Card Cameos: The Shadow of the Empire

I understand how it works.  My favorite team, the Detroit Tigers, are a small market team.  This, by virtue of the fact that they are not in New York, or LA, or Philly,  or Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and a handful of others.  This, despite the fact that Detroit is actually the 11th largest media market in the country.  Whatever.  Small market.

And because the Tigers are a small market team, they tend to get some neglect from time to time.  Like this:

The Tigers, Division champs and ALCS participants, have TWO cards in the entire Topps Finest set. Same as Astros, Marlins and O's. WEAK.

16 Oct via web

And yes, I'm sure that the World Series Champions can complain about the same thing.  So could the Rangers.  Or the Rays or all the other playoff teams that aren't from New York, or LA, or Philly...you get my point.

The card industry, like everything else it seems, revolves around "the market."  I hate the market.  I hate that every baseball card product out there feels like a Yankees team set.  Or that I get Brooklyn Dodgers forced down my throat. And the SAWX.  But I get it, I do.  Economics, man.

And as long as we get our pittance we can manage a thankful smile and say "Thank you, gov'nr" in a cockney accent to the Baseball Card Executive personified as a top-hat and monocle wearing fat cat in our heads.  Every now and then they'll throw us an extra nickel in the form of a "Ryan Perry memorial because he'll sign our cards for basically nothing" autograph or a shiny insert or some other special card that you see once in a blue moon for your own team while some Yankees collector flings it in the trash and says "ANOTHER, Mickey Mantle superfractatious atoma-fractor? Enough Already!"  Well I want an atomafractor.

Instead, the empire steals my lunch money.

2011 Topps Update: #US320 Russell Martin f. Brandon Inge

$(*&#)%*!

This is the best Tigers card of the year, bar none.  This may be the best action shot of a Tigers player IN A DECADE or more.  It is vintage Brandon Inge, at full extension, in an extravagant pose, at home, being awesome.  Great, great shot.

And in the background is an almost-blurry Yankee, in the midst of a somewhat ugly slide with his face partially obscured by the shadow of his helmet.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME HOW IS THIS NOT A BRANDON INGE CARD?!?!?

Oh that's right, there's a Yankee on it.  SLAP A YANKEE ON IT BOYS, WE'VE GOT CARDS TO SELL!

Now, some apologist may say, and they wouldn't be wrong, that at the time of design and printing, Brandon Inge had been Designated for Assignment, his days on the Tigers apparently over, and therefore a rational decision was made to use the card for All-Star Russell Martin instead.

This would not be incorrect, and would be justified.  But something tells me that if Topps followed the ins and outs of roster moves that closely they would never have produced, I don't know, this or this or this... I could go on forever if I had the time.  The point is, sure, maybe some uncharacteristically observant employee thought it imprudent to put a player that was essentially cut in an Update set.  "Oh, the criticism we shall receive!"  I'm not going to say that didn't happen.

But I am going to say, that somehow, some way, one of the best Tigers action shots ever placed on a baseball card was taken from us, and surprise, surprise, it just so happens to be the Yankees that took it.

Clinched.

Well you all know what laughter sounds like

To say that I saw this coming would be a lie. Ok, sure, I've seen this coming for the last month or so, when the Tigers went from a middling division contender to a unstoppable powerhouse, but when a team wins 12 in a row, it's kind of tough to be surprised when the clinch a playoff berth. But the fact that we even got to this point is surprising to me. This is a season in which the Tigers started a horribly performing Brandon Inge long enough for him to earn 10/5 rights, then Designated Him for Assignment, then brought him back as a reasonably valuable platoon player. This is a season in which the Tigers looked sloppy. Poor defense haunted the team, inconsistent pitching created setback after setback. A weak bullpen just couldn't hold it together.

Yet somehow, hold it together they did. In place of a 2nd half collapse there was a second half surge. In early August, Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland were both given contract extensions. The Tigers had a tenuous grasp on 1st place and weren't playing the best baseball. Dombrowski had been doing everything he could shuffle the roster to keep the team in contention. Leyland was being Leyland. Many fans were confused; others, upset. Why would you give them an extension with two months to go. Subtext: Why would you stick us with these two with another collapse imminent. I held a more moderate view at the time. Sure, the timing is a little strange, but here you have a team that is in first place in August. Why wouldn't you give an extension? This isn't a great team, yet they've performed well. There is still plenty of season to go, potential lame duck leadership could sink the ship. Sure, extend away.

Since August 8th the Tigers are 27-10.

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Take a look back at the start of the season. Did anyone expect this? I'm not saying nobody thought it was possible, but was there anyone who seriously expected the Tiger to blow away the division? There were way too many unknowns about this team. About the rotation, about 2nd base, about sophomore slumps. Nobody knew. And the funny thing is, all of that uncertainty didn't really work its way out. Instead, the anxious trigger finger of Dave Dombrowski made things happen.
I've never been an argent DD supporter. He made a bunch of boneheaded contract extensions after the Tigers last playoff run that handcuffed the team for years. But man, did he ever earn his money this year.

Doug Fister
Delmon Young
Wilson Betemit

Three pickups in a very thin trade market have made all the difference in the world. Sure, it helps that Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in the majors right now, or that Miguel Cabrera is playing as his consistently great self, yet is flying under the radar some how. In fact, as astutely pointed out by Jonah Keri, Alex Avila and Jhonny Perlata are having best-in-class seasons themselves.

When we look back at early season lineups and see INGE, RABURN, SIZEMORE, KELLY etc. slotted into the lineup every day it was depressing. It didn't work. Dombrowski saw it too. Now, the weak points of the lineup have become the Tigers' strengths, as platoon players or defensive replacements or pinch hitters. The Tigers are a much better, and much different, team than they were as recently as the start of July.

Four more names:
Jayson Werth
Adam Dunn
Carl Crawford
Victor Martinez

Let's play match game.

4 Years/$50 Million
4 Years/$56 Million
7 Years/$142 Million
7 Years/$126 Million

--match with--

232/332/392, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 147 SO
161/291/282, 11 HR, 40 RBI, 161 SO
252/289/398, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 98 SO
325/375/461, 11 HR, 94 RBI, 50 SO

In case you weren't sure, Victor(y) Martinez has the cheapest, shortest contract and production that FAR exceeds that of all of the three. Lest we forget, these four people were the free agent market last year. That was it. The Tigers knew that they needed to add a bat and they just happened to choose the only one of the four that has had a good season. VMarts season has been excellent, everyone else's has been short of serviceable. Point, Dombrowski.

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There are two weeks left in the season and we can finally relax. There will be no Game 163 this year. No last minute collapse to the Wild Card. Jim Leyland can twist and contort his facial muscles into something that resembles a painful smile, before channeling his inner Rex Banner and snapping back to its default position.

The Tigers are in the playoffs. They won their division for the first time since 1987. This is a real thing. The Tigers have become a good baseball team, one that can reasonably contend for home field advantage over these last few weeks. One that is going to see its share of post-season awards. One that has a shot, as good a shot as anyone, at taking home the ultimate prize.

Baseball is a sport of two seasons: the Regular Season and the playoffs. The first objective is to craft a team that can get you to the playoffs, then have a strong enough rotation to dominate the playoffs. Place a check by the first one. As for the second, I think that Justin Verlander, Doug Fister and company may have a case to make come October.

Go Tigers.

That's Two Thus Far

One


Two

As @jposnanski put it:

24 pitchers since 1919 w/multiple no-nos. Six are in Hall, two more will go. Verlander at 29 in rare air. He will throw more.

I certainly hope so. He's already the greatest Tigers pitcher of my lifetime.

Heard It All Before

April 12, 2010:

"This is a good big-league team — if we perform," Leyland said. "Certainly, I'd rather be 7-3, but if guys get into a groove and perform up to their track records, we'll be fine. We'll win our share of games.

"But up here's it's a moment of truth. You must perform. That's what the big leagues are all about. And this team will perform."

April 10, 2008:

“I’m not going to get down on this club,” Leyland said. “I’ll tell you that right now. I’ll be the most positive person here. I’m not going to sit around and pout because a good Tiger team is not doing good right now. I’m not going to do that. If you’re looking for that, you’re looking in the wrong area.”

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“We got a good ball club with a good bunch of guys,” Leyland said. “We’ll play good. Obviously, I hope it starts soon. But we’ll play good.”

May 4, 2008:

"I just think our offense is better than this," Leyland said. "I know it's better than this. I've seen a couple things that surprised me."

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Part of the problem, Leyland explained, is that they don't have the speed or athleticism to do some of the tricks a manager might try to manufacture runs, such as hitting -and-running, stealing bases or taking an extra base.

So pardon me if I take the talk about this Tigers team, currently featuring many of the flaws so retrospectively apparent in the 2008 team with the world's largest grain of salt.

I'm not giving up on this team, not by a long shot, but there's going to need to be a rather pronounced transition from playing bad baseball to playing good baseball. It's not like they're losing heartbreakers out there.

Mr. Penny can put the train back on track this afternoon.

Shut Out.

Jim Leyland is not amused.

Best Trade of All Time?

I am so far beyond my days of Lynn Henning bashing, but I feel like it's appropriate to provide some factual counterpoints to some of the things he says. Today, he writes:

[Austin Jackson] is one-quarter of perhaps the best trade in Tigers history. Dave Dombrowski will never make a deal that will have netted more talent — Jackson, Max Scherzer, Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth — at such an affordable price (Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson).

I was the first to admit that the trade has worked out even better than expected. Personally, I still feel as though Granderson is one of the better all-around center fielders in the game, and that he will continue to prove that this year for the Yankees. But, Austin Jackson is incredible and will hopefully be a franchise player for the team. Also, Max Scherzer has been everything we hoped Max Scherzer would be and is going to be a star.

But. But! I don't even think that it was the best trade of the decade. Once upon a time the Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera. At the time, it seemed like they paid a steep price. In reality, they gave up nothing. The Tigers gave up no impact players, save a still-young Cameron Maybin who could potentially resurrect his career. In return the Tigers got Cabrera, someone who, if he can get his extracurriculars under control, could legitimately go down as one of the best players in Franchise History. Sure they got Willis too, but that was no big deal--it was resigning him that was the problem.

But that's not it. The Tigers also acquired Carlos Guillen for Ramon Santiago and someone else (Juan M. Gonzalez, maybe?), and then got Ramon Santiago back! Certainly, that was a better trade at a cheaper price.

And it gets better. In what I believe may actually have been the best trade in Tigers history the Tigers traded Ugueth Urbina for Placido Polanco. Polanco went on to be one of the most consistent Tigers players around, won two Gold Gloves, nearly won a batting title and went to an All-Star game in his 4.5 years in Detroit. Urbina killed someone and never played another game.

So no, I'm not going to go on an anti-Henning warpath anymore. But dude. This is a man who loves his hyperbole and loves talking about the players that he has these pet-affections for (I'm looking at you Scott Sizemore and Casper Wells in their) and those that he loves to disparage for some reason (Granderson). To say that giving up Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson represents some sort of low-low price is ridiculous. These guys are former (and could be future) All-Stars and start on Major League rosters. The Tigers have made better deals than that. Not just ever, but recently.

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Also, can someone please get Norm Cash on the phone? Or Rocky Colavito? Or MICKEY COCHRANE? Best trade in Tigers history...Humph.

Happier Times

Today has been a bad day for Tigers fans. I think a trip to Happier Times Blvd. is necessary. I give you the 1984 World Champions, in a "World Champions" commemorative set put out by Wendy's in 1985. Everything is happy. The people that don't look happy are happy on the inside (I'm looking at you Chet Lemon). Even Zombie Jack Morris is happy.

Someday we will be happy again.

#1 Sparky Anderson	#2 Doug Bair	#3 Doug Berenguer	#4 Dave Bergman
#5 Tom Brookens	#6 Marty Castillo	#7 Darrell Evans	#8 Barbaro Garbey
#9 Kirk Gibson	#10 Johnny Grubb	#11 Willie Hernandez	#12 Larry Herndon
#13 Rusty Kuntz	#14 Chet Lemon	#15 Aurelio Lopez	#16 Jack Morris
#17 Lance Parrish	#18 Dan Petry	#19 Bill Scherrer	#20 Alan Trammell
#21 Lou Whitaker	#22 Milt Wilcox	Checklist Card

Always.

As someone who loves Oddball sets, you're sure to see me going ga ga over one that features a rookie card of one of the Tigers greats. This 1981 set was made by Topps and distributed by Coke in the Detroit area. There were sets made for 11 teams, most of which mirrored the 1981 Topps versions, but some which had subtle variations. Aurelio Lopez is the only Tigers card with a different picture than it's 1981 Topps version.

As oddball sets go, this one in fine, but nothing special. Really, it's just a 1981 set with a logo plastered on it. Still, for the Gibby alone, it's worth the price of admission (This came last week for $1 plus $2.50 shipping).

Title Card	#1 Champ Summers	#2 Al Cowens	#3 Rich Hebner
#4 Steve Kemp	#5 Aurelio Lopez	#6 Jack Morris	#7 Lance Parrish
#8 Johnny Wockenfuss	#9 Alan Trammell	#10 Lou Whitaker	#11 Kirk Gibson (RC)

WANT. (More 2011 Topps Tigers)

Ooh boy, the good stuff is flowing now.

I love the SP of Ty Cobb driving a freakin' car.


Mark Fidrych autograph is a great addition, following up on the unofficial RIP George Kell auto from the 2010 set.



Kaline, Obvs.



I'm liking these retail exclusive inserts. Here's a "Red Diamond" from Target of Miguel Cabrera. There's also a Cobb and Walmart has "Blue Diamonds":



Topps introduced silk cards a couple years ago, as some sort of quasi-parallel set with 50 cards. This year they are full fledged inserts (still 50 cards, I think) with different pictures and all!



More and more cards will appear in the days ahead, and I'll put a gallery together once I have images of everything. In the meantime, here's the working checklist

It also appears as though my crazy gold foil/silver foil hypothesis was just a trick of the light. Sorry if I got anybody in a tizzy.

First Take on 2011 Topps

Working Checklist Here.

2011 Topps officially releases tomorrow, but cards are popping up in retail stores and have trickled on to eBay. I like what I see.

But first, things first. Here's a Tigers team set on eBay from TNT cards:


Now here are some cards posted by Dropped Third Strike last night:

See any difference? It looks to me like the first cards have Gold Foil and the second ones have Silver. In other words, it is possible that Topps has created two complete parallel sets--one for Hobby boxes (Gold) and one for Retail (Silver). This is an interesting (disturbing?) development, if true.

Anyway, onto the Tiger show. The base checklist is small, but I kind of like it. There is nobody on there that makes me go WHO? or WHY? the way that certain people have in the past (Brent Dlugach last year, Chris Lambert in 2009 etc.)

33 Max Scherzer
94 Ryan Raburn
109 Hamilton/Cabrera/Mauer LL: AVG
121 Brandon Inge
150 Miguel Cabrera
175 Brennan Boesch
179 Armando Galarraga
181 Magglio Ordonez
182 Jeremy Bonderman
202 Bautista/Konerko/Cabrera LL: HR
264 Ryan Perry
306 Cabrera/Rodriguez/Bautista LL: RBI

I dig it, especially with Miguel Cabrera on all three triple crown league leaders cards. Bondo and Galarraga are gone, but those are recent developments and they deserve a Series 1 card, IMO. Props to Ryan Raburn for making the cut.

There are a ton of inserts, as always, but it feels like there are especially alot this year. Already, I have spotted SEVEN cards of Ty Cobb. Ridiculous. It's their 60th anniversary, so I'm going to give Topps some slack on this one, but next year I'd really like to see this Topps slim down its set to just a couple of inserts.

Speaking of which, I really dig the look of the Topps 60 subset. Relevant, nicely done, maybe a little dull, but I like it. Here's Johnny Damon, on the only Tigers autograph or relic that has surfaced yet:



"Most consecutive 80 run seasons in the AL*" Hmm. I wonder what the asterisk stands for. I guess everybody does have a record, right Heartbreaking Cards?

One of my favorite additions in recent years have been the retail-only commemorative patches. I talked about them the other day. Well, this one may be the best yet, featuring my the old-school Tigers logo that I've always loved.



Having not seen the whole card, I'm not exactly sure what they're commemorating, but I dig the concept of a current player somehow paying tribute to the past, although for the life of me, I can't figure out what stands out about the 1961 Tigers.

Finally, although no Tigers have cropped up yet, I wanted to point out the new "Platinum Diamond" parallels.



Yeah, I'll be collecting these. They look amazing. I may try to collect a Gold set, as I typically do, but with INSANE ODDS for them (1:25 Blasters and 1:17 Retail?!?!) I may have to take a pass. Hopefully my OCD side can forgive me. I guess we'll see.

I'm sure that there will be more to come from me as more cards leak out. I'll be putting together a gallery as soon as I can get a definitive checklist and good images start cropping up. In the meantime, welcome to the real start of 2011 everyone!