Trade Value

During the All Star break Dave Cameron from Fangraphs publishes his trade value series.  It is one of my favorite articles to read every year. The whole premise is coming up with a list of the most valuable trade assets in baseball.  It is subjective by nature, but it really is hard to argue with the results.

Here is a link to the top 10.  You can find links within this article to see how the whole list.

Every year it really just proves how awesome Mike Trout is. It is a shame that the Angels are wasting the inexpensive years of a once in a generation talent.

Playing the Odds With Multiplayer Autos

Rookie multiplayer autographs are pretty commonplace these days. They are usually high $ cards that garner heavy attention on the secondary market. They are among the most desired cards among the "sick hitz" crowd and case busters. Getting these cards on eBay right after release usually guarantees big bucks for the seller.

In my experience buying these cards around release time is almost a guaranteed waste of money. First you just have the nature of how a prospect develops in baseball. It takes a looooong time to make it to the big leagues. This is especially true for high school players.  At some point during that journey the player is likely going to hit a snag during his development. This usually causes fluctuations in pricing. The Pirates have had some high end prospects over the last 5 years and all of them have hit a lull at some point.

My example above doesn't even take in account that multiplayer autos just enhances the risk for each player added.  Take this card that I just bought off eBay.

2012 Bowman Platinum Triple Auto Bauer/Cole/Hultzen /10

Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen and Trevor Bauer were the first three picks in the 2011 draft. I would venture to say this card was $100 + at release time without looking.  That price just had no chance to hold up over time. I paid around $24 a couple weeks back. Hindsight is always 20/20, but when was the last time a drafts first three picks panned out enough that their autos could hold $100 values over the long haul.  The 2010 draft is probably the only hope for this to happen as Harper and Machado can carry Jameson Taillon whether he pans out or not.

Right now Gerrit Cole has blossomed into a good pitcher, Bauer has been inconsistent and Hultzen's career has been marred by injury and command issues in the minors. This card has no chance to regain its value at release time.

I've shown this card several times on the blog, but it may be even a better example.

During the 2010 draft Bryce Harper was considered a once in a generation talent and many scouts called Jameson Taillon the best high school pitching prospect since Josh Beckett. They were the top two picks. I have no idea what this card cost at release time, but I'm sure it was extremely high. It was the kind of card I would have never thought about owning.

In 2014 both Harper and Taillon suffered injuries. I swooped in and bought a card that I normally would have not been able to afford. Right now I'm sure the card has gained back much of its value as Harper got healthy and became one of the best in the game and Taillon made his long awaited debut. It just proves even the highest end cards can have good buying times.

Prospecting is hard enough for just one player. Unless you sell baseball cards for a living it probably serves you best to be patient on the multiplayer cards.

Thanks for reading!

So Much Great Stuff

My collecting doppelganger Dennis from Too Many Verlanders is one of the more generous traders out there.  If you actively trade with him he will go the extra mile to build a trade package tailored to your collection. I've received so much from him that I could probably have a tab on the blog featuring all of them 

Dennis has a real knack of bolstering my WVU collection. He told me he feels a little more comfortable  buying Mountaineers than Buccos because I'm constantly updating my Pirate collection.  That makes sense as I do the same thing with Dennis, but instead I'm more comfortable purchasing Tigers than Michigan alums. 

Well, all I can say is  stay hydrated because it is a long scroll to get to the bottom of all these great cards.

If it wasn't for a guy named Jerry West, Huff would probably be top of the mountain of decorated WVU athletes. 

Leaf Limited was a great set if you could get past the 9567 parallels. 

Howley is a tough guy to accumulate cards of.  Being that he is a former Cowboy means you have to pay top dollar. I think this marks only my second relic of the former Mountaineer.

Slaton only played a few years in the league, but he has a crazy number of cards to chase. I'm not joking that including parallels some sets would have 20+ cards of the former Mountaineer.  He and Pat White are the best represented in my collection and to this day I will still see something I didn't know existed once a month.

To add to the card production issue with Slaton is year he was drafted was very running back heavy. Guys like Matt Forte, Jamal Charles and Chris Johnson all were high picks.  This created multi player relics and autos out the wazoo.  They are fun to chase, but impossible to keep track of because of the parallels.

The recovery Stedman Bailey has made after being shot in the head is remarkable.  He is said to be back in game shape, but it is likely that doctors will never clear him to play again. Word is he is going to help the Mountaineers this season.

This is a nice two piece jersey.

Double your pleasure with two DK Cole relics.

I'm sure Dennis would agree with me that cards featuring cool shots of the college uniforms are the best!

Both Playoff Portraits and the DK sets of the mid 2000's were canvas based. Both hold a special place in my heart because the checklist included a good bit of Buccos. This was very rate at the time since the Buccos were historically bad.

Dennis knows my love for Pacific parallels.

This is actually one of the nicest cards of the whole lot, but I couldn't get a good scan.  This is a Ralph Kiner printing plate!!!!!

Bay in the front Freddy Sanchez in the shadows.

Throwback Threads is one of the first sets that made patch cards accessible. I remember opening a hot box that included one in every pack.  Of course that made me love everything about it.

Giles better years were with the Pirates, but he probably has just as many Padres cards. It is getting harder and harder for me to find cards I don't have.  Getting parallels like this in trade puts me in my happy place!

Flair = Fancy

One of the bigger teases during the bad years. Kip Wells would dominate and the next start give up 10 runs. He just couldn't put it together.

I like this card. The Donruss inserts are pretty fun.

Great shot of Tony Plush making a catch. As the card says it was A-Mays-ing.

Just a Stargell relic....!!!!!!

An even lower numbered one than the one above!

Owen Schmitt owns a big bar/concert hall in town.  He seems to be a pretty cool dude.

This might be your face after looking at so many cards, but we are not done.

Cutch needs to play better so the Buccos can keep the playoff streak alive.

While all the above cards were amazing, the next handful really knocked my socks off.  A little background first. Several months back Dennis created a spreadsheet for me that identified many key rookie cards for WVU alum.  It was a really nice gesture.  Now Dennis is getting the vintage portion of the collection a nice start.  Check these out.

Pretty cool, right!

While these Donruss cards may look random they are in fact set needs.  I'm pretty much retired from set collecting as it was just to much money away from Buccos and Mountaineers.

Some recent WVU guys!

Diecuts always remind of 90's inserts.  I love them.

You made it to the end! I told you it was a lot of great cards. 

Thanks so much for all the great cards Dennis.  You really hooked me up big time.  I'll have to think of something special to hit you back.

Thanks for reading!

DC Shenanigans

DC is always one of my favorite places to go. It is close enough to Morgantown that you don't have to take off work and many of the activities are free. This trip was a little different than normal as it was baseball related!

For years I've been wanting to hit the Pirates/Nats series but it either fell on the weekend or I was busy with work. When my wife lived in the area I was able to make it to one game, but not the Pirates series.  This year the stars aligned as a friend recently took a job with the Nats. The Nats have a very generous ticket system for employees and he was able to secure tickets for my brother in law and I on Friday and the whole group on Saturday.  Big shout out to my buddy Daniel.  I hope to repay the favor as he is coming in for the first Mountaineer game in September.

As for the Nats stadium I would put it in the middle of the pack of ones I've been before. One of the first things you notice is the very spacious concourse areas. This is not uncommon for the newer stadiums, but it seems even more roomy than all the other newer stadiums I've been to.  The vending options were top notch too. I found several areas that served local DC brews like DC Brau, Mad Fox and 3 Stars. I base all vending on beer selections.  I rarely eat in the stadiums.

One thing I noticed on my second trip is that the development around the stadium is going really slow. This is the 8th year of the stadium and the surrounding area is still being built up. I know their was some controversy surrounding the construction of the stadium as it was located near a lot of low income housing and it slowed down a lot of surrounding development. Not sure if that is still playing a part, but many of the lots around the stadium are either empty, or still being constructed. Major projects are noticeable, but few looked like they would be ready anytime soon.

This is actually a picture from the game Saturday, but it was so cool I wanted to show it first. My wife took this one and she nailed it. The rainbow was only out for a short period of time so she was johnny on the spot with the picture. 

Bluejacket brewery.  I had been here once before and wanted to take my brother in law. The beer is top notch and the building is very nice. That dark red beer is a cherry sour called Vignette. 

 This was my view Friday night.

Not a whole lot to take away from the games I went to. The Pirates offense was quiet and only managed one run. Thankfully they won the marathon game Sunday to salvage a win while I was driving back home. 

I'll be heading back to DC in a few weeks, but this trip will be brewery related! 

Thanks for reading! 

When Cards Spoil

I'm sure most of you have heard that Jung Ho Kang is in some hot water after being accused of sexual assault a few weeks back during the Pirates last trip to Chicago.  The case is still being investigated so I'll let the process play out before coming to a personal judgement on him.  It just got me thinking how my mindset changes in terms of cardboard.

My mind has some kind of mental pecking order when posting cards of guys that are in hot water. I could care less about guys that have been in hot water about steroids. I post cards of Barry Bonds and Francisco Cervelli all the time.  I probably dislike Bonds more for being an asshole than I do for using PED's.

Drugs is another thing I don't really care about in terms of posting cards.  Dave Parker had huge issues with drugs during his playing days, yet he is one of my favorite 70's era Buccos to collect and post about. If I was a Giants collector I could care less that Tim Lincecum got busted for having a bunch of weed.

Alarms start going off in my head when the crime gets violent in nature.  I've received a few cards of Jung Ho Kang right about the time the story broke of the investigation.  He could be completely innocent, but I just have no desire to post something until his investigation is over.  These kind of issues just drain whatever pleasure I get out of sharing a card.

Another good example is Ray Rice.  I never collected Ray Rice, but I accumulated a fair amount of cards of his over the years because they went pro at the same time and played college ball in Big East together. Plenty of dual cards exist, many of which I own. Normally I would have shown these off, but after he was caught beating the hell out of his wife on camera I just have no desire. Those cards get relegated to a box to which it will rarely see the light of day.

Do you guys have this same mindset?

DC Bound and Cards From a Nats Collector!

My wife and I have a close friend who recently just started working for the Nationals. Knowing that I'm a huge Pirate fan he secured tickets for tonight and tomorrow. I've been to the stadium before, but never to see the Buccos in action.  The Saturday game will be even more fun as it is WVU day at the park. One of the biggest alumni areas for WVU is the DC metro area as it is only about 3 hours from Morgantown. Also, Gerrit Cole is getting reinstated from the DL to start Saturday.  It should be a fun weekend!!!!

Speaking of the Nats, Brett from Cooperstown Exit 316 recently sent me some cards. Brett is the Nats representative in the Supertraders group. If you have some Nats cards around shoot him a message and workout a trade!

This is a cool Rockies inaugural season Wakefield card. Tim doesn't have a ton of Pirate issues, but what he does have are among my favorite in my collection.

 Polanco was a legitimate snub for the All Star game. Nothing you can really get mad about as their are always a handful of guys left at home. The inclusion of guys like Odubel Herrera and the Reds outfielders hurt Polanco's chances.

The IP autos are the big highlight of this trade package. Rick Reuschel is probably my favorite of the bunch, but Zane Smith would be a close second.  I remember he was an honorable mention on a list I saw of the ugliest baseball players of all time. I'm sure he was honored.

Thanks a bunch for the cards Brett.

Thanks for reading!

Looking Back at my Predictions

Since this is the unofficial halfway point of the season I thought it would be fun to see how my predictions are holding up from the beginning of the year.  

AL East: Blue Jays
AL Central: Royals
AL West: Astros
Wildcard 1: Red Sox
Wildcard 2: Rangers
Best Record: Blue Jays

ALCS Matchup Astros vs Red Sox

The only teams I really missed the boat on so far is the Orioles and Indians. The O's are being carried by an offense that consistently puts balls into orbit and a bullpen that is top notch.  The Tribe had a great rotation, but going into the season many considered their outfield one of the worst in baseball.  Thankfully their upper management have gotten great seasons from Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis and Lonnie Chisenhall. 

NL East: Nats
NL Central: Cubs
NL West:  Dodgers
Wildcard 1: Pirates
Wildcard 2: Mets
Best Record: Nats

NLCS Matchup  Pirates-Cubs

As a whole the NL was much easier to pick then the AL as it is very top heavy.  The glaring omission here is the Giants. Only an epic second half collapse will cause them to miss the playoffs. 

WS Matchup Red Sox-Cubs (I will be puking the whole month of October if this happens)

WS winner Red Sox  (The Cubs will lose in glorious fashion)  GOAT

I still like my WS matchup, but dread the overly dramatic narrative that will come with it. 

AL MVP - Mike Trout 
NL MVP - Bryce Harper 

Trout will likely be the best overall player in the AL again, but the Angels are so bad that it would take something very special to keep him at the top of the list.  Since voters hate giving the award to players on bad teams that likely leaves Josh Donaldson and Jose Altuve as the front runners right now. 

Harpers June slump likely played himself out of the award.  The front runners now are Kershaw and Kris Bryant. 

AL Roy - Bryon Buxton
NL Roy Steven Matz

Buxton was terrible the first month of the season and got sit back to the minors. He has been a tad bit better recently, but nowhere near the point to be considered rookie of the year.  Right now the likely winner would be Michael Fulmer for the Tigers. 

My NL rookie of the year pick was made knowing that Corey Seager would be the front runner.  While Matz has been a quality pitcher, Seager is a clear cut number one.  

Al HR - Miguel Sano
NL Hr - Giancarlo Stanton

My AL choice was made more on pedigree than actual track record. Sano is likely going to 30 homeruns even after missing significant time with injury, but it won't even be close to the leaders. Seasoned mashers like Chris Davis, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis are all the top of the list.

Stanton is definitely in play because he by far has the most power in the game.  He still managed to hit 20 and he was terrible up until about the last two weeks before the break.  I still like this pick. 

Overall I'm still doing pretty well.  The main lesson I learned is to not bet against the Giants. They are a bunch of wizards.