Scott Kazmir, 10 Cards For 10 Wins!

I worked all night long tonight which meant I saw no baseball… Woo is me… I missed the Rays spanking the Yankees again, winning 5-3 in front of 30,000 plus fans. Jeff Niemann finally earned his 13th victory, Navi hit his 8th homerun and Jason Bartlett and BJ Upton each swiped a base. This is significant because it was Bartlett’s 30th steal this year. Carl Crawford leads the team (2nd in league) with 60, Upton is 2nd on the team (3rd in league) with 42 and now Bartlett joins them in the 30 steals club. The Rays are the only team in MLB this year to have 3 Thirty Base Stealers. As a team they do lead the Majors in steals! Good job guys!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, former Rays (I hate saying former regarding this guy) Ace Scott Kazmir pitched his final start of the regular season. It was just a tune up to get in some work before the playoffs, but he looked great, or so I’ve heard from folks who watched the game… He pitched 5 shutout innings earning his 10th win of the year. Since joining the Angels he has a sub 2 ERA, his season ERA was 5.92 when he was traded, it has dropped to 4.89 for the season, AND he is in the postseason. I can’t imagine rooting for a left coast team in the playoffs, but when the options are the Yankees, Red Sox and whoever wins the Central, I might just find myself rooting for the Halos. With Scott Kazmir, Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins they have 3 of my favorite non-Rays players, so why not… Anyone but the Yankees and I think the Angels have the firepower to beat the Yankees. Anyway, it was a long night, I am wiped out and don’t feel like writing any more. I had fun posting my 11 favorite Upton cards, so in honor of his 10th regular season victory, here are 10 of my favorite cards of my favorite lefty.
Are you impressed that I can count that high? It wasn't easy...Unless there any objections, I plan on posting numbers of cards of my favorite players to celebrate their season achievements, based on how many cards I own. I do wish I could post a card for every base Bartlett has stolen, but maybe I can do one for each of his home runs... Go Bartlett! Go Kaz! Go Rays! I may find myself at the Trop tomorrow for the final game of the year, I have to work, but it’s an afternoon game so I can catch the first few innings…Go Rays! Troll out.