Who's Your Daddy!!

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of hearing about Pedro Martinez? Here's a 38 year old pitcher at the end of his career. The Phillies took Martinez off the scrap heap after the season started. If they hadn't, Martinez would probably be out of baseball. Yet, the media is giving Pedro more coverage than Cliff Lee who is a bonafide ace and deserves the coverage. Pedro is hardly a #2 starter today even though he used to be a dominant #1 starter. I'm sick of seeing footage of Pedro against the Yankees from his Red Sox days. I'm just sick of Pedro Martinez.

Where is Jimmy Key?

Jimmy Key spent 15 seasons in the big leagues as a pitcher for the Blue Jays, Yankees, and Orioles. He won two championships - one as a Blue Jay in 1992 and one as a Yankee in 1996. Above, Key is pictured as a Blue Jay on a 1993 Score card #639. These days, Key is enjoying retirement down in Florida. Key is also a wannabe golfer. The following is an exerpt from the Palm Beach Post.

Palm Beach County Mid-Amateur: Former major-league pitcher Jimmy Key of Palm Beach Gardens won two matches, beating Gary Nicklaus 2-and-1 in the quarterfinals of the championship at Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach.

2007 SPx Jersey Card - Jered Weaver

I recently received a 2007 SPx jersey card of Jered Weaver as part of a lot on eBay. This card was less than a buck. I like this card for several reasons. First, the design just looks cool. Second, the card doesn’t feature Jeff Weaver. Also, it’s numbered (43/50) which always draws me in. I wish this was a white home jersey, but what can you do? The “SPX” across the card is a creative way to display the jersey swatch, although I’m not sure why the X remains blank. How much would it cost to throw in an extra piece of jersey? I received another SPx jersey card in this lot which I’ll show off some other time.

Dave Righetti Giveaway

Be sure to visit Omega Cardboard at http://omegawax.wordpress.com/ to enter the giveaway for a Dave Righetti signed card. Today is the last day for the contest so hurry up and enter.

A Short eBay Rant

I think I speak for many collectors when I say that eBay has gotten worse over the years. Changes in the website are always for the worse. Fees have increased. The feedback system is a joke. If eBay had a serious competitor in the online auction market, I would jump ship in a minute. Unfortunately, eBay is the only real player in online auctions. I tried Sportsbuy, but I'm not impressed. In my most recent eBay listings, however, I made an observation. It seems like offering free shipping (which eBay gently encourages - more fees for eBay!) brings in more bids and a higher selling price. This will probably be something I will continue in future listings. But why is free shipping so great? What's the difference between paying $5 with free shipping and paying $3 with $2 shipping? It seems like free shipping is just a psychological gimmick. It doesn't really matter - except that eBay will generate more revenue from fees. I'm glad I got that off my chest. I feel better.

2008 UD Baseball Heroes - John Maine

I recently bought a bunch of jersey and autograph cards on eBay. One of my favorite cards was a 2008 UD Baseball Heroes John Maine Game Used Jersey Card. The card has a great design. The card has a light blue marble appearance with a simple white border. The jersey swatch is from a road gray jersey which doesn't bother me. Best of all, the card is numbered 28/200. I love numbered cards, even if it's not a jersey card. Maine didn't have a good year in 2009. He had a 4.43 ERA while going 7-6. Of course, he had a shoulder injury that caused him to miss a chunk of the season. Then again, most of the Mets were injured this season.

Yankees Win!

The Yankees took a commanding 2-0 series lead against the Twins in dramatic fashion last night. Mark Teixiera had the game winning home run in extra innings. But it was Alex Rodriguez who made the extra innings possible with a home run against Twins closer Joe Nathan. This wasn't the first big hit ARod has had in extra innings against the Twins in ALDS history. In Game 2 in 2004, ARod had the game tying RBI against the Twins. Hideki Matsui would have the game winning RBI. And believe it or not, Topps has a baseball card to document the occasion.

Fantasy Baseball Ends

Well, fantasy baseball is over for this year. I came in second after winning the league last year. I only lost by a point and a half. The sad thing is that I led the league yesterday by half a point. And my team was loaded too - Howard, Utley, Youkilis, Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter. My pitching staff featured Halladay, Carpenter, Jurrjens, and Cliff Lee. What went wrong? Also, what will I do with my time now that I don't have fantasy baseball for 6 months? At least I have playoff baseball to watch for a while. I'm already sick of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver and the playoffs haven't even started.

Bargains on the 'Bay

My latest eBay purchase was for four cards. The grand total including shipping was $0.04. Pretty good, huh? The first card is a 2008 Upper Deck of former Yankee and mustache aficionado Jason Giambi. Giambi has kind of fizzled out this year with the Rockies. He has been relegated to pinch hit duties. It seems like his career is circling the drain. The second card is a 2008 Upper Deck Timelines of Mark Teixiera in an Angels uniform. Fortunately, Tex is having a monster season for the Yankees this season. I don’t have too many Timelines cards, but I like the design. My third card is a 2007 Upper Deck of Jose Molina. Molina has been a serviceable backup for the Yankees this season. I will admit that I am a bigger fan of Francisco Cervelli when it comes to backup catchers. He’s younger. He has more potential. The last card is a 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights of Eric Gagne. Reasons to hate this card:
It’s a Red Sox card
The 2007 Topps design is terrible
It features Eric Gagne
Isn’t Gagne playing for some independent team in Quebec these days? How the mighty have fallen.
Overall, not a bad haul for 4 measly cents.