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-2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Futures Game Prospects Jacoby Ellsbury. This one just happened to be in the scan. Not an autograph. I wrote about Ellsbury in the previous post. In case anyone's wondering what the Futures Game is, they've been holding it since 1999 in conjunction with the All-Star Game and its technical name is the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game. A player that does not qualify for rookie status can play either on the US team (players born in the US) or the World team (players not born in the US). Each MLB team must be represented by at least one player, though he can play on either the US team or the World team. Like the All-Star Game, there are a ton of players on the All-Star Futures Game rosters and usually a guy will have one or two at-bats and that's it. I think Ellsbury went 1-for-2 in the 2007 Futures Game playing with the US team (which lost for only the second time since the game had come into existence; they this year, too).
-2006 Topps Bazooka Bubble Gum Signature Line Victor Zambrano autograph. Possibly the most hated starting pitcher in Mets history, Victor Zambrano was a solid (though injury-prone) right-handed pitcher with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays until 2004. That's when interrim Mets general manager Jim Duquette got the bright idea of trading his best prospect pitcher for Zambrano. How did that happen? Simple. Some of the team veterans (team captain John Franco among them), who had (stupidly) been given advisory roles to the owner, didn't like said prospect, left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir. They thought he was too cocky for a rookie pitcher. Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson also pointed out a mechanical flaw in Kazmir's delivery; he would "hook" his wrist (i.e. jam it counterclockwise) during an early phase of his windup known as the scapular load (just as a pitcher's arm starts swinging upward, after he's parted his hands). Peterson noted that Kazmir likely would have problems staying off the disabled list, though hardly advocated trading him. But that was all the justification that Jim Duquette needed to satisfy John Franco and his ilk. Kazmir was packaged with journeyman reliever Joselo Diaz and sent to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano and righty reliever Bartolome Fortunato. Fortunato blew his arm out and was totally useless. Zambrano himself struggled to stay off the DL. And Scott Kazmir? He became Tampa Bay's ace and has been an AL All-Star twice, in 2006 and 2008. Thing is, almost all of the Mets fans at the time KNEW how bad of a trade this was. Duquette was fired after the 2004 season and John Franco was not re-signed. Victor Zambrano went 7-12 with a 4.17 ERA in 2005 to hover right at league average and struggled to control his breaking pitches. He was booed contantly (and unfairly; he didn't trade himself). In 2006, he hurt his arm once more, pitching terribly in the limited action that he saw. The Mets let Zambrano go after 2006, and he was hammered with the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays in 2007 to the tune of a 10.17 ERA (!!!). This year, he's split the season between the Rockies' AAA affiliate and a few Yankees Minor League teams. His ERA is still hovering around 9.00 and his fastball is basically gone. To this day, "pulling a Victor Zambrano" is synonymous with "making a bad trade" to New York Mets fans.
-1996 Leaf Authentic Signature Steve Trachsel autograph. A hard-luck pitcher on several teams, Steve Trachsel pitched with the 1993-1999 Chicago Cubs with repeatedly poor run support and at the time was famous for surrendering Mark McGwire's 62nd homerun in 1998. Nicknamed "The Human Rain Delay" for often taking a full minute to throw the baseball, Trachsel was a a painfully deliberate pitcher throughout his entire career. In 2000, he split the season between Tampa Bay and Toronto, signing as a free agent with the New York Mets in 2001. He was just in time to become the ace of some of the worst teams since the early 1990's. From 2001-2004, he was a good pitcher. He was pretty bad in 2005 and he himself actually requested that he be demoted to AAA ball. He returned and pitched well, but that was the last we'd see of the good Steve Trachsel. In 2006, despite a won/loss record of 15-8, he'd been incredibly lucky, getting hammered to the tune of a 4.97 ERA. By the end of the season, he couldn't get anybody out and was also grappling with personal problems. In the 2006 playoffs, he posted an ERA of 14.54 and likely cost the Mets the NL pennant. He split the 2007 season between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs, signing with Baltimore for the 2008 season. He's been pounded his last 15 or so games. I'm pretty sure he's done after this season.
-1962 Topps John Anderson rookie card. John Anderson was unique in that he threw a low sidearm knuckleball. Though he only saw brief action in the Major Leagues, he would pitch eleven seasons in the Minors, once winning 17 games. In 1962, the St. Louis Cardinals started fiddling around with the nine-year Minor League veteran's odd delivery (he'd start out looking like he'd throw submarine, then pop up and throw straight across sidearm), but that wound up giving him control problems. Dealt to the Houston Colt .45's, he struggled there, too, and couldn't seem to effectively go back to his old delivery. He retired in 1964.
-2008 Upper Deck Carlos Muniz rookie card. Carlos was the long reliever for most of 2008 with the New York Mets. He was pretty mediocre and got sent up and down from AAA New Orleans about five times. To date, his ERA is a pretty bad 5.40. Drafted in 2003, he's one of only a handful of players left over from the Steve Phillips era.
-2007 Topps Co-Signers Omar Minaya autograph/Brian Cashman autograph. Omar Minaya and Brian Cashman and the general managers of the New York Mets and New York Yankees, respectively. Minaya got his start with the Expos and was in fact their last GM, serving at that position from 2002-2004. As a result, a lot of the old Expos are on the New York Mets roster. In 2005, he replaced the discarded Jim Duquette as General Manager of the New York Mets. The Mets have come close from 2006-current but have seemingly fallen apart every single September (and are in the process of doing so now, barely clinging to a one-game lead in the NL Wild Card race as the team collectively slumps). Brian Cashman has been the Yankees' GM from 1998 to the present. He's been okay, though considering his enormous payroll, he should be getting the team into the World Series every season (something he's failed to do since 2003; the Yankees are considering firing him this upcoming season).
-2006 Bowman Blue Joey Devine rookie autograph. One of only a handful of college relief pitchers the Atlanta Braves have drafted the past few years, Joey Devine is one of those guys with a ton of talent, but also an extremely problematic delivery. He's had problems with his arm and his ribcage due to jerking his body upwards at the last second so as to throw high sidearm instead of low sidearm. It's a deceptive delivery, though, and one that does work when he's healthy. He has a good fastball (tops off at about 93 mph but with a lot of movement), slider, and changeup and can pitch to both lefties and righties. Before the 2008 season the Braves traded him to the Oakland A's for centerfielder Mark Kotsay. Kotsay was recently traded himself and the Braves have very little to show for giving up on Devine. This year, in 41 games for the A's, Devine has posted an incredible 0.60 ERA. He's given up only 22 hits in 44 innings, not given up any homeruns, walked just 13, and struck out 49. He'll either be the A's closer next year or traded to some team that wants or needs a closer.
-2007 Bowman Signs of the Future Kurt Suzuki autograph. The current catcher for the Oakland A's, Kurt Suzuki reached Major League baseball in mid 2007. Schooled in Billy Beane's doctrine of taking walks so as to provide more baserunners, he's both hit well and posted a good on-base percentage, with numbers of .270 and .341 for those stats, respectively, over his 213-game MLB career so far. He's also hit 14 homeruns, had 51 total extra-base hits, driven in 80 runs, scored 80 runs, and even stolen two bases. The native of Wailuku, HI's nickname is "Kurt Klutch" for his .288 batting average and 7 homeruns over his career with runners in scoring position. He has a bright future ahead of him.
-2002 SP Authentic Prospects Signatures Joselo Diaz rookie autograph. Joselo Diaz, originally a catcher in the Dodgers organization, was converted to pitching in 2002. He quickly went from journeyman to prospect. In 2003, he was traded in mid-season to the New York Mets as part of the deal for overpaid, barely-hitting outfielder Jeromy Burnitz. One year later, he found himself traded with Scott Kazmir to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in what was probably the worst trade of the decade for the Mets. But unlike Kazmir, Diaz would start to struggle. He drifted between a few organizations until 2006, when he pitched well enough to make his Major League debut. He only pitched in four games for the Kansas City Royals and was not very effective. In 2007, he played with the Yokohama BayStars of the Japanese Pacific League before the Mets picked him up again in 2008. However, after pitching poorly at AAA New Orleans, he was released and signed by the Texas Rangers. He pitched one inning in the Majors with them, allowing one unearned run, and that's probably it for his Major League career.
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-2005 Topps Retired Signature Jerry Grote autograph. The catcher with the late 1960's-mid 1970's New York Mets, Jerry Grote was undisputedly the best defensive catcher the Mets ever had and is often listed with Mike Piazza and Gary Carter among the top three in team history. Originally with the Houston Colt .45's, he was arguably the first good trade the Mets ever made. They sent sore-armed reliever Tom Parsons to Houston to get him. Though he never hit particularly well, Grote had good enough plate discipline to walk enough to make up for it (.252 career batting average, .316 career on-base percentage). A terrific game-caller, he was the personal catcher of 1960's-1970's Mets aces Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. He could also play a little bit of third base. The Mets traded him to the Dodgers in 1977 and he retired after the 1978 season. However, he came back in 1981 and split 24 games between the Dodgers and the Kansas City Royals. A member of the New York Mets Team Hall of Fame, Jerry Grote holds almost all of the defensive records for Mets catchers. My Dad said he was so valuable with his glove that he was better than Gary Carter, though not Mike Piazza.
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-1975 Topps Cookie Rojas, autographed. Signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 as part of their effort to sign every halfway decent ballplayer born in Havana, Cuba, Cookie Rojas would only play 39 games in the Majors with Cincinnati (in 1962). The next year, he was traded for struggling reliever Jim Owens to the Philadelphia Phillies. Rojas wasted no time to become the team's everyday second baseman (and also a very frequent outfielder). A spectacular defender who could play literally anywhere (once playing all nine positions in one game), Cookie was a weak hitter with little plate discipline, though he had some power. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969, he struggled, going only 5 for 47 before the Cardinals dealt him to the Kansas City Royals. With the Royals, Cookie resumed his good field/no hit style of play, shitfing to second base on an almost full-time basis. He also worked on making contact with the ball, and upped his hitting a bit. In 1973, he even batted leadoff and stole 18 bases. Retiring after the 1977 season, Cookie had played in 1,822 games over 16 years. He batted .263 with a .306 on-base percentage, 54 homeruns, 593 RBI's, 714 runs scored, and 74 stolen bases over that timeframe. In 1988, he managed the California Angels and also managed the Florida Marlins for a single game in 1996 after Rene Lachemann was ill. He was also the third base coach on the 1999 New York Mets. Currently, he does the Spanish color commentary for the Florida Marlins (though also did a fine job with his son Victor, the Texas Rangers play-by-play guy, covering the Caribbean Series in 2007, which I presume he'll do again in 2008).
-1978 TCMA Dick Radatz, autographed. Nicknamed "The Monster" because of his imposing 6'5", 235 lb. frame, Dick Radatz was perhaps the first guy that fit into the stereotype of the modern closer: come in for one or two innings, throw 100 mph, blow the hitters away, come in almost exclusively in save chances. Extremely heavily used out of the Boston Red Sox bullpen from the time he came up in 1962 until he hurt his arm in 1966, Radatz pretty much burned himself out. I've never seen a picture of his arm action to be abkle to comment on how risky his mechanics were, but he was described as "heaving" the ball toward home plate, so it's somewhat safe to assume he was rather "maximum effort" in terms of his delivery. In 1966, after he'd blown his arm out, he drifted from the Red Sox to the Indians to the Cubs to the Tigers to the Expos. In seven years of pitching, he went 52-43 with a then-unprecented 122 saves, a sparkling 3.13 ERA (skewed by his later years, too...he posted a 1.97 ERA in 1963), 745 strikeouts in 693 innings, and (very surprisingly for the time) zero starts in 381 career games. One wonders what he'd be like today, with pitchers' arms being babied, if anything.
-2008 Topps 2007 Highlights Mike Bacsik autograph. This card was a bit of a joke that Mike Bacsik himself has enjoyed; he's shown on the card after giving up the steroided-out Barry Bonds' 756th homerun. Bacsik, the son of a former Major Leaguer, was once ballyhooed as a top pitching prospect with the Cleveland Indians. As a result, the Mets were dumb enough to trade for him during the Steve Phillips era (they got him in 2002 after he briefly pitched with Cleveland in 2001). A highly erratic pitcher, he was either unhittable or he couldn't get an out. Signing as a free agent with the Texas Rangers, he seemed to finally reach his promise, but an arm injury after the season derailed his career. When he gave up the homerun to Bonds, he hadn't pitched in the Majors for three years and was pitching mop-up relief for the Washington Nationals. After he gave up 26 homeruns that season in only 118 innings pitched, he hasn't appeared in the Majors again (though he did pitch well this year in AAA ball). He'll often sign baseballs and jokingly inscribe "I gave up 756."
-2000 Topps Traded Certified Autographs Francisco Rodriguez rookie autograph. Originally a starting pitcher who moved to the bullpen because of his haphazard delivery, Francisco Rodriguez reached the Majors in 2002, pitching only a few innings as a September call-up. However, he'd been on the team's disabled list in the early part of the season and was thus allowed to pitch in the 2002 postseason. Pitching more innings in the post-season than in the regular season, Francisco Rodriguez proved more valuable as a reliever than a starter. He also picked up a nickname due to his high strikeout totals: "K-Rod" (taking off Alex Rodriguez's nickname of "A-Rod"). In 2005, he became the Angels regular closer after having served as the team's set-up man during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. He saved 45, 47, and 40 games from 2005-2007. In 2008, he broke the MLB single season record for saves with 61 (so far) and he is the only pitcher to post over 60 saves in a single season in any level of professional baseball. Thus far in his career, K-Rod is 23-17 with 207 saves and an ERA of only 2.36. He'll enter free agency this off-season and will likely become the highest-paid closer of all time. Considering the Mets' pitiful bullpen this year, I really hope they sign him, if for no other reason than at least you'll see a few less blown saves.
-2008 Topps Moments & Milestones B.J. Ryan autograph. The closer for the Toronto Blue Jays, B.J. Ryan probably only has a career at all because he's a closer. He has perhaps the worst arm action I've ever seen in a Major League pitcher; his arm's literally dragging behind his torso. He's been lucky, though, only needing Tommy John surgery once. And when healthy, he has been effective. He throws his fastball in the high 90's and also throws a terrific slider and a solid changeup. In 516 career innings, he's struck out 612 and only walked 247 (with only 402 hits given up). His career ERA is a very good 3.24, with a 20-27 lifetime record. Before he was a closer, B.J. was a set-up man (with Baltimore), and before that, he was a lefty specialist (primarily with Baltimore, though also briefly at the beginning with the Cincinnati Reds). He's one of only two Major League pitchers in history to win a game without throwing a pitch, too. Jim Bluejacket in 1914 was the other. So, wait, how do you do that? Well, I'll tell you how Ryan did it (Bluejacket did the same thing). On May 1, 2003, in the first game of a double-header against the Detroit Tigers, B.J. was brought in during the bottom of the 7th with two outs, the game tied, shortstop Omar Infante on first, and lefty slugger Bobby Higginson up. Ryan thought he'd try and move Infante back to first base with a pickoff throw. Instead, he caught him stealing. He just got that one out and the Orioles rallied off horrid Tigers set-up man Franklyn German to take the lead. The Orioles as a result brought in set-up man Buddy Groom to face Higginson when he came up to bat again in the 8th. Groom and Orioles closer Jorge Julio shut down the Tigers and preserved what may have been tied for the easiest win (on the individual pitcher) in Major League history.
-1994 Signature Rookies Bill Pulsipher autograph. The third and probably least deserving member of the mid 1990's New York Mets "Generation K" pitching trio, Bill Pulsipher looked promising during his 1995 rookie season, throwing a good fastball, changeup, slider, and curve. In 17 starts, he went 5-7, though posted a pretty good (for the era) 3.98 ERA. However, as a result of manager Dallas Green's overuse of him, Pulsipher hurt his arm. Missing all of 1996, he battled mental blocks and a social anxiety disorder in 1997, though his pitching ability seemed to have returned. In 1998, he started off the season with the New York Mets and did terribly, posting a 6.91 ERA. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for utility man Mike Kinkade. Pulsipher had two mediocre seasons with the Brew Crew before getting traded back to the Mets in 2000 for clubhouse poison infielder Luis Lopez. In two games, both starts, Pulsipher went 0-2 with an ERA over 12.00. He was then traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pinch hitter Lenny Harris (one of the few good trades of the Steve Phillips era). He never pitched for Arizona, though the Red Sox and White Sox tried using him as a lefty specialist reliever in 2001. He did horribly with an ERA over 6.00. He came back in 2005 after pitching brilliantly in Taiwan ("Bill Pulsipher is good in Taiwan? The baseball must be horrible there!"--A good friend) for the Uni-President Lions. But the St. Louis Cardinals, who had picked him up, released him after he posted a 6.75 ERA in 5 games. He currently pitches for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League, an Independent League. In the Majors, he went 13-19 with a woeful ERA of 5.15.
More later!
