Bad Wax

Free Autograph Singings Alert - 7/19 and 7/20

chemgod — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:27:47 +0000

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!

Why Aren’t I in the Majors? . . . Francisco Liriano

chemgod — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:51:36 +0000

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.

Tales from the Bargain Bin - Matt Williams

chemgod — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:08:39 +0000

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.

Baseball News: Presenting The 2008 Team USA Olympic Baseball Team

chemgod — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:14:18 +0000

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:

Name	Pos	B/T	Ht.	Wt.	School	Hometown
Anderson, Brett	P	L/L	6-4	215	N/A	Midland, TX
Arrieta, Jake	P	R/R	6-4	225	Texas Christian U	Farmington, MO
Barden, Brian	IF	R/R	5-11	185	Oregon State	Templeton, CA
Brown, Matthew	IF	R/R	6-0	200	N/A	Bellevue, WA
Cahill, Trevor	P	R/R	6-3	195	N/A	Oceanside, CA
Donald, Jason	IF	R/R	6-1	190	Arizona	Fresno, CA
Espineli, Geno	P	L/L	6-4	195	Texas, TCU	Houston, TX
Fowler, Dexter	OF	S/R	6-4	175	N/A	Atlanta, GA
Gall, John	OF	R/R	6-0	195	Stanford	Stanford, CA
Hessman, Mike	IF	R/R	6-5	215	N/A	Fountain Valley, CA
Jepsen, Kevin	P	R/R	6-3	215		Anaheim, CA
Knight, Brandon	P	L/R	6-0	195	Ventura JC, CA	Oxnard, CA
Koplove, Mike	P	R/R	6-0	160	Delaware	Philadelphia, PA
LaPorta, Matt	OF	R/R	6-2	210	Florida	Port Charlotte, FL
Marson, Lou	C	R/R	6-1	200		Scottsdale, AZ
Neal, Blaine	P	L/R	6-5	240	N/A	Marlton, NJ
Rasmus, Colby	OF	L/L	6-2	195	N/A	Columbus, GA
Richard, Clayton	P	L/L	6-5	240	Michigan	Lafayette, IN
Stevens, Jeff	P	R/R	6-2	205	Loyola Marymount	Berkeley, CA
Strasburg, Stephen	P	R/R	6-5	215	San Diego State	San Diego, CA
Teagarden, Taylor	C	R/R	6-1	200	Texas	Dallas, TX
Tiffee, Terry	IF	S/R	6-3	215	Pratt CC, KS	North Little Rock, AR
Weathers, Casey	P	R/R	6-1	200	Vanderbilt	Elk Grove, CA

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.

Free Signings Alert - 7/16 - 7/18

chemgod — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:30:46 +0000

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.

Roughs on the Diamond - Ben Revere

chemgod — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:34:40 +0000

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: