2017 Atlanta Braves - The Year in Review (and what's next)

To say the 2017 season for the Atlanta Braves was a disappointment would be an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe most fans were expecting to win the World Series or anything, but I think most of us thought the season would go a little better than it did.

You can sum up many of the Braves problems this year with one word...pitching. I still don't believe the team has a solid ace on it's staff. It was supposed to Julio Teheran, but he struggled all year...especially at home in SunTrust Park.

Mike Foltynewicz showed some growth and promise at times during the season, but ultimately still was plagued with location trouble. I still think he will play an important role in the upcoming seasons and I'm personally not quite ready to write him off.

The other issue with pitching came in the form of the bullpen. Just like it's hard to name a #1 pitcher, the team didn't have a dominant closer. It was supposed to be Jim Johnson, but he blew so many saves and cost the Braves so many wins this year it's not even funny. I'm glad he doesn't get many cards because he's a guy I don't want to look at for awhile. I'm so upset with him...he's on Charlie Liebrandt level right now!

The Bartolo Colon experiement blew up in the Braves face...badly. Prior to the season I was excited about the signing, but it didn't take long for his performance on the mound to suck away that enthusiasm. R.A. Dickey had a pretty good season for the Braves. I really hope they re-sign him and he doesn't head off into retirement yet. He's been pretty vocal that he would like to remain w/ the team for another year. I wouldn't be against him taking a coaching role when he's done either. Class act guy and someone I need more cardboard of in a Braves uniform.

The offense this year had it's peaks and valleys. Not unusual, but it wasn't as consistent as it needed to be. It didn't help of course when the team lost Freddie Freeman early in the season. He was putting up Mike Trout like numbers (actually better than Trout) and would have easily made another All-Star team had it not been for his injury. In July, Freddie joined the 1,000 career hit club

Ender Inciarte was a bright spot in the outfield pretty much all year. I was able to take in two games this year at SunTrust Park and one of those games I sat in the first row in center field, just behind Inciarte. He dazzled fans with both his offensive at the plate, his speed on the base paths and with his glove in the outfield. In the last series of the year Ender also got his 200th career hit.

I wish I could say that the outfielders in the corners were that way, but Matt Kemp struggled to stay healthy and Nick Markakis just weren't able to provide as much offense as fans would have liked to see. Markakis did register his 2,000th career hit however, not an easy feat.

The infield however had plenty of bright spots. Dansy Swanson struggled for part of the season, was sent down to AAA Gwinnett, and came back swinging for the fences. Juan Carmargo, Ozzie Albies and Rio Ruiz also provided some flash in the infield and showed that the Braves future is still bright.

When A.J. Pierzinkski retired I wasn't sure what would happen w/ the catcher department. Tyler Flowers stepped up big and put up some All-Star like numbers. In fact, I think he was snubbed not being named to the NL team this year. Kurt Suzuki also came up huge for the team in his first season w/ the Braves. I was thrilled to hear he re-signed already. I'm still pissed at Topps for screwing up my Topps Now order of his card. I don't have many of his cards in a Braves uniform, but like with a few other players I will need to try and change that during the off season.

Besides the play on the field, much of the talk during the season was whether or not interim manager Brian Snitker would return in 2018 as the skipper of the team. There were many games that I scratched my head over some of his decisions, especially with Jim Johnson. There were other times the team made him look like a genius. It's hard to say what will happen with him. Even more so as of this morning, 10/02/17, General Manager John Coppolella has resigned effective immediately. Apparently there is now an ongoing investigation with John violating some sort of breach of  the international player market. Hmm...

The Braves finished the 2017 season 3rd in the NL East with an overall record of 72-90. Their last game was yesterday against the Miami Marlins and thankfully they broke their 6 game losing streak with a 8-5 win.

Where the team goes in 2018...well your guess is as good as mine. We have a lot of young talent that should get their opportunity next year, but who will be our GM? Will Snitker be allowed to be the skipper for another year? Seveal scouts and coaches have already been let go so the rebuilding continues on.

While I enjoyed most of the games I watched and really enjoyed the new SunTrust Park, I'm kinda glad the season is over...at least for me. I'm not sure how much Playoffs I'll be watching. I'm not sure how many baseball card related posts you'll see between now and the end of the year. I'm not done collecting by any means, but I think it's time I focus at least a little more on the pigskin. Expect to see more Carolina Panthers related posts during football season. Beyond that, who knows that will happen w/ this blog.

Thank you to the Braves for an...interesting 2017 baseball season. Now go and get your front office in order as we have a lot of work to do before spring training next season.

Jonathan Stewart becomes the Carolina Panthers all-time leading rusher

On October 1st, 2017 the Carolina Panthers walked into Foxboro, MA and beat the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, 33-30.

While this is obviously a big win for the Panthers, there were also some other records broken and set during the game. For Jonathan Stewart, he didn't know until he got to the locker room after the game that he had surpassed friend and former teammate, DeAngelo Williams to become the all-time leading rusher for the Panthers.

Jonathan's numbers weren't flashy for the game, but they usually aren't. He rushed 14 times for 68 yards. He just quitely gets the job done. The one blemish on the day was his fumble in the red zone during the 3rd quarter as the team was driving for another score.

I've collected Stewart since his rookie year, not just because he's a Panther but because of who he is off the field. I haven't bought a lot of singles of him or other players I collect over the last few years, however I was compelled to collect his 2017 Donruss rainbow just a few weeks ago. Now that I have (I think) all of his cards from this set, now is a good time to share them.

* Edit - Turns out there are non-serially numbered green and red Press Proof parallels too. Green are exclusive to retail hanger boxes. Not sure about the red parallels. Oh well, the search to complete the rainbow continues!

I really like this year's base design for 2017 Donruss. Panini did a good job keeping the design pretty basic and unlike some of their other sets, the design doesn't detract from the image. I also like when the team colors are incorporated into the design such as this. 

The card backs aren't that flashy. I'm not sure what that white box is supposed to be for, but it would have been nice to have a little bit more stats than just the previous years.

The orange parallels are serially numbered to the players jersey. In this case, 03/28. The orange has a rainbow like sheen to it and the Donruss "d" is done in a deep purple foil. 

Most of the parallels are part of the Press Proof set. The blue parallel isn't serially numbered and seem to be easier to find in packs. In fact, the 40 card Value Packs at retail carry 4 blue Press Proofs per pack.

The black Press Proof parallels are serially numbered to just 10. Mine is 02/10. The whole card is printed on foil board and is prone to fingerprints. The Donruss "d" is done in a black foil.

The gold Press Proof parallels are serially numbered to 50. Mine is 04/50. The whole card is printed on foil board and is also prone to fingerprints. The Donruss "d" is done in a gold foil.

The silver Press Proof parallels are serially numnered to 100. Mine is 075/100. Like the other Press Proof parallels, the card is printed on foil board and a fingerprint magnet. The Donruss "d" is done in a silver foil.

I would be remiss to say that another record was made during the game. Quarterback Cam Newton (finally) came alive in the 4th game of the season and threw for 3 TDs and rushed for another. That rushing TD gave him 50 for his career, setting a new NFL record for rushing TDs by a Quarterback.

Cam Newton surpassed Steve Young for first on the list. Cam completed this accomplishment in just 79 games, while it took Steve Young 169 games. Cam also surpassed Young with his 32nd game with a rushing and a passing TD.

The Carolina Panthers are now 3-1 and go to Detroit to play the 3-1 Lions on October 8th.

Awesome A&G Trade w/ Nachos Grande

Hello, my name is Colbey and I have a confession...I have a lot of hobbies.

Most of these hobbies don't always cross over into my other hobbies, but this is one time where toys I collected yielded baseball cards.

Many know of the great guy behind the Nachos Grande blog and his love of all things Allen & Ginter. Another passion of his is LEGO. He's been trying to complete the various blind packaged Minifigure Collections and recently I was able to help supply him with several figures from his want list. In turn he graciously went through my A&G want lists and sent me a nice selection of cards.

I didn't know what he was sending over. I really didn't care. I was just glad to get the Minifigures into the hands of someone who will appreciate them. I've been downsizing (yet again) my toy collection and most of the figures I sent off I had no intentions of keeping. In exchange I was able to put a huge dent into both my 2016 and 2017 A&G want lists.

Thank you so much for the trade! I wasn't able to afford a hobby box of Ginter this year so I really appreciate all of the 2017 cards. This puts me ever so closer to finishing off at least the base set for these two years.

Sunday Verse

Mark 8:36

New International Version What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Free Cards - Round 4

Now that I'm getting to sorting through these monster boxes that have been stacked in the corner of my office for some time, I'm coming across cards that I no longer wish to hold onto. I've tried selling low value cards in my eBay store and frankly it just isn't worth my time to list these, so I've decided to just give them away!

I'll cover the postage for 1-3 cards. For sets I would ask if you would help cover the shipping, I'd appreciate that.

I really just want to put these into the hands of others that will enjoy them, otherwise they may end up keeping me warm this winter! To claim a card or a lot, just leave a comment letting me know what you want. Then simply send me an email (flywheels at yahoo.com) with your name, address and what you wanted and I'll reply w/ my info. 

To keep this fair, I'm going to limit this to two (2) cards or lots per person per week. I have a good bit I plan on letting go so if you don't see anything that interests you this round, stay tuned as there will be more to come. I've even got some hand collated sets that will be up for grabs.

ROUND 4

Today's free cards will just be one item...

Lot #1
CLAIMED!

hand collated 2011 Topps Heritage set

Unfortunately the cards aren't in number order and honestly I didn't want to spend the time to put them in order, so I really can't tell you how many cards there are, or what cards are missing from the set. However as you can see the cards nearly fill the entire long box.

Card Guard

The age old question of how card collectors organize/display their cards will usually yield a myriad of different answers. Some people prefer to put their cards in penny sleeves and top loaders and then toss them in some sort of shoe box or monster box. Others will put them in 9 pocket pages and inside a binder. Others simply put a rubber band around their stack(s) of cards.

For me I prefer to use 9 pocket pages and binders for certain sets. If it's a set I plan on building most of the time it'll end up in pages inside a binder large enough to hold several years of that set. However when it comes to smaller sets I've been putting them in one of my shoe boxes inside my card house. Some of my non-sport sets that ideal for being in pages, but I only have so much room on my book shelf for bulky d-ring bingers.

A few months ago I noticed that Target had started to carry a soft binder in their trading card section called Card Guard. For $12.99 I thought I'd give it a try. I bought the only black one I could find. It was also offered in red, blue, green and yellow...at least those are the colors I saw when I made my purchase.

 This card folio is made by BCW and offers 20 pages. The cards load from the side versus from the top like a traditional 9 pocket page. The back of the page is black and has small raised dots, similar to the look/feel of a basketball. The pages seem sturdy including the pocket welds. My first impression of the card folio was "this is different...I kinda like it". I immediately thought it may be good for certain card sets, or to carry with me when I travel for work. It seemed to be sturdy overall and the elastic strap keeps the folio tightly closed.

Above you can see I started to fill up the folio with my Star Wars Rogue One set. I don't normally put cards back to back in pages, but seeing how these pages are designed to do so I filled it up. Being that you can't see the back of the card may be a deal breaker for some, but it doesn't bother me too much. I did figure it'll be more of a pain as I acquire more cards for this set as I can't easily see the card numbers on the back. I can see this folio appealing to collectible trading card game players perhaps more than sports card collectors. What do you think?

Overall I'm impressed by it's overall quality. The cards are staying put, are easy to put in the pages and the strap keeps everything fairly tight and together. I've taken it with me on a few business trips and it's come in handy. I've bought a pack of cards as I could make sure they cards would be safe inside the pages as opposed to tossing the packs into my suitcase. I don't know if I'll pick up any more, but the one I have I'm finding very useful.

2016 Topps Now: Dansby Swanson #367 (1450 print run)

Nearly one year ago, Dansby was called up by the Braves from AA. There was a lot of fan fare made about him when the Braves orchastrated a trade w/ the Arizona Diamondbacks before the start of the 2016 season. I'm still in awe of this lopsided trade that eventually led to the firing of the Diamondback's General Manager.

When Dansby was sent down to AAA Gwinnett many thought it would be for the rest of the season, but on August 17, 2016 he would go 2-4 in his big league debut. While he does seem rejunvenized since returning from AAA, I'm really looking forward to the 2018 season as the Braves have a lot of great young talent that is just waiting to show the rest of major league baseball what they can do.