A Must Win

3 straight losses to the division leading New York Yankees. With the exception of Beckett and Lester, the starters are hurting. The Red Sox haven't scored a run since Thursday night, and now sit 5 1/2 back of New York, with only a 1/2 game lead for the wild card. With Lester on the mound, if this isn't a must win I don't know what is...

UPDATE: Crap. On the plus side, the Sox finally plated a couple of runs thanks to a 2 run shot from recent acquisition Victor Martinez. Jon Lester also threw an impressive game. On the negative side, pretty much everything else...

Collecting Whalers - 1979 O-Pee-Chee Mike Rogers

The card I'm featuring for my latest installment of Collecting Whalers came to me recently in a trade package from Brian, aka Captain Canuck, all the way from Canada! Brian, along with Sal from Puck Junk, has quickly become one of my favorite trade partners. The fact that he's into hockey cards is cool enough, but he always includes a couple of junk wax packs in his packages. The 2 packs of 1991-92 Score in this last package were much appreciated believe it or not!

This Mike Rogers card was one of two 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Whalers that Brian threw in this time. I wasn't alive in 1979 so my hockey card collection is pretty bare from that year, and I'm almost ashamed to admit that although I have a handful of Topps cards, these are my very first 79-80 O-Pee-Chee's!

What's great about the 1979-80 Whalers cards is that the Whalers were just integrating into the NHL from the WHA that year, so all the pictures are from the year prior and feature the WHA New England Whalers jerseys. Rogers absolutely lit it up during his two years in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, but in typical Whaler-like fashion, the team dealt him in search of defensive help despite back-to-back 105 point campaigns.

Thanks for another great package Brian, looking forward to trading again!

Terrible

I'm sure this isn't the first place you're reading this, but what a disappointment in my opinion...

Competition is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The only positive I can find, and it's really a stretch, is that Upper Deck can focus more on their hockey releases. Ugh...

Revising My Stance...At Least a Bit...

Last Thursday, when I found out that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were on "the list" from 2003, I was pretty upset. Perhaps I over-reacted a bit in the moment when I declared that I hated the sport of baseball (or the state of baseball, which is what I really meant). A couple of reader comments have made me rethink things and I do feel a bit differently. Dinged Corners had a great comment, correctly predicting that inevitably we'll all get over it. I agree with this completely, in fact with all the excitement regarding the Red Sox acquiring Victor Martinez from Cleveland at the trade deadline, that has already started to happen for me to some extent. Comments from other players in the media like Bronson Arroyo and Nomar Garciaparra have also made me realize just how widespread this was, and I finally do see that the entire era has to be viewed differently in light of how much this culture penetrated locker rooms across the Majors.

Pricelesspursuit left a comment that got me thinking even more. His argument was that although he is disappointed whenever a story like this comes to light, baseball is ultimately an entertainment business more than anything else, and if you can come to grips with that then it's easier to still enjoy watching despite what's happened to the game. While this is a valid point, and it did calm me a bit, it only made me a little less angry. Here's why...

I completely understand that in the end, Major League Baseball is a business, and I will even go so far as to agree that it is an entertainment business. Ultimately the business is driven by the fans, who purchase tickets, jerseys, and even baseball cards and expect to be entertained as a result. Where my opinion differs lies in what I find entertaining about the sport. If I just wanted to be entertained I would watch a movie or become a pro wrestling fan. With baseball, I'm paying to be entertained by a sport, a competition. The entertainment value of that sport goes down dramatically when certain players or teams have an unfair advantage. Would you be entertained by a baseball game if the visiting team only got two outs per at bat while the home team got 3? How about if the tag up rule only applied to certain players in the lineup? What if one team could field 3 outfielders but the other team only 2? With some players taking PEDs and others relying on their natural talent, I feel like the entire balance of the game I've come to know and love is lost. I won't even get into the impact on the history of a game that is so largely based on statistics and records.

I'm already tired of hearing about it, and this will probably be my last post on the issue. I wish the entire list would just be released as opposed to a few names here and there, dragging on and disappointing fans over the years to come. I know I'll get over it and I'll be back. In fact, I'm sure I'll be watching every minute of the Red Sox/Yankees series later this week...

Goalie Mask Photos

Just got back from a couple of days and nights roughing it in a tent on Cape Cod, so I have no energy or motivation for a post right now. I've mentioned before that one of my favorite things about vintage hockey cards are the great goalie masks. When I ran across this gallery of the top 10 goalie masks from the first expansion era, I just had to link to it.

Check it out for yourself!

I Hate the Sport of Baseball Right Now...

I'm not one of those fans who is so die-hard that they deny the problems with steriods in baseball have existed on the team they follow. I'm realistic enough to acknowledge that I'm sure there have been (and probably still are) players on EVERY team who have cheated and will continue to cheat.

That doesn't mean that it hurts any less when you find out the truth. I tried to stay positive and tell myself that Ortiz's slump at the beginning of the season had nothing to do with performance enhancers, but in the back of my mind there was that nagging feeling, which appears to have now been confirmed. I won't lie, that miraculous 2004 World Series Championship seems a little less magical in light of this.

I'm really getting sick of baseball...

Collecting Whalers - 1989 Topps Team Sticker

Topps included team stickers with a few of their hockey releases in the 80's, but since 1989-90 Topps was the set I collected most this particular sticker is the one that's most familiar to me. The 1989 stickers were actually a few separate stickers on one card. One featuring the team logo, another featuring a number, and then a few puck stickers. I can't remember if different stickers had different numbers or if each team's sticker always had the same number, but this particular card has #6, which would've been worn in 1989 by defenseman Adam Burt if I'm not mistaken.

Any time I scored a goal playing youth hockey, I would arrive home, retrieve my 1989 Topps album, pull a puck sticker off of one of these cards and affix it to the back of my helmet. I think adorning my helmet with the stickers was just as exciting as actually scoring a goal for me. Since my original Whalers sticker was missing the pucks, I picked this one up in a lot a while back on SportsBuy as a replacement.

Completed Set - 2008-09 Upper Deck Legends Masterpieces Hockey

When I recently completed my 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces baseball set, I had to decide what to chase next. It seemed only logical to go after the 2008-09 Upper Deck Legends Masterpieces hockey set. Like the '07 Masterpieces baseball set, this one clocked in at under 100 cards (87 to be exact) and no short prints. I'll give a brief review here while showing some of my favorite cards. I had accumulated roughly 35 cards from the base set through a couple of retail packs, a trade and a random lot of hockey cards from SportsBuy before I decided to go for a set. I mulled over the thought of getting a hobby box for a week or two but I just couldn't justify spending over $60 (despite some GREAT auto and relic cards) when what I truly wanted was the base set. Eventually I stumbled across a 24-pack retail box on eBay and I went for it, figuring it would yield at least one minor hit and hopefully complete my base set. Let's look at some of the cards...

#25 - Lanny McDonald - Calgary Flames

The base cards are what you've come to expect from Upper Deck after the two Masterpieces baseball releases. The hockey release has the same canvas-like feel to the front of the cards with a small blurb on the back along with the artist's signature. I always appreciate a chance to add a Lanny McDonald card to my collection. After opening the retail box I still needed 3 cards, and Lanny was one of them.

#34 - Bobby Orr - Boston Bruins

One major improvement from the baseball set in my opinion is that the hockey release is Legends Masterpieces, as opposed to just regular old Masterpieces like the baseball sets. What this basically means is that the entire 87 card set is comprised of notable players, most of them Hall of Famers, from the NHL's past. There are no rookie cards of the hottest young player, cards with presidents on them, or any of that nonsense. One of my favorites from the set shows Bobby Orr's infamous goal.

#38 - Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton Oilers

There are a few Gretzky cards on the checklist, but this one depicting the young Oilers' captain hoisting the cup has to be my favorite.

#70 - Rogie Vachon - Los Angeles Kings

The checklist features a couple of great goalie cards. Everything about this card is great, the brown pads, the old school Kings jersey, and the mask. Runner up goes to Richard Brodeur's card featuring the Canuck's V jersey.

#73 - Willie O'Ree - Boston Bruins

Willie O'Ree earns a card as the first African American to play in the National Hockey League. I'm pretty sure this is the only O'Ree card in my collection. I'm going to have to look around to see what other cards he has out there...

#31 - Tony Esposito - Chicago Blackhawks - Brown Border

The retail box yielded 3 of these brown border parallels, but Tony O was definitely the best. This card looks so good I probably would've tracked it down individually had I not pulled it. I'd like to pick up some more of these some day, but my card buying ban is at 9 days and counting, so it'll have to wait. And now, some random hits that I picked up to supplement my retail box...

#CC-GA2 - Glenn Anderson - Edmonton Oilers - Canvas Clippings

My instant response in the dozen or so times I've pulled a game-used or relic card has been to yawn. It's typically a card of a player I don't care for or have never heard of. The selection of players on the relic and signature cards in this set is pretty impressive though. Glenn was a staple of the Oilers' championship teams of the 80's and at less than $2 I couldn't pass it up.

CC-SG - Borje Salming - Toronto Maple Leafs - Canvas Clippings

I picked up the Glenn Anderson above, this Borje Salming card, and the Luc Robitaille I showed off a while back from the same seller for $1.75 each. Borje is one of the most under-rated players of the 70's and early 80's and is a member of the hockey Hall of Fame.

#CC-WC1 - Wendel Clark - Toronto Maple Leafs - Canvas Clippings

Here is the one hit I pulled from my retail box. I don't think Clark will ever be considered Hall of Fame material, but I do remember him being one of the most exciting players to watch in the early 90's.

#MB-BD - Bill Dineen - Detroit Red Wings - Brushstrokes

After finishing the retail box, I still wanted one thing. The Brushstrokes auto inserts from this set are maybe the best looking cards out of any of them. They are on-card autos, which I absolutely love, and there are signatures of some pretty impressive players to be had. Since I was on a budget though, I settled on this Bill Dineen card. Although I don't know much about Dineen, it only set me back a couple of bucks and Bill is the father of one of my favorite Whalers players, Kevin Dineen. Speaking of the Whalers, my one gripe about the set is that there is no Ron Francis card. I guess 4th all-time in NHL points and 2 Stanley Cups isn't enough to be considered a Legends Masterpiece? Where's the love Upper Deck?

One Week, No Cards...

It's been a busy week which has resulted in a total lack of posting. I've reached sort of a lull in collecting here. My Allen & Ginter set arrived (I've added scans of all 50 short prints to the Zistle library) and there really aren't any other baseball releases so far this year that I'm interested in chasing. Last Friday I placed my first-ever order on SportsLots to help me get closer to completing some of my outstanding 08-09 hockey sets. The 09-10 hockey sets aren't hitting shelves for a month or so still. Aside from the upcoming hockey releases I'm really looking forward to Upper Deck's Goodwin Champions set, but we're a ways out on that as well. What does this all mean for me?

Well, I haven't purchased any cards since my SportsLots order last Friday, and it got me to thinking. What's the longest I've gone without any type of card purchase whatsoever since I got back into the hobby over 2 years ago? I doubt I've gone an entire month in that time span without at least picking up a stray pack. I've decided that I'm going to try not to make one singe card purchase for at least 30 days, maybe even longer. In a hobby that revolves around the newest releases where something seems to be coming out just about every week, I'm going to buck the trend and instead spend the next month further organizing my collection and enjoying the cards I do have. Furthermore I'm going to try to sell some unwanted items on eBay during this stretch, simultaneously freeing up room in my card closet and stocking my PayPal account for when the releases I am looking forward to hit the shelves in September. I will still be trading but I'm going to try not spending so much as a dime on cards for 30 days. Will I make it? Today is day 7, we'll see.

I'm interested to know, what's the longest any of you have gone without purchasing cards during a time when you were still "actively collecting"?

Buchholz to Start vs. Jays

At long last the waste of time that is the MLB All-Star break is over and we can all move on to watching real baseball again. Unfortunately for me last night was an off night for the Red Sox so no action until tonight when the Sox play the first of three in Toronto against the Jays. On the mound for the visiting team will be young pitching phenom Clay Buchholz.

Everyone is familiar with the no-hitter Buchholz threw in just his second career start late in 2007 against the Orioles. 2008 was a rocky year for Clay though, and he was optioned back to AA Portland in the Red Sox organization. He's been battling his way back through the minor leagues and has been absolutely dominating at AAA Pawtucket so far this year. If he were on any other club in the majors he would've been called up weeks if not months ago, but the wealth of starting pitching this year has left him without an opening until now.

Some theorize that Clay is getting the start in Toronto to showcase him to the Blue Jays organization and fans, as he is one of the names that has come up in the Roy Halladay trade rumors. The club named Clay the starter days ago, claiming they wanted a definite starter for Friday night, and this prevented the pitching staff to have to adapt to whether or not Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett ended up pitching in the All-Star game (neither did).

In any event, I'm glad real baseball is back and I'm looking forward to tonight's game!