybin has struck out 40 times in the past 2 months.

So here is the million dollar question, who would he compare to in the majors?  The answer is that I don’t know.  He has the speed of a Haney Ramirez but the eye of Tony Gwynn.  So I guess maybe that’s your answer, Tony had some wheels on him when he came up, but his batter’s eye is what made him dangerous.  I think of all the minor leaguers out there he may have the best eye in the game.  He’s only 20 and the Twins would do a huge disservice in allowing him to advance to quickly.  Let him finish the season in Beloit and see if he can hit the magical 0.400.

Next stop would be the Ft. Myers Miracle or the New Britain Rock Cats.  If I were the GM I would move him to high A Ft. Myers, if he can handle that then send him to AA with an ETA in the majors in late 2009 or early 2010.  It is going to be interesting as to what he can do over the next year.  His autographed cards are running from $3 - $8, with deals that could be had on Donruss or Tristar items.  Here are a few of his cards:

When getting a box of cards, what do you want? An autograph of an aging veteran, whose best days are past him? No you ether want a superstar or a very hot rookie. Well guess what? You probably aren’t going to be getting it with a box of 2008 Topps Series One or Two or 2008 Upper Deck Series One or Two. Chances are you are going to get a USA baseball player (which isn’t half bad) or a rookie / marginal player (such as Fred Lewis, Nyjer Morgan, or Bronson Sardinha). What do you really want? Joba? Jay Bruce? Evan Longoria? Yes, Yes and Yes right? Well why not try your luck with Tristar’s Prospect Plus series?

They have not released the 2007 version of this set but for the price of a hobby box of Topps Series One or Two (around $50), you get 10 guaranteed autographs. Are they all going to be superstars? Not a chance, but you will find some nice autographs being the players signing the cards are the cream of the crop for 2007. The set boasts 100 cards. All the players signed cards, here is a list of the set:

Card #	Player	Team	Affiliate	Designation
1	Price, David	N/A	Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2	Kozma, Peter	Johnson City Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals
3	Frazier, Todd	Billings Mustangs	Cincinnati Reds
4	Smolinski, Jake	GCL Nationals	Washington Nationals
5	Weathers, Casey	Asheville Tourists	Colorado Rockies
6	Porcello, Rick	N/A	Detroit Tigers
7	Mortensen, Clayton	Swing of the Quad Cities	St. Louis Cardinals
8	Dent, Ryan	GCL Red Sox	Boston Red Sox
9	Detwiler, Ross	GCL Nationals	Washington Nationals
10	Dominguez, Matt	GCL Marlins	Florida Marlins
11	Heyward, Jason	GCL Braves	Atlanta Braves
12	Ramirez, Neil	AZL Rangers	Texas Rangers
13	Lotzkar, Kyle	GCL Reds	Cincinnati Reds
14	Hamilton, Brandon	GCL Tigers	Detroit Tigers
15	Alderson, Tim	AZL Giants	San Francisco Giants
16	Zimmermann, Jordan	Vermont Lake Monsters	Washington Nationals
17	Arencibia, Jonathan	Auburn Doubledays	Toronto Blue Jays
18	Kulbacki, Kellen	Eugene Emeralds	San Diego Padres
19	Runion, Sam	AZL Royals	Kansas City Royals
20	Rike, Brian	Tri-City Dust Devils	Colorado Rockies
21	Moustakas, Mike	Idaho Falls Chukars	Kansas City Royals
22	Schmidt, Nick	Fort Wayne Wizards	San Diego Padres
23	Brown, Corey	Vancouver Canadiens	Oakland A’s
24	Desme, Grant	Vancouver Canadiens	Oakland A’s
25	d’Arnaud, Travis	GCL Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies
26	Burgess, Michael	GCL Nationals	Washington Nationals
27	Hagadone, Nick	Lowell Spinners	Boston Red Sox
28	Moskos, Daniel	GCL Pirates	Pittsburgh Pirates
29	Fairley, Wendell	AZL Giants	San Francisco Giants
30	Scherzer, Max	Visalia Oaks	Arizona Diamondbacks
31	Vitters, Josh	AZL Cubs	Chicago Cubs
32	Mesoraco, Devin	GCL Reds	Cincinnati Reds
33	Adkins, James	Great Lakes Loons	Los Angeles Dodgers
34	Williams, Jackson	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	San Francisco Giants
35	Luebke, Cory	Eugene Emeralds	San Diego Padres
36	Main, Michael	AZL Rangers	Texas Rangers
37	Parker, Jarrod	N/A	Arizona Diamondbacks
38	Mangini, Matt	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners
39	Welker, Duke	State College Spikes	Pittsburgh Pirates
40	Withrow, Chris	GCL Dodgers	Los Angeles Dodgers
41	Payne, Danny	Eugene Emeralds	San Diego Padres
42	Ahrens, Kevin	GCL Blue Jays	Toronto Blue Jays
43	Revere, Ben	GCL Twins	Minnesota Twins
44	Roemer, Wes	Yakima Bears	Arizona Diamondbacks
45	Brackman, Andrew	N/A	New York Yankees
46	Kline, Will	Columbus Catfish	Tampa Bay Devil Rays
47	Bumgarner, Madison	N/A	San Francisco Giants
48	Culberson, Charlie	AZL Giants	San Francisco Giants
49	Mills, Beau	Mahoning Valley Scrappers	Cleveland Indians
50	Gilmore, Jon	GCL Braves	Atlanta Braves
51	Cumberland, Andrew	AZL Padres	San Diego Padres
52	Bachanov, Jonathan	AZL Angels	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim