A new-to-me blogger and Twitter card collector is Jenny Miller who blogs at Jenny's Card Collecting. I was excited to get rid of some Twins cards -- even though I'm about 98% sure I'll be attended a Twins/Brewers game at Target Field in May, that doesn't mean I have to keep Twins cards around the house, you know. I knocked off a bunch of Jenny's Twins Project needs from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In return, Jenny sent me a couple of cards that I needed for my collection. It being a Thursday night I figured I'd go for musical accompaniment. Then again, I might say that about any day. I just like musical accompaniment. Believe it or not (I know, you believe it), I actually put a spreadsheet together of all the songs I've used on my blog. I'm up to 806 right now (before this post)! Crazy.
Anyway, let's see what Jenny sent:
Yes, it's a Maverick from 2018 Topps. With the logjam in the outfield brought about by the off-season trades, Mav will probably end up at Triple A unless the team keeps him over Broxton as the guy who can fill in at CF behind both Cain and Yelich. Then again, since both Cain and Yelich can play center and with Braun, Thames, and Santana all still available, why would the team keep either Broxton or Phillips in the major leagues? Tough situation.
I unwittingly told two or three people that I needed only Brett Phillips to finish out my Series 1 Topps run for 2018. Thing is, I still need a Ryan Braun because I spaced out and forgot I need two of those. So, I duplicated Phillips just like I'm duplicating this song. I know I've played Cowboy Mouth's "Jenny Says" before -- my spreadsheet tells me so -- but I like the song, the band is from New Orleans, and I'm going to New Orleans next month. So there.
Speaking of needing two Brauns for my base sets, here's a 2017 Stadium Club that I needed. This one was, in fact, for my team set as the second of the Brauns from that year. It's always good to get closer and closer to completing team sets.
This reminds me to say two things about team sets and how I'm collecting. First, I will gladly take any and all inserts and parallels of non-player-collection Brewers that you want to send my way. But, I'm not as militant about feeling like I need to collect those going forward from sets from this year forward.
Second, I am also happy to take any and all Brewers cards of any genre, year, or make that you might want to send to me. That may seem intuitive, but there were times I really was not a huge fan of all the duplicates. Now, though, I'm saying bring 'em on. Of course I prefer cards I don't have -- but I'll take the others too.
I shouldn't use a song using the past tense about Jenny so soon -- I know that. But I really like this song off Hot Fuss by The Killers. As much as Brandon Flowers comes across as a self-important ass at times, the band's first major label album was one of the best albums of the mid-2000s in my opinion. It didn't hurt that I was in a major Brit Pop phase and this album worships at the altar of New Order, The Cure, and Depeche Mode.
Finally, Jenny sent me a Zach Davies 2017 Stadium Club card. Zach is an interesting guy. He looks like he should be delivering the morning paper on his bike like it's 1984 until you see his tattoos all over the inside of his left arm. Nothing wrong with that at all -- but it adds a little edge to him as a result. Davies benefited from good run support last year, and his strikeout rates were troubling for his future growth. Then again, he's only 24 years old so perhaps that will come in the next couple of years.
Let's close this out with a little Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. They are almost certainly known best for their cover of the Motown song "Devil with a Blue Dress On." This song, "Jenny Take a Ride," was the band's first top 10 hit, selling over a million copies and going gold.
But...there's one more song that needs to be played...it's a cliche at this point, but so what:
Jenny, thanks for the cards. Hope we can trade again soon.
I really enjoy the diverse group of people that I encounter through the baseball card blogs and baseball card twitter and baseball cards generally. As with any group as diverse as ours, we all tend to find people that we are most like -- or at least with whom we get along best based on similar backgrounds, similar current lives, or even just similar dislikes. One of the people whom I feel like I truly get along with well is Peter from Baseball Every Night. I think we really bonded first over the dislike for the Ortiz-gasm that Topps had last year. Then I found out Peter is a serious, real-life scholar who focuses his scholarly life on the life and times and work of Sylvia Plath. I've never asked how or why that happened, but it's pretty cool to me to say that I actually know a real life world renowned expert in literally anything. Peter broke a box of Topps Series 2 recently and was kind enough to send out the cards from the break on a per-team basis to whomever would pay the $3 shipping to get them. That sounded like a good deal to me, so I joined up immediately. Even though I had already joined Crackin' Wax's break (that will be my next post hopefully over the weekend), I told Peter I'd take the Brewers. After all, you never know when that single Brewers hit might come. To honor Peter's generosity, let's go to music...inspired by Sylvia Plath. Now, I'm not 100% sure that these songs are all inspired by her or reference her. I'm just taking a Tumblr post's word for it. 1. Belle & Sebastian, "Enter Sylvia Plath"
I figured I'd go with a song that clearly is about her or references her -- Belle & Sebastian's "Enter Sylvia Plath" is pretty obvious about it. I chose a version that had the lyrics imposed on the video in case those help. This is a very long song -- over 6 minutes long -- and I have to admit that it got a bit repetitive to me. While the ballet dancing used in the video is cool, the vocals on this song start to meld together -- especially around the 4:15 point where the lyrics simply say, "From my faith [x36]."
Let's start this Brewers post with two guys who have both had really top-notch seasons who might not get the publicity that other guys get. First, Travis Shaw, whom people know thanks to his having been with the Red Sox for two years. I don't know if it is just that he developed further since he is in his age-27 season or if it is that the Brewers had enough guts to just let him play third. One thing I will say that I don't like about his card is the attention to detail. Apparently, Topps Photoshop team couldn't be arsed to think about the fact that Milwaukee doesn't have red in its color scheme and, as a result, Shaw might just wear anything but red batting gloves. I have found photos from this year of him with pink, white, gray, blue, and black batting gloves...but not red. The other big surprise story might just be "Sunday." Domingo Santana (for you non-Spanish speakers, Domingo in Spanish is Sunday) came over to Milwaukee from Houston in 2015 in the Carlos Gomez & Mike Fiers trade. Last year, he had some injuries that plagued him all year and limited his time on the field to just 77 games. This year, he is hitting .285/.374/.494 with 18 HRs and 9 SBs (in 12 attempts) while playing at a league-average level in right field. By the way, he doesn't turn 25 years old until Friday, has played 236 major league games, and yet he does not reach arbitration eligibility until 2019. 2. The Bangles, "Bell Jar"
I'll admit it. I had no idea that this Bangles song existed. The Bell Jar, of course, is Plath's only novel and was published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The book is said to be semi-autobiographical and shows parallels between Plath's own experiences with what might have been clinical depression and the protagonist's mental illness.
But I'm not a Plath scholar, and I have not read the book. Thus, I defer to Peter's wisdom and statements about it.
I will note that I'm not sure how a movie based on the book directed by Kirsten Dunst and starring Dakota Fanning will do. Hopefully, it will be a better movie than the 1979 version starring Marilyn Hassett and directed by Larry Peerce. No, I've never heard of them either.
Corey Knebel started the year as the setup man to Neftali Feliz. Neftali Feliz was a complete disaster in Milwaukee (27 innings, 23 hits, 8 HRs, 15 BB, 21 K, 5 losses), so Knebel took over as the closer in May. He's done fairly well, but the bullpen for Milwaukee has lost a lot of games for the team. I keep reminding myself that this is a growth year.
Zach Davies has had a Pete Vuckovich in 1982-style year this year to date. His ERA is slightly worse than league average, his strikeouts are down by over 1 per nine innings, and his walks are up 0.7 walks per nine, and yet he has gotten such crazy run support that he has a 12-5 record. Pitcher wins are such a bullshit stat.
Again, I have to remind myself that Zach Davies only turned 24 before the beginning of this season. He needs to keep developing and improving, certainly, and we Brewers fans have to hope that he stays away from the injury bug.
3. Tears for Fears, "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams"
This song was a B-side for Tears for Fears initially before being released as a single in 1991. Apparently the song was conceived of as taking a verse from the song "Sowing The Seeds of Love" sung as a rap, combined with a Talking Heads-style chorus, and put over the chord structure from one of Tears for Fears biggest hits, "Shout."
The song title was pulled from a collection of short stories that Plath wrote that was published posthumously in 1977. The second print edition was split into four parts and included a number of new stories not available in the first edition.
Hernan Perez is like a Swiss Army knife. He's got tons of different uses -- even having pitched an inning this year -- but he is never the exactly correct tool for any particular situation. You need that knife's corkscrew in case you need to open a bottle of wine, but it's not an ideal corkscrew and there are far better ones available. You need that little scissors every once in awhile, but it's better to have a real, full-sized one. You get the picture. Perez is useful to have around to give guys around the diamond a break, a day off. If he starts every day, though, he's playing too much.
Jesus Aguilar was a surprise waiver claim from Cleveland before the season started. He played well in spring training to force his way onto the 25-man roster and has split time with Eric Thames at first base. He's a player that is nice to have around -- he's a good hitter who gets on base -- but he should be seen as expendable to improve the roster in the offseason.
Finally, those throwback uniforms on the team card are sweet, aren't they?
4. Breathe Owl Breathe, "Sylvia Plath"
Breathe Owl Breathe is a folk-rock band with a pretty unique sound. I mean, not many rock bands have a cellist playing pizzicato cello. Well, not many rock bands have a cellist. This show is from a series called "Sleepover Shows." The song is actually pretty cool, to be fair. Just very laid back. And, this video is 100% hippy. The band has an album called Passage of Pegasus that was produced by Eric Johnson of The Shins, for what it's worth.
The final cards I'm highlighting from Peter are these two. First, we have a Blue Jays-era Eric Thames photo in foil. It's odd -- I don't think I got any foil parallels in the Crackin' Wax case break, but I got one in this single box break.
The other card is, of course, the Legend Eddie Mathews. I think that's Mathews photo 3 that Topps always uses. Of course, Peter did not have to send me this card, but he knows I collect Mathews and was kind enough to make an exception.
Peter, many thanks to you for hosting the break. One more song for you: "Crackle And Drag" by Paul Westerberg.
Here amongst the baseball card blogorati -- which is sort of like the Illuminati but with bubble gum stains-- discussions often turn from baseball cards and baseball to discussions on beer and bourbon and other similar vices. Since we are all collectors, a lot of us like to collect experiences on tops of our cards.
One of the guys with whom I interact regularly is Oscar from All Trade Bait, All the Time. Oscar is a unique dude. He is a Dodger fan -- which is as unique as sand at a beach in Florida in the blog world -- but he is studying Buddhism on the way to getting a Masters degree in Buddhist Psychology. Oscar also is one of the beer guys, as he gets together with buddies and samples beer and cigars.
Oscar is just a all-around good dude.
He confirmed that with his "club PWE" mailings recently. Here's what he sent to me:
This card is a subtly terrible photo. The way the lighting hits Brock's mouth makes it appear that he's missing a tooth or two up front in his mouth. He also looks a bit hungover.
Oscar, is Brock a member of your beer club?
This photo looks like Vaughn was in a photo studio in front of a green screen and the background was photoshopped in. In fact, I'd bet dollars to donuts that is what happened here. I don't think that lighting behind him occurs naturally.
Is Gary Sheffield a Hall of Famer? The answer to that question has to start with the elephant in the room: his steroid use is admitted and well known. He gave an interview saying that Barry Bonds introduced him to the BALCO labs. He claimed he did not know that BALCO supplied him with steroids.
I tend to give very little weight to such claims of a lack of knowledge.
The more relevant question relates to his overall numbers. On some levels, he should be a Hall of Famer. The Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor puts him #78 overall with a 158 score (likely HOFer is around 100). The Hall of Fame standards test is a Baseball-Reference creation that puts him at 61, with the average HOFer around 50.
On the other hand, looking at JAWS and WAR, though, and comparing him to right fielders, his career WAR is below the average HOF RF, his 7-year peak is below average, and his JAWS is below average. And, the black ink and grey ink standards there also say he is not a Hall member.
I think that's right. Just because he went over the 500-homer mark does not make him a HOFer. He doesn't get there without steroids, either. Sorry Gary.
Not sorry.
The Brewers paid Franklin Stubbs $4 million over 2 years, yet lowballed Paul Molitor after the 1992 season and offered less than $1 million a year.
I don't get it either.
Minis! These UK Minis were never on my radar screen in the late 1980s. Apparently enough of them were printed then, however, that they are typical filler in repacks. The "Tiffany" version is pretty cool though.
This is what it would look like if a baseball player were also a stalker. Probably.
Another mini! I keep putting off buying the 12-pocket sheets for these cards, and yet with GQ and A&G pushing out more and more minis, I am probably going to have to break down and buy them. Zach Davies had a good year last year -- he's a solid mid-rotation starter for the Brewers. Hopefully, going forward, he will end up lower in the rotation thanks to others jumping him rather than him sinking down without being passed.
And, finally:
Thanks to all the random parallels that infect Topps sets like the Zika virus migrating into Miami, I feel like I have or should have this card already. But, it's a high number in Heritage, meaning it's a short print. Why is it that I have about three or four of those chrome parallels for it, but this is the first copy of this card in my collection?
Are the chrome parallels more readily available than the regular base set cards? If so, that's ridiculous. Base set cards should be more plentiful than parallels. They should -- if set collectors meant anything to Topps, that is.
Well, at least I like beer.
Thanks, Oscar, for the PWE, the beer recommendations, and the fact that you are just a good dude!
I have lived in Georgia now for nearly 21 years. I have lived some place other than Wisconsin for 25 of the past 26 years. What that means is that, for the most part, I have finally rid myself of my Wisconsin accent. It took quite a bit of time, but eventually I got over some of those verbal ticks. Like some of those described (and heard) in this video.
I probably still have some of these issues, but I learned a few things about my own speech and the speech I hear when I go back to Wisconsin. It makes me laugh, though, to hear it.
Recently on Twitter, I got in an exchange with a recent addition there -- a fellow who goes by the name of Brewers Signatures. He asked me if I wanted some cards that no longer fit his collection that are all Brewers cards. So, in honor of these cards coming from Neosho -- which is not far from where I grew up -- I thought I'd go all in on celebrating Wisconsin and its drinking.
I know -- how terrible to celebrate alcohol? Right? If you think that, well, you've never lived in Wisconsin.
1. Wisconsin Is a Drunk Place ... Everywhere
Recently, a list of the twenty drunkest cities in America came out. These cities were identified by self-reported binge drinking and heavy drinking rates using various health studies. Of the top 20, TWELVE were in Wisconsin -- and 6 of the top 7 were. In order from bottom to top: 17. Milwaukee/Waukesha/West Allis; 16. Janesville/Beloit; 15. Racine; 12. Sheboygan; 11. Wausau; 9. Eau Claire; 7. Fond du Lac; 6. LaCrosse/Onalaska; 4. Madison; 3. Green Bay; 2. Oshkosh/Neenah; and 1. Appleton.
Only one other state -- North Dakota -- had more than one location (Fargo & Grand Forks, but, then again, that is almost all of North Dakota).
So, what drives me to drink? Panini Prizm. Actually, there were quite a few very colorful parallels from 2012 -- it looks almost Christmasy with these two cards together!
Martin Maldonado (Twitter: @Machete1224) has hung around Milwaukee as Jonathan Lucroy's backup since coming up in 2011 for one plate appearance. Maldonado is not beyond help as a hitter, to be fair -- he tends to hit a few homers and draws some walks at times. Still, he'd be stretched as anything more than a backup based on the 918 plate appearances he's made to date. He's 29, and he's arbitration eligible after this season. He may leave town merely because of that, or he may stick around and bridge the gap between Lucroy and Jacob Nottingham.
2. Lewis Black on Drinking in Wisconsin (NSFW)
This Lewis Black standup is entirely one that could only be done in Wisconsin. Only people in Wisconsin -- or people who have gone to Wisconsin -- can understand what he means. One funny line is him wondering what it is that Wisconsin people do on New Year's Eve considering how much they drink the rest of the year. It's worth a listen to understand my people. Personally, I had to give up on that. First off, it's just not as easy to rebound from a night of drinking when you're in your mid-40s as it was back in my 20s. Second, I moved from Wisconsin at the ages of both 18 and 23, so the locals there will say that I got out of practice. Third and most importantly, I use my brain too much for work. I have to be able to think. So, for me, it's weekends only at best for a drink -- except, perhaps, if I meet up with friends for one or two drinks on a very rare occasion.
Yes, more 2012 Panini Prizm Parallels. To be fair, the parallels look much better than the base cards do. The base cards -- all silver borders everywhere -- are flat out ugly. The colors at least cover up the lack of logos here. The more I see these parallels, the more they are almost acceptable. The real problem with Panini Prizm Parallels -- besides the alliteration, of course -- is that they are more numerous than drunks in a Milwaukee bar on a Friday night. Just like the drunks, these parallels come in all shapes and sizes. And, just like the drunks, they all start to blend together after awhile. 3. People in WIsconsin LOVE Brandy Old-Fashioneds
This is a rather normal sounding person making this drink. However, it's almost certain that this guy is from Wisconsin. It's practically the official drink of the State of Wisconsin. I mean, if you Google "Brandy Old Fashioned", the first link that comes up is from "Edible Milwaukee" and it's titled, "Wisconsin's (Un)Official State Cocktail." Wisconsinites love brandy. Korbel Brandy says that they export 385,000 cases of brandy and fully one-third of their entire production -- 139,000 cases -- go to Wisconsin. Personally, I never made it to this drink. Perhaps I left the state too soon and got swallowed up by my high-falutin' gin bucks (gin and ginger ale with lemon juice). Perhaps it was that I never really tried one. It doesn't sound terrible, to be fair, but I'm not going to buy the stuff I need to make it for this weekend. Nope, I'll stick to my drink, thanks.
One last tri-color grouping -- this time of Robin Yount -- finishes off the Panini Prizms I got. This card looks far better with the colored outline than with the silver. In silver, Robin's bleached out -- the airbrushing annihilating the pinstripes and making it look like he's wearing his Robin Yount pajamas on the field. I say that because I don't think that is an old enough photo for Robin to have been wearing the mostly white home uniforms from the 1970s.
4. Tailgating in Wisconsin is Different
To people in Wisconsin, tailgating means three things -- cornhole, grilling brats, and drinking a lot of beer. It's not like a southern college football game, either. At a southern football game, the tailgating is sort of refined. People bring lots of food. Sure, there's beer, but bourbon fuels southern football. Plus, you would not see people in the South dressed this warmly and looking happy:
Nope. If it's below 40 degrees at a University of Georgia game, you're going to see me very cold and unhappy, like this:
Let's be clear. I'm pretty much a Southerner now, even if I am still a Brewers fan and appreciate these cards: I am glad I grew up in Wisconsin. I am glad that I am a Brewers fan and a Packers fan. I'm also very glad that I left at age 18, found the South, found a place where winter doesn't last at least 5 months and snow doesn't fall in at least 6 months of every year, and where it is cold when it is below 40 degrees. But, I'm especially glad for great people like my new Twitter pal for sending me great Brewers cards to remind me what I left behind.
