Derek Lowe Retires

Over the weekend, Derek Lowe announced his retirement from baseball.  I will always fondly remember Lowe for his time with the Red Sox.  The right-hander pitched with the Red Sox from 1997 through 2004.  In that time he performed in a variety of roles.  He was a starter, a middle reliever/setup man, and a closer.  He was also fairly successful.  I have a number of fond memories of Derek Lowe.

1.  THE ACQUISITION
I was up late watching Sportscenter waiting for the July 31 trading deadline to pass.  The Red Sox had played the Royals and I was listening to the game on the radio.  It was tied going into extra innings and Boston took the lead in the top of the 10th.  Heathcliff Slocumb came on to pitch and promptly blew the game.  At that point I did not care whether Slocumb would be traded or not.  Soon, he was.  For Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe.  That trade would turn out to be one of the greatest trades the Red Sox ever made.

2.  CLOSER
Derek Lowe had been a setup man for the Red Sox in 1998 and in 1999 took over the closer role.  He would lead the league in saves in 2000 with 42 and made the first of two All Star games.

3.  LOSING THE JOB
Not all of my memories of Lowe are good.  In 2001, Lowe blew a number of saves and soon lost his closer's role.  It started early in the season and he could not get going.  Ugueth Urbina was acquired and Lowe was put into the starting rotation.

4.  THE NO-HITTER
Derek Lowe pitched a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2002, the first no-hitter at Fenway Park since 1965.

5.  THE REDEMPTION
Lowe pitched great in 2002, starting the All Star game, and finishing up the season with a 21-8 record and a 2.58 ERA.  He finished third in the Cy Young vote that year.

6.  THE POSTSEASON
Lowe was a very impressive postseason performer.  He was tough on Cleveland in 1998 and he saved the deciding game against the A's in 2003.  Of course nothing compares to his performance in 2004 when he won the deciding games in all three postseason series.  In particular his Game 7 win against the Yankees in the ALCS was a truly gutsy performance.  He came back from two days rest and completely shut down the Yankees for six innings of one-hit ball.

Lowe was a favorite pitcher for his time in Boston, particularly in the postseason in 2004.  He was a free agent though after the season and bounced around a little bit.  Lowe will always be remembered for his time with Boston and he provided some fantastic moments.  Good luck Derek Lowe.

Yankees Weekend at Fenway

07/20:  Red Sox 4 (59-39) Yankees 2
Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonny Gomes homered and Felix Doubront continued his mastery over the Yankees.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

FELIX DOUBRONT:  6.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts.

07/21:  Yankees 5 Red Sox 2 (59-40)
Boston had trouble with Hiroki Kuroda in this one and could not get their offense going.  John Lackey pitched reasonably well for awhile, striking out seven with no walks, but took the loss.  Drake Britton made his Major League debut.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

NO CARD YET

MIKE CARP:  3 for 4, run, double.

07/22:  Red Sox 8 (60-40) Yankees 7

What a game.  Boston trailed 3-0 early on as Ryan Dempster was roughed up.  Then after pulling to 3-1, Mike Napoli hit a three-run home run and Jonny Gomes later homered.  The Red Sox soon lead 7-3 but the Yankees pulled back into a tie.  It went into extra innings and Mike Napoli hit a walk-off solo home run to win it.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

MIKE NAPOLI:  2 for 6, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 7: Babe Ruth

BABE RUTH
Years with Boston:  1914-1919 (89-46, 2.19 ERA, 483 Strikeouts, 425 Walks, .308/.413/.568, 49 Home Runs, 230 RBIs)
Best Year in Boston:  1916 (23-12, 1.75 ERA, 170 Strikeouts)

I am sure it is common knowledge that Babe Ruth started his career as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.  I doubt that there are many people out there at all who do not know that, at least among even casual baseball fans.

Ruth had been pitching for the Baltimore Orioles in the International League in 1914 when his contract was bought by Red Sox owner Joseph Lannin, along with Ernie Shore.  The big southpaw was immediately expected to produce.  He had a decent 1914 season, going 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in four games, but ended up spending much of the year in the minor leagues.  His first full season was 1915, in which he went 18-8 with a 2.44 ERA.  It was an impressive rookie season, but Babe also captured a lot of attention for his bat.  He hit four home runs in 1915, in the midst of the Dead Ball Era.  The league leader hit just seven.  Ruth was held out of the World Series despite his season.

1916 was probably his best year on the mound as he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA and lead the league in ERA, games started, and shutouts.  He also hit three home runs and hit .272.  He did pitch in the 1916 World Series and won his only game against the Dodgers.  He gave up just one earned run in a 14 inning complete game.

In 1917 he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA.  1918 was a transitional year for him.  He started playing in the field more as well as pitching.  He played 47 games in left, 13 at first, and 12 in center as well as 20 games pitched.  He had a record of 13-7 and a 2.22 ERA and lead the league with 11 home runs.  He hit .300/.411/.555 with 66 RBIs.  He then pitched in two games in the World Series, winning both.  He gave up two earned runs in the Series.  He completed a World Series scoreless innings streak of 29 2/3 which stood as a record until Whitey Ford surpassed it.

1919 saw Ruth become an everyday player.  He spent most of the season in left field and set a new record with 29 home runs.  He also lead the league with 103 runs and 114 RBIs and hit .322/.456/.657 as he became a one-man wrecking crew on offense.  Ruth still found time to pitch in 17 games, going 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA, but it was clear that he was much more valuable at the plate.

Of course after the season Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees for $125,000.00.  He would go on to revolutionize the game with his home run power and turned the Yankees into a dynasty.  Meanwhile the Red Sox went on to an 86-year World Championship drought.  Ruth is most well-known for his time with the Yankees, and for good reason.  But his legend began to grow in Boston.

Trade from the Dollar Store and a Red Hot Rookie

Sheesh, mailday posts get a little exhausting sometimes.  Maybe it's because my scanner is at my office so I have to take time out of my work day to scan cards and then crop the pictures and blah blah blah.  Today I was in court from 8:45 in the morning until almost 3:30 in the afternoon.  Lots of hearings because I am the public defender in a small county that had its regular court day today.

Anyway, most of you probably don't care about that kind of thing.  Most of you are here to see cards and I have some neat stuff to show off.

Up first is a Red Hot Rookie from 2008 Topps Chrome.  These were available through  redemption program, and I was not previously aware of this set.  I think I saw some mention of them on another blog article and decided to look and see if I could find a Red Sox card because I love redemption and online-only issues.  Lo and behold, I found this:

1.  2008 Topps Chrome Red Hot Rookie Refractor Justin Masterson.  I mentioned before I still like getting cards of Masterson even though he is no longer on the team.  I figured this was a very good card to add to my collection.  The scan does not do it justice, this card is great.

And next is a trade that I worked out with Douglas from Sportscards from the Dollar Store.  He had posted a trade bait post and I bit on a couple of cards.  Here is the really good stuff from the package, which included some other throw-ins that I already had, but which are still appreciated:

2.  2013 Topps Gold Ryan Dempster.  This is the card that started it all.  Dempster is having a decent season for Boston this year.

3.  1983 Donruss Dave Stapleton.  This was the one throw-in that I did not have.  A nice photo of the defensively-gifted, yet offensively-challenged first baseman.  He should have been on the field at the end of Game 6 in the 1986 World Series.  History may have been different if he was.

4.  1981 O-Pee-Chee Dennis Eckersley.  Yep, O-Pee-Chee.  I love adding Hall of Famer cards.

5.  2013 Topps Archives 1983 All Star Fred Lynn.  Weird, because Lynn was an All Star in 1983, but for the Angels.  That was the year he hit the only All Star grand slam.  Topps probably should have considered that when they made this card.

6.  2013 Topps Archives Tallboy Mini Mike Greenwell.  This was the last card I needed for the Red Sox Tallboys.  I was always a big fan of Greenwell's and he had a nice career, though he was never as good as he was in 1988.

Thanks Douglas!

Maildays

Things are going to slow down a little bit soon.  I wish that were not true, but work has had me pretty busy.  So there has not been a lot of time for cards lately.  Today though I have quite a bit of stuff to show off.

Up first is a quick trade I did with Jack over at Baseball Dad's All Tribe Baseball.  I sent an Indians parallel and he sent me this great purple Clay Buchholz card:

1.  2012 Topps Purple Clay Buchholz.  As rare as the purple cards are this year, this is the first one from last year I have added.  I have not even seen one before.

Thanks Jack!

Up next is a small forum trade that added a couple cards to the ongoing Archives team set.  I gave up a couple of the cards I did not have any use for.

2.  2013 Topps Archives 4-in-1 Sticker Wade Boggs/Tony Gwynn/Cal Ripken Jr./Ryne Sandberg.  Here is a 1969 design sticker card of three great Hall of Famers from the 1980's.  I have been a fan of all of these players in the past, but of course Wade Boggs was my first favorite player.

3.  2013 Topps Archives Dual Fan Favorites Fred Lynn/Jacoby Ellsbury.  For some reason I forgot to put this on my want list, but this is definitely a nice card of two great Red Sox center fielders.

I finally got the last card from my recent Ebay Hall of Famer binge:

4.  2010 Topps Jimmie Foxx SP.  This is one of the legends short prints.  Foxx was truly a beast.  He had a terrific 1938 season in which he won the batting title and lead the league in RBIs while coming in second with 50 home runs.  His home run mark was a team record until David Ortiz surpassed it in 2006.  His RBI mark is still a team record.

The next group of scans comes from the last of the forum big buys and includes a number of Hall of Famers as well.

5.  1995 Upper Deck Babe Ruth Baseball Heroes Babe Ruth.  I have wanted this card for years but never got around to getting it.  Of course everyone knows Babe was a pitcher for the Red Sox.  I love getting cards of the Babe with the Red Sox.

6.  2011 Topps 60 Babe Ruth.  Here is another card of Babe Ruth with the Red Sox.  If anyone has more, I am always interested.

7.  2010 Topps Heritage Chrome John Lackey.  Lackey is having a great season this year.  He is finally earning his paycheck.

8.  2005 Leaf Limited David Wells.  His tenure in Boston was short but he had a nice season in 2005 then struggled in 2006.  I always liked him.

9.  2010 Topps Gold Rocco Baldelli.  Another player with a very short tenure in Boston, Baldelli is definitely a tragic figure.  He had a ton of talent but a debilitating illness that sapped it.

10.  2006 Upper Deck Special FX Purple Alex Cora.  This is a neat card of a player that just does not have many Red Sox cards.

11.  1995 Score Platinum Team Set Wes Chamberlain.  Another player with a short Red Sox tenure.

12.  1995 Score Platinum Team Set Scott Fletcher.  Fletcher had a nice 1993 season with Boston but tanked in 1994.  He did not stick around the league much longer.

13.  2006 Ultimate Collection Jimmie Foxx.  Yet another Foxx card.  He is wearing a Red Sox cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, despite actually having a better career with the Athletics, not to say that his Red Sox career was not notable.

14.  2009 Topps Tribute Juan Marichal.  Yes, Marichal played for the Red Sox.  For all of 11 games that is.  Still, can't go wrong with a Hall of Famer.

15.  2008 Topps Allen & Ginter Coco Crisp SP.  I was surprised I did not have this one.

16.  2005 Reflections Rick Ferrell.  Another Hall of Famer.  Ferrell is not the most deserving in Cooperstown, but he is there all the same and he did have a nice career, finishing with a career batting line of .281 and OBP of .378, good numbers for a catcher.

17.  2011 Topps 60 Jimmie Foxx.  That is three Foxx cards today.  Wow.

18.  2005 Leaf Limited Edgar Renteria.  Renteria was a huge bust in Boston.  I do think if they had kept him for another year that he would have improved.

19.  1999 Topps Tek Nomar Garciaparra.  I now have four variations of this card.  Still a lot left to go.

20.  2003 Donruss Super Estrellas Rickey Henderson.  I love getting cards of Henderson with the Red Sox.

21.  2008 Topps Heritage Justin Masterson.  I always liked Masterson and was disappointed when Boston traded him, but it did bring Victor Martinez back.

22.  2008 Stadium Club First Day Justin Masterson.  Another nice Masterson card.

23.  1994 Finest Pre-Production Jeff Russell.  I only had one of these Pre-Production cards before, that one of Scott Cooper.  Russell was a good closer for Boston in 1993, but not in 1994.

24.  1994 Collector's Choice Gold Signature Dave Valle.  My first gold signature from 1994's set.  Valle was yet another player with a short Red Sox tenure.

25.  2001 Fleer Greats Retrospection Collection Cy Young.  It says Boston Pilgrims and he is shown in a Cleveland uniform, but it is still a Red Sox card and hey, Cy Young.

26.  2009 Topps Chrome Refractor John Smoltz.  Smoltz was pretty bad for Boston and was released.  He then ended up with the Cardinals where he finished his career.

27.  2006 Upper Deck Epic David Wells.  As you can see, Wells had a bit of a weight issue, but that was part of his charm.

And last is another one-for-one forum trade:

28.  2013 Topps Blue Sparkle Ryan Dempster.  As I recall these were only available at stores during the Archives giveaway.  I was not able to get any of these so I am pretty happy to add this one.

The All Star Game

Truthfully I was kind of bored with the All Star game this year.  Not a whole lot really happened, particularly with the Red Sox players.  Boston had three All Stars this year, Clay Buchholz, David Ortiz, and Dustin Pedroia.  Buchholz was hurt and did not play.  Pedroia came in during the top of the 1st after Robinson Cano was hit on the knee with a pitch and had to be removed.  He was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and made one play in the field that I remember.  Ortiz was 0 for 2 after starting the game.  So that was it for the Red Sox in the game.  I was very disappointed that Koji Uehara was not voted in to the game.

As for everything else, like I said it was a pretty boring game.   Mariano Rivera was named the MVP which I am pretty ambivalent towards.  There really was not anyone that was a better pick for the award.  Not much offense and the pitching was all pretty much the same.  I guess based on that, Rivera is an okay pick for the award, but it's not like his performance really stood out that much from anyone else's.  It was definitely a recognition of his career more than for his performance in that game.  Just my opinion.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 7: Rich Gedman

I have always been a big fan of catchers.  Tony Pena was an early favorite player solely on the basis that he was the team's catcher when I first started watching baseball.  So of course I gravitated toward Rich Gedman, whose tenure in Boston was over just the season before my interest in baseball.  It helped that Gedman was a fan favorite in Boston.

Gedman made his Major League debut in 1980 and finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1981 when he hit .288/.317/.434 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 62 games in the strike-shortened season.  Gedman dealt with some injuries for the next two seasons before breaking out in 1984.  That season he hit .269/.312/.506 with 24 home runs and 72 RBIs.  The next season he was an All Star for the first time as he hit .295/.362/.484 with 18 home runs and 80 RBIs.  At that time he was considered one of the better young catchers in the Major Leagues.  Gedman was still just 25 and looked to have a bright future in front of him.

In 1986, Gedman made his second All Star team as he hit .258/.315/.424 with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.  He helped the team make it to the World Series and hit .357 in the ALCS and .200 in the World Series against the Mets.  Unfortunately he allowed a costly passed ball that set up the game-winning hit in Game 6.

In the spring of 1987, Gedman signed a late free agent contract and was likely one of the many victims of collusion.  He did not sign until May, despite having been an All Star in the previous two seasons.  That coupled with injuries lead to him only playing in 52 games and hitting just one home run.  The next season he improved somewhat, but his numbers were still down as he hit just .231/.279/.368 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs.  His numbers further declined in 1989 and he lost a lot of time to Rick Cerone behind the plate.

Tony Pena was signed as a free agent prior to the 1990 season and Gedman was shipped to Houston after just ten games.  Gedman then played parts of two more seasons with the Cardinals.  In 1993 he played in the Yankees minor league system before hanging it up.

Rich Gedman was a very good catcher for three years and looked to be one of the best catchers in the league.  Unfortunately injuries took their toll, but he was still a fan favorite.  I thought he would have an autograph in this year's Archives set, but that apparently fell through.  Hopefully some day.  His 1982 Donruss card was an early card that I sought heavily until I eventually added it to my collection.

Red Sox Drop 2 of 3 in Oakland

The last series before the All Star break found the Red Sox losing two out of three.  It was an exhausting West Coast trip that is thankfully over.

07/12:  Red Sox 4 (58-37) Athletics 2
John Lackey continued to pitch well in his redemption season and took the win.  Shane Victorino got hit in the wrist with a pitch but remained in the game.  Mike Napoli managed to hit a triple.  He is not the fastest guy in the world.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DUSTIN PEDROIA:  2 for 4, 2 RBIs.

07/13:  Athletics 3 Red Sox 0 (58-38)
Jon Lester pitched well for the first time in awhile but was victimized by a non-existent offense.  Boston had seven hits, but only one for extra bases and could not scrape together a run.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JON LESTER:  6.1 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, Loss.

07/14:  Athletics 3 Red Sox 2 (58-39)
Brandon Workman made his first Major League start and flirted with a no-hitter, giving up his first hit in the 7th inning.  It was an impressive debut, but former Red Sox Bartolo Colon shut down the offense again.  Boston lost in the 11th when new Red Sox Matt Thornton gave up the winning run.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

BRANDON WORKMAN:  6.1 innings, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 32: Mike Stanley

Mike Stanley is one of those rare players who came to Boston directly from the Yankees as a free agent.  Even rarer, he actually played well, possibly even better than he had with the Yankees.  That is the biggest reason that I am such a fan of Mike Stanley.  Stanley had a huge 1993 season with the Yankees, winning the Silver Slugger Award at catcher and made the All Star team in 1995.  He joined the Red Sox as a free agent for the 1996 season.

Stanley took over for Mike Macfarlane at catcher and provided a lot of pop for the position.  He was third on the team with 24 home runs and fifth on the team with 69 RBIs.  He had a very good season in 1996, comparable to his big 1993 season.  He finished the year with a .270/.383/.506/.889 line, pretty big numbers for a catcher.  Unfortunately he was not a terrific defensive catcher, only throwing out 17% of base-stealers and leading the league in errors and passed balls.  It did not help that he was catching a knuckleballer every five days.  Still, it was becoming clear that he was much better with the bat than behind the plate.

In 1997, Stanley became the right-handed half of the designated hitter platoon with Reggie Jefferson and also picked up at first base when Mo Vaughn went on the disabled list.  He did make the occasional game at catcher as well.  His batting average was up, but his power numbers were down.  He was hitting .300/.394/.515/.910 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs when he was traded.  The Red Sox were not going anywhere and Stanley was a free agent at the end of the season, so he was expendable.  Reggie Jefferson was having a very good season anyway and Mo Vaughn was back from his injury.  Boston traded Stanley back to the Yankees for Tony Armas Jr. and Jim Mecir.  Neither player would ever play a game for the Major League team.  Mecir was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was selected by the Devil Rays.  Armas was one of two players Boston sent to the Expos for Pedro Martinez.

The Mike Stanley story was not over in Boston though.  After helping the Yankees down the stretch, he signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in 1998.  At the trading deadline, he was traded back to the Red Sox for Pete Munro and Jay Yennaco, neither of whom made it to the Majors with Toronto.  Stanley was back as a first-baseman/designated hitter.  Stanley helped the Red Sox make the playoffs by hitting .288/.388/.500/.888 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs.  He had four singles in 15 at-bats in the ALDS.

In 1999, Stanley was almost a full-time first-baseman, also playing at designated hitter and splitting time at the positions with rookie Brian Daubach.  He had his last good season that year, hitting .281/.393/.466/.859 with 19 home runs and 72 RBIs.  He performed well in the playoffs, hitting .500 in the ALDS against the Indians.  The following season, his overall numbers were way down, though he did have 10 home runs.  It was apparent he was not going to be productive much longer and he was released by the Red Sox, only to hook on with the Athletics.

Mike Stanley was exactly the kind of high-OBP player that would have been revered had his career lasted just a little bit longer.  His career OBP was .370, very high, particularly for a player who spent most of his career as a catcher.  He was always a good hitter, but he would have been held in higher regard had he played at a time when getting on base was much more revered.

As for my personal collection regarding Mike Stanley, he is notable for being the first player I ever got a 1/1 for, my 1999 Flair Showcase Masterpiece card.

Red Sox Trade for Matt Thornton

Link.

The bullpen has been in trouble lately, especially with Franklin Morales and Andrew Miller hitting the Disabled List.  So Boston went out and traded for southpaw Matt Thornton of the White Sox.  Thornton is not as good as he used to be, but he still gets lefties out and that is something that Boston needed.

The cost was Brandon Jacobs, a prospect I liked, but that did not seem like he was moving too quickly.  That coupled with the fact that he would have been Rule V eligible made him expendable.  Hopefully Thornton pitches well and makes this worth it.

Red Sox Cardboard?

Today's sole package was some more stuff from Matt at Red Cardboard.  He sent me these as thanks for the package I sent to him earlier.  

1.  1971 Topps Batting Leaders w/ Carl Yastrzemski.  Yaz lost the 1970 batting crown by percentage points.  Alex Johnson hit .32899 to Yaz's .32862.  This is a nice vintage card.  The 1971 design is one of Topps's best.

2.  2012 Topps Update Wal Mart Blue Kelly Shoppach.  Shoppach was originally drafted by the Red Sox in 2001 and made his Major League debut in 2005.  He was then traded to Cleveland and spent some years with the Indians and Rays before returning to Boston to take over as backup catcher from Jason Varitek.  He was doing well in 2012, hitting .250/.327/.471 with five home runs and his first career triple and stolen base.  Then he was possibly involved in some dissension against Bobby Valentine and was unceremoniously traded to the Mets for Pedro Beato.

3.  2013 Topps Wal Mart Blue Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia is having his usual solid season and is returning to the All Star game this year.  

Thanks Matt!

Huge Maildays With More from Zippy Zappy

Lots to get through today, so let's get started right away.

On one of the forums over the weekend a bunch of people were selling a lot of random singles and I found a ton of stuff.  I spent a little more than I would have liked, but I got a lot of good stuff.  The next two scans are from one such seller:

1.  2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Gold Carl Yastrzemski.

2.  2013 Bowman Silver Ice Dustin Pedroia.

3.  2013 Bowman Orange Jon Lester.

4.  2013 Bowman Chrome Cream of the Crop Allen Webster.  This is one of my favorite insert sets of the season.  I still need Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts.

5.  2012 Topps Wal Mart Blue Carl Crawford.  I still love getting cards of Crawford even if his stint in Boston left a lot to be desired.

6.  2012 Topps Wal Mart Blue Josh Reddick.

7.  2012 Finest Green Refractor Adrian Gonzalez.  I feel the same way about A-Gon as I do about Crawford, though he played a lot better for Boston.

8.  2012 Bowman Platinum Prospects Refractor Garin Cecchini.  Suddenly Middlebrooks is not the definite long-term answer at third base, especially with Cecchini playing as well as he has.

9.  2012 Bowman Platinum Gold Adrian Gonzalez.

10.  2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks and Prospects Draft Picks Blue Refractor Brian Johnson.  Boston's second first round pick of last year has not performed well so far.  There is time though.

11.  2012 Bowman Chrome Purple Refractor Jacoby Ellsbury.

12.  2012 Bowman Chrome Green Refractor Dustin Pedroia.  Ooooh.  Pretty colors.

13.  2012 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractor Dustin Pedroia.

Up next is a second big buy.

14.  2012 Topps Chrome Xfractor Mike Aviles.  One of the few cards available of Aviles as a Red Sox.  I try to get as many variations of this as I can.

15.  2010 Topps 206 Chrome Refractor Josh Beckett.

16.  2006 Topps Turkey Red Black Coco Crisp.  I did not have any black parallels from this set.  Pretty neat cards.

17.  2005 Leaf Limited Keith Foulke.  A card off of my want list.

18.  2000 Revolution Triple Header Nomar Garciaparra.  I love Pacific inserts, some really nice cards.

19.  2001 Pacific Ornaments Pedro Martinez.

20.  2002 Topps 206 Polar Bear Pedro Martinez.

21.  2010 Topps Heritage Chrome Victor Martinez.  I love getting cards of Victor Martinez from his time with Boston too.  He was pretty successful, even if he did shove Jason Varitek into a backup role.

22.  2008 Upper Deck Goudey Head's Up Daisuke Matsuzaka.  I love this card.  Just a neat, unusual card.

23.  2005 Leaf Certified Materials Certified Skills David Ortiz.

24.  2008 Upper Deck X Xponential David Ortiz.

25.  2010 Topps National Chicle National Chicle Back David Ortiz.

26.  2012 Topps Chrome Refractor David Ortiz.  Another one from the wantlist.  This one was on it due to a trade that fell through earlier.  I don't like thinking I am getting a card and then not get it.

27.  2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Emerald Jonathan Papelbon/Manny Ramirez/Jason Varitek/David Ortiz.  One of the rare Varitek cards I did not have previously.

28.  2008 Upper Deck X Die Cut Gold Jonathan Papelbon.

29.  2009 Upper Deck Starquest Uncommon Blue Jonathan Papelbon.

30.  2007 Topps Chrome Red Refractor Wily Mo Pena.  I liked Wily Mo.  This is a nice card.

31.  2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Emerald Jason Varitek.  Another Varitek I did not have.

32.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Gold Kevin Youkilis.

33.  2011 Topps Lineage Stand Ups Kevin Youkilis.

I mentioned in an earlier post about a recent Hall of Famer binge on Ebay.  This is the big one:

34.  2011 Topps Update Manufactured Glove Leather Patch Babe Ruth.  I panicked briefly when I looked at this one in hand.  There is no team designation.  Coupled with the #3 on the patch I was suddenly not convinced this was a Red Sox card.  So I did some research based on the small picture of Babe Ruth.  The Red Sox did not have any sort of logo on their caps during the Babe's time with them.  The Yankees always had the familiar NY logo on theirs.  So I now feel safe in declaring that despite the #3, this is a Red Sox card.

Up next was a couple of cards from Kenny, aka Zippy Zappy.  He asked about a Yankees parallel on one of my tradebait posts and I offered to send it to him with some extras to even up the last trade.  He did send me some stuff and I am once again grateful.

35.  2012 Bowman Sterling Will Middlebrooks.  This is just an incredibly classy-looking card.  Hopefully Middlebrooks makes it back.

36.  2013 Topps Jon Lester.  One of the remaining base cards from 2013 Topps I still needed.

Thanks again Kenny!

Finally, one of the bigger trades I have made this year:

2013 Topps Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia.  Topps has been doing this big, heavy award cards for a couple of years now but I had yet to get a single one.  Until now.  Someone on the forums had this for trade.  This was a difficult trade to work out.  These things are in high demand and rare so working out a trade was a challenge.  Until I picked up a bunch of Orioles inserts in a blaster.  I offered up multiple Orioles inserts, parallels, and a ton of other red parallels for this and eventually worked it out.  It was well worth it.  This goes up there with the Mike Cameron rip card as one of my favorite cards I got in a trade this year.

One-Year Wonder Pt. 21: Sean Casey

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

Sean Casey had been a high-average first-baseman for the Cincinnati Reds for several seasons in the late 1990's and early 2000's.  He was a three-time All Star for the Reds and had his best season in 2004 when he hit .324/.381/.534 with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs.  Casey was also a good defensive first-baseman and was very popular with teammates and opposing players alike.

Casey was on the decline for a few years while bouncing from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to Detroit and finally to Boston in 2008.  Casey was brought in as injury insurance for Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell.  Casey was just 33, but it was pretty clear that he was not the player he was before.  He did hit .322 with a .381 OBP, but his slugging percentage was just .392.  He had virtually no power in 2008.  He did not hit a single home run and only picked up 14 doubles in 218 plate appearances.  He also struck out in his only two postseason at-bats.

2008 was his final season in the Major Leagues.

Red Sox Take 3 of 4 from Mariners

The West Coast road trip continued this week in the Pacific Northwest.  It was a hard-fought series featuring several rallies.

07/08:  Mariners 11 Red Sox 4 (54-37)
Felix Hernandez shut down the Red Sox offense and Jon Lester struggled yet again.  The rest of the bullpen did not really help anything out with Alex Wilson and Jose De La Torre each giving up three runs.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

MIKE NAPOLI:  1 for 4, Double, Run, RBI.

07/09:  Red Sox 11 (55-37) Mariners 8
Boston hit five home runs and Craig Breslow picked up the win in this game that saw the Red Sox come back from a deficit of 5-1 at one point.  David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Shane Victorino each homered.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DAVID ORTIZ:  4 for 5, 2 doubles, home run, RBI, 3 runs.

07/10:  Red Sox 11 (56-37) Mariners 4
Felix Doubront continued his hot streak and Boston rolled in this one.  Brandon Workman made his Major League debut, pitching two innings with three runs and four strikeouts.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DAVID ORTIZ:  2 for 3, home run, double, 2 runs, 3 RBIs.

07/11:  Red Sox 8 (57-37) Mariners 7
Boston won in the tenth on an RBI single from Daniel Nava.  Knuckleballer Steven Wright got his first Major League win and Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Iglesias, and Brock Holt each drove in two runs.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

NO CARD YET

STEVEN WRIGHT:  5.2 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, Win.

Season in Review: 2003

2003 was a tough year.  Boston had a great season until the ALCS.  This was the year that Aaron Boone hit the walkoff home run for the Yankees that propelled them to the World Series and sent the Red Sox home.  The Red Sox finished the season 95-67 and won the Wild Card.  Manager Grady Little was fired after the season though.  2003 was the first season that Theo Epstein had a lot of control over the roster and he brought two big ideas to the team.  He was successful in his goal of developing the lineup into a patient, OBP-oriented team, but his closer-by-committee failed miserably.

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS

Nomar Garciaparra
It was not known at the time, but this was Nomar's final full season with the Red Sox.  But he did have a good year.  Nomar hit .301/.345/.524 with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs.  He lead the team in RBIs.  He also hit 13 triples and stole 19 bases for one of his better speed/power combo years.

Pedro Martinez
The great Pedro was hurt for part of the season  which explains the fact that he only won 14 games, but he only lost four and had a 2.22 ERA and 206 strikeouts in 186.2 innings.  He finished third in the Cy Young Award race, which is surprising given his low win total at a time when wins were a lot more important in the vote.

Jason Varitek
After a down season in 2002, the Red Sox catcher came back strong in 2003 and made his first All Star game.  He had one of his best seasons hitting .273/.351/.512 with 25 home runs and 85 RBIs.  The legend of Varitek as a great game-calling catcher also started to grow that year.

Manny Ramirez
Manny had another huge year in 2003, hitting .325/.427/.587 with 37 home runs and 104 RBIs.  He lead the team in home runs and was second in the league in batting average.  He also won the Silver Slugger and was named an All Star.

Trot Nixon
Nixon had quite possibly his best season in 2003, a season that went largely unnoticed because of his place on a team packed with stars.  He hit .306/.396/.578 with 28 home runs and 87 RBIs.  It was his career high in every category except RBIs.  He also played terrific defense.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Johnny Damon
This was actually not a terrific season for Damon as he hit just .273/.345/.405 with 12 home runs, 67 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.  He lead the team in stolen bases of course but his OBP left something to be desired from a leadoff man.

Derek Lowe
Lowe had a decent year, but his high win total was more of a function of his run support than his own pitching statistics.  He lead the team with 17 wins but only had a 4.47 ERA.  His WHIP was a less-than-impressive 1.416.

Tim Wakefield
The 36-year-old knuckleballer had another decent season in 2003, going 11-7 with a 4.09 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 202.1 innings.  He started 33 games and finished two, picking up one save along the way.

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS

David Ortiz
Easily one of the best free agent signings the Red Sox ever made.  The Twins have been kicking themselves ever since.  Ortiz made waves as an MVP candidate late in the season despite not even starting the season as a regular.  He hit .288/.369/.592 with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs.

Kevin Millar
The story of how Kevin Millar came to Boston is a very interesting one, one which I actually wrote a paper on for my Conflict Resolution course.  Millar hit .276/.348/.472 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs.  He proved to be well worth the trouble.  He was also a terrific clubhouse character.

Bill Mueller
Next to David Ortiz, Mueller was probably the Red Sox best signing.  He made Shea Hillenbrand expendable with his hitting and won the Silver Slugger for third base.  He lead the league in batting average with a .326 mark and hit 19 home runs with 85 RBIs.  He had a terrific game in which he hit grand slams from both sides of the plate and added a third home, driving in nine on the day.

Mike Timlin
Timlin had been a successful pitcher for a long time before joining the Red Sox at the age of 36.  He became the Red Sox most reliable setup man for the next several years.  In 2003 he was 6-4 with a 3.55 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 83.2 innings.  He picked up two saves for the season.

Todd Walker
Walker was acquired to be the team's new second-baseman and had a decent season for a middle infielder. He is often forgotten when talking about the 2003 season because it was his only year in Boston, but he hit .283/.333/.428 with 13 home runs and 85 RBIs.

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITIONS

Byung-Hyun Kim
I have always liked side-arm pitchers and Asian players, so I was excited when the Red Sox acquired Kim, even though it cost Shea Hillenbrand.  Kim pitched in a variety of roles in 2003 and lead the team with 16 saves.  He solidified the back of the bullpen, though he did also start some games.  He was 8-5 with a 3.18 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 79.1 innings.

Scott Williamson
Another acquisition to shore up the bullpen, the former Rookie of the Year with the Reds was not great in the regular season, but he pitched great in the postseason.  He still struck out 21 in 20.1 innings, and 14 in just eight innings in the playoffs.

FAVORITE ROOKIE

Jason Shiell
Shiell was the only player who performed remotely well that was a rookie in 2003.  Freddy Sanchez did not do enough and was traded, so the best rookie falls to Shiell who had a 2-0 record with a 4.63 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 23.1 innings over 17 games.  He picked up one save as well.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

Jeremy Giambi
Jason Giambi's younger brother was considered the Red Sox best acquisition of the offseason after hitting 20 home runs at age 27 the last season for Oakland and Philadelphia.  It did not work out that way.  He hit just .197/.342/.354 with five home runs and 15 RBIs and eventually lost the DH job to Ortiz.

Ramiro Mendoza
One of the more disappointing members of the bullpen early on, Mendoza was picked up to be one of the members of the closer-by-committee experiment.  The former Yankee setup man only went 3-5 with a 6.75 ERA in 66.2 innings.

Jeff Suppan
Suppan was acquired at the trading deadline from the Pirates.  He was one of the best starting pitchers available, but performed terribly for Boston and was left off the postseason roster.  He was just 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 63 innings in his return to Boston, for whom he started his career.  He also cost the team Freddy Sanchez.

POSTSEASON HERO

Tim Wakefield
Despite giving up the winning run in the ALCS, Wakefield pitched terrifically against the Yankees.  He was 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with 10 strikeouts in the ALCS.

POSTSEASON GOAT

Grady Little
Little was never the best manager in the world.  He was often over-matched and made some strange decisions.  His most costly was leaving Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the ALCS too long.  A decision which lead to the Yankees tying the game and eventually winning.  Little was fired shortly thereafter.