-2005 Topps Braden Looper, signed. Drafted in the first round of the 1996 draft with the third overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals out of Wichita State University, Braden Looper holds the record for most games pitched before multiple games started. Braden was drafted as a starter and indeed pitched in the Minors as such. Making the Majors in 1998 as a September call-up, he pitched in three games in relief, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. However, his raw stuff impressed the Cardinals and they were planning on moving him to the rotation in 1999. But then, fate intervened. The pitching-deep Cardinals saw a golden opportunity when the Florida Marlins announced they were trading star shortstop Edgar Renteria. Short was a weak position for the Cardinals and while they were hesitant to give up on Braden, the Marlins wanted no less. After some hesitation, Braden, Minor League closer Armando Almanza, and infield prospect Pablo Ozuna were dealt to Florida for Renteria. With the exception of ace closer Antonio Alfonseca, the Marlins had a very weak bullpen, though they did possess a strong starting rotation. So they made Braden their set-up man. Braden performed extremely well, going 3-3 in 72 games, all in relief, and posted an excellent 3.80 ERA. In 2000, Braden reprised his role as set-up man to Alfonseca, going 5-1 in 73 games, all in relief, and posted a league average 4.41 ERA; the result of a dead arm period. Braden rebounded in 2001, going 3-3 in 71 games, all in relief, and posting a 3.55 ERA. In 2002, Braden split the closer role with Vladimir Nunez. He went 2-5 with 13 saves in 78 games, all in relief, posting a 3.14 ERA. 2003 saw Braden get the closer role for the Florida Marlins full-time. He went 6-4 with 28 saves in 74 games, all in relief, and posted a 3.68 ERA. Braden struggled badly in the postseason, however, including registering a disastrous 9.82 ERA in the World Series against the Yankees. The Marlins opted not to re-sign Looper, instead letting him hit free agency. Naturally, this meant that dreadful New York Mets General Manager Jim Duquette signed him to a two-year contract to be the Mets closer. Braden was well-liked during his first year with the Mets in 2004. He went 2-5 with 29 saves in 71 games, posting an excellent 2.71 ERA. And then came 2005. Braden hurt his arm in Spring Training and refused to tell anyone (shades of Doug Sisk) until the end of the season. The result was just about what you'd expect; he defined the term "erratic." When he was on, which wasn't often, he was incredibly good. When he was off, he was so bad that he was literally unwatchable. By the end of the season, the fans despised him. He'd somehow gone 4-7 with 28 saves in 60 games with a 3.94 ERA. In 2006, Braden signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals intended to use Braden as the set-up man for closer Jason Isringhausen. Instead, he worked as a middle reliever with the emergence of dominating set-up man Adam Wainwright. Braden had an impressive win/loss record, going 9-3 in 69 games, all in relief, and posted a solid 3.56 ERA. However, he was still quite erratic and choked badly in the postseason. Mets fans cheered as he imploded against his former team twice in the NLCS. It was after 2006 that famous Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan realized that Braden had a very poor mentality for a relief pitcher and would likely make a far better starting pitcher. In a controversial move, he told Braden to report to Spring Training as a starter. He'd pitched 572 games in relief before making a single start. Braden was horrible at first, but eventually settled into his new role to the point of outright dominance. He finished the season 12-12 in 31 games, including 30 starts (on the last day of the season, he made a relief appearance as Cardinals manager Tony La Russa amusingly put in every single one of his pitchers in a game that the Cardinals won), posting a 4.94 ERA. However, the success that Braden experienced late in the season gave him confidence for the 2008 season. Sure enough, Braden went 12-14 (a result of bad luck) in 33 games, all starts, and posted a solid 4.02 ERA. He threw his first Major League shutout on June 11 pitching against the Cincinnati Reds. He also gained confidence after Dave Duncan told him it was okay to throw inside and occassionally hit batters; something he'd been very nervous about prior to '08. He more than doubled his career high of 5 hit batsmen by drilling 11 opposing hitters (tied for 4th place in the National League). Braden appears to have finally found himself and as one of the Mets fans who more or less felt sorry for Braden rather than actually despising the guy, I do wish him well as a St. Louis Cardinals starter.
-2004 Just Rookies Argenis Reyes, signed. Originally a Cleveland Indians prospect, second baseman Argenis Reyes has no power, good speed, an incredible glove, a good arm, and decent plate discipline. However, he pretty much doesn't take enough walks to be a Major League leadoff hitter. The Indians, who had signed Reyes in 2001, realized this and released him after Spring Training, 2008. His story may well have ended there had it not been for a childhood friend on a Major League club: the unrelated Jose Reyes, superstar shortstop of the New York Mets. When the two were young, they formed a double play combo in the Dominican Republic playing pick-up games. Jose recommended signing Argenis as a Minor League free agent once the Indians had cut him. Seeing as he was low risk and the Mets were stockpiling middle infielders for their Minor League system, they did indeed follow Jose's advice. Argenis played well with the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs, batting .283 with a .347 on-base percentage, no homeruns, 22 RBI's, 41 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases in 81 games played. However, since the Mets were being decimated by injuries at second base, he was a surprise call-up to the Major Leagues. Despite posting pathetic offensive numbers (he batted .218 with a .259 on-base percentage, 1 homerun, 3 RBI's, 13 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases in 49 games), he became a fan favorite for his superb fielding and positive effect on clubhouse chemistry. Normally, a player has to hit at least somewhat well to gain the admiration of your average Mets fan, but Argenis dodged this completely. He was in fact extended and given a Major League contract, meaning he'll probably be the go-to utility infielder for the Mets in 2009. I look forward to seeing more of his exciting play in the field and wish him well. As an aside, on this baseball card, he's being hit by a pitch. I can't find any other baseball card showing a guy getting hit by a pitch.
-2002 Topps Traded Signature Moves Victor Diaz rookie autograph. Victor Diaz is pretty much the perfect example of what happens when the media gets its hands on a player's semi-complete scouting report without knowing anything else about him. Though Victor was born in the Dominican Republic, he was oddly subject to the US Amateur Draft, being drafted in 37th round of the 2000 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though no one expected Victor to sign with Los Angeles, he did indeed do so over eleven months after he was drafted. At the age of 20 in 2002, Victor made his Minor League debut and impressed everyone by batting .307 with a .351 on-base percentage, 14 homeruns, 82 RBI's, 86 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases between the Class A South Georgia Waves and the Class AA Jacksonville Suns. In 2003, he started the season with Jacksonville once again, batting .291 with a .347 on-base percentage, 10 homeruns, 55 RBI's, 42 runs scored, and 8 stolen bases in 85 games. This impressed New York Mets GM Steve Phillips enough to trade aging outfielder Jeromy Burnitz for him as well as Minor League relief pitchers Joselo Diaz (of no relation to Victor) and Kole Strayhorn. However, Phillips wasn't just content with Diaz being considered a top prospect, instead, he released a somewhat-complete scouting report the media basically tabbing him as the next Manny Ramirez. Well, perhaps they got it right about his dreadful attitude, but certainly nothing else. Victor finished the 2003 season with the Class AA Binghamton Mets, batting .354 with a .383 on-base percentage, 6 homeruns, 23 RBI's, 29 runs scored, and 7 stolen bases. However, he also almost completely stopped taking walks. In 2004, Victor split the season with the Class AAA Norfolk Tides and the Major Leagues with the Mets. With the Tides, Victor batted .292 with a .331 on-base percentage, 24 homeruns, 94 RBI's, 81 runs scored, and only 6 stolen bases. It's probably that Victor started taking steroids around this period considering a huge power boost in a pitcher-friendly league and a drastic reduction in stolen bases. But new Mets GM Jim Duquette kept perpetuating the perception that Victor Diaz would be the next Manny Ramirez. In the Majors in 2004, he batted .294 with a .321 on-base percentage, 3 homeruns, 8 RBI's, and 8 runs scored. However, he did so in only 15 games. His on-base percentage is deceptively high; he walked only 1 time and struck out 15 times. This should've set off a few alarm bells, but Duquette failed to trade Diaz while his value was high. Incoming GM Omar Minaya sent him down and called him up to and from AAA ball repeatedly in 2005 in a vain effort to boost his value. His surly attitude was a negative and he disappointed most fans. In the Majors that year, Victor batted .257 with a flukishly high .329 on-base percentage (only 30 walks), 12 homeruns, 38 RBI's, 41 runs scored, and 6 stolen bases in 89 games played. His stats were similar in AAA ball: he batted .300 with a .353 on-base percentage, 10 homeruns, 34 RBI's, 30 runs scored, and 6 stolen bases. In 2006, Victor opened the season with the Mets, but was quickly sent down to the Minors after going 2 for 11 in 6 games and complaining incessantly about his playing time. On August 30, the Mets finally found a taker for Victor in the Texas Rangers, getting then-catching prospect Mike Nickeas out of him. All this time, the media kept saying what an awful return it was since the previous two Mets GM's had compared Victor to Manny Ramirez. Victor played in 37 games for Texas the next year in 2007, batting .240 with a .259 on-base percentage, 9 homeruns, 25 RBI's, 13 runs scored, and no stolen bases. He also walked exactly once and struck out 33 times. In 2008, he was released and split the season between the AAA affiliates of the Astros and Mariners. I think it's safe to call him a busted prospect wiuth little chance of playing in the Majors again.
More later!
