36 Years of Red Sox Cards (Part VI)

Yet another trip down memory lane…

2002 Topps Chrome Carlos Baerga
Carlos Baerga was a very good player. He was a great offensive second baseman for the Cleveland Indians during the early 90’s. He had a great average, and a little pop in his bat. He was shipped to the Mets in 1996 and, for whatever reason, just fell off the map. By the time he came to the Sox in 2002 he was a banjo-hitting back-up. While his batting stroke may have vanished, his love of the game didn’t. His sunny attitude was a welcome sight on the ball field. He may best be remembered for his hugs. Anytime a Red Sox player did something during the 2002 season, there was Carlos rewarding him with a bear hug. As role players go, Carlos Baerga was a great player to have in Boston.

1983 Topps Wade Boggs
This is another card I always wanted, but never got a hold of. When Boggs was popular, the card was priced out of my range. But, it’s a great card. The 1983 Topps set is pretty important, containing the rookie cards of Wade along with Tony Gwynn and Ryne Sandberg. This is my favorite of Boggs’s rookie cards. There were three choices in 1983, and I think this has the cleanest design. I like the extra head shot on the card too. One of these days I need to hit ebay and pick up a copy of this card.

1996 Topps Stadium Club Roger Clemens
I love the photo on this card. It’s a great shot of the classic Red Sox home uniform. Roger is captured just as he is ready to fire another rocket towards home plate. The photo is cropped just close enough to eliminate anything to detract from the image. This is a picture I would hang on my wall. Of course, in 1996 Clemens was in his last year with the Sox. He finished with a sub-.500 record, and was allowed to drift off to Toronto as a free agent. It would appear that he really was in the twilight of his career.

2004 Topps World Series Champions ALCS Game 4
The Topps Company is no dummy. They knew that the Red Sox finally winning the World Series was a merchandising gold mine. They quickly produced a set highlighting the historic season. It’s actually a really nice set. There’s a card for each of the players that played a pivotal role in the 2004 World Series (with the exception of Varitek, who wasn’t included due to a contract issue). There is also a subset of cards depicting highlights from each of the playoff and World Series games. This card is one of the keys. The whole season may have turned on this swing by David Ortiz. It started the Sox on the winning streak that would close out the season. Since I was at this game, I especially enjoy this card. Any collection of Red Sox cards should include this snapshot of history.

36 Questions: Throw Days

Even though I have been watching baseball for quite some time now, there are still questions that come up while I’m watching games. Most of these are probably common knowledge for anyone actually playing the games. But, since that’s not me, I question them. One has to do with a starting pitcher’s ‘throw days”

Many times, usually during the playoffs, you’ll hear that a starting pitcher is available to come in from the bullpen. Usually, the reasoning is that, since it’s the pitcher’s “throw day” he can go an inning or two. So, I’m left to wonder how exactly a throw day works.

While I’ve never seen it specifically spelled out, I think I can guess at what a throw day is. My assumption is that with a 5 man rotation, a pitcher’s workload goes something like: start, off day, off day, off day, off day, start. There may be an extra off day in there depending on the team’s schedule. My assumption is that the day following a start is probably a light day to rest the arm. I would also assume that the day before a start is also light, to save the arm for the next day’s start. But, I imagine the arm doesn’t like having four days with no activities, so there’s some throwing scheduled to keep the arm loose. So, it would seem that one of the other two off days would be designated as a “throw day.” Judging by how long these starters pitch when the come in from the pen on their throw day, they probably throw 20 or 30 pitches on their throw day. That’s enough to keep them loose, without taxing their arms. That much I think I’m pretty close on. On one of the off days between starts, pitchers throw 30 pitches to stay loose. But, when?

Playoff games start as late as possible these days. If a game starts at 8:00, it must be 10 or so by the time bullpen help would be discussed. So, if a starter is available because it is his throw day, he must not have already “thrown,” right? Would you have a starter throw his 30 pitches in the afternoon, and then another 30 pitches that night? The pitcher must have been saving his throws in case he needs them during the game. But, what if they’re not needed? He still has to throw, right? Does he do it after the game? Some of those playoff games aren’t over until midnight. Does the pitcher hang around after the game, have a bite to eat, then head out to the bullpen at 1 AM to get his throwing in? That seems weird.

So, like I said, there’s probably a very simple answer. I just don’t know it. Does anyone else know?

How does a “throw day” work?

Hot Stove Results

I realized that I haven’t discussed the many moves that King Theo has made this off-season. He hasn’t made many headlines, but he hasn’t needed to. He doesn’t need a completely new rotation like the pinstripers. He doesn’t need anybody else in the starting line-up. So, he’s made some subtle moves that may or may not pan out. What are they?

Trading away Coco Crisp. I don’t know what to think of this one. My first thought was, if all you can get for him is a little-known middle reliever, was it worth it? It’s not a bad move as-is. You can always use another arm to try in the bullpen. And, if Coco wasn’t going to be a starter, he was certainly expendable. But, a gold glove center fielder with a good contract can’t bring more than bullpen help? Maybe it would have been worth more to dangle Ellsbury instead? I don’t know what deals may have been out there. So, I’ll have to assume that Theo really did the best he could.

Signing Brad Penny. I like this move. The one spot of the rotation that’s a question mark is fifth starter. Buchholz could do it, although he struggled last year. One of the other kids could try it, but you never know. If Penny’s healthy, even if he’s not very good, he’s just a fifth starter. It allows the youngsters more time to develop, and the Sox don’t embarrass themselves every five games. If Penny can’t pitch, all you lose is money.

Signing Rocco Baldelli. Another move I like. His injuries have limited his playing time in recent years, but it’s a known quantity. You’re not wondering if he’ll be healthy enough to play. You know he can play, just not a lot. Again, it’s not like he’s the starting centerfielder. As a fifth outfielder and pinch runner, I like what he brings to the table. It’ll be fun trying to see a batter hit the right-center gap anytime Ellsbury and Baldelli are out there at the same time. A little speed every once in a while can be fun.

Signing John Smoltz. Just like Penny, it’s a win win signing. If his arm falls off and he can’t pitch, the Sox haven’t lost anything but money. If the Sox could pay Schilling $8 mil not to pitch last year, they can pay Smoltz $5 mil not to pitch in ’09. If he can pitch, he’s a great addition to the staff. Best case? The Sox enter the playoffs with Beckett and Smoltz in the same rotation, and CC and AJ wet their pinstripes at the mere thought of it. My one question that lingers is the Penny-Smoltz combo. I’m sure the Sox are thinking they need 33 starts from the number five spot. Worst case, all 33 are Buchholz, and that’s ok. But, if they can get 13 from Penny, 5 from Buchholz, and 15 from Smoltz, they’re living large. I just wonder, for the $10 mil they’re paying Penny and Smoltz, could the sox have gotten one healthy pitcher?

Signing Bobby Kielty. Another fine move. He fit in well here, and I’m sure he’ll be a great fit. If an outfielder (Drew) goes down for an extended time, he can fill the role well enough. He can also play first to give some flexibility to the infield, which is never a bad thing.

The Youkilis extension. Youk’s a wonderful player. To wrap him up at a fraction of the price of Teixeira is a great idea. Hopefully both sides will look back at the contract fondly.

So, looks like a good off-season so far. Hopefully, they’ll add a certain switch-hitting catcher before spring training to cement things a little more. Other than that, I can’t fault Theo on anything.

Yet.

36 Years of Red Sox Cards (Part V)

Continuing on our way…

1976 Topps Jim Rice
This card is great for a couple of reasons. Obviously, it’s an early card of one of the newest Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. In fact, much like the Fisk card from an earlier post, it is Rice’s first card where he is pictured alone. His 1975 card pictures him with three other players in floating circles. This card also has the stats on the back for Rice’s 1975 rookie season. The other interesting part is the trophy on the front of the card. Each year, the Topps company picks an all-rookie team. For a long time, they put pictures of trophies on the front of the player’s card. They stopped this practice for a while, but have started doing it again. It’s a grwat way to recognize the great young stars in baseball. While some rookie team members end up being busts, Rice certainly lived up to the hype.

2007 Topps Updates & Highlights Daisuke Matsuzaka Japanese
The 2007 baseball season was all about Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox made big news when they paid a small fortune just for the opportunity to talk to Daisuke about a contract. The card companies were excited. Since Matsuzaka had played in Japan, nobody had bothered to make a major league card of him before. So, all the companies had a shot to make a rookie card of a popular player, and put it in their set. To set themselves apart from the pack, the companies tried different things to make their verson unique. Some put pieces of his jersey on the card. In this case, Topps decided to write the front of the card in Japanese. It’s just one more way to make a collection look a little different.

1989 Topps Rick Cerone
This was a popular card when it was released. It was probably one of the more valuable cards in the set during the 1989 season. You’d be right to wonder why. Rick Cerone wasn’t exactly the darling of the baseball card market. The reason is in the picture. Behind Cerone stands Ellis Burks. Burks was the hot-shot rookie for the Sox in 1987, and was on his way to stardom in 1989. In those days, there were only five cards sets making cards, so Burks collectors could only get a limited number of different cards of him. But, if they got this card, they could add another with Burks’s picture on it. I remember price guides at the time listing the card as “Rick Cerone (Burks).” The drive of player collectors is never ending.

1982 Topps Carl Yastrzemski In Action
This card shows how far card companies have come in a relatively short period of time. In 1982, Topps felt the need to make an entire subset showing the wonders of an action photo. I assume because of camera capabilities, many photos on cards in the early years were posed shots...headshots, players going through the motions, that sort of thing. By 1982, action shots were incorporated into the sets at a pretty good clip. So, why exactly Topps felt the need to scream “action shot” at the collector is unknown. But, it gave the company a reason to include another popular Carl Yastrzemski card in its set. As I’ve said many times in this, all they need is a reason.

A New Favorite

Over my years of Red Sox fandom, I have had several Sox players that I have called “my favorite” at one time or another. Unfortunately, the Sox have not found it necessary to treat my favorite players the way I’d like them to be. Since Mike Greenwell simply faded away, I’ve had a bit of a run of bad luck. I went with Greenwell for a chunk of time until I fell for Phil Plantier and his crazy squatting batting stance. Unfortunately, Phil was shipped out of town after season or two. I smoothly moved onto Mo Vaughn. I’ve mentioned that the sight of Mo hunched over glaring at the pitcher looked so intimidating to me. Mo and I had a good run until 1998, when he was shipped out of town. Why the Sox had to monkey around with Mo’s contract is still beyond me. Luckily, by that time the Sox had obtained Pedro Martinez. All I had to do was see him strike out one guy to be hooked. He didn’t pump his fist, or show joy. He simply walked off the mound. His body language not only said, “I struck you out” but, “I can’t believe I just had to waste my time throwing you three strikes when we knew you couldn’t hit me.” It was utter contempt, and I loved it. The problem with pitchers is they don’t play every day. That’s why I considered Nomar Garciaparra my favorite player, unless Pedro was pitching. The sight of Nomar in the box wagging that bat waiting to pounce was great. He just looked dangerous. Well, 2004 pretty much ruined that for me. First Nomar was shipped off for players worth about half as much as he was. Then, Pedro was allowed to leave at the end of the season. That left me with only Manny Ramirez. Manny was my favorite non-Sox for years, until he came to the Sox. The way he just simply hit was amazing to watch. That added him to the Nomar-Pedro combo to make a mean three-headed monster. So, Manny was my guy until last season. Once again, the Sox decided my favorite player needed to be shipped away for players half his value. So, if you’re scoring at home, my favorite players have: retired, been traded, cut loose, traded, cut loose, and traded. Which brings me to the greater issue at stake. I enter the 2009 season without a favorite player. Who should it be?

There is any number of reasons why a player would obtain “favorite” status. I’ve listed a couple that made my list because of the way they stood, or the way they walked. Asking around some people I know, I found even more reasons. Josh liked Trot Nixon because he played hard. Adam liked Don Mattingly and Andy Pettitte because, well, he’s a Yankees fan. Jonathan liked Jonathan Papelbon because they have the same name. Tim liked Tim Wakefield, and Andrew liked Jason Andrew Varitek for the same reasons. Kate liked Brian Daubach because he was dreamy. So, clearly, there’s no set of rules that need to be followed. Basically, if you’re going to the game, which player would you be most disappointed not to have in the line-up? It doesn’t have to be a star player, or even a starter, just someone who you enjoy. I’m not sure which guy that would be in my case. Let’s explore my options…

I’m going to quickly exclude middle relievers. No offense to the likes of Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson, but it just doesn’t work. The turnover rate of that position is too great to lock onto one player. As long as we’re in the bullpen, there’s always the closer. Jonathan Papelbon is certainly someone I hope to see if I’m at a game. He has the talent I can admire, and the swagger I adore. His frat-boy attitude isn’t my favorite, but he’s still a lot of fun. Let’s put him on the short list. At the moment, the only catcher on the team I can even name is Kevin Cash, so I guess it won’t be a catcher. Kevin Youkilis is a great player, and appears to be a favorite of many fans. But, he just doesn’t excite me. It’s like the difference between a Pedro shutout and a Maddux shutout. There’s just something extra with Martinez on the mound, and I don’t get that from Youk. Dustin Pedroia is another obvious choice. The reigning MVP has the talent, and has the spunk. His “laser show at 8” attitude could get annoying, but I can’t resist the irony of also putting him on the “short” list. The Lowrie/Lugo combo at short can be eliminated from consideration, just because. I like Mike Lowell. He’s been a great player for the Sox. But, I always see him as a spare part. Maybe it was the whole “throw in” status. But, he’s just never done it for me. Jason Bay is another fine player. I feel like it would be betraying Manny a little bit to add him to my list, but he could work his way in. Jacoby Ellsbury fits the criteria. He’s exciting to watch, and I definitely want him to be in the line-up if I’m at Fenway. Plus, I was at his ML debut. But, if I call him my favorite player, does that make me too much of a “pink hat”? I’ll take the risk and put him on the list. JD Drew is out right away. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a fine player…just not quite there. As for David Ortiz…it’s too easy. The bench guys could be options, but none of them should get the playing time I’m looking for. The rotation is full of options. Beckett has the obvious skill and swagger, and I definitely want him to pitch when I go to a game. Dice-K is a little bit too much like Youkilis. I’m sure he’s a great player, it’s just hard to tell when you’re watching. He doesn’t excite me enough. Jon Lester is another great option. He might be a little too popular to latch onto at this point, but he should be fun to watch for years to come. Tim Wakefield certainly meets one criterion. Since his games are always over in 20 minutes, I always like to see him on the mound. The knuckleball still drives me batty though. Brad Penny and John Smoltz actually need to pitch a game before getting any consideration. Other than the kids who might not even be on the team, I think that’s everybody.

That leaves a list of Papelbon, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Beckett and Lester. Who should I pick? I guess I’ll give it the season, and see if anyone pulls away from the field.

Who’s your favorite Sox, and why?