Some of My Cards

I don't have a scanner so I can't really get around to showing off some of my stuff.  But at one point that was different.  So I dug up my old photobucket account and I am going to show some stuff off once in awhile.

So here is the first scan:

From left to right, top to bottom:

1.  2004 Timeless Treasures Home Away Gamers Dual Jersey Ted Williams.  A dual jersey of Ted Williams.  This thing was not terribly cheap but who could pass up a dual jersey card of the greatest Red Sox ever?

2.  2004 Sweet Spot Sweet Threads Prime Manny Ramirez.  What a great-looking patch from Manny.  This is from the 100th Red Sox anniversary patch the team wore in 2001, I think.  I have a Trot Nixon jersey with this patch on the shoulder that was a gift from a former girlfriend.

3.  2004 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Material Combo Manny Ramirez.  Nice Manny cards are reasonably inexpensive and I think I got this for under $20.00.  It has two jersey pieces, a bat piece, glove piece, and a shoe piece.  

4.  2003 Bowman Chrome Xfractor Autograph Kevin Youkilis.  Sometimes you have to get in before the player becomes a star.  I got it during his rookie season, it would have been a lot more later on.

5.  2003 Topps Tribute World Series Relics Carlton Fisk.  A great picture from his walkoff home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series complete with a bat piece and a piece of the Green Monster.

6.  2002 SP Legendary Cuts Autographs Billy Goodman.  I wanted a cut auto from Legendary Cuts for a long time but they were in very high demand.  So I had to narrow my focus to some lesser known players.  I ended up with this one, still my only one.  Goodman won the batting title in 1950 but never really had a permanent position.

7.  2003 Topps Pristine Yellow Printing Plate Hanley Ramirez.  I always liked printing plates for some weird reason and this was one of my first ones.  I also jumped on this before Hanley became a big star.  I have a lot of decent cards of Hanley which would have been better if he had more than two at-bats with Boston.  I was always disappointed that Boston moved him.

My Thoughts on the Kevin Youkilis Trade

I am late to this.  I was very disappointed that Boston decided to trade Youkilis on one hand, but on the other, it was clearly time to move on.  Youkilis had not been playing well this season and there were really no indications that he would start anytime soon.  With his salary, he could not simply ride the bench.  But yet Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, and Will Middlebrooks all deserved to play, meaning there was nowhere to play Youkilis.

Youkilis was one of my favorite players and had been since his debut.  So it is weird seeing him in another uniform.  It is even worse seeing him do so well for the White Sox while Middlebrooks has been going through some growing pains in Boston.

The worst part about all of this is that Boston did not really get anything worthwhile from the White Sox in the trade.  Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart came over and Boston contributed money in the deal.  Lillibridge had a 13 home run season last year in part time work but was struggling this year.  His best asset is his versatility as he can play in the infield and outfield.  He played in ten games with the Red Sox before being designated for assignment.  He hit .125/.125/.125 with two singles in 16 plate appearances.  Thus far he has not been picked up by another team, so hopefully there is a chance at salvaging him.  Stewart was once considered one of the best pitching prospects in the majors.  He has been traded a couple of times in the last few years.  In five games since the trade, he is 1-1 with a 3.81 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 28.1 innings   with six walks and 31 hits allowed.  Not great numbers, but reasonably promising.  It is clear Stewart is the "prize" such as it is in this trade.

So, Youkilis is gone now and it is disappointing.  He has brought Red Sox fans a lot of fond memories.

Boxscore: August 8, 2006: Royals 6 vs. Red Sox 4

This is, to this date, the last Red Sox game I have attended. My friend from work and I went down to Kansas City to see the Red Sox take on the Royals. This was during a particularly cold streak for Boston and they could not win a single game against the Royals that series. Injuries had decimated the team and the pitching was particularly hurt.

Jon Lester started the game, but he was a rookie and was very wild. He pitched five innings, giving up four runs, three walks, and five strikeouts. Of course, the bullpen was pretty bad and Craig Hansen and Rudy Seanez each gave up a run. Julian Tavarez also pitched in the game.

The big bright spot for the game was Wily Mo Pena who hit a ball so hard that the outfielders did not even move. The ball landed on top of the concession stand and was one of the furthest hit home runs in Kaufman Stadium history. David Ortiz also hit a home run in the game, his 41st. Manny Ramirez, Alex Gonzalez, and recent pickup Javy Lopez each had two hits in the game. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis also each had a hit. Ramirez, Lopez, Youkilis, and Gonzalez each had a double. Coco Crisp stole a base, and Mark Loretta and Alex Cora each had two hitless at-bats.

The Royals simply played better than the Red Sox that game.

Boxscore: May 26, 2006 Red Sox 8 vs. Devil Rays 4

This is the only game so far that I have attended at Fenway Park.

My parents took me to Boston as a gift for graduating from law school. We spent a long weekend there doing a bunch of tourist stuff. The main reason for going though was to see this game. We were lucky to see a game at all as it was raining pretty hard immediately before the game.

David Wells started the game and pitched pretty well for 4.1 innings until being taken out after a line drive caught him in the knee. He gave up five hits and one earned run on a home run to Carl Crawford. Julian Tavarez came in to pitch 2.1 innings to pick up the win. He gave up two more runs. Keith Foulke pitched .1 innings and gave up another run. Rudy Seanez then came in to pitch 1.2 innings and handed it off to Jonathan Papelbon, the rookie closer who saved the game, getting the last out. The Red Sox bullpen got the job done, but it was pretty ugly. That was not a good year for the bullpen other than Papelbon.

The offensive star was Mike Lowell who had three hits, including a home run and a double. He drove in two runs. David Ortiz also added a double and single, driving in four. The other two runs were driven in by Mark Loretta and Trot Nixon. Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, and Wily Mo Pena each had a single and a run. Alex Gonzalez had three hits and a run. Manny Ramirez also had a single and Willie Harris appeared as a defensive replacement for Pena.

All in all, this was a great game and is still the only time I have been to Fenway Park.