From the Pedro Binder

2000 UD Prime Performers

Once again I find myself not minding a card that I probably should hate.

In its never-ending pursuit of a way to get star cards into its set in as many ways as possible, Upper Deck came up with the Prime Performers insert set. Good idea. Pedro certainly qualified for that set based on the season he had in 1999. Like many insert sets of the period, the card is just cluttered with stuff. But, it all seems to have a reason, and works for me.

The action photo of Pedro, while being really small, pops off the card. It’s the only thing in full color, so it really magnifies its importance. The monochromatic headshot of Pedro adds quite a bit to the feel, without distracting the viewer. If that shot was is color, I would hate it. But, this way, it works. There are a bunch of statistics cluttering the bottom of the card too. But, they are Pedro’s stats. And, they’re completely relevant to his status as a “prime performer.” It’s also nice because every time I look at Pedro’s numbers from 1999-2000, I can’t help but smile.

So, while this card has a lot going on, it does it in an amazingly subtle way. It doesn’t add a lot of stuff that doesn’t need to be there. It highlights the important stuff, but still lets you clearly see everything you’d be looking for. I’m even willing to overlook the overall “dark” feel to the card.

That makes for a nice insert card.

Picture Pages

If you “like” the Section 36 facebook page (And, really, why wouldn’t you?) you know that lots of pictures get posted. At least one a day. Pictures of people in Section 36. Pictures of Section 36. Pictures from Section 36. It’s that last category that has created a bit of a problem at the moment. When you take a picture from Section 36, lots of times you get the centerfielder. Or, should I say, the ex-centerfielder. That means I have a stockpile of pictures ready to post with Jacoby Ellsbury in them. While I don’t mind posting pictures of him (As I mentioned, I’m not angry), I feel weird flooding the page with pictures of the new Yankees centerfielder. I’d like to spread it out a bit, at least. That means I need your help.

I need more pictures!

Now, I assume that if you have pictures of Section 36, or from Section 36, or of you in Section 36, you’ve already sent them in. If you somehow forgot, go ahead and do it now. That leaves the final category you can help with now…pictures of you wishing you were in Section 36!

So, that’s now your challenge. Make up a sign that says, “I’d Rather Be in Section 36.” Any size will do. Take your picture with it, and send it along to me. E-mails (section36 at gmail dot com) or tweets work just fine. Then, I can have some more pictures on hand to let me space out the Jacobys just a bit.

Do it now.

Be creative.

Have fun with it.

Need some inspiration? Check out these fine pics that people have already sent in.

Hellsbury

So, how’s everyone doing?

Personally, I find myself both confused and surprised by my reaction to Ellsbury’s defection. I’m not angry. I’m not depressed. I’m more annoyed than anything else.

Hard to be angry. He didn’t do anything particularly bad. He went to the team that offered him the most money. By reports I’ve seen, 50% more money. That’s not nothing. And I’m certainly not going to complain about that “loyalty” garbage that’s being tossed about. He gave the Sox his best years. Not sure what else he owes them. They certainly aren’t in the habit of needlessly paying players just to be loyal. Just ask David Ortiz.

Hard to be depressed. Did anyone really think he was coming back? He was a Boras client. The Red Sox have been on a youth movement. The Sox have a young center fielder. There was that rib thing a couple years ago. So, unless the market for Ells completely dried up to the point where the Sox somehow made the best offer, he was gone. Now he’s gone. That’s the way it is. Even for someone who has called Ellsbury my favorite player on the Sox. This wasn’t Nomar or Manny being traded. Or Gonzalez. This was expected, and accepted long ago.

No, I’m just annoyed that he went to the Yankees. Not even, really, because he makes their team better…which he does. But, now I have to hear about it for a week, and a week leading up to each and every series with the Yankees. Will he get booed? Cheered? He stole three bases on the Sox! Will he steal four bases against the Sox? If he had followed Salty to Miami, I get none of that. I get an hour of saying goodbye, and it’s onto the next thing.

I never considered Ellsbury someone the Sox had to keep. He’s a great player, and a fantastic lead-off hitter. But, I think his skill set is more conducive to a gradual replacement than some others. It’s one thing to replace 45 home runs. It’s another to replace a .350 OBP. You can get a guy who gets on base pretty well easier than a power hitter. A lot of the reaction to this departure depends on the next move. Do the Sox go with Victorino-Bradley Jr-Nava in the outfield? Do they get Beltran? Does this mean Napoli’s signed by Friday?

For the Yankees, the move makes some sense, under one condition. If the printing press they used to have in the front office is back up and running and printing out money like the good old days. People in Boston are laughing saying they’ll regret this signing in three years. Well, that means they won’t regret it for the next three. Plus, they regret most of their contracts right now. They just spent more money to compensate. If they’re going to keep doing that, might as well sign the best players you can. It also means Gardner is expendable. They couldn’t find a good pitcher on the free agent market. Maybe now they can trade for one.

I’ll need to take a wait and see for this one. I’d prefer the Sox still had Ells, but I’m OK going on without him. It’s all about the next move.

Just wish it wasn’t the Yankees.

Pierzynski in, Saltalamacchia out

Well, filling out a scorecard didn’t get any easier.

 

Finally the Sox addressed one of their glaring holes. And, it was a little bit surprising.

 

The Sox have four holes left by free agents. Not holes in the sense that they are impossible to fill, or are top priorities necessarily. But, when the Sox take the field next April, they need players at catcher, first, short, and outfield. If the Sox simply signed the players who played those positions last year that would be fine. Or, a suitable replacement would not be impossible to find for any of them. The Sox took the latter route for at least one of them.

 

A.J. Pierzynski was signed to a one year deal, apparently, to catch for the Sox next year. On the surface, it’s a “meh” signing. A veteran signed to a one-year stopgap deal is a very common thing. The Sox sign a few of those every year. But, start peeling the onion, and things get more interesting.

 

I would rather have Saltalamacchia on the team next year. He’s almost ten years younger than Pierzynski, and at worst a comparable player. Plus, he’s a known entity that just helped the Sox win a World Series. But, because of those things, he’d need a bigger contract. Boston didn’t like that idea. Instead, the Sox are willing to place their faith in a couple of up and coming catchers in their system. They consider that a better move than holding onto a catcher who led the team in home runs two years ago. It’s not a choice I would have made. It’s also a little odd, considering how slow they seem to be taking it with their other prospects. After taking their sweet time with Xander Bogaerts, they’re basing their roster on having a young catcher ready to start in 2015.

 

It’s also an odd move because both Pierzynski and David Ross are 37. You don’t see a lot of 37-year old catching tandems. Usually, if you have an older catcher, you have a younger one too to take the load off. Much like Salty and Ross did this season. Granted Pierzynski has apparently been pretty durable, but it’s strange not to have a contingency plan.

 

That being said, Pierzynski fills a hole. The first pitch by the Sox next spring will not go skipping to the backstop. There’s a competent player in the line-up, whose presence may open the door for other additions. Let’s see where this all leads.

 

I just wish I didn’t have to spell Pierzynski.

The Life of a Vintage Card

When I first heard that Magic Johnson was retiring, I was flipping through baseball cards on the floor while watching TV. I have no earthly idea why I remember that. I can't imagine that was one of the signature moments of my life, or anything. But, I remember the cards. It's one of the things I always think of when looking at vintage cards. What events have they witnessed during their life?

Have you ever watched a show like Antiques Roadshow, and have them show off some trinket that's a few hundred years old and wonder, what made someone decide to save that and pass that down? I think of that when I see vintage cards too.

Do you ever do that?

Ever look at a beat-up card from 100 years ago and wonder what stories it would have to tell? Or, why it was still around?

That Tris Speaker T206 card with a pinhole in it. What wall was it pinned to? For how long? Was it suck on a wall as someone was reading about the start of WWI? WWII? Was it in a kid's room? A kitchen? A parlor? What has it been looking down on for the last 100 years?

And, why on earth has it been around for 100 years? It has a pinhole in it. It's got one corner folded over. And some scuffing on the front. I understand the last few years. Even the last 30. It was a rare collectible by then. But, what about in 1919? Or 1949? Who decided not to throw away a card with a pinhole and a fold that was free in the first place? If my father tried to give me a beat up playing card that he had stuck to his wall, I can't imagine why I'd take it.

Were all of the beat-up vintage cards just lost for 50 years? In a drawer, or a book, or an attic? Did nobody know they were passing them down until they became valuable again?

Maybe all these vintage cards haven't witnessed history at all? Maybe they've been hidden away for decades? In their own private jail?

What's their story?