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.

2011 MLB playoff predictions: not-at-all-biased, semi-wishful thinking edition

Well, the MLB playoffs are upon us. (or just about, since they start tomorrow)  For the first time since I was four, the Tigers won their division, and for just the first time since that insane finish, they'll be in the playoffs.  Will Fister prove to be the 21st century Doyle Alexander?  Will Kirk Gibson revel in postseason glory once again?  Will the world yawn as the Yankees buy another World Series?  I don't know, but this seems like as good a time as any for some predictions:

NL:

Diamondbacks (94-68, West champs)
vs.
Brewers (96-66, Central champs):
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson likes the playoffs--

At first I was like...

And then I World Series'd.  Again.

Arizona is the NL team I'm most rooting for because of two Michigan connections:  Gibby and comeback stud closer J.J. Putz.

Oh look, he mentioned a Michigan player again, how surprising...

Breakout star Justin Upton and former Yankee prospect Ian Kennedy, a Cy Young contender, headline this team.

But Milwaukee has a motivated Prince Fielder, Hebrew Hammer Ryan Braun, and an excellent playoff-caliber pitching staff led by Yovani Gallardo and Zack Greinke.

Prediction:  Brewers in 5--the Brew Crew pitching holds the D-Backs offense at bay and Cecil the Younger puts up big numbers in his final season in the Cheese State.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cardinals (90-72, NL wild card)
vs.
Phillies (102-60, East champs):

The Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs on the final day of the season thanks to a major collapse by the Braves.  Still, they finished with 90 wins in a decent division that also included the playoff-bound Brewers, so nobody should write them off.  Most of their offense is this guy, whom you might've heard of,

and their pitching is a bit of a grab bag compared to other teams.  Still, this group includes some guys that won rings the last time the Tigers made the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Phillies steamrolled their way to baseball's best record by a whopping five games, and they were the only 100-win team this year.  Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino headline a potent offense, though in the postseason there's no denying this guy's credentials:

I often come up big, like the size of my enormous head

MAN I wish we still had Polanco.  Fortunately, since their entire rotation has won the last 30 Cy Youngs, it might not matter who else is on the field.

Prediction:  Phillies in 4--Pujols supplies enough offense to win one game and keep at least one other close, but the Phillies' dominant roster is too much for the happy-to-be-here Cards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AL:

Rays (91-71, AL wild card)
vs.
Rangers (96-66, West champs):

Tampa took a path similar to the Cardinals to get to this matchup, but in many ways they're a better team.  That they needed the wild card to sneak in isn't a huge surprise in a division that includes the Yankees and Sawx, plus one other .500 team, a resume no other division can match.  The Rays boast an offense featuring superstar Evan Longoria, who'll win at least one game in this series with his bat, plus former Tiger Matt Joyce, the lesser Upton brother Justin and playoff stalwart Johnny Damon.  A star-studded pitching tandem of James Shields and David Price bodes well for the Rays.

Texas is a bit more balanced in several ways, with its offense spread among Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre,

Am I a free agent after this season?  No?  Screw it, I'm just gonna hang out over here then...

Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler.  The pitching isn't a one-man show either, with C.J. Wilson, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando all owning double-digit win totals this year.  The Rangers are likely starving for another shot at a title after falling short against the Giants last year in the only successful playoff campaign in the team's history.

Prediction:  Rays in 3--yep, I'm predicting an upset AND a sweep. Tampa comes in with a ton of momentum, still flying high over stealing the last playoff spot, and Evan Longoria dominates this series, allowing Shields, Price and stud pitching prospect Matt Moore to shine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tigers (95-67, Central champs)
vs.
Yankees (97-65, East champs):

I spent most of the year bitching about Jim Leyland.  I still don't like him and no matter what happens, I still don't want him back.  But the fact is, he's got an excellent team, in many ways an improvement over the '06 version. (with the exception of POLANCO GODDAMMIT WHY DID WE LET HIM GO?!)  Fister was the cream of the trade deadline crop, Victor Martinez was the best free-agent signing, and the existing cast of Cy Young dominator Justin Verlander,

MVP-caliber batting average/blood alcohol champion Miguel Cabrera,

Giant Potato and off-balance sky-pointing closer of unshakable certainty Jose Valverde,

and a very good supporting cast make this a team to watch.

New York, in addition to its overpriced, aging, star-studded roster, has benefited from the presence of one Curtis Granderson,

who would be an extremely good non-Cabrera choice for the MVP.  But he's got plenty of help in a lineup that features an aging but you still know he'll make a ridiculously important play and stock prices for smelling salts will skyrocket thanks to all of ESPN fainting from delight Derek Jeter.  Equally impressive second baseman Robinson Cano, slugger Mark Teixeira and some guy shopping for purses

will help score a bunch of runs for a rotation anchored by CC Sabathia,

Actual photo of Sabathia

excellent rookie Ivan Nova, and...um...I guess Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon?  Those guys are about 100 years old combined, but they have that important quality often found in Yankee fan favorites--they're not A.J. Burnett.  Should the offense and pitching produce a lead going into the ninth, Greatest Closer Ever Yes I Said It So You Can Shut Up Now Mariano Rivera

will be there to shut the door (a large door, if it's one Sabathia and Colon can fit through) assuming the Tigers don't bring back Luis Gonzalez.

Prediction:  Tigers in 4--in a prognostication that in no way could be construed as wishful thinking, I just can't see Detroit losing games one and two started by Jesus Verlander and Doyle Fister.  I predict that the Yanks pull off a laugher against Max Scherzer, who gets his terrible start out of the way early, then looks more serviceable in the latter rounds.  I couldn't pick against Detroit if I wanted to, but I really do have good justifications for thinking they'll win this series comfortably, and that doesn't even include karma, so we got that goin' for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NLCS:  Phillies over Brewers

ALCS:  Tigers over Rays

World Series:  Tigers over Phillies

We're due, so let's bring a title back to Motown, boys!

Trade post Tuesday with Hiflew

Johnny/Hiflew (Cards From the Quarry) and I agreed to a trade at some point recently, that much I'm sure of, because I vaguely remember sending him stuff, and he reciprocated by sending stuff back that arrived to me today:

First up is this JJ Putz 2008 Topps Heritage Chrome parallel.  Compared to some of Michigan's recent baseball alumni, JJ's had a pretty nice career (plus he's still kicking ass for me on my fantasy team this year).  As far as non-hits go (I do collect those too!) this is a super addition to my Michigan baseball PC.  Topps Heritage is pretty reliably a beautiful set, and that plus Chrome equals awesome.  As usual, these are numbered (this one's a difficult-to-read 0962/1959).  I think this is part of what started this deal because I remember asking Johnny about it a while ago.

Next is this Chris Perry 2004 SAGE HIT Silver auto.  Perry was a beast of a running back and a Heisman finalist at Michigan, and here we have a great shot of him determined to pick up a big gain in a game or practice (or at the park, in his full uniform for some reason).    Welcome home, Chris Perry #13.

Finally, Johnny sent over a David Terrell 2001 SPx Winning Materials ball/jersey.  The older football versions of these often turned out more interesting than their baseball counterparts, and I think this is a great example.  In this football set we get a couple small swatches, but one's a non-white jersey, and the other is a ball, which I feel, without any facts to back it up, is rarer than a bat card when it comes to baseball relic stuff.  For comparison's sake, here's what I'm talking about in an example from the same year:

I love my Ripken relics, but the Terrell is hands down much better in my opinion.  (Did you notice how I both explained which one I preferred and detailed why, Chris Olds?)  Rounding out the card are a nice action shot of Terrell plus one of my favorites--serial numbering (105/750).  Just curious, do you people prefer serial numbering on the front or back?  It doesn't make a huge difference to me, but in general I like it on the back because I like the front to have enough going for it that it doesn't need numbering to improve it.  Anyway, that's David Terrell #26 for me.

Three quality Wolverines PC additions equal a great trade package for me, plus I'm pretty sure I dumped my unwanted Rockies on Johnny, so this deal was even better for me, but hopefully a win-win overall.  Thanks for an awesome third trade, Johnny!