Completed sets: 2003 Topps Total baseball, part 4

Previously:  part 1 (#1-99), part 2 (#100-198), part 3 (#199-297)

Episode 4:  iOS users can't see this post since it features Flash, or, Why didn't I finish this feature before the end of the World Series?

Dunn was the picture of consistency before jumping to the AL and failing spectacularly, but he's still a reasonable candidate for a bounce-back 2012.  Kinkade is from my original hometown of Livonia, MI, and therefore gets a shout-out.  You'd think the Cubs would have been smarter about Prior after the Kerry Wood injury tour extravaganza-palooza, but then I'd question whether you'd seen the way the Cubs do things for the last 100+ years.  Helton's 1-2 comparisons?:  Edgar Martinez and former teammate Larry Walker; yep, sounds just about right.

Koch is one in a string of closers got the most from then flipped for something better, (Keith Foulke) and while his career wasn't long, he had a nice run of seasons of 30+ saves.  Claussen is notable because he was traded this season for Aaron FUCKING Boone, who--well, you know the rest....  Walbeck played from some typically bad 90s and aughts Tigers teams, but he's turned into a solid minor league manager, which shouldn't surprise anyone since he was a catcher.

Graves was actually born in Vietnam, and he had some good years as a closer, mostly for the Reds.  Grimsley apparently had a big-time propensity for cheating.  Damon was part of a typical A's trade in which they fleeced the Royals, then signed with the Sawx before the 2002 season; here we see him a year before he was part of the famous curse-busting 2004 team.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but Putz went to Michigan, and he's since had some nice years as a closer, something the Tigers might need after next year when Valverde's contract expires *hint hint*.  Higginson was sadly one of the better players on some awful, awful Tigers teams, parlayed that into a stupidly large (for the time) contract from the front office, then didn't live up to it; B-R.com compares him tom Carl Everett, which I don't think is fair because he ostensibly has enough brain cells not to consider dinosaurs a conspiracy. 

Ishii was a bit of a story when he joined the Dodgers, and he did win almost 40 games in his three seasons with them, but then he was dealt to the Mets and their force field of suck, and he only lasted one season with them before ending his American career.  Lee's put up some solid power numbers, compares to the always awesome Moises Alou, and came over to the Rangers in 2006 with future playoff stud Nelson Cruz.  Matheny is another Wolverine alum, (though one I don't seem to collect for some reason) and had a respectable career as a catcher.  

Conine had a nice career for a 58TH-ROUNDER, playing 17 seasons and helping both of the Marlins World Series teams win their rings.  Eckstein is the benchmark for the gritty, overachieving white dude in sports, and rings with the Angels and Cardinals prove his value.  I've mentioned Bagwell plenty of times on this blog, including his historic ties to Frank Thomas, but hopefully I'm staying consistent with my previous posts in saying I'd like to see him in the Hall.  I was wrong about my prediction that Holiday wouldn't hit all that well when he left Coors as he's been fairly valuable for the Cardinals, his injury-plagued World Series aside.

Infante was a Tigers stalwart until he was dealt to the Cubs, then moved to the Braves, where he inexplicably was an All-Star in 2010.  A-Rod was in his third year with the Rangers here, and he won the first of his three MVPs that year, which is all well and good, but he's still a massive douche and everybody likes to see him fail.  Ichiro is simply amazing and, like Bagwell, I've brought him up often enough around here that I'm not gonna say more right now than I hope he keeps playing and racking up hits.

The Tigers notably drafted Inge and felt his athleticism warranted a move to catcher; 2003 was his third season in the bigs and he barely cracked .200, foreshadowing his future hitting ability, though he's also had some big moments for Detroit.  Kent's stats compare to Dave Parker, and when you take into account that he played mostly 2B and the corner IF spots and had a notoriously bad temper during the steroid era, that kind of makes sense.  Konerko is a former top prospect that bounced around a few teams but finally got to show off that potential with the White Sox, rewarding them with quite a few outstanding seasons, many against my Tigers.

The Braves famously chose Chipper Jones over Van Poppel and the results speak for themselves, though he did at least last for parts of 11 Major League seasons.  Hairston is part of a noted baseball family which includes his namesake father and brother Scott.  In his 20th season, Rhodes finally won a championship after he was released by the Rangers and signed by the Cards.  (Very nice timing)  Jimenez actually threw a no-no in 1999 and beat Randy Johnson in the process, which is fairly impressive, even if his career wasn't.

Randa isn't pictured as a Tiger here, but he was also part of some of our worst teams.  I don't know why they went with such a goofy pose for Franco, but the guy had an awesome 21-year career as a reliever, mostly for the Mets, and compares well to another notable RP, Lee Smith.  The Rangers clearly don't deserve Young after the bullshit they pulled with him over the offseason, but fortunately for them, he was still part of their 2011 team and had a typically strong year.  Mauer was just 20 in 2003 and wouldn't be up with the big team until the following season, but it's been mostly success for him since then.  What's the deal with inserting the checklists out of order, anyway?

Kendall had a decent career as a catcher, but he never thrilled me much, as I think I've stated before.  Way to randomize the checklists, Topps.  Gordon had one of the game's best nicknames and enjoyed a nice 21-year career.  Shiggy had a memorable name and a not-so-memorable career.  Todd Jones is one of my least favorite Tigers closers and looks like he belongs at a NASCAR race, not on a Major League mound.

Crime Dog had an outstanding career, won a ring in '95 and had one of the all-time great nicknames; really, could a player ask for anything else?  Sweeney is one of the more memorable Royals of recent seasons, which isn't saying much, but he had a few good seasons with them.  Mientkiewicz is famous for having a crazy last name and keeping the game ball from the '04 Boston World Series-winning game after coming over from the Twins.  Moyer won 267 games in an astounding 24 seasons and won a ring with the 2008 Phils, one of seven teams he played for.

Completed sets: 2003 Topps Total baseball, part 3

Previously:  part 1 (#1-99), part 2 (#100-198)

Episode 3:  Griffey and Jeter meet Bong and Fick, or, 99 Reds Buffoons.

Cards #199-297:

Baltimore fans will remember Hammonds as the #4 overall pick in 92 who never really lived up to that hype, though he did play for 13 seasons.  I'll forever remember Nomah as the guy whose trade to the Cubs was the good luck charm the Sawx needed to end their World Series curse.  Christianson was a highly-touted Mariners catching prospect bust.  Moss is from Australia, which is about the only interesting thing about him.  Richard is another one of my favorite all power/no position sluggers who never did much.  Hundley put up some statistical outlier-type numbers for a couple years during the steroid era, but was a decent catcher otherwise.  

Hatteberg was briefly a part of the Moneyball A's, famously converting from catcher to first to take advantage of his OBP, an undervalued stat at the time. (Sidenote:  99% of the people who complain about the book's philosophy, hype and main character have never actually read the book; one of those people is JOE MORGAN)  Ken Griffey Jr. was a little-known outfielder for such teams as Seattle (twice) and Cincinnati, taking after his father, and hitting the occasional home run.  George is a former Royals first-round bust.  Neikro is Joe's son/Phil's nephew, and he got to play a few games in the Bigs.  Ransom is somehow still kicking around the Majors, though he doesn't get in a ton of games.  Biggio is probably the best Astro ever (with apologies to Bagwell and his badass goatees) due to his all-around game and willingness to get hit by pitches A LOT.  (Note to internet users everywhere:  "alot" is not a word so stop using it, because I know you all use it A LOT.)

Batista's been everywhere, man, and at 40 he's still available if your team wants him.  Escobar was a top prospect for the Mets that never panned out (stop me if you've heard that one before) but was sent to Cleveland when they acquired Roberto Alomar.  Hunter has certainly lived up to the first round pick the Twins spent on him in 1993, and I hope he makes it back to the Twin Cities before he retires because he just seems to belong there.  May only pitched for parts of seven seasons, but he certainly beat the odds after being selected in the 46th round.  Santiago was an excellent catcher and pretty good hitter for a long, long time, and his #1 comparison on baseball-reference.com is Bill Freehan, so he's cool in my book.

Dempster's had a reasonably successful career, though it's funny to see him in a Reds uni since I mainly remember him as a Marlin and Cub.  Bong got a couple cups of coffee with the Braves and Reds after coming out of South Korea, which is fairly impressive, though that pales in comparison to his awesome name.  Macias played for a couple years in Detroit, and that's all you need to know to explain how those early-to-mid 2000s teams were atrociously bad.  Stewart was a decent OF for a while after being a first-rounder, and spent most of his career with the Blue Jays and Twins, and his #2 comparison is Carl Crawford, which doesn't bode especially well for the Red Sox.  This is on Valent's B-R page:  "Until David Wright arrived, you were the only thing mildly interesting about the 2004 Mets."  Here are some words that rhyme with Corey.

Tomko had a decent 14-season career and was sent to Seattle in the Griffey deal.  Stairs has played for 12 teams in 19 seasons and could still play if he wants to as he's an incredibly talented bench player.  Valdes had a few decent seasons with the 1990s Dodgers and held on long enough to win 100+ games in a 12-season career.  Fuentes best compares to Brad Lidge, and while that might seem strange at first, it's actually fairly apt.  Izturis is a slick-fielding IF who was traded straight-up for Greg Maddux in 2006.

Jenkins was a Brewers first-rounder who managed to hit 200+ HR in 11 seasons and win a ring in 2008, his only season with the Phillies and final of his career.  I think Derek Jeter works for Jostens or a pawn shop or something because he always has a lot of rings on him.  Roberts, who was actually a Tigers draftee, famously came in as a pinch runner with the Sox down 1 in the bottom of the 9th, stole second and scored the tying run in game four of the 2004 ALCS, the beginning of the Yankees' legendary megacollapse and the Red Sox's rise to fame and uncursedness.  Williams was a pretty good above-.500 pitcher in 15 seasons.  Wells had some nice seasons as the Jays' former top prospect, then was unceremoniously dumped on the Angels, where his power has remained, though his average continues to trend downward.  Lieber is a former 20 game winner with the Cubs who had a couple more nice campaigns before retiring after 14 seasons.  German was part of the deal that brought Jeremy Bonderman and Carlos Pena to Detroit, but the future closer hopeful never did much.

Diego's son David played for 15 seasons in a Sean Casey-like career--not bad.  Garcia has bounced around a bit in his 13+-year career, but he's apparently still a pretty effective pitcher, and actually compares to Chris Carpenter.  Young had a hard time swinging with wires running across the telephone poles he called his arms.  Fick hit the final home run in old Tiger Stadium, which was a grand slam, and also the final hit and RBI.  Petrick never made it as a former top prospect with the Rockies, but he's since been diagnosed with Parkinson's; he's currently coaching football and baseball at his high school.

Dermal "Dee" Brown was yet ANOTHER failed Royals first-rounder.  Patterson went #3 to the Cubs in '98, and though he showed some flashes of that talent, well, as his B-R.com page says, "All hope abandon, ye who enter here...."  Man, what a crappy page this is, I'm not even gonna bother with the rest!

Johnson is a former Yankee-turned injury machine.  Zito famously signed an enormous contract with the Giants (which they're STILL regretting) after his successful seasons alongside Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.  Byrd wasn't exactly a fireballer but won more than 100 games in 14 seasons.  Gagne was an elite closer (and Cy Young-winner once) for three straight seasons, then injuries essentially derailed his career.  Ramirez was amazingly poached from the idiotic Pirates, along with Kenny Lofton for, among others, Bobby Hill, some propane and propane accessories; can we please contact the Pirates now?

Ray-Ray had a nice 14-year career, mainly with the White Sox and Giants, and compared well to Joe Morgan and Craig Biggio for a few years.  The Mariners sold the farm for injury-waiting-to-happen Bedard in 2008; way to go, morons.  Faison was a first-round bust for the Padres.  Gomez's career highlight was making the World Series with the 2006 Tigers, though he was hitless in three at-bats.  Guerrero has had a fine career and his comparisons are ridiculous:  Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, Jim Rice, Chipper Jones, Billy Williams, Willie Stargell, Duke Snider, Andres Galarraga, Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton; crazy!

Appier was a fine pitcher through parts of 16 seasons after defying the odds and NOT sucking as a Royals first-rounder.  Meche was a .500 pitcher after being a Seattle first-rounder.  Grissom was an outstanding player with a 17-year career, and was a poor man's Ricky Henderson in many ways.  Castilla is pictured here back with his original team, though he's more famous for some nice seasons filled with Coors-inflated stats. (the park, not the beer!)  Halter is another symptom of ridiculously bad 90s-2000s Tigers teams, and whoever thought it was a good deal to pick him up should've been muzzled. (get it?)  Finally, Hinske bounced around a couple teams before winning the 2002 AL Rookie of the Year with the Jays, and was another example of voters apparently being swayed by homers and not much else, not that there were many great options that year.

Completed sets: 2003 Topps Total baseball, part 2

Previously:  part 1 (#1-99)

Today on

SHOW ALL THE CARDS

I'll be showing off another bunch of 2003 Topps Total pages from my complete set.  Today's bunch:  #100-198, or, "Charlton Jimerson sounds like a Southern colonel who will challenge you because your Yankee accent gave his wife the vapors, suh, I said, suh."

A nice start with Chipper before this page falls off a cliff.  Jones enjoyed a typically excellent 2003, with a very nice .300 avg/.400 OBP/30 HR/100 RBI line; the Hall of Fame beckons in a few years. (you know, after he retires)  Gold was a Brewers first-round bust.  "Everyday" Eddie pitched 17 seasons, a nice career.  Arroyo has been consistent with that leg kick, hasn't he?  Plesac was another Brewers first-rounder who somehow eked out an 18-season career.

Tim Salmon, the 1993 AL Rookie of the Year, spent all 14 seasons of his career with the [indeterminate location] Angels, clubbing 299 HR and winning a ring in the 2002 World Series. (in which he hit .346 with 2 HR)  Mark Buehrle is one of the best White Sox pitchers ever, has thrown a no-no AND a perfect game, and holds the record for most consecutive hitters retired with 45!  Ausmus was an 18-year catcher who played for the Tigers twice, but mostly the Astros and Padres, and if he doesn't end up as a Major League manager, something's wrong with baseball.  Guzman was one of a bunch of players that headed to the Twins in the 1998 deal with the Yanks for Chuck Knoblauch.

Wilson was a decent catcher for some of the Mariners' better years in the mid-90s-early 2000s.  Westbrook's been all over the place but has done decently recently (hey, that rhymes!) with the Cards.  Manny is...Manny, and he still wants to come back despite his looming suspension.  Giambi roided his way to an MVP, then faceplanted with the Yankees.  Wickman had a good run of years as a closer over a nice career.  Cook is a lifetime Rockie who's only had one good year despite being drafted in the second round.  Puffer was a 27th rounder (Twins) in '94 and got cups of coffee from 2002-2005, which is why he's in this set apparently. (also he has a funny name, which is why I mentioned him at all)

Choi, who has an awesome name, was the first Korean position player in the Majors, and was a top prospect that never lived up to the billing, but he helped swipe Derrek Lee from the penny-pinching Marlins in 2003. (though you all know who got the last laugh THAT year...)  Vazquez was decent for the Expos, got traded to the Yanks after the 2003 season for nobody good, then lasted only one year before getting kicked around several other teams.  Betemit was supposed to be a pretty good 3B prospect for the Braves, but reality had other ideas, though he was semi-useful for the TIgers this year.  Yan was a Tampa Bay pick in the expansion draft, which is at least sorta interesting.  Hall's had a solid career as a SS, mostly with the Brewers, but most recently with several other teams.

LaTroy (which is French for "The Troy") is still pitching, with 17 solid seasons under his belt.  Cornejo was a decent Tigers prospect that never amounted to anything.  Crede is one of those guys who had a semi-decent career but was instrumental when he got to a World Series, winning it all in 2005. (also, he reminds me of V For Vendetta!)  Galarraga played for 19 seasons and bashed 399 homers, and I think he's a guy everybody loved when he was playing, plus his top-two comparisons are Orlando Cepeda and Jim Rice, though I doubt the Hall of Fame is in his future; excellent player, though.  Sanders hit a ton of homers during the steroid era, but he did win a ring with the 2001 D-Backs before losses in 2002 and 2004.  Cruz was supposed to be the next Griffey or thereabouts, but the Mariners quickly traded him for a couple relievers, and he didn't do a whole lot besides hit 200+ HR in his 12 total seasons.

Helms has enjoyed a decent 13-year career as a utility IF-type.  Roberts is getting paid pretty well for a guy that's steadily declined the last few seasons.  Hunter had my all-time favorite entrance music, strolling to the plate to the sounds of "Money, Power Respect," and that's all you need to know about him.  Hermansen was a failed Pirates 1990s first-rounder. (which is extremely redundant)  Jones compares to Dale Murphy and Jose Canseco which makes me think he doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame, but I wouldn't throw a fit if he made it in.  Ainsworth was a Giants first-rounder who did practically nothing.  For being a lower-round pick, Lohse has had a decent career, though being with St. Louis certainly doesn't hurt.

Jordan had a decent career, mostly with the Cards and Braves, after being a first-rounder.  "Coco" is a nice enough nickname, but I always thought Crisp's given name of "Covelli" was a lot cooler.  Foulke's story is pretty cool:  the White Sox swiped him from the Giants, the shrewd A's picked him up in 2002, Foulke parlayed a strong 2003 season into a contract with the Red Sox and he won a ring with them in 2004.  Carpenter, a Toronto first-rounder, was let go and signed with the Cards, which is where his career really took off, including the 2005 Cy Young and 2006 World Series title, plus another potential ring this year.  Brazelton went #3 overall in 2001, a huge mistake given some of the available players chosen afterwards, and he was a bust of epic proportions.  Greer's real name is Thurman and apparently his other nickname was the "Red Baron."

Wow, a pretty weak group right here.  Dubois was a Toronto Rule V pick from the Cubs long enough to be pictured on this card before he was returned in early 2003.  Coggin was actually a first-rounder back in '95 but won only 10 games in three seasons.  Matt Williams is clearly the class of this page, and his 17-year career and 2001 World Series ring place him squarely in the Hall of Very Good.  Cormier pitched for 16 seasons, which is an above-average Major League career.  Duaner Sanchez has a funny first name.  Counsell was David Eckstein before David Eckstein and won titles with two expansion clubs--the Marlins in '97 and Williams' snakes in 2001.

How funny is it that a guy whose controversial HOF candidacy centers on NOT playing the field is depicted with a glove this late in his career?  Geinke's a player I've never liked, but I do respect his struggle to overcome a social disorder.  Feliz lost the 2002 World Series, but has played in two more since he parlayed a few decent seasons into a contract with the Phillies, and he did end up with a ring thanks to the 2008 team.  Jon Garland's done decently well for a former first-rounder who's bounced around a bit.  Oakland gave up Nelson Cruz for Ginter, then Milwaukee sold low on Cruz as well, so he was free to torment the Tigers this postseason.  Wood will always be remembered for his 20-strikeout performance as much as his subsequent brittleness.  Cust is one of my all-time favorite all-or-nothing sluggers, and his #2 comparison is another, Phil Plaintier.

Grieve is one of those regrettable Rookie of the Year choices you just knew would look bad years down the line--voters were enamored by double-digit homer numbers from rookies back then, despite their lack of other stats.  Isringhausen is one of those guys who went from starter to closer and lit it up.  Oakland made the switch after his days of being one of the Mets' huge (but ultimately failed) prospects, and St. Louis reaped the most benefit, though he missed out on the 2006 championship team.  Travis Dawkins had one of the goofier baseball nicknames, but sadly his career never amounted to anything.  Alomar just joined the Hall of Fame this year, and rightfully so after an outstanding 17-year career.  Beltran, as all quality Royals do, moved on to several other teams after this card was made--in fact, his 2004 playoffs with Houston are the stuff of legend despite the team losing out on the pennant.

Schmidt toiled with Atlanta and the Pirates before finding his groove for a few years with the Giants, though ultimately, despite earning a nice contract, injuries derailed his career.  Lidle bounced around several teams before tragically crashing his plane in 2006.  Jimerson has one of the coolest names in Never-Made-it-in-the-Bigs history.  Erstad was a firecracker for the Angels, including the 2002 champs, as well as a year with the Pale Hose and a couple with the Astros.  Castillo enjoyed a bit of success with the Marlins, not that his hitting in the World Series in 2003 helped much, and he generally wasn't great with the Twins and Mets.  Encarnacion was supposed to be a Tigers OF of the future, but he never quite blossomed into a star, was traded to the Reds for Dmitri Young's fat ass, then suffered a fractured left eye, which ended his career, unfortunately.

Part 3 is coming soon, but I hope to get my Sunday card show haul in first to break things up a bit.

Completed sets: 2003 Topps Total baseball, part 1

I might have mentioned recently that I completed some sets.  Yeah, I think I did a couple posts on those.  You might recall that one was the 990-card behemoth, 2003 Topps Total.  As promised, beginning today I'm scanning every single one of those cards for you, one nine-pocket page at a time.  You'll see 11 pages per post because that's the way I feel like doing it, meaning you'll see 99 cards each in 10 total posts.  I thought about doing a sort of "Where are they now?" for each player, but with 990 that gets kind of daunting, so instead I'll offer up a few comments for each group.

Today's feature:  cards #1-99, or:  I got 99 cards but McGriff ain't one (sorry, Tim)

There's a nice tic-tac-toe of current and former Tigers starting with V-Mart all the way down through Pena.  Also, did Topps' randomizer screw up or did they just feel like putting a bunch of "A's" at the beginning of the set?  Anderson blew out his arm after going #1 overall in 1997, which admittedly wasn't a very good first round.  Pena's still kicking after bouncing around a few teams.

Rodriguez and Beltre highlight an otherwise meh group, although a couple of these guys did enjoy or have enjoyed a good few seasons in the majors.  Piatt was a Mitchell Report steroid user, which explains his ridiculous minor league stats.  

Myers and Beckett are the best of the bunch here, though again, a few of these guys spent some years in the majors.  Beckett's Marlins would win the Series against the Yanks this year, a couple years before he was flipped to the Sawx in the blockbuster that brought Hanley Ramirez to the Fish.  Chen never amounted to what his potential promised.  Everett is one of my least-favorite former Tigers due to his pathetic bat.

Bordick took over for Cal at SS so I never liked him much.  Alfonseca has extra fingers and toes.  Drew's an overpaid douche.  Bradley is an insane, wife-threatening douche.  Wells is a fat douche and I'm not ever calling him "Boomer."  Alomar enjoyed a nice career as a catcher and has some managerial chops which he'll hopefully be able to test in the Majors soon. (catchers make the best managers)

A nice start with Clemens and Gonzo, a pair of roiders, one on trial and the other who pretty much fell off the face of the earth after 2003. (a few years after the ill-advised trade to the Tigers)  Hermanson was the #3 overall pick in '94 but settled for a mediocre career.  Broussard was a Reds 2nd-round pick whom Cleveland sent to Seattle in exchange for Shin-Soo Choo, a steal of a deal.  Klesko will likely be remembered fondly by the Braves by virtue of playing on some of those 1990s squads, after which he played quite a few years with the Padres as well.

Here's one of the more interesting groups.  Smith threw the Cards' most recent no-no as a rookie in 2001, then was shipped to Philly with Placido Polanco in the the deal that brought Scott Rolen to St. Louis; the Phillies then foolishly dealt Polanco to the Tigers for Ugueth "I KEEL YOU" Urbina.  Aaron "Fucking" Boone was traded to the Yankees in July of this season and it proved to be a crucial move for New York when he finished off the Red Sox in the ALCS with an 11th inning HR in game 7. (well, at least they lost to the Marlins.  HA.)  Cliff Floyd had a solid 17-year career.  Schilling got some blood on his sock the year after this set was made, then won a ring.  Cuddyer's been a key part of some successful (and not-so-successful) Twins teams and I hope they can keep him.  Guillen was traded to the Tigers the year after this set for Juan Gonzalez (not that Juan Gonzalez) and Ramon Santiago, who found his way back to Detroit.

Wow, here's a cavalcade of mediocre pitching!  Burnett is a head case with the Yankees, though his stuff has never been in doubt.  Perez has had his ups and downs, and since he was with the Mets most recently, you'll be shocked to learn it's been mostly downs.  Morris was a 1st-rounder in '95 and won 22 games in 2001, then had a few more so-so seasons before retiring in 2008.  Kearns, the only non-pitcher here worth mentioning, went #7 overall in 1998 but after a pretty good rookie season never lived up to that billing.  Dreifort, whom I've mentioned before, somehow parlayed 48 career wins into $60 something million, and again, people wonder why the Dodgers still suck.

Here's a few good ones to work with.  Alou was just an excellent player over his long career; not a HOFer but a guy any team would love to have. (and seven did)  Branyan was the prototypical 1990s Indians prospect--50% power, 50% strikeouts, 0% glove.  Ryan cashed in on a good 2005 season with the O's, had two good seasons as Toronto's closer and pretty much spent the rest of the time injured.  Burks had a Moises Alou-like career, which is cool because I wrote that before I even checked his similarity scores.  Glaus only played 13 seasons but had a monster 2000 then played a huge role in helping the Rally Monkey Angels win a ring in 2002.  Kelly Wunsch has a funny name.

Giles, after being given away by the Indians to the Pirates, would be on his way to his final team, the Padres, later in this season; the Pirates would get Oliver Perez and some Canadian OF named Jason Bay.  Billy the Kid was an all-star with 44 saves this season.  Neifi Perez was a complete waste of a roster spot.  Jose Valverde was pretty good for Detroit this year and has done wonders for the potato industry.  Ramos won a ton of games in the minors, then was traded by Oakland to the Rangers in the deal that brought Carlos Pena to Oakland, from whom he was sent to the Tigers in the deal with included Jeremy Bonderman.

Everybody loved Sean Casey, who was one of the most popular players among MLBers ever, and he was outstanding for the 2006 Tigers, especially in the World Series.  Baez was a closer for a few teams but really only good from 2003-2005 in that role.  Utley had a meh rookie season that year but has since played like the first-rounder he was.  Sandberg, nephew of Ryne, somehow hit 16 HR in 2002, but 2003 would see his final game.  Long was a prototypical 2000s steroid-era double-digit HR hitter who played for eight seasons.  Clayton was a pretty good SS for 17 seasons after being picked #15 by the Giants in 1988.

Lidge went from lethal setup man to lethal closer to crucial homer giver-upper to World Series champ.  Kenny Rogers threw a perfect game and then punched a guy, but his 20-year career after being drafted in the 39th round is the definition of overachiever.  Vizquel is a Gold Glove stalwart who's STILL playing despite 2011 being his 23rd season.  Borchard was a White Sox 1st-round bust who apparently should've chosen football.  Mondesi was the 3rd of FIVE consecutive Dodgers Rookies of the Year (and they STILL didn't win shit!) but after putting up nice numbers for about 10 years, he fell off a cliff. (and missed out on the 2003 World Series appearance with the Yanks, by the way)

Tune in soon for the next 99, plus the (mostly vintage) haul from Sunday's show!

You Complete Me: day 1

I've mentioned a couple times now that I made a bunch of purchases in the last week, including buys from COMC, SportLots, eBay and Blowout.  What can I say?  I have more money to spend on useful stuff when I'm not throwing it away on boxes.

Part of the COMC order, as well as the cards I grabbed on eBay and Blowout, were things for my PC, but the rest of the COMC purchase as well as all of the SportLots haul put a nice dent in my baseball and football set wantlists.  The COMC order only shipped today, so you won't start seeing posts about that for a few more days.

Fortunately, parts of the SportLots order started arriving today, prompting me to create this new feature:  You Complete Me.  I'll let you know know what arrived, when it showed up and how exactly it contributes toward my sets.  You'll also see more scans of complete sets in the future thanks to all this work.

Here's today's haul on day 1 of You Complete Me:

Envelope #1 (SportLots):  This one was a PWE that contained a single card:  Jose Canseco's 2001 Donruss Rookie Reprint #RR11.  The card is a reprint of his 1986 Donruss RC and is serial #d 0247/1986.  I won't be scanning it yet because I'm nearing completing the set, but hopefully you'll see these before long.  They're a set I've always wanted to complete, so I put a ton of effort into that during my ordering process over the weekend.
# of cards:  1     # of sets added to:  1     # of sets completed:  0

Envelope #2 (SportLots):  

Here's another one I was pretty excited about--I found a single seller that had almost all of the 2003 Topps Total I needed.  I'll spoil the surprise by revealing that I did get the rest from another guy, and those should arrive before long.  This is the second consecutive year of the 990 card behemoth that I'm working on, and I'm proud that I'll have it completed shortly.  This is one of the few very large sets that I'll be putting up for the blog (in pieces, of course) because I don't think any blog that I read has done it before.
This package also included one of the three 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan reprints I needed.  Again, I'm not scanning that until I get the others, but those will be in the COMC arriving shortly.
# of cards:  38     # of sets added to:  2     # of sets completed:  0

Envelope #3 (Sportlots):  

This last one today was fairly simple, but it was actually a pretty big deal for my football wantlists:  every single card I needed for all five of my 2010 SAGE Hit sets.  To clarify, I needed several to complete a single 1-100 set, (both Low and High series) then a bunch more to complete my other for Low Series sets.  In the case of the Low Series, I only needed the cards you see in the first scan--the Program cards that highlight several of college football history's most storied teams.  If you don't see Michigan up there, it's because I already had enough of those; to answer your second question:  yes, it's difficult scanning those cards representing those teams, literally none of whom I like.  Also, I needed multiples of each, due to their relative short-printing, but fortunately one year later their prices have come back down to earth.
The second group, as I said, completes my lone High Series set.  That one won't be available for trade, but eventually I'll make the four Low Series sets up-for-grabs in case anyone is interested.
# of cards:  24     # of sets added to:  5     # of sets completed:  5

Stats for the day:

• Envelopes:  3
• Total cards:  63
• Sets added to:  8
• Sets completed:  5

Total You Complete Me stats:

• Envelopes:  3
• Total cards:  63
• Sets added to:  8
• Sets completed:  5