Go Red! 2012 Topps Heritage Target Red Carl Crawford

February is American Heart Month. As a nod to the Go Red for Women activities going on this month to help raise awareness, I thought I'd contribute several "red" themed posts sprinkled throughout the month. Here's the first one.

Let's talk about this card...

Yup. We all remember this guy. I have yet to decide what actually went wrong with Crawford. Was it just the injuries dragging him to the point he couldn't recover? Was it being unable mentally to handle the pressures of the contract? Was it all of those? Whatever the reason, what looked like a slam dunk signing was completely the opposite. Most people were thrilled to ship Crawford off to LA to hit a reset button.

The card itself isn't much better that Crawford's performance. While I know it probably follows the "heritage" theme, the picture is uninspiring at best. And, oddly, all that red doesn't really work for me. Especially with the blue background on the smaller inset photo. All in all, nothing to get excited about with this card at all.

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Support the efforts to Go Red for Women!

I Prefer My Nachos Grande

The internet is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Oh, sure it’s mostly used these days for misinformation campaigns. But, every once in a while its goodness shines though. Such as the other day when I received a tweet from Chris over at Nachos Grande. He was spending some time going through blogger’s want lists, and he had found some cards off mine. All he needed was an address, and the cards would be on their way.

Does it get any better than that?

It wasn’t much longer before an envelope arrived with a handful of cards to add to my collection. Which cards were in there? I’m glad you asked!

Chris made a nice dent in my 2011 Gypsy Queen needs. I like the look of GQ this year. It has a classic elegance without getting too frilly about it. These three guys run the spectrum of fan favorites. Youkilis was beloved when he was in Boston, and most considered his time here too short. But, when you need to make room for the great Will Middlebrooks, sacrifices need to be made. David Ortiz, of course, practically spent his entire career in Boston, and people are still hoping for at least one more season to be added on. Crawford, on the other hand, couldn’t be run out of town fast enough for most fans. While I never understood the vile, most fans were pleased that 2011 was Crawford’s only full season in Boston.

More variety! Lester was a complex player. He went from being ridiculed for wondering why he wasn’t the ace of the staff, to being the most important piece of any pitching staff in baseball history. All without having his performance changing. It was all about perception. I guess a ring will do that for you sometimes. Speaking of rings, Speaker has a couple of those himself. I’ve always felt sorry for Speaker. He was from the wrong time. A player of his talents should be revered in Boston. There should be statues of him everywhere. But, he played before there was even video of him. He can’t have his number retired…he didn’t wear one. His greatness is lost to history a bit.

Finally, Chris included these great 2008 Allen and Ginter needs. Wait. What’s that? Cespedes wasn’t on the Red Sox in 2008? He wouldn’t play for the Sox until 2014? Did A&G use an old design to predict the future? Nope. These are custom cards created by Chris’s pal Ryan. I can’t underestimate how great these cards are in person. They’ll look fantastic next to their 2008 friends in my binder.

So, a huge thank you to Chris. The cards are much appreciated. And, even though they weren’t required, a return package is on its way to you. Hope you like it.

Thanks again!

I Scored!

August 6, 2011

Here’s a great game from not exactly the greatest time period in Red Sox history.

It’s an August game during the great collapse of 2011. Of course, it wasn’t so much a collapse as it was an underestimation of injuries. But, that’s a story for another time.

In this game we see the Red Sox are hosting the New York Yankees. As they might say, you can throw out the standings when these two teams meet. The game was started by John Lackey, as he was struggling through the worst season any starter has ever had. Of course, we all found out later he was battling through a significant arm injury at the time. I bet some people regret booing him. But, in this game, he did OK. He ended up with a quality start, even if it was just barely. With the runs the Sox offense was putting up, he gave the team all it needed. Heck, the game was so well in hand, that the Sox tossed Wheeler out there for an inning!

So, how about that offense? It took them a couple innings to get going. After all, they were facing C.C. Sabathia…when he was good. But, once they got going they exploded. Amazingly, Sabathia stayed in the game for six innings. That’s one of the reasons I always dislike the term “innings eater.” While I can grasp the value of a guy who can save the bullpen in a blowout, is pitching six innings while giving up seven runs something to celebrate?

Take a look at that line-up, will you? Some blasts from the past in there. Not sure which is weirder to me, a line-up with Crawford and Gonzalez in it, or one where Ortiz is batting fifth.

So, who was the player of the game? I really really really want to give it to Carl Crawford. Basically, just so I can say the player of the game was Carl Crawford. And, he actually deserves it. 4-4 with three runs scored. On most days that would be an easy choice. But, at the top of the order, Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-4 with six RBI. Yup, this was Ellsbury’s lone MVP-type season. But, even for him that year, this was a special game.

The goat? Speaking of things I didn’t think I’d ever say…I have to hang the horns on David Ortiz. Yup. You heard me. Ortiz was the only person on the Sox not to reach base, and the only starter without a hit. Maybe it’s because Aviles was protecting him.

But, of course, none of that mattered. Lackey stepped up to the challenge, the offense piled up the runs, and the Red Sox cruised their way to victory.

And the scorecard shows how it happened.