1st Edition Education

When it comes to collecting I really don't give myself any rules. I just like to have a well rounded collection while trying not to overspend for any one card. During some searching for cards of more obscure Pirates I came across a parallel I knew nothing about.

2014 Topps 1st Edition Francisco Liriano

When these popped up I went to Cardboardconnection.com to educate myself a little more. It turns out that the 1st edition cards were a prize in the Spring Training Access in 2014 Topps Series 1. Each collector that found a Spring Training access pass was given a complete set of the 1st edition cards. Only 10 sets were made of the over 600 card set!

Needless to say a handful of these sets were broken up and put on eBay. Of course big names like Trout and Harper went for huge bucks. Deals could be had on the lesser know guys.  This is where I come in. 

The seller I bought the Liriano from must have been breaking up close to an entire set as he had a slew of Pirates for sale. Being that many of them had low bids, I started bidding on all the Pirates. While I didn't get any of the star Buccos I did end up doing pretty well. 

The big win for me was the Wandy Rodriguez as it was my favorite Pirate card from 2014 Series 1. It had fun cameos of Marte, Harrison and Burnett. I don't remember how much I spent as this auction was won around the holidays, but I'm guessing most of these went for less than $5.  I remember putting an aggressive bid on the Cole, but still came up short. 

In the end the cards I did win better suit my style. When it comes to parallels I really only like to spend money on the silver frames and acetates. For me it is always fun to find rare cards of Buccos that don't get much love on cardboard. 

So if you are ever on eBay and come across one of these 1st edition cards, snag them up. It might be a cheap way to get a card with only ten in existence. 

Thanks for reading! 

20 Years of Disappointing Pirates

This will be a very unscientific list as it will only encompass players in the last 15-20 years. Some will be on the list for hobby reasons, while others will be a combination of performance and stupid management. Long story short the guys on this list bring some combination of anger and sadness when I ponder their Pirates tenure.

Pitcher - Kris Benson

Benson had a nice long career, but fell short of huge expectations. He was drafted number 1 overall in 1996. With the hype machine at full effect he was billed as a franchise savior and a can't miss guy. By the time he made his debut he showed good stuff, but was overall very mediocre. Injuries and inconsistency was the main theme the rest of his Pirates career. 

You know you probably didn't live up to expectations when your bat shit crazy wife gains more press than your pitching. 

Catcher - Tony Sanchez

This is probably more managements fault than Tony Sanchez, but he is probably the best pick for overall disappointment. Sanchez was picked 4th overall in 2009. Most media outlets considered the pick a reach and it looks like they were right. 

First, injuries stunted his development then his defense went to shit. When Russell Martin got hurt at the beginning of last year Sanchez was getting a majority of the playing time. He began having trouble controlling the running game and making throws to first.  The latter cost the Pirates a few games. 

I'm guessing Sanchez will not see the field with the Pirates again. With a big rule 5 roster crunch coming next year it wouldn't be far fetched to see him left unprotected. 

First Base - Adam LaRoche  

When the Pirates acquired LaRoche in 2007 it received a lot of press. The Pirates looked on paper like a team on the upswing. The outfield was very balanced with the likes of Jason Bay and Nate Mclouth and the infield was anchored by Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez. 

The interesting thing about LaRoche's tenure as a Pirate was that his numbers were pretty much on par with his career norms. The main issue is that he was a notoriously slow starter and would not start hitting until the Pirates were buried. 

The funny thing now is that most Pirate fans would kill to have someone put up a LaRoche like season at first. Pedro Alvarez has really lowered our expectations from the position. Looking back I think his tenure was more of a product of a guy who never took the next step. The Pirates were in the midst of their historic losing streak and would gravitate to any guy who showed the slightest hint of talent. Such was the case for Adam LaRoche. He was pretty much the same player at the beginning and end of his time in Pittsburgh. 

Second Base - Aki Iwamura

For the most part second base has been pretty secure by the likes Neil Walker and Freddy Sanchez in recent memory. Part of me wanted to pick Bobby Hill, but my disdain for Aki Iwamura is too fresh in my head. 

Coming off 3 consecutive above average years the Pirates traded Jesse Chavez to the Rays for Iwamura. It was pretty much a disaster from day 1. He looked out of shape and disinterested. For some reason the Pirates continued to bat Iwamura leadoff the first couple months of the season. After it was all said and done, Iwamura wouldn't even make it a year. The Pirates were on the hook for almost 5 million. 

Third Base - Andy Laroche

I could have taken this one in a number of different ways because the position personifies the Pirates terrible management during the 20 year losing streak. With the bad management decisions regarding the likes of Jose Bautista and Aramis Ramirez, either one could have easily made the list. 

I chose Andy LaRoche because he was the center piece of the Jason Bay trade. It is also kind of funny to have the LaRoche brothers both make the list. 

The writing was on the wall for the Pirates when the new management team came in. A complete rebuild was on the horizon. While the Pirates had been terrible for a long time they weren't without quality players. The most desirable target was Jason Bay.

When the deal was announced that Bay was traded to the Red Sox as part of the three way trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and prospects to Pittsburgh. The key piece for the Pirates being Andy LaRoche. Long story short, he was terrible. It was a tough trade to swallow for the Pirates as they received absolutely no value from the players acquired in the Bay deal. 

Shortstop - Brian Bixler

This pick is more from a hobby perspective than on the field.  Bixler was a second round pick in 2004 and was getting a lot of hype early in his professional career. He was dubbed an offensive shortstop and looked to be the logical replacement to Jack Wilson. 

Before his debut I bought into the hype and loaded up on high end Bixler autos. Ouch! He could not hit to save his life. 

Outfield- Chard Hermanson, Jose Guillen, Derek Bell and Jose Tabata

You have to make the list if you are an actual Pirate.  Mr. Operation Shutdown stole the Pirates money and for a time resided on a boat. The Pirates made a ton of bad free agent signings, but Bell's has to be among the most memorable. Plus, he actually was a decent player in Houston.

In the minors it was said that Chad Hermanson could "walk on water." That may have been true, but he could not hit.

Jose Guillen is the offensive version of Kris Benson. He would go on to have a nice long career, but you were left wondering what could have been. Most agree that the Pirates brought him up way too early and that Guillen didn't have the maturity needed to be a major leaguer. He would continue to struggle with Tampa Bay before coming into his own in the 2003 season.

It is almost like someone took the battery out of Tabata. The first couple of seasons he was a leadoff hitter with gap power and plus speed.  The Pirates liked him so much that he was given an extension. At the time it looked very team friendly, but now it is the worst contract on the team. 

I'm not sure what caused the wheels come off, but the decline has been quick. An outfielder that is only a singles hitter is not in high demand. I hope Jose likes Indianapolis because that is where he'll be the life of the contract.  

One of the cool things about our hobby is how card can conjure up random memories. I started this post last night after looking at a Brian Bixler card and thinking "boy this guy stunk." Sure enough a post was born.  

Thanks for reading!

Monumental Markings

It has been a while since I've shown off a Cutch card.  Other than a few sticker autos in this years Donruss, the Pirates star has not signed in a couple of years. Thankfully I hoarded his autos when I did as the prices have gone through the roof. 

2011 Topps Marquee McCutchen/Tabata Dual Auto /15

Marquee was another attempt by Topps to add a high end set to the market. As expected it fell flat with collectors and it was scrapped.  With that being said it did produce a few nice cards of Pirates. This dual auto was my favorite in the set and features two bold on card autos. 

Thanks for reading!

Triple Threat

Last night I showed off all three of the McCutchen variants numbered to 9.  Tonight is more of the same with Jose Tabata.  

2011 Triple Threads Jose Tabata Jersey /9

2011 Triple Threads Jose Tabata Jersey /9

                                               2011 Triple Threads Jose Tabata Jersey /9

Tonight I took the time to look through some of my Triple Threads cards to see where I stand.  It seems that I'm only one away from 6 different triples.  I've gotten away from checking for these on eBay and COMC over the last year, but a fresh look has me revitalized to find some missing cards. The good thing is that it will be a buyers market for Tabata, Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez.  

I'm pumped for the Pirates game tomorrow.  Hope we can put on another good show like last year.  

Thanks for reading and Let's go Bucs!

Blockbuster Additions

I mentioned yesterday that I've been having a lot of contact from non bloggers looking to trade and sell.  Yesterday I featured some cards that I blind traded with a reader named Pete.  Today I'm featuring a major purchase from reader Nolan.

Nolan is a Pirates fan like myself, but was narrowing his collection to focus on Neil Walker and vintage needs.  It took us a while to come to a deal as we got held up because I left town for my brothers wedding.  As soon as I got back we hit the ground running and came to terms.  Check out the great cards.  As a side not Nolan's collection is top notch.  He sent some pictures of his vintage collection and it would make you drool.

2002 Topps Tribute Paul Waner Bat Relic

2008 SP Legendary Cuts Willie Stargell Cut Auto /15

2010 Topps Series 2 Steve Pearce Magenta Printing Plate 

2010 Topps Update Andrew McCutchen Manu Bat Barrel /99

2011 Topps Heritage Bill Mazeroski Stadium Memorabilia

2011 Topps Series 2 Willie Stargell Leather Nameplate

2011 Jose Tabata Topps Marquee Auto /570

2011 Topps Tribute Dual Jersey Willie Stargell /99

2010 Topps Chrome Aki Iwamura Yellow Printing Plate

2002 Fleer Willie Stargell Jersey

2012 Topps Heritage Willie Stargell Mint Coin Card

Nolan even threw in some freebies by giving me a handful of Bucco Vintage.  Also not pictured was an Al Oliver Topps Retired Auto. 

Thanks a ton Nolan for giving me the opportunity to add so many great cards.  I look forward to trading with you in the future.  You never know who might be checking out your blog on any given day.  

Thanks for reading!

Postage Paid

2011 Gypsy Queen Venezuelan Stamp Jose Tabata /10

I usually stay away from the odd cards from Gypsy Queen such as these and the coin cards, but sometimes the price is just too good.  I'm also continuing my impromptu Yankee tie in as Tabata was drafted by the Yankees and then traded as part of the Xavier Nady deal. I showed off a Cole card yesterday as he was originally drafted by the Yankees.  Tabata had a great opportunity to secure a long term spot in the Pirates outfield, but struggled staying healthy and contributing on an everyday basis.  It looks like as long as he is a Pirate he will be a 4th outfielder.  Tabata is still very young so he may be an attractive buy low trade target.  

At the very least this card is a neat conversation piece.  One of my good friends is from Venezuela so he often asks me how Tabata is doing.  I've given him autos of Venezuelan born players as gifts before so I may just give him this card as he would probably appreciate it more.  Anybody ever pull any of the stamp or coin cards before?  If you recall I pulled the Allen Craig coin out of 2013 Gypsy Queen.  I don't really like selling cards so I probably just hold onto to that one until one of my Cardinal blogging friends pulls a good Pirate card.  

Thanks for checking out the blog!

Who is Jose Tabata?

Most Pirates fans would agree that Jose Tabata has not lived up to his potential.  Jose had a successful rookie campaign in 2010 where he hit .300 with a great obp of .346.  He accumulated 1.9 WAR in just 450 at bats.  Things were looking up as the Pirates looked to have another young outfielder to go along with Andrew Mccutchen.  Seeing this potential the Pirate front office locked up Tabata to a team friendly 6 year deal. 

The rookie season has proven to be mostly a mirage.  Jose has been unable to recapture is rookie season success.  Since 2011 he has had trouble staying on the field and has been in manager Clint Hurdle's dog house several times for lack of effort.  Jose did not reach 400 at bats in both 2011 and 2012.  Losing playing time to the likes of Travis Snider and Garrett Jones the past few seasons and the emergence of Starling Marte has put Tabata's Pirate future in question.

In 2013 Jose was able to rebound to a certain extent.  After Starling Marte got hurt in the second half of the season he was able to recapture some of his rookie season magic.  He accumulated 1.1 war mainly in just the second half of the season.  He played a key part in the Pirates playoff run during the dog days of summer. 

So what does 2014 have in store for Jose Tabata?  Most project him to be slotted in as the opening day right fielder, but it seems to be temporary.  Top prospect Gregory Polanco will start the season in AAA and could be ready by mid season.  It seems that Jose's best bet for future playing time would be playing well enough to make himself attractive to other teams.  With a team friendly contract and still being only 25 years old, Jose can still be very valuable.

My own personal belief is that Tabata will be moved at some point over the next year.  Most projections already have Polcano as a + defender and better base runner than Tabata.  While Tabata is a nice insurance policy if one of the everyday guys get hurt like Marte did last year,  his time will be coming to an end as a Pirate.  Some other team will see a young cost controlled outfielder and make a nice match for the Pirates to fill a need either before the deadline or during next offseason. 

This is a wood 1/1 from 2011 Topps Triple Threads.  This was an Ebay purchase several years a go as I went and purchased many high end Tabata cards when he was struggling in 2011. 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2411&position=OF