My baseball card collection centers around two things. Cards of anyone who have EVER played for the Cincinnati Reds and autographs. However, any good baseball card collector knows and appreciates the significance of rookie cards. They are usually the most highly sought base card of a given player and that is often reflected by their “book value”. “Book values” mean nothing to me as I rarely sell cards and because nothing sells at book, but the pull of the RC still inspires me to acquire cards of guys I wouldn’t otherwise collect. Here are some rookie cards I have, I want, and I’m never going to get. (more…)
This is news?
Manny Ramirez shoved a team traveling secretary to the ground in June and there was virtually no news about it and no response from fans. On Saturday, after hitting his 607th homerun, Ken Griffey Jr. made a throat slash gesture towards Jeff Brantley who was tucked safely away in his booth. Granted this was an on-field gesture and it was inappropriate but how does it get more attention than the Ramirez story? One reason is because Griffey has such a clean slate. But isn’t that sort of backwards? Shouldn’t we be able to forgive and forget easier since he has such a clean record? I think it’s more funny than anything else. No one was hurt. Sure he probably embarrassed himself but that’s at his own expense. I’m sure the Red Sox traveling secretary felt pretty humiliated when he got pushed to the ground by Manny. Manny’s actions held a level (albeit a small one) of actual physical violence. Griffey’s gesture could be perceived as a threat but… honestly? I see it as more of a “go to hell, Brantley” than any sort of threat. So while I do not approve of him doing it, I just don’t see why it’s such a big deal.
We Must Protect This Nest?
The Arizona Cardinals have come up with a ticket plan called the “Protect the Nest Plan”. Because of this plan any person who wants to buy tickets to the Cardinals/Cowboys game must also buy tickets to the Cardinals preseason game against New Orleans. That immediately strikes me as stupid. Plus it seems like they’re saying “Whoa! When the Coyboys come here it’s almost like an away game! Those Cowboys are so amazing… What can we do to change that?” I feel like they’re making total fools of themselves with this plan and they’re showing no faith in their fans.
I mean, you didn’t see the Rays taking measure like this to prevent their home games against Boston and New York from turning into away(ish) games. Instead they played amazing baseball and suddenly all of their home games feel like home games. Arizona should learn from that instead of making total fools of them selves and disappointing their fans.
What $58,245,500 gets you these days
Kansas City gets what it pays for.
At least that’s what Ben Fry’s salary vs performance graph shows as of July 2. This fun little tool measures Major League Baseball teams’ win-loss records against their payroll.
Its pretty refreshing to see the Rays with the best record in baseball — and the second lowest total payroll at $43,820,56. The cheapest talent can be found with the Florida Marlins who, as a team, make less than half of what the Rays make. That’s taking it too far though, an this graph is neat because it shows the extremes on both ends of the spectrum — the New York Yankees spend $209,081,584 on payroll compared to the next-closest team, the Mets at $137,793,376. (more…)
