Rays Win, Rays Win!

Price pitches well on the road and three different relievers combine for 2 shutout innings to end the game. Holy Cow! Is this what winning feels like? I guess sometimes the best prescription for a losing streak is a trip to Baltimore. I heard the broadcaster say something akin to “The Rays scored more runs in the 1st five innings today than they have in the last seven games.” I think that is what he said. Anyway, eight different starters found their way on base today (Longo was 0-5 with 3 Ks) and rookie shortstop and Troll fav Reid Brignac was 4-4 with 3 runs batted in and HIS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HOME RUN!!! Finally a reason to be excited about baseball again! Congrats Reid! Sorry O’s…Go Rays! Troll out.

3 Infielders Autos, Quest For Rays Autos, My First TTM!

I have begun my Rays autograph quest. I am not quite ready to start listing overall percentages, but I now have 20% of this years 40 man roster, a few original Rays and a few autographed cards from the 2008 American League Champs. I am gonna start with some infielders. One is an in-person signing, one is a TTM and one was a gift from Zach from the Autographed Cards blog.

Akinori was hitting .310 before an injury sidelined him 44 games into the season. He is working out and will probably rejoin the Rays next month. Ben Zobrist has done a great job keeping his position warm for him, but will probably move back 50 feet into right field when Aki is right and ready. I was a little nervous about talking to him with the language barrier, but Aki was cordial and knew just enough to chat with the handful of fans that approached him at the ballpark. He signed two cards for me, this Allen and Ginter from last years set and a 2009 Topps Heritage.

The next card is a gift from Zach, he sent a note saying Elliot only played 7 games for the Rays, but he was a Ray nonetheless. I am pretty confident that he will play a lot more games. Johnson is a very similar player to Ben Zobrist. He’s a middle infielder who can play 1^st, 3^rd and the outfield, hit for power and drive in runs. He is a 25 year old switch hitter who has been in the Rays system since they signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2002. The card he signed is a 2008 Bowman.

The last infielder I got is Reid Brignac. He is a big (6’3”) shortstop with power from the left side of the plate. He has had a few stints with the Rays, most recently filling in for Jason Bartlett for a few weeks earlier this season. He hit .271 in 21 games for the Rays. The Rays nabbed Reid in the 2^nd round of the 2004 draft out of St. Armant High in Louisiana. Reid started the AAA All Star game and definitely shows big league skills. Playing behind Bartlett and Zobrist, the Rays are taking it slow with the 23-year-old power hitting infielder. Like Johnson, this kid is going to see a lot more at-bats at the big league level. He had more than 40 homeruns between ’07 and ’08 and plays big league defense at short. This card is my first (of many?) TTM Rays ‘graph, signed care of the Durham Bulls.Thanks again to Zach for all his help so far! I will keep you all posted on my progress. I will say, I have nearly enough cards to put together a team. My big lacking is a first baseman. Anybody got a Pena autograph in a Rays uni? I also really need some unsigned cards, too. Michelle Hernandez, Gabe Kapler, Brian Shouse, JP Howell, Randy Choate, Greg Zaun and Dale Thayer are topping the list right now. Trade me some Rays cards! Anyone? Everything I have posted on this blog (other than todays post) is up for trade. I am gonna try and get together lists soon of what I have available. I also deciding on what to collect next. With Heritage nearing a close, I am contemplating 2009 A & G, 1978 Topps, 1961 Topps, 2008 Goudey, 2005 Heritage, 1974 Topps, 2009 O Pee Chee or 1968 Topps. I have a pretty good chunk of 1978s, but everything else I good use a good jump start...Cheers! troll out, for real...

Rays Card of the Day, Part III

Reid Brignac, 2004 Just Minors, Card #8
Today’s card of the day is Reid Brignac’s 2004 Just Minors card, number 8, which shows him playing for the Princeton Rays. Brignac was optioned to AAA today after Jason Bartlett came off of the disabled list. Brignac had been holding things down at short for the Rays since late May.
Baseball America had named Reid as the 39th best prospect in baseball in 2008. A year later and he’s starting on the defending American League champions. Not too shabby Reid. He hit .271 in 59 at bats for the Rays on this visit. He had a triple and a handful of doubles. He is still waiting for that first big league home run. At 24-years old, he still has time. He will return to the Durham Bulls and become their starting shortstop, again. The road to a permanent job in the big leagues is a long one, Reid. You showed that you can handle it. See ya soon!

Oh, as for the card. Aside from having repeat pictures on the front and back, it has a classic, Allen & Ginter-esque look to it. Ideal for autographs and a very clean looking first card.