Mountain Dew, Topps, and you (...er, me)

A few weeks ago my parents bought me three cases of Mountain Dew. Each of these cases contained a pack of three 2007 Topps baseball cards. Since I can't remember the last time I opened up a pack of baseball cards I've decided to live-blog each pack opening.

I am now on my last pack of cards.
The other two openings can be found HERE and HERE.

Let us begin.


I dang near bent these cards in half trying to pry them off the Mountain Dew box. Plastic may protect the cards from dust and dings, but it's no good if the plastic itself is crazy glued to another surface.

Anyway...

Johnny Damon, P174
Damon was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, and Royals fans still remember him fondly. I'd be interested to hear what Athletics fans think of Johnny D. Anyway, the funniest thing that ever happened in the history of time was when Damon signed with the Yankees as a free agent two days before Christmas '05. Feliz Navidad, Red Sox Nation.
I remember watching an episodes of Cribs a couple years ago. They were at Johnny Damon's house, and on the wall he had a picture of the Last Supper on the wall, but members of the '04 Sox had replaced the disciples. Naturally shaggy-faced Damon was Jesus. Also, his closet had an upstairs.
I think he signs his name in sanskrit. Seriously, a wavey line followed by another wavey line does not constitute a signature.


David DeJesus, P190
Speaking of Jesus and the Royals...
It's bothering me that the baseball in that picture is slightly above the barrel of the bat and past him a little bit, indicating that ball is going to go staight up and over to the third base dugout. It's a neat picture, but I'm not sure DeJesus would appreciate being photographed swinging late on a pitch.
Another nitpicky thing bothering me about this picture is that I can't really see Davey's face. I cannot gaze into the eyes of DeJesus.
On the back of the card:

"The Royals relied heavily on David in 2006. In the games he played, they
went 49-68 (.419); without him: 13-32 (.289)."

What's conveniently overlooked here is the fact that .419 and .289 are BOTH terrible winning percentages. Those are, like, losing percentages. But whatever. David DeJesus is one of the few bright spots the Royals have.

Barry Zito, P200
I would have been thrilled to get this card before the season started. The past few years with Oakland Zito's put up lots of wins, lots of strikeouts, and several seasons with a pretty good ERA. The Giants signed him to a $126 million(!!!) deal after the 2006 season, and so far this year he is 7-10 with a 5.28 ERA. Somehow he's a better American League pitcher than he is a National League pitcher. So until he gets good again I'm going to be pretty middle-of-the-road about him.
Other than that I really don't have much to say about Barry Zito. Apparently he's Patrick Duffy's nephew.

And what's with all these lefties? Did I crack open the lefty case?




Well, that was a fun adventure. Three packs of three... nine cards of Mountain Dew baseball awesomeness.
Here's the final breakdown:

P22 Gary Matthews Jr.
P26 Bronson Arroyo
P49 Mike Piazza
P91 Dontrelle Willis
P174 Johnny Damon
P190 David DeJesus
P192 Brian Schneider
P199 Robinson Cano
P200 Barry Zito

Not TOO bad, but not terribly exciting either. Ah well, half the fun is tearing open the plastic.

Obligatory Bondsy post

I remember where I was when I watched McGwire hit his 62nd home run.
I remember where I was when I watched Cal Ripken play in his 2131st game.
I made it a point to experience these events live as they happened. No Sportscenter recaps for me. When future generations ask me what I was doing when an all-time mark was set, I don't want to say I was out back mowing the lawn.

For better or worse another monumental mark is about to be reached. And as much as I don't want Barry Bonds to hit 756 home runs, as ashamed as I am to call him a baseball player, I've still got to watch.

Do you know how badly I wish I could've seen Aaron's 715th homer?
Rose's 4190th hit?
Maris's 61st home run?
Live on TV?

No historical baseball records are going to pass me by.

So I feel sort of obligated to watch Barry Bonds piss me off.

Now let me tell you how mad I am at Sportsnet, the less-annoying Canadian ESPN equivalent, right now. They promised me more Giants' games. Okay. Fine. They promised every Bonds at-bat until he breaks the record. Good... I'll have to wade through some boring CFL highlights, but they'll cut to the at-bats live.

Last night I was all prepared to watch history. I had the Yahoo Gamechannel running on the computer to tell me when he was coming to bat. I had the TV on the Sportsnet channel ready for some live history-making. I had a plate full of chips to munch on while I waded through the boring CFL highlights. At this point Bonds was at 754. One more to tie Aaron.
And...
And...
More boring CFL highlights.
I glanced at the computer. Bonds was on first base.
EVERY AT-BAT MY BUTTOCKS.
Maybe they just... forgot?
Next at-bat. Boring CFL highlights. Computer glance: Bonds on first base again.
I went to bed.

Fortunately (in more ways than one) he didn't tie the record that night. But TV lied to me. I can't angrily watch Barry Bonds break the home run record if I can't angrily watch him at all. Don't promise me every Bonds at-bat, Sportsnet, if you're not interested in broadcasting every Bonds at-bat.

For crap's sake.

I may end up witnessing the 756th home run for the first time on YouTube or something like that. That's no way experience a momentous event.

"Where were you when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all-time home run record?"
"I was in the living room screaming at boring CFL highlights."

Helmets are alright, y'know

As always I take requests and dedications.

I saw this in the newspaper and wondered if you knew about it....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19908311/

That's a link to an article about the minor league coach who was struck and killed by a batted ball.

Yeah, I read about that the day after it happened. And while I'm saddened by the incident, I'm not really surprised by it. There is a certain level of danger in baseball (or any other sport that revolves around hitting a very solid ball in random directions as hard as you can) and things like this occasionally and tragically happen. That's not to say baseball has a high price. This isn't auto racing. Little leaguers aren't putting their lives in danger by stepping out onto the field. Death by baseball is a very rare thing, but enough baseball is played all over the world for the possibility to still exist.

Actually, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. In any given game at least half a dozen screaming line drives are shot into the stands. Splintered bat shards can go anywhere. Shoot, every few games or so an entire bat will fly out of the hitter's hands and land behind the dugout. Sometimes people get plunked, but it's not often somebody gets killed.

I'm not demanding on-field coaches wear protective gear. The danger is there, but it's not imminent. I don't remember the last time a coach was critically injured by a batted ball. But if they want to wear a helmet or something for their own well-being, I'm all for that. If John Olerud can play first base under a helmet with minimal discomfort then first base coach Glenallen Hill and anybody else should be applauded for doing the same.

There was a time when even batters didn't wear helmets, so who knows? Maybe the helmetted coach will become a trend that catches on. But again, I don't think non-batters/catchers should be required to don protective head gear, no more than I think the fans should be shielded from the field by a large all-encompassing net.

forums will be the death of me

Facebook recently opened its e-doors to everybody so that any ol' goober can get an account there. Naturally I hopped right on that bandwagon. I'm still on Facebook. I enjoy it there.

They've got a baseball application where you can let the world know who your favorite teams and players are, and you can totally make a complete douche of yourself on the forums. With a constant supply of chatterbox highschoolers and meathead frat-tards there's a constant supply of the latter.

And it keeps coming up over and over and over...

"Sure Pete Rose bet on baseball, but he bet for his own team to win. There's no harm in that. In fact, isn't that like an incentive to win?"

#!$%.
First of all, there's a reason why gambling, ANY form of it, is banned in baseball. If you happen to be betting on your team, it really doesn't take much for you to bet against your team. It's easy to put money on your team when your '89 Reds are playing the abysmal '89 Braves, but is it so easy to to cash in on your team when you're playing the '89 Giants (who were NL champs)?

People often say that since he bet on his team to win he wasn't harming or effecting any outcomes. I then punch those people in their dumb mouths. Take, for example, this completely plausible situation:
The Reds are playing a close game, but Rose doesn't have any cash riding on this one. However, he does have one of his better players benched so that he'll be rested for the next night's "money game." Suddenly a situation arrises where, should the benched player be put in the game, he would be a certain asset and could possibly aid the Reds in winning that particular ballgame. Nope. You keep that bench warm. I need you tomorrow.
THAT is a circumstance effected by gambling. THAT is wrong. And even if THAT never actually happened, the mere fact of that scenerio even existing compromises the game.

In six of Rose's eight managerial years the Reds finished second, but never first. This was likely God's doing, punishment for shaming baseball.
I'll let you decide how serious I am.

And look at me! I didn't even mention the 1919 White Sox.

As for whether or not Pete deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, I'm still on the fence about this one. Based on playing ability alone he's a shoo-in. BUT he broke a very serious baseball rule. Players aren't banned from baseball for no good reason.

"But what he did as a manager shouldn't effect what he did as a player. It's the baseball PLAYER's Hall of Fame, not the baseball MANAGER's Hall of Fame."

&!#$.
1) There ARE managers in the Hall of Fame, so stop saying that.
2) Pete Rose was a player/manager for three seasons. Managing, gambling, and still a player.

I'm glad I'm not the decision-maker here, the one who decides whether or not to open those doors to immortality. I know in the hearts and minds of many he's already there, but it sure helps to have that shiney plaque hung up on the wall. He was a hero, and I'm still mad at him for shirking that and bastardizing the game for money.


It's too early in the morning for me to get riled up.
It's the kids these days... they're uninformed, amoral, and stupid.
I'm not a sixty-year-old porch coot, but if I look it it's because I've been driven there.

The All-Peña Team

No rhyme. No reason. But I need a first post, and I can't think of a better first-post topic than who I want to see on my All-Peña Team. From Alejandro to Willy Mo to Tony to Tony to all the no-namers inbetween, a team of Peñas is undoubtably a force to be reckoned with.



Alright, everybody. Hands in the middle... on three...
1, 2, 3... Peña Power!!



Catcher: Well OBVIOUSLY it's going to be Tony Peña. Few have played over 1900 games behind the plate, and fewer still have done it with the patented Peña 'stache.

First Base: Carlos Peña is havin' himself a mighty fine year (23 homers, .289 average, 1.01 OPS, and a stolen base to boot!) but since he plays in Tampa Bay few seem to notice. Peñas, however, are used to being overlooked. It's part of what makes a Peña a Peña.

Second Base: Roberto Peña (nicknamed "Baby") was more comfy at shortstop, but he played enough games at second to be considered a safe backup there. He wasn't so sure with his bat, as his .245 career average will attest to.

Shortstop: Tony Jr. is having a better year with his bat (.284, 17 doubles) than he is with his glove (16 errors in 93 games), but he plays for the Royals, so all is forgiven (or at least explained). Also, in this mess of Peñas, it was only inevitable that there'd be some relations here.

Third Base: Bert Peña was primarily used as a shortstop, but for the sake of this line-up I had to go A-Rod on him and scoot him to third where, in 10 mid-1980's games for Houston, he committed no errors.

Left Field: Geronimo Peña was a second baseman for several years with the Cardinals, but I had to stick him way out in left field for the sake of filling spots. In 1991, in four left field games, he caught six fly balls and committed no errors.

Center Field: Elvis Peña had himself a couple big league cups of coffee in 2000 and 2001. Though brought up as an infielder, he was last seen playing outfield for the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League.

Right Field: Wily Mo is a fielding liability, but give him a hundred games and he'll give you 20-25 home runs and a couple key hits. What's remarkable is that he's the only Peña with any real outfield experience.

Starting Pitcher: Juan Peña was a sweet pitching prospect in the Red Sox organization. When he was finally called up to the majors in 1999 he struck out 15 batters in 13 innings, allowed just one earned run, and won both of his starts. Unfortunately he quickly came down with shoulder problems, then wrecked his elbow, which caused him to miss all of 2000. He bounced around the minors after that and ended his pro career with Nashua of the Atlantic League in 2004.

Middle Relief: Tony Peña, no relation to Tony or Tony, is currently a middle-relief man for Arizona, though periodically he'll be called upon to close a game. He's sporting a 2.09 ERA this season and strikes out twice as many as he walks.

Closer: Alejandro Peña began his career as a pretty good starting pitcher, but he proved to be a dang good closer as well, converting 13 straight save opportunities with the Braves in 1991. He finished his career with a highly respectable 3.11 ERA.

Manager: Tony gets dual credit for being both a reliable catcher and an adequate manager (not just anybody can lead the Royals to an over-.500 record). But this isn't Kansas City, and I'd like to see what skipper Tony could do with a team full of killer Peñas.



Honorable Mention/Bench:
Brayan Peña - If catcher Tony needs a day off, Brayan would make a great second-string. A seldom used catcher for Atlanta, he has yet to commit a Major League error. He struggles with that Mendoza line though, so skipper Tony needs to be careful where he bats him.

Ramon Peña - Tony's brother and Tony's uncle, Ramon is mostly here by associations. In eighteen big-league innings with Detroit in 1989 he closed six games (no saves), allowed twelve earned runs, struck out twelve, and then disappeared.

Orlando Peña - Like Alejandro, Orlando began as a decent starter and finished his career as a good closer. In 1963 he had a 12 - 20 record for the KC Athletics. In 1970, after a couple seasons in the minors, he was picked up by the Royals as a batting practice pitcher, but Pittsburgh felt he was good enough to pitch real games for them and signed him that summer.

Jesus Peña - The holiest of Peñas, for obvious reasons. In two big-league seasons he struck out 40, walked 42, and had a 5.21 ERA.



What surprised me in my Peña research is discovering how many Peñas are/were light-hitting infielders. Peñas, it seems, are not built for the wide open spaces. And though they may appear mediocre, a team full of this many scrappers (well, Wily Mo excluded) is sure to come through with a win somehow.