Defeated! Atlanta's 2013 season comes to a close.

The Atlanta Braves' season came to a close last night with a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  While it was a great season for the Braves, to say I'm frustrated is a huge understatement.  I'm proud of what the team accomplished, but October just isn't their month.  Heck, September hasn't been too good to them either in the last few years.

Where do I start?  Everyone knew that Dan Uggla has been struggling offensively for a good part of the season.  Just in the last few weeks of the season he had Lasik surgery and had to play several games in the minors before re-joining the team.  That didn't bother me too much as Evan Gattis was sent down to AAA right before the end of Gwinnett's season to hopefully get more at bats and work on his swing.  However, to bench Uggla for the first playoff series in favor of Elliott Johnson?  That's ludicrous Freddi!  What were you thinking?

Yes, I get it.  The Braves need offense and Uggla has been struggling, but you can never under estimate good defensive play.  Just look at the Braves' performance in the field in game 1 against the Dodgers.  It was horrible!  While Elliott maybe the funny guy in the dugout, Uggla should have been in the starting line up.  I'd rather have his glove in the field and hope he gets lucky with one at bat.  Lord knows there are enough other bats in the line up to rely on.

I haven't been on Twitter much, but I couldn't help to send a few tweets during the playoffs.  Man on man has Brian McCann been killed online.  Yeah, I get it he caught a lot of flak when he was standing on the 3rd base line barking at that Marlins player who hit a home run in the last weeks of the season, but that jerk's jaw was moving faster than his legs were while rounding the bases.  He apparently had some history w/ Braves pitcher Paul Maholm, but there was no need for him running his pie hole to every Braves infielder.  Just drop your bat and tag the bases and be done with it.  McCann was just coming to the defense of his pitcher and fellow players.  Outside of that instance, I don't see why McCann has taken so much heat.  Granted his play in the playoffs left a lot to be desired.  A lot.  McCann went 0-13, 4 strike outs alone in game 4 of the NLDS.  He's a free agent after this season and reports state he should command anywhere between $15-18 million on the open market.  The Braves already have two young catchers in the organization so I just don't see the Braves waiving that kind of cash in his face.  It'll be weird not seeing McCann behind the plate for the Braves, after all he is a GA native and was drafted by the club back in 2002...however Evan Gattis isn't an outfielder and he belongs behind the plate.

And speaking of Mr. Gattis, El Oso Blanco came out of nowhere it seemed earlier this year and was on fire.  I remember searching eBay to see if he had any cards earlier this year and his only release was from a minor league Topps Heritage set and man on man what that card trading for some crazy numbers!  Thankfully Topps fit him into later releases, but the timing of that combined w/ my loss of interest in collecting like I used to means I only have a few RCs of his.  Gattis has a good arm and a monstrous swing and good presence behind the plate.  However he is abysmal in the outfield.  I know Freddi Gonzalez wanted his bat in the line up and that is why he was trolling left field against the Dodgers (that and B.J. Upton's offense was no where to be found).  Gattis may eventually win a gold glove behind the plate, but never in the outfield!

Pitching was also a major factor in the teams loss to the Dodgers.  Kris Medlen was the game 1 starter last season against the Cardinals in the one game playoff.  Watching game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers I swear was like deju vu.  I love Medlen, that kid is a great pitcher...just not so much in the post season.  Mike Minor pitched an excellent game 2 and I think he has a bright future on this ball club.  Julio Teheran had a rough outing in game 3, but is a great young pitcher and will bounce back next season.  When it was announced that long time veteran Freddy Garcia would be taking the mound for game 4 with the team's season on the line, I'm sure many of the fans (including myself) were really nervous.  However he pitched a much better game than I thought he would.  If only the bullpen wouldn't have "dropped the ball" there would be a game 5.

I knew the end of the season / post season would be tough on the club when several key pitchers started dropping like flies.  Of course the big blow to the team was the loss of veteran pitcher Tim Hudson.  I was glad to see him w/ the team celebrating after they clenched the division and in the dugout for the NLDS, but I so wish he could have taken the mound.  Also loosing Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty in the bullpen didn't help  Brandon Beachy made his return to the club in the 2nd half of the season, only to re-injure himself and be lost for the rest of the season.  While other guys did step up at times and shine, there just wasn't much consistency in the bullpen outside of Craig Kimbrel.  He was lights out just about every time he took the mound...he just couldn't get out there against the Dodgers enough!

This whole post isn't all doom and gloom however.  Several Braves players stepped up to the proverbial plate and were consistent all year.  Freddie Freeman, should be the National League's MVP, was fantastic.  I can see him being the next guy to play his entire career w/ the Braves.  Chris Johnson, the "throw in" to the Justin Upton trade last winter.  Who would have figured he would be competing for the batting title at the end of the season.  In fact Chris' bat was one of the few bright spots of the Braves offense against the Dodgers in the NLDS.  Andrelton Simmons.  This guys defensive talent is scary.  Batting 7th or 8th most of the season, he surprised a lot of people w/ his at as well.

All season long the Braves were streaky.  There were times they would be on fire and went on several double digit win streaks, only to follow them up w/ horrible losses to under .500 clubs.  Just look at how they were swept by the Marlins in the final weeks of the season!  However honorable mention goes to several key players who stepped in at various points in the season and helped the team.

Gerald Laird, who has one year left on his contract, could really help continue to mentor the likes of Evan Gattis.  Reed Johnson, got some playing time in the outfield at times, but was mainly used as a great, reliable pinch hitter from the bench.  Jordan Schafer was re-acquired from the Astros, the team they traded him away two in 2012, gave a nice spark to the team with his speed...both in the outfield and on the base paths.  Injuries slowed him down a bit, but I would rather see him in centerfield than a certain other overpaid guy with initials that reference an off colored sexual act.  Tyler Pastornicky is another young guy that migrated back and forth between Atlanta and AAA Gwinnett.  Injuries took him out for the season as well, but I like him as a back up for Simmons moving forward.  Jason Heyward may not be living up to some people's expectations, but I like what he did as the Braves lead off batter.  He needs to stay in right field though...he just doesn't seem comfortable at center or in left.  At the tail end of the season the team called up Joey Terdoslavich from AAA and he had some good success.  I got to see him play in person a few times when Gwinnett came to town to face the Charlotte Knights so I was happy to see him get a chance to help out the club.  I'll also throw Alex Wood on this list.  Sure he had a rough outing against the Dodgers in game 3 after Teheran was pulled in the 3rd, but outside of that game Wood was impressive.  I might be a little biased since Wood hails from my hometown of Charlotte, NC, but I think he surprised a lot of baseball fans this season.

In closing I will give the Dodgers some props...as much as it pains me.  Clayton Kershaw.  Wow.  Now I know why everyone raves about this guy.  Of course living on the east coast I don't follow the west coast teams much and rarely do I get to see certain players play.  Unless they are playing my Braves (or sometimes Red Sox when I watch the AL) I don't follow their careers and progress.  Clayton impressed me.  I already respected him for being a devout Christian like myself, but his baseball skill has very much left an impression on me.  The Braves just happened to run into a very good, and very hot Dodgers team in October.  The Dodgers did the things necessary to win games that the Braves simply did not do.  Both teams had their fair share of injured players so I'm not going down that path, I'll just leave it as it is.  The Dodgers were the better team...in October.  I'm proud of the Braves and I look forward to seeing what happens in the off season.  Of course I'll be ready come spring next year as well.

Thanks for a great 2013 season.  I guess the bright side to the Braves being out of the playoffs is this.  I won't have to worry about missing any games the rest of this week or next week since I'll be at Walt Disney World!  I will have to tune in though and root on the Pirates to take out the Cardinals and Dodgers.  And for my wife, I'm hoping the Sox get back to the World Series as well...though I wouldn't be upset to see the A's there either.  I like pulling for the small market teams.

Oh and one last thing.  Yasiel Puig.  Still don't like him and I still think he is overrated.  That is all.

Catching up on some Thank Yous

These last few weeks have been a little hectic around the house and with work so to say I've fallen a little behind is an understatement.

I've worked out several trades, participated in a group break and was blessed w/ a free card from a fellow Braves blogger...but I haven't had the time to show my appreciation until now.

  

Braves blogger A Rookie (baseball) Card Collector posted the contents of a single pack of '12 Gypsy Queen some time ago and there was a mini of Frank Thomas.  I simply asked if it was available and she sent it to me free of charge.  Of course I've got a nice little Braves care package to send in return.  What I didn't know until the card arrived that it was a red back.  Nice.

 

Robert from $30 A Week Habit graciously sent me some cards from my '12 A&G & GQ want lists.  I'm particularly excited about the 2 People of the Bible minis.

Shane from Off the Wall and I completed a trade where I sent him a bunch of '12 A&G minis and he sent me several cards from my various want lists as well as a stack of Braves which I picked out a few to share.

I'm usually so busy hosting group breaks that it's rare that I get to participate in one, but recently Juuust a bit outside (JABO) was holding a break that I couldn't resist.  I didn't land anything earth shattering, but that's how the group break thing goes.  Though I did get a Spectrum card of Frenchy that I didn't have!

I was trying to work out a deal w/ ARPSmith's Sportscards Obsession for a Dan Uggla A&G relic he had by offering a Archives Fan Favorites auto of the "Kung Fu Panda", but he already had the card.  A few days later I got an e-mail asking for my address.  Now I owe him some extra Giants cards!  Thanks bud!

If by chance I left anyone out that I've dealt with recently it's not on purpose.  I'm so unorganized right now I may need to take some time off to get my crap in order after I'm done w/ these next two Affordable Group Breaks.

Speaking of the AGB, the Stadium Club boxes should be here today when I get home from work so I'll start ripping and scanning this evening as I watch WWE RAW.

Potpourri

This post covers a little bit of everything.  Trade, new trade bait and new acquisitions.

We'll start off the new acquisition portion w/ some new Jeff Francoeur cards.

2012 Upper Deck SP Signature Edition

Since UD lost their license I really hadn't been following what they were doing so I had no idea this new SP set existed.  Scored this auto for a song.  I know it's a sticker auto and lacks any pictures, but it's still a decent design and better yet another auto to add to my Frenchy collection.

  

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Glove Stories

Nice card, nice mini.

Moving on to Tim Hudson and a trio of Tier One.

#299/399

#50/50

#23/25

Other than to get collector's like me to buy the same card 3 times I really don't see the purpose of these tiered relic cards.

A few new Atlanta Braves added as well...

Dan Uggla #344/399

2005 Donruss Prime Patches Javy Lopez Past & Present #14/56

Picked this nice card of Javy up on Yardsellr for $3 shipped.  Too bad the Braves jersey swatch wasn't red as the Orioles orange really stands out more.

2003 Topps Traded Brian McCann RC

Love this $.99 RC of baby face McCann!

I've been fairly busy working on some trades lately.  After pulling a Yankees Fan Favorites auto from 2012 Archives I waited for a Yankees fan to contact me with a trade offer.  It didn't take long before BA Benny hit me up.  I told him I'd love to trade for the Sid Bream auto from the set and he just happened to have pulled that very card from his box.  What were the odds?!

One of the things I love about this Sid Bream auto is that he included a Bible verse on the card.  In fact he did that on every auto in the set!  Glad Topps didn't try to censor him and his beliefs.  The verse is taken from Galatians chapter 2, verse 20:

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

BA Benny also tossed in this hand signed 1988 Topps card of Randy St. Claire that was also inscribed with a verse.  Thanks buddy!

And the last of my recent additions is a new Jon Beason Carolina Panthers jersey card from the new '12 Panini Prestige.  Man I can't wait for the NFL season to start!


2011 Topps Lineage Pablo Sandoval auto

I picked up this auto of the "Kung Fu Panda" in hopes of swapping it for a Braves auto or relic.

Before I'm "out for the weekend"...

...I wanted to share my recent acquisition courtesy of Yardsellr.com.  While the site has been hit and miss (mostly miss) I have found a few cards here and there worthy of purchase.  Last week while listing some stuff to sell there a Dan Uggla RC caught my eye.

2006 Topps '52 Dan Uggla RC auto

At first I didn't even notice that the card was autographed...on card none the less!  I had some of those goofy Photon$ that Yardsellr as well as other sellers can give you so the card cost me about $5...including shipping!  Not too shabby.

I'm off to the big local HeroesCon for the rest of the week.  This means my posts here will slow down for a few days, but (I hope) posts will pick up over at my other blog, Random Toy Reviews.  So if you're into the whole superhero thing check it out as I plan to post pics from the show as well as my comic and toy haul(s).

30 games and counting...

Can Dan Uggle extend his hitting streak to 31 games this evening against his former team?  I'll be rushing home from work to tune in to find out!

Delivery Day

Before learning last week that I am now "poor" I did pick up a few cards that will be slowly arriving (hopefully) this week.  The first small package of cards contained a few blue parallels from 2011 Topps Opening Day and one UD minor league card.

I still believe Topps handled these blue parallels in Opening Day better than the gold parallels from the base set of Topps.  Hudson is #d 1496/2011, McCann is #d 1410/2011 and Uggla is #d 0848/2011.  I also grabbed a photo shopped card of Lance Berkman #d 1630/2011.

 

I also found another Todd Hollandsworth card that I didn't have.  This time it was a 1992 Upper Deck minor league insert, Player of the Year #PY9.  I wonder if Nomo's Sushi Platter or Night Owl have this card in their collection?

Omar Infante Traded!

While cleaning the kitchen tonight I quickly grabbed the remote and flipped the channel from TLC since my wife wasn't around over to ESPN only to see a report that super utility man Omar Infante has been traded!

The Braves agreed to send Omar along w/ pitcher Mike Dunn to the Florida Marlins in exchange for second baseman Dan Uggla.  I'm not sure what to think of the deal.  I missed some of the news, but I thought I heard that Uggla will be a free agent after the 2011 season so there are no guarantees the Braves will have him more than one season.

I'm guessing the Braves decided to pull the trigger on the deal since Omar's stock went up after his fantastic 2010 season.  If Chipper doesn't rebound from his injury Martin Prado will take over third base most likely leaving second base open for Uggla full time.  I was already looking forward to next season and this move only makes me more impatient to see what the Braves can accomplish.  I'm sure most Braves fan will agree that Omar will be missed.