Silver lining?

I'll admit it, I'm pretty weary of the Alex Rodriguez soap opera. The man is a mercenary, philandering, arrogant cheat. Ok, I got that. Let's test him every three days (like MLB does Josh Hamilton) and move on.

There may be a small silver lining to the whole ordeal though. Recently I have seen two articles on MLB.com dealing with the situation. One was talking about David Ortiz's reaction and another covered Jamie Moyer's thoughts. Both were interesting because Ortiz is a good friend of Rodriguez and Moyer is a former teammate.

Moyer, pictured here on card number 85T of the 1989 Topps traded set, says he is "disappointed" in Rodriguez. He also believes that Rodriguez's career numbers are ruined, he has no credibility, he will not be elected to the Hall, and now has nothing to play for. Pretty strong words from a guy generally considered to be among the nicest in the game. Pretty credible words from a guy who has made the game work for him by being himself, something Alex should have tried.

Ortiz is more pointed. While saying that we should move on from the Rodriguez situation, he calls for testing of every player on every team several times a season. He also thinks that the penalty for a first time offense should be a one-year suspension from the game. Only then, he feels, will steroids be taken seriously and the cheating stop.

In a way I find both of these encouraging. I remember from past situations that other players were surprised or felt badly for the involved player. I don't remember any negative reactions or calls for increased enforcement. Maybe the players are waking up to the fact that steroids are ruining the game. Perhaps the positive peer pressure will bear some fruit. It would be nice to see something positive come out of this revelation.

Book 1, Page 29.

Well, the pitchers and catchers are all in camp. At least those with contracts are. Still no Pudge signing, but the Marlins are still professing some interest. It seems to me though that time runs short.

Today we have almost a full page of Pudge. Only missing one card. By this point in the book that isn't bad. Let's take a look:
1995 Stadium Club Virtual Reality #103
1995 Stadium Club Virtual Reality Members Only #103
1995 Studio #117
1995 Summit #82
Empty pocket
1995 Tombstone Pizza #15
1995 Topps #543
1995 Topps Cyberstats #324
1995 Topps D3 #32

The empty pocket is left for the 1995 Summit Nth Degree #82. On this page I like the Studio most which is strange considering that I believe credit cards to be a necessary evil at best. I find the 1995 Stadium Club Virtual Reality Members Only card to be amusing and frustrating at the same time. A parallel of a parallel? Why?

Reporting in.

They're in camp! Spring Training has started! Oh yeah! 31 Pitchers reported to Surprise, Arizona for the Rangers this year. 32 if you count the team president. Nolan Ryan, seen here on his 1990 Score card number 696, has made his mark on the team and apparently on Spring Training.

Starting tomorrow the pitchers begin throwing to live hitters. It's been a long time since they did that and this is probably the first time to do it on the first day of camp. In addition the Rangers are adding throwing and conditioning practice and emphasizing fielding.

Hopefully this work will all begin to pay off. Ryan and Jon Daniels stood by their word and didn't spend a bunch of money on free agents. This gives the young guys a chance to shine. It would be nice to see them take advantage of the opportunity.

Josh Hamilton thinks the team can win 90 games. That would just tickle me pink to see. A winning season along would be nice, contention for a large part of the year would be well above anybody's expectations.

Surprise!

If Gerald Laird, pictured here on card number 23 of the 2009 Topps set, were still with the Rangers he would be reporting to Spring Training tomorrow. Gotta love the anticipation as pitchers and catchers show up and start to get ready for the upcoming campaign.

RWH over at I Heart Halos has already reported in with an outstanding and unanticipated package. I had contacted him to see if he was interested in trading a Josh Hamilton card he had posted. He replied that he would just send me the card. Very thoughtful. I expected an envelope and toploader. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when a large envelope arrived from RWH. Inside was a plastic case containing today's card along with 17 others. A nice variety of Pudge cards I didn't have, my first 2009 Rangers cards, and both Pudge and Rangers game-used cards. Also included was a nice note threatening me with future generosity and wishing the Rangers well against Seattle and Oakland. Wow! RWH came to town with his A game. Now I gotta try and work up a return package that comes somewhat close. Thanks RWH!

A word from the management.

Starting last night, I am working a seven day third shift stretch at work. I'll try and keep posting but may be sporadic or short until I get back to a more normal shift. I'll leave you with this signed through the mail 1988 Topps card of Bobby Valentine and the answers to yesterday's trivia.

Two readers posted answers to the questions, both got most of them correct but tripped once. Probably better than I could do off the top of my head. Ok, here we go.
1. True. I probably would have gotten this one simply because Dwight is the only Mets pitcher I remember from 1987.
2. George "Rube" Waddell. This one would have been a toss-up at best for me.
3. Hank Aaron. I looked this one up to be sure it is still true. It is. Hank holds the lead with 2,297 career RBI. Barry Bonds is fourth with 1,996. In between are Cap Anson and Babe Ruth.
4. 1976. I would have been able to narrow it down to the seventies but would have missed the exact year.
5. False. Of course. I did see a discussion of what would happen if the Rangers switched leagues. According to T.R. Sullivan, they would probably still lead the league in runs scored and still need pitching.

1988 Classic - Pete Incaviglia.

Still not a whole lot going on in Major League Baseball. Still a lot of significant free agents out there with only a few days left until Spring Training kicks off. Things could get interesting.

Seeing as it is a somewhat slow day, I have decided to give Classic trivia another whirl. Today's questions come from card number 177 in the 1988 set, Pete Incaviglia. Here they are:
1. (T-F) Dwight Gooden led the Mets in wins in 1987?
2. What Hall of Famer was referred to as "Rube"?
3. Who holds the MLB record for career RBI?
4. What was Hank Aaron's last year in the Majors?
5. (T-F) The Texas Rangers are in the N.L.?

Ok, got some pretty easy ones this time. Please feel free to post your answers as comments.

1972 Topps - Tim Cullen.

Not much happening today on the baseball front other than continued drama in the Alex Rodriguez saga. Since I am already tired of that I am going skip it.

Today's card is number 461 in the 1972 Topps set, Tim Cullen. Along with Denny McClain, Tim Cullen's last season with the team was 1971. He never actually appeared in a Rangers' uniform. Texas released him in March of 1972 and the A's picked him up for that season. That would be it for Tim.

The thing that strikes me about this card is the incredible innovation of the Topps photographer. After seven previous cards of head shots we now see a posed photo from the waist up. Wow! What's next? Action shots?