Card of the Week

2010 Topps National Chicle Jed Lowrie #165

The 2010 Topps National Chicle set is the very definition of a love it or hate it set. The desire for card companies to recycle classic designs had been going on for quite some time. Probably since Topps’s first foray into the Heritage line. People loved the look of new players in old designs. In many cases, that meant paintings. The Allen and Ginter did this beautifully, with it’s sophisticated images. Chicle seemed to be the other direction. They realized that they were painting things, so why not have some fun with it?

In this case, the Jed Lowrie card is pretty tame. It’s a simple shot of Jed taking his cuts. The background is simple, and doesn’t detract from the image. But, you can tell that it’s not a case of an artist trying to copy a picture. The uniform isn’t quite right. I’m guessing you’d see more letters if this were a photo. It’s much more of an impression that an image. But, it works. The focus in on the right place. Lowrie. It’s not cluttered, or weird enough to be a distraction.

It’s a nice card.

He Scored!

October 27, 2011

Not long ago, Tom of The Angels in Order posted a scorecard he kept while watching game six of the 2011 World Series. I thought it would be another opportunity to look at how other people keep score. Naturally, Tom keeps score a bit differently than I do. But, that’s the great the great part of scoring a game. You make your system work for you. There’s only one thing I need from the scorecard. Can I figure out what happened during the game? Do I know what all the markings mean? Let’s find out.

Right away in the first inning, I see something that I like. On Schumaker’s single, there’s a line showing where the ball went. That’s an easy thing to do, and would be nice to have later on. On that same box, you see that hits are denoted by horizontal lines in the box in the upper left corner. This is another common way of showing it, different than the 1B, 2B, and 3B notations. I’m more visual, so I like seeing the 2B on my cards. I wonder where the idea of the horizontal lines started? I also notice that home runs are circled. That’s a nice way of drawing your eye to an important event. I also like how Tom took the space to add some commentary to the card. I’m guessing that since this game was scored from TV, the notation on Pujols’s strikeout leading off the sixth denotes where K-Zone says the pitch was. Apparently the Rangers caught a break. I can also see that Holliday being picked off base during the same inning was a huge play by Napoli. I also see that Tom reacted to the end of the eighth with relief. I love the way it keeps the scorecard more alive.

The rest of the card follows just as you’d expect. You can see the Cardinals battle back whenever they needed to. Tom has clearly noted just how close the Rangers were to winning the game, and the series. (I wonder if he made the “1 strike away” notations in real time, or after the game when they became more significant) But, as we all know, the Cardinals prevailed in dramatic walk-off fashion.

And the scorecard shows you how it happened.

Thanks Tom!

(And don’t forget; if you’ve scored a game send in a scan so we can all enjoy it.)

2011 Scavenger Hunt

Once again, we’ve reached the end of another baseball season. I don’t know about you, but I’d just as soon put it behind me and get on with the next one. But, it’s more than three months before we can even talk about Spring Training. The Sox do have a bit to do this off-season, what with finding a new manager and all. They even have a few holes to fill. But, those tend to drag on for a while with many more rumors than facts. How else can we all stay busy and keep our minds off September? Once again, I have the answer. I present the Fourth Annual Section 36 Scavenger Hunt. Here’s how it will work. Below, you’ll find a list of 36 items. When you find an item, take a picture of it and send it along to me in an e-mail. Whoever sends me pictures of the most items wins. Pretty simple, eh? We’ll make the end of the hunt be 12:36 PM eastern time on February 5, 2011. This both gives enough time to find the stuff, and fills the time right up to pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. Sound like fun? What do you win if you find the most items? Worldwide fame and admiration! I will post the winner’s name (and picture if one is provided) on this very site and hail them as the 2011 Scavenger Hunt Champion! I’m sure that Ruben from Alberta, Canada has found his worldwide fame to be quite an honor this past year. I’m also offering 400 different Red Sox baseball cards to the winner (Yes, there will be all-stars and Hall-of-Famers included). Not too bad, right? Ready to get started? Here is this year’s list of items to get pictures of:

1. Ted Williams Hall of Fame plaque

2. David Ortiz replica jersey

3. Red Sox toy car

4. Poster featuring Red Sox player

5. Gate “A” sign at Fenway Park

6. Knuckler, by Tim Wakefield

7. Red Sox lamp

8. Red Sox thermometer

9. Red Sox cup

10. “Teammates” Statue Outside Gate B at Fenway

11. Red Sox player

12. Red Sox water bottle

13. Used official Section 36 scorecard

14. Red Sox wine bottle

15. Tris Speaker Hall of Fame plaque postcard

16. Red Sox Jenga game

17. Jacoby Ellsbury t-shirt

18. “Sporting News” magazine with Red Sox player on cover

19. Fenway dirt

20. Red Sox bikini

21. Fenway Park Scoreboard

22. Official program from 2007 World Series

23. Jarrod Saltalamacchia baseball card

24. Food with Red Sox player on label/box

25. Autograph of member of 2009 Red Sox

26. Ticket stub from Section 36

27. Red Sox rug

28. Red Sox Media Guide

29. Ticket to ALCS game played by the Red Sox

30. Red Sox magnet schedule

31. Red Sox pet item

32. Drawing of Red Sox player

33. 2004 World Series baseball

34. Red Sox pencil

35. Female Red Sox fan

36. Male Red Sox fan

A quick clarification. Unless it says otherwise, “Red Sox Player” refers to anyone who ever played for the Sox in a regular season game. That counts even if the player isn’t depicted as a Red Sox player in the picture. So, Jim would be able to use anything from his Phillies Room depicting players like Curt Chilling and Pedro Martinez, even if they’re in their Phillies garb.

Now, since I want this to be a scavenger hunt, and not a google search, I’ll need a way to make sure you actually find these items yourself. So, in order to qualify any picture will need to have any one of these three things in it.

1. You. This might be the easiest way. If you’re in the picture, I can be pretty sure you actually found the item. This has one advantage in that it doesn’t have to be a new picture. If you went to Fenway last summer and took a picture in front of the scoreboard, that would work. Or,
2. The Section 36 logo. Just have it showing somewhere in the picture. Or,
3. The address of this blog, “www.section-36.blogspot.com” , written somewhere in the picture. Either write it out on a piece of paper, on a sidewalk with chalk, on someone’s leg, whatever. (Just don’t vandalize anything).

That make sense? So, send in your pictures to me, section36 at gmail dot com (I bet you know which parts to replace with symbols) It would be nice if you told me which items you thought were in each picture. If there’s a tie between people who have the same number of found items, the first tiebreaker will be the person who did it with the fewest number of pictures. If you get a picture of a Female Red Sox fan, wearing a David Ortiz jersey, while holding a Red Sox pencil, it would be 3 items in one picture. That’s a great start, although I’m sure you can do better. One year, Jere had over 20 items in a single photo! (In case you were wondering, the other tiebreaker will just be my judgment as to which pictures I like the best.)

As I’m sure you can imagine, if you send me a picture, you’re stating that you have the rights to send me the picture. You’re also telling me that I can use the picture on my blog in just about any way I see fit.

I think that covers everything! It’s now up to you to start sending me your pictures. I’ll keep reminding you as the months go by.

Good Luck!

World Series Winnings

When the 2011 season started, two things were perfectly clear. The Red Sox would win the World Series, and the Phillies would lose it. It was obvious. It was just a matter of getting to October. As the season went along, I kept thinking that when the Series finally arrived, I’d have to remember to make a wager with Jim of The Phillies Room. We’d have to wager some baseball cards or humiliating blog posts on the series between our two teams. As we know, that didn’t come to be. So, when the Red Sox didn’t even make the playoffs, I sent Jim a package of cards. I figured, clearly he had won the wager, even if we never actually made it. Well, when the Phillies were similarly eliminated, Jim decided to do the same thing right back. I received my winnings a few days ago. Jim must have still be annoyed with his team’s performance, because he sent along a ton of cards. Take a look at some of the bounty!

I can’t even begin to describe all the amazing cards Jim sent along. Some of the coolest weren’t even cards. Jim included some of the 2011 Topps stickers of the Red Sox. I haven’t been able to bring myself to actually purchase any of these. So I was delighted to see them in the box. I was also able to knock many many cards off my wantlists. Jim must have spent forever looking over my lists and searching through his cards. Of particular delight was a stack of early Heritage. I never seemed to get many of those when they were on the shelves. Just about every other brand was covered as well. Topps, Bowman, Chrome, Opening Day, you name it. Jim even took some chances with cards not on my wantlist. They were equally appreciated. With all the drama surrounding the Sox these days, it was nice to just flip through a new stack of cards. So thank you Jim! And, don’t worry.

When the Phillies and Sox meet in 2012, we’ll be able to revisit the wager.

Things I Noticed Nearing November

If you don’t have a horse in the race, the end of the World Series is a wonderful thing. It means the offseason can officially begin. Here we sit mere days after the Cardinals were crowned, and things are already starting to happen.

There were a few Sox specific items that popped up. First, the Sox picked up the option on Marco Scutaro. This was really a no-brainer. So, I guess it’s nice to prove that the new GM has a brain. There was no reason not to pick up the option. Unless you’re planning on signing Jose Reyes, I suppose. Worst-case scenario Lowrie or Iglesias absolutely wow the Red Sox and force Scutaro to be a $6 million back-up. If that happens, the Sox will be in pretty good shape. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first high-priced back-up the Sox have ever had. More likely is that Scutaro ends up being the everyday shortstop. Possibly even the third baseman if they move Kevin Youkilis for pitching. Scutaro gives the team options without tying their hands. The fact that he was the only Sox who remembered how to play in September doesn’t hurt either.

All the expected Sox free agents filed as well. Two of the biggest are Papelbon and Ortiz. They’re both going to be huge decisions for Ben Cherington, right off the bat. Papelbon is everything the new age baseball people are supposed to hate. A high-priced closer. I have to imagine that in private there is no way the Sox want to take him pack at the money he’ll be looking for. I really can’t blame them. Yes, closers are fun for fans. I love being at the park when Papelbon makes his entrance. But, he’s not worth a fortune. I wonder what else the Sox could get if they didn’t need to spend $15 million on a pitcher who throws 64 innings. But, he’s popular, and fans think closers are vital. This will be a test to see if the Sox can stick to an unpopular game plan.

Which brings us to David Ortiz. Would there be a less popular move than to let him walk? Ortiz is the fan favorite of fan favorites. Cherington will have to decide once again if he wants to stick to his plan, and hold back against public pressures. Personally, I think you have to keep Ortiz. Unless you’re convincing Pujols to come DH, there’s nobody out there who can do what Ortiz does for the Sox.

For non-Red Sox news, I bet I’m not the only one shocked to see CC Sabathia not opt out of his contract. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for players signing with whichever team they want. If Cliff lee wants to take less money to play in Philly instead of NY, that’s fantastic. If Sabathia wants to take less money to play in NY, that’s just fine. What’s weird is that he took less money to play in NY than he could have gotten to play in NY. Does anyone really think the Yankees offer would go down if he hit free agency? Could it possibly have hurt him? I don’t see it. It looks to me that he could have had the money, and still play in NY. But, he just didn’t. It doesn’t look like he was thinking very clearly with this decision.

Although, I guess anyone who willingly plays for the Yankees has already proven they’re not thinking clearly.