From the Pedro Binder

2002 Donruss

There’s a lot to like about this card.

First, the company information is hidden. It’s tucked up onto the top border. It’s also in foil, which helps it blend in even more. On this set, Donruss decided that their name wasn’t the most important part. The rest of the information, by contrast, is very important. The player’s name and position in prominently displayed on the card. The fact that it’s on a floating banner allows it to still be subtle, even if it’s right in front of you. The floating tam logo does the same thing. It’s tucked there floating on the picture.

I like the partial border too. The full bleed on the sides allows the picture to roam free. The little baseball diamonds in the corners really finish the design off.

The picture itself is nice, if not overly exciting. That looks like a 100^th anniversary patch on Pedro’s sleeve, so it was a shot from the previous season. It’s a basic shot of Pedro getting ready to fire a pitch. Not a lot of action, but a nice portrait shot.

Looking it over, I’m not sure there’s a part of this card that I don’t like. Everything I need to know is right there, and easy to read. Nothing that I don’t need gets in the way. Simplicity at its best.

Nicely done.

Happy 36th!

Today we wish a very happy 36^th birthday to Juan Pena!

I’m sure I’ve mentioned Pena on this blog before. I had the good fortune of seeing his major league debut with the Sox in 1999.

I remember first hearing his name on the radio on the way down to the game. I’m not sure who I was expecting to start the game, but the announcement of Pena threw me for a loop. I had never heard of the guy. My buddy and I looked at each other with confusion, and disappointment. Some nobody was making his debut. That didn’t bode well for a Red Sox victory.

Boy were we wrong! Pena struck out eight batters on the day, giving up just a run. Wowsers! Not sure you can ask for a much better debut than that one. To see the beginning of stardom is always fantastic.

Of course, stardom never came to Juan Pena. He only pitched for the Sox in that one year. But, he sure treated fans to one magical day.

Happy 36^th Juan Pena!

Getting’ Jiggy with Iggy

The Red Sox have made a change on the left side of their infield, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I hated to see Will Middlebrooks go down to Pawtucket. But, it was a necessary evil. Because, after all, nothing says “high trade value” quite the same as “starting third baseman for first place club.”

And that’s really what this has to be about. Right? This is basically giving Jose Iglesias one month to convince the rest of the teams that he might not be a fluke. But, he’s not part of the Red Sox plans. Correct? Will Middlebrooks has shown that he can play third base well enough, and can hit more than well enough. Xander Bogaerts is the future at short…as early as next year. Sure, I suppose, you could put Bogaerts at first or some other position. But, I’m guessing the Sox would have done that by now if that was in their plans. So, is appears Iglesias is expendable. Expendable players hitting over .400 for the season are great chips to have.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with Iglesias. Until recently, I would have insisted upon trading Bogaerts and keeping Iglesias. I figured Bogaerts would have more trade value based upon his potential, and Iglesias would be more than just a consolation prize. But, I think Iglesias’s performance has thrown a wrench into that idea. He has now shown he “can” hit in the bigs. Obviously, other teams aren’t going to think he can hit .400 forever. But, people always said that if he can hit .250, his glove would make him a star. I bet the Sox could convince other teams he can hit .250 at this point. So, the Sox just might have the opportunity to deal the lighter hitting glove prospect, while keeping the power hitting prospect. And, if another team thinks the opposite…the Sox can feel a lot better about that move too.

Whichever way they go, the Sox find themselves with the opportunity to be a major player at the deadline if there’s a deal worth making.

Which could make for an interesting month.

Still in First!

Ok. That wasn’t the world’s best weekend. For any of the Boston sports teams, really. But, it seems to me the most important thing for the Red Sox is that they came out of it still in first place.

Let me say that again. They’re still in first place.

Sure, it would have been nice if Bailey hadn’t imploded. It would have been nice if Nava had held onto the ball until he threw it. It would have been nice if any number of things had happened. But, the key is still that the Sox are in first place.

We knew this was going to be a tricky June. They played what might have been the toughest month’s schedule they’ll see. This was the do or die month. And, while there’s still a week left, the Sox have come out of it OK. Not sure there’s a lot more you can ask than that.

I know. The Sox have some holes. Buchholz is still on the DL. Lester hasn’t exactly been picking up the slack. Will Middlebrooks forgot how to hit over the winter. There’s a bit of a closer issue is the bullpen. I get that. But, here it is again. The Sox are still in first place.

It would be one thing if the Sox were in the Yankees position. The Yanks can look at the team and say they have some injuries and underperformers. If everything snaps together they can try to make up some ground. But, they have ground to make up. The Sox are on the other end. All this terrible stuff has happened, and they’re still in first. They still lead the only division in which every team has a winning record. Almost halfway through the season, they’re on pace for 93 wins.

So, I’m not going to fret over losing the Tigers series. Really, going into the weekend and the pitching involved, two wins would have been the best case scenario anyway. I’m not going to stress over the closer’s spot. Even with Bailey giving up games left and right, the Sox have a two-game lead. Are we afraid that his replacement will be even worse? The Sox haven’t missed Middlebrooks. Lester hasn’t killed them.

While it would have been nice if all those things hadn’t happened, don’t we have to assume something else would have? If Bailey didn’t blow a single save this year, and Lester were 12-0. The Sox would be an elite team. This collection of guys? Elite? Hardly. Do we want to sound the golfer who finishes his round by saying, ‘I would have made par if I had just sunk those four puts.” There’s a reason you missed those puts. You’re not a scratch golfer.

Just like the Sox aren’t the 1908 Cubs. 

Red Sox 1-36: 24 is for…

24 Different Red Sox players to HR in 2009

I have to admit. When I first saw this number, I thought, “So?” After all, there are 25 guys on a team. So, what was the big deal? Then I remembered that ten of the guys on the roster are usually pitchers. So, that makes the 24 a slightly more impressive number.

Although, I’m still not sure that impressive is the right word. What does it mean when you have 24 players hit a home run? Is it an example of great depth? Of bad luck? Fluky circumstances? As with lots of state, it’s a little bit of all of it.

In order to have 24 different players hit a home run, you need to have at least 24 players come to the plate. It means ten guys who weren’t on the opening day roster had to take their cuts. It also means that ten batters who were on the roster had to not be on the roster for one reason or another. Sent down, traded, DLed, etc. So, the Sox had to be hit by a bit of bad luck in 2009 in order to need that much player movement.

I’d love to say that the 24 home run hitters show some sort of great depth the Sox had. I’d love it if I could point at the number and claim a victory for the organization. Look at how easily the Sox could fill holes. But, in reality, a home run isn’t an amazing accomplishment. Well, it’d be amazing if I did it. But, for a professional baseball player it’s less so. So, really, just having enough guys come to the plate should do it. It’s not like the Sox needed to have this storage room full of all-stars in order to pull the feat off. They just needed players.

Which leads me to believe that the accomplishment of having 24 different guys hit a home run isn’t really an accomplishment. I don’t think it’s anything Theo can put in his cap. I think it just arose from a weird set of circumstances. More of a, “the Sox needed to use so many guys, they even had 24 of them hit a home run.” It’s a piece of evidence to back up another story. It’s not a story on its own.

But, it’s an interesting factoid.

24 is for the 24 different Red Sox players to homer in 2009