The Brewers finished their work on the pre-waiver deadline by sending Gerardo Parra to the Orioles for pitcher Zach Davies, a guy who was drafted out of high school by the Orioles in 2011 and suddenly developed into a real prospect. He's slight of build -- 6' tall but just 160 pounds -- but he's a 22-year-old who has had good success in Triple-A already this year as a starter. In their other trade of the day, the team sent Jonathan Broxton to the Cardinals -- meaning that he'll probably turn into the reincarnation of Bruce Sutter thanks to the power of the dark side of the Force -- in exchange for Malik Collymore, a raw athlete built like a linebacker who is still in Rookie ball.
After all that trading, it feels almost cathartic as a Brewers fan to get back to card collecting and hoping that next year will be a little bit better. A great pick-me-up can in the mail this week from Shane of Shoebox Legends. He and I have sent cards back and forth several times now, and I was really happy to see a PWE from him in my mailbox this week.
What did Shane send my way? 8 great cards. Let's count them down:
#8: 2009 Upper Deck Todd Coffey
Coffee spent parts of three seasons in Milwaukee. His BB/K ratio always seemed to indicate that he should have better results than he did, but he was plagued by giving up too many home runs. He's still at it, though -- pitching in relief for Los Diablos Rojos del Mexico (a/k/a the Mexico City Red Devils).
#7: 2014 Panini Prizm Jimmy Nelson
Maybe this card should be #8, since everyone knows my aversion to the no-logo cards and because Nelson looks like he's a member of the airbrushed away Yankees with that gray and blue-turned-to-black that Panini went with here. He pitched well two nights ago only to watch the bullpen blow the game. I hope Jimmy gets used to being on a bad team for a couple of years.
#6: 2004 Fleer Platinum Name Plates Richie Sexson
It's tough to rate a 4-color patch piece serial numbered to 420 this low. But this card is a mess. A piece of a uniform of a guy traded after the 2003 season, shown with the Brewers in a really unattractive photo but listed on the Diamondbacks thanks to the trade. Why is this a mess? The photo is cropped poorly. The D-backs name looks like no font that should ever show its face outside of a disco album from 1978. And, well, if it's a Brewers uniform that's cut up, then just don't worry about the trade and just list him as a Brewer. Ugh.
#5: 1986 Sportflics Teddy Higuera
It's not that there's anything wrong with this card. It's just not as nice as the other cards Shane sent.
#4: 2015 Bowman (Chrome) Prospect Parallel Tyler Wagner
Please pardon the cat hair that makes its debut on Tyler Wagner's first Bowman card. After all the trades that the Brewers made, I fully expect Bowman Chrome or Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects will have about 8 or 10 Brewers farmhands in it.
Ha. Who am I kidding? We'll see the Yankees' 50th best prospect in those two sets before we'll see 10 Brewers.
#3: 2011 Topps Lineage Mini Relic Yovani Gallardo
I'm torn on ranking this card as highly as I have in large part because I already have it in my Gallardo player collection and, then, partly because it's just a piece of white fabric that causes this to be a relic.
#2: 2015 Stadium Club Wily Peralta Gold Foil Parallel
So, this is the first 2015 Stadium Club card I have in my collection, and it's a gold parallel. If Peralta were a player collection for me, it might have ranked #1 overall. It's a good photo, cropped well. My only complaint is not having a background behind Peralta to look at. But that's a minor problem.
I'm hoping that when I go to my local card show tomorrow, I'll be able to pick up the Series 2 Brewers, the Stadium Club Brewers, and whatever other recent releases there have been. With all the turbulence in my work life this year, it's been tough to keep up.
#1: 2015 Stadium Club Contact Sheet Insert Carlos Gomez
A Carlos Gomez Stadium Club insert seems an appropriate way to bring this post to a close. It's a new addition to my Gomez player collection, which is greatly appreciated, just as Gomez's joy in playing the game of baseball was greatly appreciated over his 5-1/2 years in Milwaukee.
Shane, thank you very much for the great cards and the midweek lift that your PWE brought me!
"We'll see the Yankees' 50th best prospect in those two sets before we'll see 10 Brewers."
ReplyDeleteThis would be very ideal since I need more ammo for TTMs/IPs.
You're welcome Tony! Glad they provided a much needed pick-me-up. The Gallardo and the patch card both came from the "dollar box grandma" at the last show I made it to.
ReplyDelete