Getting back into it

Well after 6+ months of hard work, the renovations on our new home are nearly done. I just need to finish up some work in the yard and in the new kitchen and we'll be done. After that I hope to return to more regular blogging - so look for that in the near future!

I'm thinking to bring back the random Pittsburgh Pirates card of the day and maybe expand it to just random baseball card of the day. What should I do? Who knows.

That's all for now.

Let's go Pens. Let's go Steelers.

And let's go Bucs.

It's Official - 17 years of losing. Let's go Bucs!

On the Pittsburgh Pirates

Oh Pirates, where shall I begin? Not too long ago, my Pirates traded away Nate McClouth - not a popular move in Pittsburgh. There was much angst and many cries of "Here we go again". I chose to believe that management does indeed have a plan and that they are simply trying to stock up on as many good players as possible, even if those players may not make the team for a couple of years -- if at all. The other thing I tried to remember is that while McClouth was a very good player on a pretty bad team, he's just an above average ballplayer on a good team. And while Atlanta has certainly faced their share of troubles this year, Nate wouldn't have to come into that clubhouse and be the savior of the team. There's not too much pressure on him -- kind of like a reverse Adam LaRoche.
Then they recently traded away Nyjer Morgan, a speedy and effective leadoff hitter. The big knock against him is that he is just now breaking into the big leagues, at age 28. In exchange for him we received Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan (I think that's his name, I didn't bother to look it up). It seems to me that this management team is willing to swing for the fences and hope that a deal works out. I have to say, I think it's a good idea. With this team, you have to be willing to take a few chances if you want to compete and want to win. If Lastings can get his head on straight, he can have a huge impact on the performance of this team.
And the silver lining of all of this is that Andrew McCutcheon now gets to come up to the big leagues and play every day. And boy howdy, has he ever stepped up!
Anyway...all of this to say -- there is hope for the Pirates yet. If I'm the last one rooting for them ever, I'll still root for them.

Let's go Bucs!

Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day

Wow! It's the third Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day post this week! You guys are so lucky!
Today we're looking at a 1995 Flair Denny Neagle card. Now, I have to say - Flair was one of my favorite sets. I remember when I first saw it, I was really impressed. I thought it was so cool. The cards were printed on extra thick, heavy stock. The photography was good and the design was really nice. The cards just looked very classy, if you can say that about a baseball card. Denny's 1995 Flair card is no exception. I'm not sure if it comes across in the scan, but these cards are great. The action shot of Neagle probably isn't the best one, but oh well. It kind of looks like he's in pain. It's tough being a major league pitcher. Denny didn't last too long with the Pirates. He was dealt to the Braves, I think. I'd look it up, but it's not that important. What is important is that you all remember how nice the Flair sets were and go pull yours out of storage and admire them anew. Just try to ignore the fact that the different years kind of look the same.

Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day

Wow. Today's Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day really showcases what can go wrong when a card company says "Screw it, we're putting out the most butt-ugly cards we possibly can." I'm not sure if this post is more about the Pirates card, or more about 1995 Fleer. Talk about a disgusting card design. If there were much more happening on the front of this card, my eyeballs might explode. I'm not sure if Fleer was trying to get ahead of the late '90s internet crazy by trying to make their cards look like a physical embodiment of some sort of theoretical idea of technology, but dang. That's one nasty looking card design. (As a side note, 2 sentences back there is an appalingly long and inelegant sentence. I'm sorry. It's my blog though so I can write bad sentences if I want!)
On to the card:
This one features Lance Parrish. He had an OK major league career. Nothing spectacular, but nothing to scoff at, either. At this point in his career, he didn't have much power left, although the back of this card does show 320 major league home runs - not terrible at all. I feel like maybe I'm not respecting Lance Parrish and his awesomeness enough, but I just can't get over the absolute ugliness of this Fleer set. One positive: Lance Parrish is rocking a solid 'stache.

Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day

Today's installment of Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day takes us all the way back to 1986. In April of this wonderful year, I was 4 years old, the Chernobyl disaster happened, and Johnny Ray was named the National League Player of the Month! We're looking at a 1986 Donruss Highlights card. You gotta love the classic horizontal striping on this beauty - I think it really highlights Johnny's scraggly beard. As for Johnny Ray, he hit a monstrous .380 in April of '86 and also knocked in 18 RBI's. Not too shabby for a second baseman. Way to go, Johnny!

If you ever want to waste $7...

...then here's the craigslist listing of your dreams!

$7 for a crappy old Bobby Bonilla card? I bet I have approximately 435434345078996 Bobby Bo cards sitting in a box somewhere. Anyone wanna pay me for them? I didn't think so.

Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day

The latest installment of our Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day brings us Jack Wilson's 2006 Topps base card. Jack is mostly known for his solid defense, and this card highlights just that by showing him preparing to field a ground ball. Kids, take notice of his form: weight is shifted to the balls of his feet, eyes focused on the ball, his body is positioned to keep the ball in front of him and he's using two hands! With technique like that, it's no wonder Jack has held down a job as a starting shortstop in the major leagues for the last few years. In 2004, Jack tied for the league lead in triples, with 12. Keep it up, Jack!

In other news, this is the 50th post here at Beer and Baseball Cards! Thanks for reading, random internet readers.

Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day

1961 Topps Rocky Nelson

Check out the size of that chaw in his mouth!
Rocky played first base for the Pirates and in 1960 he hit .300!
Way to go, Rock!

Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day

Welcome to a new series here at Beer and Baseball Cards. Every once in a while I'll be posting a picture of a random Pittsburgh Pirates card from my collection under the heading of Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day - creative, I know. It won't be every day. Sometimes I'll just put a picture of a card on the blog, as if to say "Here you go, enjoy this random Pirates card." Other times I might include some witty commentary as a bonus to you, the reader. You're welcome.

Let's get started.

This first Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day is a 1972 Topps Luke Walker. Luke was a pitcher for the Bucs in the late '60s and into the '70s. His best season, according the back of this card, was in 1970. That year he went 15-6 with a 3.04 ERA and 124 strikeouts. Not too shabby. Those kind of numbers would definitely get him a spot in the current Pirates rotation. It's possible that he had a better season than that after 1972, but I don't feel like looking up the stats right now, so that's all you're gonna get. I like the font used on the Topps set this year - it looks like it's coming right at you! I do not generally like photos from spring training to be used on baseball cards, and this one is no exception.

So there you have it - the very first Random Pittsburgh Pirates Card of the Day. There will be more to come. Maybe I'll expand it beyond the Buccos at some point, we'll see. Stay tuned...

A very short list of interesting posts

Here are two posts that I read today which interested me:

One from Ballcard Mania about the oldest baseball card known to man.

And another from Nachos Grande asking which 20 cards you would display if given the opportunity.

In other news, the Pirates unfortunately lost out on signing free agent Rocco Baldelli. I know he's sick and may not be able to play a whole lot, but he seems like the kind of player the Bucs should go after - he's got crazy talent and if he can play significant time he could make a real contribution. Oh well...hopefully someone else will come along. Looks like 2009 is going to be another long season...
UPDATE: If, and that's a freaking HUGE IF, either of these deals went through, I'd be a happy camper. We'll see, I kind of doubt it, but we'll see.

That's all for now. I'll try to post a couple new pack breaks in the next few days, definitely over the weekend.

Time to start again

It looks like my Excel file where I catalog my card collection has disappeared. We've switched computers a couple of times in the last couple years so I think it may have gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere. So, that means I have to start all over again. If anyone is reading this and knows of where I can get set checklists in Excel format, I'd appreciate that information. Otherwise it looks like I'll be creating them by hand again. Oh well, I guess that gives me an excuse to pull out the cards I never look at anymore and remember what 1991 Fleer Ultra Baseball looks like.

Wood grain border = very classy

Here’s an example of a 1987 Topps baseball card. Notice the very fine wood grain border, the just a little too tight baseball pants, as well as the magnificent mustache. It should also be noted that Jim Leyland was famous for smoking in the dugout during games. So much for health and sports going hand in hand, although that was probably never true (see: baseball, steroids).

Take a minute to check out this beautful set - I promise you won’t be disappointed.