Great, Now I Am Addicted To Allen and Ginter, Too!-A Cry For Help!

Well, I have finally given in. I bought some packs from the hobby shop, I bought a blaster, I bought a few retail packs from Target, now I have bought a box from the hobby shop, and I guess that means I am in. I had never ripped a pack of Ginter prior to this year; I always thought it was too expensive, too weird, whatever. Now, I have fallen for this crazy set, I love it! I have decided to collect the set (I have exactly 111 cards towards it) and also the National Pride set, too. I have about 45 cards towards that. I will list my needs for that on another post, but I will say I need cards #1 all the way through #24 and I am not 100% sure I will be able to collect that one. For now, I will focus on the base set. Here is what I have to offer...

For trading, I have two Baseball Highlights sketch cards-I really think these things look amazing, I pulled a David Price sketch in one of the first packs I opened and I think that is what hooked me in. I also have four minis with Ginter backs, they are: #3 Manny Parra (Ed from ROTB has first crack at this one), 46 Brian Roberts, 92 Joe Mauer and 124 Donald Veal. I have 4 black bordered minis: #168 Adrian Gonzalez, 183 Pedro Feliz, 192 Ryan Zimmerman and 317 John Baker. I have one Hoodwinks and Hoaxes mini: HHB5 The Turk and two National Heroes minis:NH17 Netherlands and NH22 Scotland. I have 13 regular minis left (I sent a few out already) they are: 8 Matt Cain, 22 Mariano Rivera, 36 Joba, 60 Matt Holliday, 101 Andrew Bailey, 173 K-Rod, 192 Ryan Zimmerman, 227 Nelson Cruz, 242 Mark Teahen, 260 Louis Braille, 274 Josh Hamilton, 276 Michael Phelps and 327 Johjima. Oh, the sketch cards are of Manny’s steroid driven 500th Home Run (its still a beautiful card) and CC Sabathia pitching the Brewers into the playoffs. I have 3 doubles from the National Pride set, they are: NP42 of Edgar Renteria, NP43 Jose Lopez and NP44 Yuniesky Betancourt. I only a few dupes from the base set, the numbers are:147,229,293,298,313 and 338. I was about 15 packs in when I decided to collect the set, I think I had sent out a few team trades and a few TTM auto requests-man, these cards look great signed! Okay, I am gonna take a deep, deep breath and get ready to type. I warn you folks, this is a very long list, over 220 cards, but I am tapped in the finances department-I was broke before I bought the box, I am beyond broke now! What I need! Here goes:
1,2,3,4,5,7,9,10,12,13,14,15,17,18,19,20,21,25,29,32,33,36,37,38,40,41,42,45,46,47,49,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,59,60,63,64,65,66,68,69,70,72,73,75,76,77,78,79,81,83,86,89,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,112,113,114,115,117,118,120,121,122,125,126,127,128,130,131,132,134,135,138,139,140,141,142,143,145,146,148,149,151,152,153,154,155,156,161,162,163,164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,177,178,181,182,184,185,187,188,190,191,192,193,194,195,200,201,202,203,204,205,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,216,219,220,221,222,224,225,226,227,228,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,241,242,244,245,247,248,250,251,252,253,254,258,259,261,262,263,264,267,268,269,270,271,274,275,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,290,291,292,294,297,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,310,312,314,315,316,317,318,319,320,321,323,325,327,328,329,330,332,333,334,335,337 and 340. Wow, that was exhausting! Not nearly as exhausting as it was watching the Rays get swept by the Angels, but pretty tiring. Anyway, that is what I have for trade and that is what I need. Can anybody help? I will keep my list updated on my webs page at http://collectivetroll.webs.com/ginter.htm

Let me know. 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...

Crabs Game Washed Away and a Primer on Rays Prospects...

Today was supposed to be a busy day, but it ended up being a bunch of near misses…We (the wife and I) were supposed to go on a kayak trip this morning, but it was cancelled last minute. We ended up taking the new puppy to the vet to have her stitches (she ain’t having any babies!) removed and then took her to the dog park where she picked on (played with) a puppy that was half her size. Esther Gin had plans to hang out with her friend Michelle, so I figured I would head to Port Charlotte to watch the Stone Crabs entertain the Palm Beach Cardinals. It’s a pretty long drive, about an hour, and I nearly sweat to death it was so hot and sunny. My car is old enough to vote and drink (it doesn’t actually do either) but it does guzzle gas and shake to the point that you feel like its going to explode at speeds over 40 MPH. Anyway, it got me there, which was nice. It may have been the oldest car in the lot, but it wasn’t the only one. The place was packed! I paid 3 dollars to park in a field and walked about 2 miles to wait in line and bake in the sun at the ticket window. I got an excellent seat, 2^nd row up behind home plate, but I never did get to sit in it. It had started to drizzle a little while I was in line for the tickets, by the time I got inside the park, it was full-blown downpour and the tarp was already on the field. Like the other 3,000 or so other fans, I found a spot under an overhang and tried to keep my camera and gear dry. I ended up hanging out in their gift shop and buying a whole bunch of useless things that I can’t afford emblazed with the awesome ‘Crabs logo. After about 5 minutes, it was clear that they weren’t playing baseball, but I ended up waiting for about an hour before I gave up. I’ve been going to games at a domed ball park for 12 years now; the rain delay thing is foreign to me. Honestly, the last game I went to that was called for rain was at Shea Stadium in 1990(remember that place?) and Doc Gooden (who went 19-7/3.85 ERA-superb run support) that year was set to face the Expos and Dennis Martinez (10-11/2.95 ERA-horrible run support). Coincidentally, Dennis “El Presidente” Martinez is the pitching coach for the Palm Beach Cards and I was really looking forward to meeting him. He is one of those guys, like Luis Tiant (229-172), Jim Kaat (283-237 and a million Gold Gloves), Tommy John (288 wins), Billy Pierce (211-169), Bert Blyleven (287 wins and 3701 Ks-it’s a joke that he isn’t in) and Lee Smith (478 saves) that come up often in talks about belonging in the Hall of Fame. Martinez is the winningest Latin-born pitcher of All Time with 244 victories, he won a World Series with the O’s in 83, he pitched a perfect game in ’91, he pitched 30 shut outs and had 122 complete games. He was 12-5 for the Indians in ’95 at 40 years old. He had the longevity, he had the control and he pitched a lot, topping 200 innings 9 times. Anyway, that is another blog for another day… Back to my rainy day. The game was called eventually; it has been rescheduled to be a 7 inning double header tomorrow. Unfortunately I have to work, so I will miss out. Jim Morrison (the Crabs manager) had posted his lineups as it was still bright and sunny twenty minutes before game time, so I can go over what might have been.

Fernando Perez was set to lead off and play center field. He was a late call up for the Rays last year and impressed everyone hitting 3 homers, stealing 5 bases and scoring 18 runs in the final 23 games last year. He dislocated his wrist diving after a ball in spring training this year and had been on the DL all year. He played a Gulf Coast League (Rookie Level) game earlier this week, but this was going to be his first true rehab start. I think he would have gone 5-5 with 4 steals-we’ll see tomorrow. I know the Rays are anxious to get him back on the base paths. Batting second was Shawn O’Malley at shortstop. This guy is one of my favorite Rays prospects; he is a 21-year-old right handed hitter who the Rays drafted in the 5^th round in 2006 out of South Ridge High School in Washington state. He’s been in the Rays system since he was 18 and had 50 steals coming into this year. So far in ’09 he is hitting .266 with 38 steals for the Crabs. He could be the next Jason Bartlett and YES I will be collecting Shawn O’Malley cards, so send them my way-I really don't want this card of him looking slightly to the left to be my only one... Batting 3^rd was switch-hitting second baseman Drew Anderson. Like Fernando Perez, he is also 26 years old. He was drafted by the Reds in the 13^th round of the 2004 draft out of Ohio State and has made it as far as AAA playing every position other than pitcher and catcher. He started the year in AA, but dropped down to high A and has been hitting great. He has 15 hits in 45 at bats (.333) with 2 homers. Ryan Royster was the DH and clean-up hitter. The 23 year old righty is hitting .239 with 4 homers and 35 RBIs. 22 year old lefty John Matulia was hitting 5^th and playing right field for the Crabs, he is hitting .268 this year. Mike McCormick, who the Rays picked up in the 5^th round of the 2005 draft out of high school in Oregon, was batting 6^th. He was drafted as a third baseman, but his strong arm tempted the Rays to convert him to a catcher. He has 8 homers for the Crabs this year. Batting 7^th was switch-hitting first baseman Shawn Williams, followed by Matt Hall playing 3^rd base. In the ninth slot is the Crabs regular center fielder, playing left field to make room for Perez, Emel Salem. Salem, a speedy left-handed outfielder, was picked by the Rays in the 6^th round of the 2007 draft. He has 76 career steals in 3 seasons in the Rays organization. He is a very similar player to Fernando Perez, minus the switch-hitting, but has the great defense and base running skills and savvy to get on base. Pitching for the Stone Crabs would have been 23 year old lefty (his birthday was this Thursday) Jake McGee. Last year Baseball America ranked McGee, who the Rays picked in the 5^th round of the 2004 draft, their #3 organizational prospect. This year, he was ranked 9^th. He pitched for the Montgomery Biscuits (AA) last year and went 6-4 with a 3.94 ERA in 15 starts; he had 65 strike outs in 77 innings. His season ended in June when he had Tommy John surgery to repair his injured elbow. He has been rehabbing with the Stone Crabs for the past month with little success. This would have been his 6^th start for the Crabs. His last start was horrific. Facing the first place Fort Myers Miracle, he allowed a home run and five runs total in the first inning without recording an out. He has a 12.38 ERA, allowing 11 hits, 11 runs, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts in eight innings of work. Port Charlotte ended up winning his last start 7-6 in 12 innings. Darin Downs (another of my favorite Rays prospects) relieved McGee and pitched 7 innings allowing only 1 run to set up the Crabs comeback. Downs who was 12-4 with a 2.00 ERA for the Crabs in 20 games was promoted to AA Montgomery after that amazing relief performance. McGee will try again tomorrow weather permitting. I will not be there. Like I said, I have work, but I am still pretty bitter about spending 3 hours on the road in the pouring rain to do nothing. Not to mention 20 bucks in gas, 3 dollars for parking, 11 bucks for a ticket, way too much in the gift shop... Yeah, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself on the way home-until I passed a guy on a Harley, at least I had a roof. Anyway, I am gonna stick to dome games in August (it rains 3 times a day this time of year) for now. I am finally beginning to dry off and am ready to head to the couch to watch James Shields and The Rays beat up on Ian Snell and the Mariners. Go Crabs! Go Rays! Troll out.

Who Wants Dontrelle's Pants????

I finally gave in and reluctantly joined the Allen & Ginter party, well sort of… A pay day visit to the card shop ended up with me leaving with 10 packs of A & G… For the same cost, I could have left with a nicely centered (with one dull corner) 1965 Roberto Clemente, but I had to see what all the fuss was about. I am hooked. They are awesome! My packs didn’t yield any big hits. One jersey, one sketch card, two black-bordered minis and 4 Rays cards. The sketch was of David Price and it is instantly one of my favorites. I also pulled a Burrell with a huge crease in it, Matt Garza (he isn’t spitting and I barely recognize him) and a National Pride Evan Longoria. The relic card is Dontrelle Willis’ pants. I wasn’t too happy with it. The guy was a Rookie of the Year, a World Champion, 2 time All Star and a 20-game winner, but the season he is having this year, battling anxiety and all-just wasn’t as thrilled as I would have been if I pulled this card in 2005 when he won 22 games… Oh well, it is on the block if anyone wants it. The Rays lost a tough one in 11 innings against the Mariners in Seattle. Langerhans hit a two-strike, two-out, two-run home run for a walk-off win after Jason Bartlett had hit a solo shot in the top of the inning. Pitching Coach Jim Hickey had gone to the mound right before Langerhans stepped in, but he forgot to sniff JP’s butt, otherwise he would have known that his closer was out of gas…
I am going to watch the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs take on the Palm Beach Cardinals tonight; they are in the midst of a pennant race, too.
Go Crabs! Go Rays! Troll out.

Life and Dogs Imitate Baseball...

As a new dog owner, I am learning more and more about Dogs everyday. We have been dog owners in the past, but since the passing of Princess Luna Belle two years ago, we have been out of practice… One thing I have noticed (again) is that dogs greet each other by sniffing butts. I have learned that dogs have two anal glands in their rectums which produce odors. These odors carry a whole bunch of information about another dog. With a quick sniff, the dog will learn the other’s sex, health and temperament.When a pitching coach (it has to be a GOOD pitching coach) sniffs a pitchers butt while they are warming up, they can tell many things, too. What kind of break their curve will have, how much velocity their fastball is carrying, how well they will change speeds and locate pitchs, even how many innings they might last. Jim Hickey is one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. Through this one sniff, he immediately knew that Scott Kazmir was going to pitch well enough to win (he did), he will likely top at 92 MPH and his curve will be a little weak, but still enough to get through a team like the Royals. Hopefully, he will sniff Jeff Niemann’s butt prior to tonight’s game against the Mariners and rise up and give two thumbs up (in the air, not…) therefore indicating victory for the Rays tonight against King Felix and the Mariners. Go Rays! Troll out.

Rays Win in 13!!!!

It is after midnight, the game began at 7 o'clock PM, it took 5 hours, over 14 innings. The Red Sox led 2-1 till the 8th inning when Evan Longoria tied it up with a home run. In the bottom of the 13th, Longo drilled another, this one was a walk-off game winner. The atmosphere here at the Trop felt like the playoffs, this win is huge. The biggest win of the year no doubt. When a game takes 5 hours, you don't want to be on the losing end. I'll talk about the game later, but for now-Rays win!
troll out.

Matinee Madness, Rays versus Royals at High-Noon

I love the smell of astro-turf in the morning! I love afternoon games. I don’t know what it is about them, but they are awesome! Television contracts don’t allow them to occur all that often, because the average American is at work during the afternoon and not watching a game on TV and supporting their advertisers. I am not your typical American. I lay around in bed all day long, pausing to take the dog for a walk, watch re-runs of One Tree Hill and make the occasional blog post about baseball cards that no one reads who isn’t of blood relation to me.An afternoon game at the Trop means that I get out of my pajamas before 4:00 when I go to work. An afternoon game at the Trop means awesome! It would have been even better if Esther Gin didn’t have to work at the bank everyday this week, but somebody is on vacation and they didn’t want to close for the week. Other than that, all was good. The car was running (big surprise) I had money (bigger surprise) and tickets were still available (not really a surprise). I took the Dog out early and ran around the yard with her to try and tire her out, and then I gave her a giant dog bone that I bought for this occasion to keep her busy and I was off. No traffic or accidents heading to St. Pete and I was there in no time. I parked a mile away (for free) so I would be able to leave quicker (without the postgame traffic). On the walk up I thought that I saw Don Zimmer tailgating in the parking lot. It surprised me how many (REALLY) old folks were drinking in the sun before the game, the line at the early bird is gonna be long and rowdy, teeth will be flying!The line at the ticket window was kinda long, but they had like 30 windows open, so I got my tix quick! I got row G which turned out to be front row, sweet! I got in there early, by 11:00, and there was nothing happening on the field. Neither team took BP and the pitchers slept in apparently. Chad Bradford (who is on the DL) was the first to take the field; he was playing catch with his son, who has a really great arm for long toss. Around 11:00, Kaz and a few other guys took the field. I watched Kaz in the pen warming up very closely. I was watching his delivery, seeing if he winced or showed any discomfort or hang-ups in his delivery. He had none. I returned to my seat and proclaimed to Rob (the guy sitting next to me) that Kaz looked great and was gonna win. We stood for the National Anthem and someone said Play Ball! Scott Kazmir and his 6-7 record, with a 6.22 ERA took the mound. I truly believe that the precedent of a game is set on the first pitch, the first at-bat. The Royals left-fielder, David Dejesus, dug in against Kazmir. The first pitch of the game was a 90 MPH fastball for a strike. Kaz proceeded to strike DD out. He started the next batter, Willie Bloomquist, off with a strike as well. Bloomquist worked the count full, but struck out as well. That is the way to start a ballgame, to make a statement, to show that you didn’t want to be traded, your glad you’re here and you have a lot of pitches left in your arm. Billy Butler was hitting third and playing first for the Royals. Kaz started him with a strike, too, but with two strikes on him, Butler drove a fastball to deep right center. Gabe Gross made a beautiful diving grab at the track and the side was retired.Zack Greinke had the hill for the Royals. His cards say that he is 6’2”, but he looked tiny on the mound. I guess I am used to overweight pitchers. As Kaz started the game the right way, with a strike, Zack wasted his first offering. BJ Upton was given the day off today and Joe Maddon tweaked the Rays lineup. The one that was posted outside of the Trop proved to be wrong and shortstop Jason Bartlett (my favorite!) was hitting lead-off. He had a .331 average coming into the game. Bartlett worked the count and saw only one pitch in the zone before walking. Not a good start for Greinke… Carl Crawford drilled a single to bring Evan Longoria up with men on first and second and no outs. Longo chopped one to short and was thrown out at first. The speed on the bases didn’t allow a double play. Ben Zobrist was hitting clean-up again and he drew the walk to load the bases. Carlos Pena stepped in with one out and the bases juiced, the Trop was going crazy! They gave thunder sticks away again to all of the kids (and there was a ton of kids) in attendance and they were hitting everything and everyone they could as the fans were on their feet in the first inning. Greinke and Pena were set for a duel. The speeds of his offerings were mixed like this: 93-79-94-95-86-94. That was enough to fill the count. Greinke went with the fastball, Pena knew it was coming and drilled it right up the middle for a base hit. Bartlett and Crawford both scored giving the Rays an early 2-0 lead. Pat Burrell was due up next, according to the line-up card, but Flo-Rida starting playing on the speakers and Willy Aybar made his way to the plate. Yes! I thought, we have a chance to score some runs. Unfortunately, Aybar decided to do his Burrell impression and struck out, bringing Gabe Gross up with 2 on and 2 out. The second inning opened with Mark Teahen(getting the start at third in place of slumping Alex Gordon) blasting a double off a hanging curve to right. Kaz got Callaspo and Buck both to pop out before Miguel Olivo blooped one over Bartlett’s head and right in front of Kapler in center. It dropped for a single, scoring Teahen. The Royals would hit .375 (3-8) with runners in scoring position on the day. With Olivo on first, Ryan Freel hit a weak fly to Pena for the final out. The bottom of the second started out the same as the first for Greinke. Michel Hernandez drew a lead-off walk and Gabe Kapler singled. Jason Bartlett dropped a bunt for an infield single to pack the bases again for Carl Crawford, with no outs. CC doubled to right, scoring Kapler and Hernandez. Rays are up 4-1. Greinke looked very shaky at this point, he had thrown 40 pitches, with only 21 of them strikes, but he settled down quick. He struck out Longoria looking on a fastball, and then got Zobrist looking on a wicked curve. Pena was up again with 2 on and 2 outs. Greinke struck out Pena to retire the side, ending the inning striking out the 3-4-5 hitters in order and leaving 2 Rays in scoring position again. Kaz zipped through the 2 and 3^rd innings 1-2-3, so we will fast forward to the bottom of the 4^th. After Kapler grounded out to Bettancourt, Jason Bartlett drilled a line drive off of the left field wall for a double. CC singled past the diving Alberto Callaspo to bring Bartlett home with no outs. CC quickly stole 2^nd (49^th steal) and headed to third on a wild throw by Olivo. This brought Longo up with a runner on third and one out. Longo struck out looking again, this time on an 88 MPH fastball right over the plate. Greinke got Zobrist swinging again to end the inning. His ERA had swelled to 2.33, he was down 5-1, but was still mowing down the heart of the Rays line-up and had 7 Ks in 4 innings. Kaz opened the 5^th with a 5-1 cushion and struck out Buck before allowing a single to Olivo. He struck out Ryan Freel, but allowed another single to Bettancourt. Kaz started DeJesus off 0-2 before he blooped one over Kaz’ head which dropped in front of Bartlett for an infield single. The bases were loaded again with 2 outs and Willie Bloomquist (0-2 at this point) coming up. Pitching coach Jim Hickey walked to the mound and guys started stretching (not throwing) in the Rays pen. Kazmir’s ERA had dropped to 5.99, but he was in trouble. Bloomquist worked the count full before driving one to center. A grand slam would have tied the game; the entire stadium was holding their breath. Kapler had been playing shallow for a play at the plate, but he ran to the track and made a great catch to end the inning with no damage. Pena led off the bottom of the 5^th and struck out again on an 89 MPH fastball. Willy Aybar, starting at DH in place of Burrell had been 0-2 when he stepped in from the left side of the plate against Greinke. Flo Rida once again rocked the PA and I could hear pre-pubescent boys behind me squeaking along “apple bottom jeans, boots with the…” Greinke looked in charge and had the count 1-2 on the switch-hitting DH. He threw the curve and Aybar drilled it into the RF stands, about 390 feet for the first home run of the game (Aybar’s 9^th of the year), a solo shot. It was Greinke’s 97^th pitch of the day. Gabe Gross, who had struck out twice prior, doubled down the left field line. Michel Hernandez chopped a single over Teahen’s head for a single, setting up runners on 1^st and 3^rd for Kapler. Kapler was showing bunt, which seemed weird with a 5 run lead, but after 2 strikes he was swinging away. A bunt would have been a better idea. He chopped one back to Greinke who turned and threw to second to start the double play to end the inning. Once again, the Rays left 2 men on.

Kazmir started the 6^th inning with his ERA down to 5.92, but with 2 outs, Jack Buck delivered his first hit of the day scoring Mark Teahen to make the score 6-2 and Kazmir’s ERA jump to 6.02. He had already topped 100 pitches and Grant Balfour was throwing in the Rays bullpen. Kazmir was beginning to look less sharp and I hoped Maddon would pull him before any real damage. Miguel Olivo (2-2 so far) with a man on, Kaz took the lead with a 0-2 count. He went with the curve and Olivo hammered it to deep left, but CC hauled it in at the track. That was his 109^th pitch and I was pretty sure that would be it for Kazmir. He had a 6-2 lead, 5 strikeouts and would leave as the pitcher of record.Greinke was done for the day. I was under the assumption that the Royals pen (spare Soria) was pretty bad. Robinson Tejada (5.93 ERA) took over and looked like an All Star. Bartlett (2-2 so far) lead off. He hit one down the third base line and Teahen made a nice back hand play and threw Bartlett out. Crawford (3-3 so far) struck out swinging on the curve. Longoria, who was 0-3 so far, saw first base for the first time, drawing a walk. This caused a visit to the mound and Tejada was pulled after facing 3 batters, getting a strike out and walking Longo, Tejada topped out at 95 MPH. Ron Mahay, a veteran lefty came in to spin Zobrist around to bat right. Zob’s swung at the first offering and grounded out to second to end the inning.For some reason Scott Kazmir was still in for the top of the 7^th, despite already having 110 pitches. He threw 4 more, walking Freel on 4 pitches before he was lifted for Balfour. Kaz exited with a 6-2 lead and got a pretty nice standing O from the 25,000 at the Trop, he is still one of the most loved Rays in Tampa Bay!. Balfour entered, inheriting a runner on first. He got Betancourt, but allowed a single to DeJesus and then another to Bloomquist. I thought for sure a run would score, but Ryan Freel slipped and fell rounding 3^rd base. With the bases packed and 1 out, both Brian Shouse and newcomer Jeff Bennett got up in the Rays pen. Billy Butler popped out to Kapler, which was enough for Ryan Freel to score from third. That was one more run charged to Kaz, his ERA is back up over 6 at 6.10. Shouse got the call to finish out the inning and ended it with a 4 pitch strike out. The Rays still lead 6-3 going into the 8^th. Mahay stayed in the game and got Pena out to lead it off. The veteran lefty faced Willy Aybar, batting right handed now, he deposited Mahay’s offering into the right field seats. It was Aybar’s tenth homer of the year and second of the game, 1 left handed and 1 right. Gross drew another walk and that spelled Mahay’s day. Roman Colon, another flamethrower came in to face Michel Hernandez. The back-up catcher hopped on Colon’s fastball and drove it to left, the not so sure footed Ryan Freel dove after it and missed. Hernandez looked like a tank on the base paths and he wasn’t slowing down, he slid into third for the first triple of his career, scoring Gross in the process and raising his batting average to .242. Kapler walks to set up 1^st and 3^rd with one out for Bartlett. JB responded by drilling a bases clearing triple (5^th of year)! This put the Rays ahead 10-3. Colon stayed in the game and got CC to ground out before Longo fouled out to the catcher. Jeff Bennett, the Rays big deadline deal (the Braves released him, Rays signed him) took over for the 8^th and allowed a lead off single, but got a double play ball and ended the inning with no damage. Juan Cruz got the call for the 8^th inning for Kansas City. He allowed a walk to Zobrist, but used his 95 MPH fastball (these KC pitchers have the velocity) to whiff Pena and Gross. The only contact against him was a bat shattering ground out by Aybar. JP Howell, the Rays closer with Percival and Isringhausen out, took over for the ninth. Just like a good closer, he looked iffy in this none-save opportunity. Howell doesn’t bring the heat, but he does change speeds well and keeps hitters off balance. Ryan Freel managed to not fall over, but he did strike out swinging on a big 78 MPH curve ball. Yuniesky Bettancourt faired better, he drilled an 85 MPH fastball to deep left center, Kapler watched it fly over his head into the stands. This brought the score to 10-4 and got Randy Choate up in the Rays pen. Brayan Pena drew a pinch hit walk, but Howell drew a ground ball for a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat and the game. Scott Kazmir upped his record to 6-6, well Zack Greinke fell to 10-7. It was Greinke’s third loss of the year at the Trop. All Stars Greinke and Roy Halladay are a combined 0-5 against the Rays at home. Kaz is 3-3 at home now, and he is the only Rays starter to win back-to-back starts after the All Star break. Kaz issued only 1 walk (in the 7^th inning), struck out 5 and threw 82 of his 114 pitches for strikes. Not too shabby. Also, not shabby, was the 1-2 punch of Bartlett and Crawford. Bart was a homer shy of the cycle; he drove in two and scored twice. He raised his average to .337. Crawford had 3 hits and drove in three as well. There was a big drop-off after them, though. Longoria and Zobrist were the only two starters to not have a hit, going 0-7 with 10 men left on base combined. Pena delivered in the first, but was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts the rest of the day. Matt Garza will face the Red Sox at the Trop on Tuesday night; he is 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA career against the Bo Sox. As of today, the Rays trail the Yankees by 5.5 games in the East and trail Boston in the Wildcard race by 5 games. Jon Lester, who has lost twice to the Rays this year, will pitch for the Sox.

Matinee Monday

I love weekday afternoon games!!! James Shields and Bruce Bannister had an awesome pitchers duel today, Bannister got the better of the deal. Tomorrow afternoon, I will be at the Trop, hoping for another pitcher's duel. Scott Kazmir will be taking on Zach Greinke. The game starts at 12:08. This is the first Monday matinee game that I can recall at Tropicana Field. I am psyched! I will have a full report on the game, hopefully detailing Kazmir's first no hitter!
Go Rays! troll out.

What is a Pujols Autograph Worth These Days?

Tonight I saw a lady wearing a shirt that read “Happiness is Yelling Bingo!” For me, happiness is having an awesome wife. Happiness is the new dog not defecating on the rug. Happiness is the Rays not trading away any core players or prospects at the deadline. Happiness would be finally finishing one of the 3 Topps Heritage Sets that I have been working on since the dawn of time. Chris from Tacoma, Washington is trying to make me happy. Not because he introduced me to my wife or because he knows how to train a stubborn puppy, but because he ripped just as much Heritage as I have these past three years and he is willing to share. I always mention that any card I post a scan of on this blog is up for trade. I try and use my best cards whenever possible to try and draw trades actually. A few weeks ago (The Readers Choice MVP Post) I put up a SP autograph card of Collective Troll’s Fan Vote MVP, Albert Pujols. I received a few e-mails from other bloggers asking about it, but Chris is the only one who actually made an offer. The offer that he has sent to me was pretty much mind-blowing, I wrote back to tell him that, but he said that the card was selling for about $300 on eBay, so I agreed to take his offer, but I still feel a little guilty about it…
He hooked me up with 3 cards off of my Magnificent Seven Most Wanted List (which I will revise soon), an amazingly cool Carl Crawford patch card with the lowest serial number I have ever seen in person (02/25). It is my first CC patch card and only my second patch card total. I have a Roy Halladay patch (#15/25) from the same set, but just like Roy-I haven’t received any serious trade offers on it… Anyway, he sent along about a dozen other CC cards, a BJ Upton jersey card, about 20 Scott Kazmir cards (3 jerseys), but the true awesomeness came from all of the Heritage short prints that were in the box. There were 21 short prints from 2007, 3 yellow name variations and that elusive Carl Crawford SP that I have been begging for. I am now within 11 cards (all SPs) of finishing the set. They are: 31 Beltran Perez SP, 67 Melvin Mora SP, 95 Bill Hall SP, 131 Howie Kendrick, 159 Chris Ray SP, 194 Derek Lowe SP, 248 Adam Wainwright SP, 338 Todd Walker SP, 366 Chris Duncan SP, 375 Michael Young SP and 491 Ivan Rodriguez AS SP. He dropped in a few 2009 Rays cards from the Heritage set, plus 3 SPs. I am still 52 cards away on that quest…They are: 74,79,162,198,251,263,300,318,337,351,376,
426,427,430,431,432,433,436,437,438,439,441,442,444,445,446,447,450,452,456,457,
459,460,461,462,465, 468,469,475,476,477,479,480,481,487, 488,489,491,496,497,499 and 500. My biggest needs in that set are still the Jason Bartlett SP and the floating heads card of the Rays coaching staff; I am dying to get those in my grubby little Rays loving hands!He did send a long a huge stack of 2008 Topps Heritage, too. He included the Kazmir SP, Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett’s from that series. Between the low and high numbers, he sent 18 short prints putting me within 4, count ‘em 4 baby, cards of completing the base 1-500 card set. All I still need for that is 211 Mike Sweeney, 446 Aaron Hill SP, 450 Chipper Jones SP and 469 Frank Thomas SP. I am also within 39 cards (mostly SPs) of closing the book on the high numbered set, too. Apparently that tapped him out of Rays and Heritage cards both, but he didn’t feel like he was sending me quite enough. He sent a message asking what else I collected. The short answer is nothing. I build sets and I collect Rays cards that is really it. I like having cards for trade bait and I do have a few players that I collect a little. I gave him the list of those guys and also told him that I wanted to stock up on Orioles cards as they will be Spring Training in my little towne next year. Well, he sent me two Josh Johnson (the Marlins TALL righty) jerseys, a Jeremy Guthrie (Orioles) jersey and a couple cool Ryan Zimmerman cards. I guess there are a lot of people who like Hanley Ramirez and Brian Roberts (my other two favs). It seriously feels like X-Mas with all these sweet new cards under the tree (all over my bedroom floor). It feels even better knowing how much closer I am getting to finishing my sets. I am going to seriously be crossing my fingers, hoping for another Pujols autograph pull with every pack I rip! Thanks so much Chris, for the trade and all the cool cards! For anyone interested in helping with my quests, my Heritage want lists are updated at www.collectivetroll.webs.com. I didn’t start collecting till 2007, but I do want to get all of the Devil Rays cards from the prior years of Heritage, get in touch if you can help. Cheers! Go Rays! Troll out.