Royals Hot Stove

It seems like every off-season the Royals make a few interesting moves that make a few experts believe that they may contend for a playoff spot. By May, those hopes are usually dashed. One of these past signings was Gil Meche. The Royals overpaid for Meche who eventually retired due to injury. The Royals’ latest signing is Jonathan Broxton. Broxton will be the setup man for Joakim Soria. That is a pretty strong 1-2 punch out of the bullpen. Does this make the Royals a contending team? No. But I like this acquisition. The Royals usually make one or two free agent signings and stock the rest of the roster with former Atlanta Braves. I’ll put the Royals down for 75 wins next year.

2010 Topps Update Silk: Mitch Maier

I recently purchased a 2010 Topps Update Silk card of Mitch Maier for $2.05 shipped from an eBay seller. A lot of unknowns get cards in the update set. Maier isn’t exactly unknown, but he does play in Kansas City. Maier has gotten some playing time in the outfield during the past two seasons. He hasn’t done anything spectacular though. The card is serial numbered 34/50. I think the best part of this card is the powder blue Royals jersey. I really like that color. I wish the backs were not blank, but it would probably be difficult to cram all of that statistical information into such a small area. I am happy with my purchase. I got this card for less than the price of an average pack.

2005 Playoff Game Used Jersey Cards

I picked up two Game Used Jersey Cards from eBay for a total of $1.55 shipped. That’s a pretty good deal no matter who is on the card. These cards happen to be from the 2005 Playoff set. I’m not really too familiar with this brand. In fact, I don’t think I own a single card from this set. Back in 2005, my focus was on Bowman for some reason. Anyway, the first card is that of Steve Finley, whose long career is now over. Finley played for 8 teams over 19 seasons. The jersey swatch is just plain white, but that’s OK. Although, Finley is featured as a Diamondback on the card, he actually spent 2005 with the Angels. To make matters worse, he spent the second half of 2004 with the Dodgers after the D-Backs traded him. The second card features Mike Sweeney who spent most of his career as a Royal. Recently, he has been a DH for the A’s and Mariners. Sweeney’s career is almost over thanks to age and injury. He is a 5 time All Star though and had some great years in Kansas City. The first thing that I notice is that the jersey swatch is a beautiful shade of blue. That’s a lot better than plain white. I think I like the Sweeney card better than the Finley card. I’m happy with my purchase. I got two great cards for less than two bucks.