This Just In: A sticker autograph I'm okay with

A very brief lunchtime post here.

I had trouble deciding whether I was going to include this card in my Granderson collection or in my Topps Tigers Team set collection. Right now it's in the Granderson box, but we'll see if it stays that way. Either way, my internal battle is no reason to keep the card from the public eye:

2009 Topps #BCA-CG Curtis Granderson WBC Autograph

Yes it is a sticker autograph. No, I don't care. Who can resist a Granderson card in a Team USA jersey? Not I, apparently. For the moment this is a unique item in the collection for that reason alone. Of course, that can all change in a wink, especially with Updates & Highlights giving us a dose of WBC Dual and Triple relics this fall. Count me in. Anything to prevent another plain white jersey swatch.

Free Card Giveaway Update

The time has come. If you claimed any cards in my Topps WBC giveaway please send me an email with your Name, Address and the cards that you have claimed. Make your subject "Free Cards" for easy sorting.

Cards will likely be packed and sent early next week as I still need to buy stamps and envelopes, I want to give everybody time to read this message and respond and I am buying a house tomorrow, playing in a charity softball game all day Friday, running a 10 miler in Philadelphia this weekend and moving to the new house for the foreseeable future (welcome to the world's busiest week).

Also, if anybody would like the as-yet-unclaimed cards, feel free to claim them. If anybody with already claimed cards would like more, you can claim those too. I will cut off all Claims at the end of the day on Friday.

To reiterate an earlier message--do not worry about sending me a SASE for these cards, as many of you have offered. I simply can't handle the additional clutter and disorganization that those will bring. If you feel as though you must reciprocate, consider these cards as a trade for a player to be named later, and as you pull Grandersons and/or Tigers out of future packs you can shoot me an email and send them my way.

Free Cards!

A few weeks ago, I wrote a semi-scathing post about Topps' inexcusable mix-up on their 2009 Fernando Rodney cards in the team set. You may have read about it here. Well, after I wrote the post The Drizz mentioned that he had just written a letter to Topps. Deciding to use my powers for good instead of evil, I did the same.

How surprised was I then, when I got this response within 24 hours:

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please accept a free box of 2009 Topps World Baseball Classic Cards with Fernando Rodney in it as compensation for out mistake. Please send your full name and address so we can mail this out to you.

We appreciate your continued support of Topps and hope you will continue to buy our products.

!!!

Well that was unexpected! My letter was pretty straightforward, I thought: You screwed up. You were lazy about it. Fix it if you can. Don't do it again. Nowhere in there was there any sort of demand to make things right or the need for compensation. I wrote back with my address and thanked them for their generosity. Topps gets a big kudos and pat on the back for their excellent customer service and quick reaction on this.

But something didn't feel quite right.

Please accept a free box of 2009 Topps World Baseball Classic Cards with Fernando Rodney in it as compensation for out mistake.

Hmm...have you seen this? It's a checklist for the Topps World Baseball Classic 55-card set. Reading through it, the absence of Fernando Rodney may stick out to you. I was already acutely aware of his absence before this all came up, as I browsed it for Detroit Tigers and found only two: Miguel Cabrera and Minor-Leaguer Fu-Te Ni.

Now, I know how these checklists work, sometimes they make last minute changes and some cards get substituted in for others. So, I waited until they came.


Poor Fernando. He's not in the set. A HUGE smile came across my face, in part because I was pretty sure that he wasn't in the set when it was offered to me, but mostly because I was holding the irony of this story in my hands.

After I accused Topps of laziness and unprofessionalism for making an unforgivable mistake surrounding a Fernando Rodney card, they offered me a set of cards, which they explicitly tell me includes Fernando Rodney, which it does not. I will not call out Topps a second time, except to point out the humor in the situation. They did a very generous and unnecessary thing in sending those cards and their heart was in the right place. I don't blame laziness here, but rather a fervent desire to try to assuage my distress (or buy it off, but who's counting). Tip of the cap and all that, I remain a happy Topps customer and will continue to complete my Detroit Tigers sets though them. But now I have all of these neat WBC cards that, if I know me, will probably sit in a box unenjoyed, especially since I'm moving next week.

So, to the readers of this blog: FREE CARDS!

That's right. I've pulled out the Cabrera and Ni cards for myselft (the two Tigers), but that leaves 53 cards available to whoever wants them (actually 52--the Jeter is heading over to Sooz). If you would like some, just leave a comment on this post with whatever card(s) you want. Please feel free to take more than one but I ask that you limit yourself to cards that you actually want or could use. Pass it on to other bloggers etc and help be share the love from Topps.

UPDATE: Apparently things do change from the initial checklist. Here's the full thing, that I just made by flipping through the set, including claimants.

1 Yu Darvish--Dan (Saints of the Cheap Seats)
2 Derek Jeter--Sooz
3 Ryan Braun--Mprigge
4 Michel Enriquez
5 Phillippe Aumont--The Hamiltonian
6 Yulieski Gourriel--Punk Rock Paint
7 Shinnosuke Abe--Kei
8 Hanley Ramirez--WickedOrtega
9 Daisuke Matsuzaka--Capt. Canuck
10 Justin Erasmus
11 Frank Catalanotto--hoss man
12 Travis Blackley
13 Alex Rodriguez--Flash
14 Brian McCann--Dayf
15 Arquimedes Nieto
16 Joakim Soria--zman40
17 Justin Morneau--GCRL
18 Geovany Soto--Greg (Lake Effect Cards)
19 Alex Liddi
20 Cheng-Min Peng--RoofGod
21 Luke Hughes
22 Manuel Corpas
23 Chipper Jones--Dayf
24 Drew Naylor
25 Jimmy Rollins--Dan (The Other World)
26 Kosuke Fukudome--Greg (Lake Effect Cards)
27 Jose Reyes--David Jacobs
28 David Wright--Tanguska
29 Ichiro--hoss man
30 Carlos Lee--David Jacobs
31 Joey Votto--FanofReds
32 Jim Young Lee
33 Jonathan Sanchez
34 Lenny DiNardo--zman40
35 Miguel Cabrera--Dan (GrandCards)
36 Rick Vandenhurk--WickedOrtega
37 David Ortiz--Capt. Canuck
38 Jason Bay--Capt. Canuck
39 Dylan Lindsay--zman40
40 Chris Denorfia--FanofReds
41 Bernie Williams--Flash
42 Akinori Iwamura
43 Pedro Martinez--GCRL
44 Gift Ngoepe--Dayf
45 Chenhao Li
46 Roy Oswalt--Houston Collector
47 Dustin Pedroia--Capt. Canuck
48 Tao Bu
49 Greg Halman
50 Adrian Gonzalez--Punk Rock Paint
51 Carlos Beltran--Kei
52 Pedro Lazo
53 Jorge Cantu--WickedOrtega
54 Kenji Johjima--RoofGod
55 Fu-Te Ni--Dan (GrandCards)

Viva Los Neerlandeses

2003 Topps Traded #T50 Gene Kingsale

I've been mildly interested in the World Baseball Classic so far, I've watched the majority of both Team USA games and will likely tune in for much of tonight's game as well. I haven't seen much of the other teams besides an inning here and an inning there. So, imagine my surprise when I saw that the Dutch, featuring former Tigers Gene Kingsale and Randall Simon beat the Dominican Republic a few days ago. Great upset, good story etc. Ultimately, this is inconsequential. Except it wasn't. Last night, they went out and beat the Dominicans again, this time in extra innings, with Mr. Kingsale scoring the winning run. Contrary to popular belief, this may be the best thing to ever happen to the WBC.

Allow me to explain. The DR was heavily favored and has some of the most recognizable and marketable talent in the game. Their inclusion in the tournament would help drive ratings and sell tickets. Their elimination is an unmitigated disaster from a marketing perspective in subsequent rounds. However, if the WBC is to become a long-term and credible international tournament, this may have been a best-case scenario.

In 2006, the United States was eliminated in embarrassing fashion in pool play. The nation was disgusted, wrote the WBC off as a joke and stopped caring. Flash forward to 2009 and Team USA is radically restructured, with a different culture and an unwavering dedication for redeeming the United States and to win this tournament. Team USA is committed and prepared to win, and will do anything to reach that goal.

Now, its the Dominicans' turn. If baseball in Latin America is any indication, their elimination will be a national embarrassment that dwarfs what Team USA felt in 2006. I truly cannot imagine that a country that serious about baseball, with a talent base so broad and successful, would not give everything that they have to destroy the competition when the tournament returns in 2013.

The World Baseball Classic originated as a contrived international competition that was more of a MLB advertisement than a legitimate tournament. It worked well in 2006, but as the novelty wears off, there is the fear that it will become more of a burden than a worthwhile enterprise. All of that has changed. They key to international competition is buy-in from the players that the games matter. They matter to the US. They matter to all of the smaller countries that have played valiantly for national pride and their own chance at the spotlight, or to the Cubans who try to play their way into professional baseball. I'm guessing that now they'll matter to the Dominican Republic--too late for this year, but just in time give the tournament the competitive spirit and sense of importance that it will need to be successful in the long run.

2009 Topps World Baseball Classic Set

Has anybody heard about these? They seem like they are "cereal box" size and similar to the 55 card team sets that Topps produced last year. If that is the case, these should be fun. Of course the big question is:

Is Granderson in the set?

He's on the team, but hasn't been on Team USA long enough to have an action shot (or even a posed shot). Did they not include him in favor of players that were on the 2006 team? Did they include him and photoshop the heck out of him? Does he appear in his Tigers uniform?

Indications are that this gets released in the middle of next week. So if anybody pulls up a checklist between now and then, feel free to pass it along!

UPDATE: Not that I was trying to break any news (not really my thing) but I was beaten to the punch pretty badly. Magazine Exchange has a full checklist and bright colors as well. The verdict? No Granderson. Not cool, Topps. Not cool. On the other hand, here's a chance to get some unique cards of players that you will never hear of again, with names like Che-Hsuan Lin, Yoandris Urgelles and current Tigers camp invitee Fu-Te Ni. I know some Sun Belt Bloggers who might have an interest in the Asian contingent.

WBC: Behind the Scenes

In his first day on Team USA, Curtis Granderson has experienced the Red Sox/Yankees Rivalry first hand (kind of).

Here's a snippet from the short source paragraph:

They played [Jeter's] music when he came up to bat, which I thought was interesting," Granderson said. "Then all of a sudden you've got (Kevin) Youkilis and (Dustin) Pedroia, before and after him, and the crowd is booing those two guys

H/T Bless You Boys

Batting Leadoff...

The Free Press is on a roll today. Here's a little side-by-side comparison of two potential leadoff men for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Manager Davey Johnson seems to have already made his decision.

Who would you choose to bat leadoff?

Games 137 141
At-bats 556 553
Runs 76 112
Homers 11 22
RBI 59 66
Steals 47 12
AVG. .277 .280
OBP .349 .365
Slug. % .437 .494

Me too. The player in the first column is Jimmy Rollins, our mystery star in column 2 is Granderson.

Granderson News Link of the Day

Here's some more pre-season fluff on Curtis Granderson, who is now almost sure to be the starting centerfielder on Team USA.

A taste:

Granderson has earned a high level of respect among his peers. Team USA reliever J.J. Putz, the Trenton native and former University of Michigan right-hander, talked Monday about how impressed he has been with Granderson.

"He's a talent, man," said Putz, entering his first season with the Mets. "He can do it all. He can be the new face of that franchise, without a doubt."

(From the Detroit Free Press)

Granderson's Take on the WBC

The Grand Rapids Press had a (very) quick interview with Curtis Granderson about his thoughts on the World Baseball Classic and how he can help Team USA bring home the Gold*!

Tigers' Granderson looking forward to WBC

*What do you get if you win? Is it a Gold Medal? Ring? Trophy? I have no idea.

UPDATE: Apparently those of you viewing this post in Firefox are treated to ridiculous spacing. I just copied the embed link off the site I found it and have no clue why it does it or how it can be fixed. My apologies

Pre-Season Granderson!

Very exciting news around these parts as MLB.com is reporting that Curtis Granderson has accepted an invitation to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. So, for all of you that don't follow the Tigers, this will be a chance for you to root for him as a part of Team USA. Thank you Curtis. This is such a breath of fresh air compared to all the players (and teams) who don't want to "risk" playing in the WBC.

I think that this is a great chance for Curtis to shine on an international stage, and should help him get up to game speed in time for a red-hot start to the regular season--as long as he can avoid another injury like the broken hand that landed him on the DL to start the season last year.

From a collector perspective, this is great news. I'm already drooling over the idea of WBC Granderson cards, assuming that the ones released by Topps this year were just a taste of things to come!