Orange cards to the Left of me! Orange cards to the right!

I know this is like the 4th post I have done on Bowman Chrome Orange Refractors, and I know you are most likely tired of looking at them, but I am in LOVE. I simply cannot get enough of these little orange beauties. It just so happens that I must be one of the few that is head over heals for them this year because this is another auction win from the BAY. I picked up this beauty for $.99 plus shipping. I know Navarro had a little bit of a let down season, but he is only 25 years old, and this is an ORANGE REFRACTOR!!!! If anyone out there has any other Rays, especially Carl Crawford, send me an email and who your player is, maybe we can work a deal. jmeloy1218@gmail.com



The "ORANGE" Card Addict

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces Baseball Card

Upper Deck Masterpieces is a great product, and here are the results from a recent pack break. These are of the '08 variety. I love the watercolor painting effect on the textured stock. The gold stamped foil on these cards is also a very nice touch.

The first card out of the pack was future HOF pitcher Randy Johnson. I do not collect the big lefty, but this card sure beats a sharp stick in the eye! Tipping the cap is always a nice jesture, something looks off with the ball in Randys' hand. I think it may be his super long thumb.



The next card is a player who I hope becomes a future Hall of Famer. Evan Longoria! What a sweet card. Longo warming up with a painted Trop back drop. I have been hitting some Longorias recently, maybe I should start a player collection. He may be out of my price range though.



The third and next to last card is Tim "the strike out machine" Lincecum. This is turning into a pretty decent pack. Tim had 150 Ks in 146.1 innings pitched in 2007! Not bad for a guy that is only listed at 170 lbs.



This pack just hit the wall. The forth card..... Robinson Cano. Cano is a fine player, and at one time I actually rooted for the Yankees, but my allegience is now with the Rays so I cringe every time I pull a Yankee or Red Sox. I like the pose on this card, Cano is looking to the coach for the sign adjusting his batting glove. According to the back of the card, Cano has over 500 hits in his first 3 years!!!!



As I said before I really like this product, it feels very high end. I just wish a pack contained 10 or 12 cards instead of 4. 4 Card packs just leave me wanting more...... Isn't the new Goodwin Champions a 4 card per pack product? As always, everything here is up for trade, the Longoria may be tough to pry from my grip however. If you need one of these please write a comment and I will get in touch.

The Card Addict

American League Rookie of the Year Race tightens...... UPDATED as of 9/29/09

American League Rookie of the Year is an award that many young players started this year dreaming about. With less then a week left in the 2009 season the stats have sorted out the contenders and pretenders. This is my fourth post about the AL ROY and the stats and opinions shown here are updated as of 9/29/09. The stats don't lie, but they also do not tell the whole story. Some of these guys are heating up, and some of them are hitting the rookie wall. I will write one more post after the season is over to help us all sort this out. Here are the most updated stats for each of the AL Rookie of the Year Candidates

Matt Wieters C Baltimore


Games 91 Hits 98 Home Run 8 RBIs 40 BA .296

Weiters has been on fire the last week or so, even though the O's have lost 11 in a row. So far tonight he is 2 for 2 against the Rays. In his last 5 games he has 7 hits, 2 RBIs and has raised his batting average all the way up to .296 If this was the All Star break, and not the end of the season Matt would be hands down the ROY. He just has not gotten enough games and at bats to be the 2009 ROY.

Jeff Niemann Starting Pitcher Tampa Bay


Games 30 Wins 12 Losses 6 K's 120 ERA 3.94 WHIP 1.35

Niemann is no longer a contender in this race. He has not won a game since August 24th. He only lasted 3.1 innings last night and allowed 4 runs and 7 hits. Brian Roberts chased him out of the game with a two run dinger in the 4th. It is just this home town bloggers opinion, but Niemann is no longer in the race for ROY. There are too many other rookies finishing the season strong for the Rays to have their second AL ROY.

Brett Anderson Starting Pitcher Oakland


Games 29 Wins 11 Losses 10 K's 139 ERA 4.21 WHIP 1.28

Brett Anderson is pitching 10/1 against the Mariners. He is 2 and 1 in four starts against Seattle. A win would go a long way, but it may mean that Bailey would get another save.

Elvis Andrus Shortstop Texas


Games 139 Hits 124 Home Run 6 RBIs 35 BA .270

Andrus played against the Rays last week. He had 3 hits, 2 walks a stolen base, and scored 2 runs. He was caught stealing twice though. If you are looking for an every day player to win this award Andrus is your man. If you believe a very strong closer is better then an average SS, the next guy is for you!!!

Andrew Bailey Relief Pitcher Oakland


Games 66 Wins 6 Losses 3 K's 89 ERA 1.88 WHIP .90 SAVES 26

Bailey is still on a rolling, rolling, rolling!!!! 2 more games, 2 more K's and another SAVE. He also lowered his WHIP and ERA. This guy is the man and in this bloggers opinion has been the best ROOKIE IN THE AL this year!


Rick Porcello Starting Pitcher Detroit


Games 30 Wins 14 Losses 9 K's 81 ERA 4.04 WHIP 1.35

Porcello is in the middle of a Division race. He pitched 6.1 innings of ball today against the Twins. In this pressure filled situation Porcello gave up 7 hits, but only 1 earned run. When he left the game the Tigers and Twins were tied at one. This was a very impressive performance, and moves Porcello up in my opinion. If the Tigers end up making the playoffs Rick could be taking home the trophy!



Gordon Beckham 3B Chicago White Sox


Games 99 Hits 99 Home Run 14 RBIs 63 BA .272

Beckham is fading as the season drags on. Was my headline early last week. Beckham must have read it because he has been on fire! 7 RBI's 6 hits in his last 4 games! He has raised his average 5 points over those same 4 games... He is making a strong late season push, but Andrus is better in the field, and the Rangers have been better then the Sox.






Wieters and Porcello are making a strong push at the AL ROY, but it looks like Bailey, the only All-Star, is not going anywhere and may in fact be adding to his slight lead in this race. Was my analysis 4 days ago, and nothing has changed. I do however want to note the voters for the AL ROY tend to favor position players on playoff teams. We do not have any of those though so this award is still up for grabs!

VOTE IN THE POLL AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TO WIN THE AL ROY!!!!!!! Looks like the readers like Bailey as well!

The Card Addict

2009 Bowman Chrome Orange JAMES SHIELDS!!!!

Who? James Shields, the man with the nasty change!

What? 2009 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor 23/25

Where? In my mail box via EBay from Morris Park Collectibles LLC, Harrison NY

When? Today!!!!!!

Why? Bowman Chrome Orange is my master, I am weak to its power.

Those are the particulars on this card. I simply cannot help myself when it comes to the Bowman Chrome Orange Refractors. Coincidentally, I am equally addicted to the Red Refractors the only problem is they are a lot harder to score.



The Card Addict

2008 Upper Deck X box break!!!

So last weekend I made a trip to my local neighborhood K-Mart and bought a few loose packs as well as a box of 2008 Upper Deck X. This box was marked half off, so I think it ended up costing me $10.99. The box says ONE MEMORABILIA CARD in EVERY BOX, on AVERAGE! Usually I end up below average. Here are the results of this box break.

Here are the Xponential inserts. They are the so called "shiny" in this product.




This Ichiro is a pretty sweet card. It is a LEVEL 4 Exponential not sure what that means, but I really like the card! I am also a collector of Vladimir Guerrero, so I will have to find a place for the Level 3 Guerrero as well.



Some American League East rookie base card love! Long live Longoria! If you look very close, you can see Longo is wearing pink wrist bands. That means this pic was probably taken on MOTHERS DAY.



The only double I pulled in the whole box was this Ichiro base card!



Here are a couple of the die cut cards that I received. These come pretty much one per pack. I was surprised to see that many of the die cut cards had hanging chads.....The Longoria is completely cut on the top and bottom, but if you look close the Martinez still has the die cut areas hanging on....

Here is my GAME USED card... Turns out I am average.



BRANDON JONES card number UDXM-BJ
Brandon played 5 games this year with the Braves and only had 13 ABs. He hit .308 while he was up. He spent most of the year at triple A and only hit .281 Maybe my material card is a little below average after all.

This box was actually pretty enjoyable. My wife and I sat and broke it together. I love hearing her try to pronounce player names.... I also got three Yankee Stadium Legacy Cards. #654 Lefty Gomez, #679 Red Ruffing, and #704 Babe Ruth

For half a twenty I would happily rip another box of this product. If I had paid the full twenty though I may have been a little disappointed. If you are building this set, and or need something you see here let me know. Thanks for reading and war to the 4-0 Michigan Wolverines!

The Card Addict

I highly suggest you Trade with The Troll!!!

Today was a very good mail day for the Closet. I recently sent a package of Rays autographs to Marck at THE COLLECTIVE TROLL. He and I collect a lot of the same cards, but I think we pulled off a very good trade. As you can see the Troll packed his return envelope with goodness. It all started with this on card Aki Iwamura auto. VERY SWEET!



Below you can see some more of the cardboard treasures that made their way to my mailbox:



I love the bazooka Comic card. I had no idea that Carl Crawford was the first player since Willie Mays to lead his league in both triples and stolen bases. I needed all three of these for my CC collection.



More Crawfords that I needed and did not even realize I needed. What a big suprise to find out this was my first 2009 Topps regular issue Crawford!!!!



I love this Henderson card! I saw Rickey at the Trop when he was with the Mariners and the Rays were awful. The Goudey Crawford is also very nice. Thanks to the Troll for a great trade. If you do not currently follow his blog I suggest you click here and start following. He has some great posts on A&G, negro league autos, and all things Tampa Bay Rays. I hope we can pull another trade in the future.

As for me, thanks for reading my blog. If you have any Crawford or Henderson cards you no longer want, shoot me a list of what you collect. Maybe we can work a trade. jmeloy1218@gmail.com

The Card Addict

2009 Topps Hobby Packs

The Facts before the RIP
Who: The card addicted author of this blog.
What: 2 Hobby Packs of 2009 Topps Series 2 Baseball
Where: The local dealer
When: Friday after work
Why: I cannot control myself

THE RESULTS:

Chone Figgins #332
Toppstown Carlos Beltran TTT47
Taylor Teagarden #412
Joe Nathan #445
Nyjer Morgan #481
Brian Schneider #654
Christian Guzman #608
Dana Eveland #521


Joe Girardi #555
Power Jays Rios & Wells #361


Carlos Guillen #538
Nick Markakis #460
Toppstown Jimmy Rollins TTT28
J.R. Towles #344
Huston Street #357
Justin Masterson #349
Jose Molina #478
Jody Gerut #444

Jorge De La Rosa #588
Kendry Morales #613

AFTER THE RIP
Who: The sucker who plopped down a $5 dollar bill.
What: The worst 2 Hobby Packs of 2009 Topps Series 2 Baseball in the entire world
Where: These cards are going into my team cards to be traded box
When: The worst two packs I have opened this year
Why: I am not a lucky guy when it comes to wax

The Card Addict

AL ROY Race updated as of 9/25/09

American League Rookie of the Year Race tightens...... UPDATED as of 9/25/09

American League Rookie of the Year is an award that many young players started this year dreaming about. With just a little more than a week left in the 2009 season the stats have sorted out the contenders and pretenders. This is my third post about the AL ROY and the stats and opinions shown here are updated as of 9/25/09. The water has not gotten any clearer and the overall picture is a little blurry but, after a few more games for each position player, and at least one appearance for all of the starters my opinion may have changed again.

Matt Wieters C Baltimore


Games 86 Hits 91 Home Run 8 RBIs 38 BA .290

Wieters played a series at Toronto this week. In 13 at bats he had 1 home run, 2 doubles and 2 RBI's. Overall he collected 6 hits and only struck out 4 times. Wieters has also been strong behind the plate this year. His .990 Fielding percentage is testament to that. Wieters problem is he just was not brought up early enough to win the award this year......

Jeff Niemann Starting Pitcher Tampa Bay


Games 29 Wins 12 Losses 6 K's 117 ERA 3.81 WHIP 1.32

Niemann pitched against the Mariners this week. He lasted 6.2 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks while striking out 5 batters. Ichiro took Niemann deep once and was the batter that forced Joe Maddon to pull Niemann in the 7th. With this no decision performance it is this bloggers opinion Niemann would have to have an almost perfect game to finish the season to take home the award.

Brett Anderson Starting Pitcher Oakland


Games 29 Wins 11 Losses 10 K's 139 ERA 4.21 WHIP 1.28

Brett Anderson beat the Rangers this week. He lasted 5.2 innings. The Rangers got 6 hits and 3 runs, but only 1 was earned. Anderson struck out 6 and won his 4th game in a row. He is heating up as the season is winding down.

Elvis Andrus Shortstop Texas


Games 135 Hits 120 Home Run 6 RBIs 34 BA .267

Andrus and the Rangers played the A's this week. He had 19 at bats, scored 4 runs with 3 hits. Elvis struck out 4 times. If Andrus wins the award though it will not be due to his offense. He has been outstanding at short for the Rangers this year. He does have 22 errors in 1163 innings. But his .967 fielding looks very good to Ranger fans.


Andrew Bailey Relief Pitcher Oakland


Games 64 Wins 6 Losses 3 K's 87 ERA 1.93 WHIP .91 SAVES 25

Bailey is still on a roll. He only had one non-save opportunity this week, but he struck out 2 and did not give up a hit. I believe Andrew Bailey is still the front runner in this race. He has only blown 4 saves all year. I bet the fans in Philly wish Bailey was there closer at this point.


Rick Porcello Starting Pitcher Detroit


Games 29 Wins 14 Losses 9 K's 80 ERA 4.14 WHIP 1.35

Porcello picked up a win agains the Indians this week. He gave up 1 run on six hits and 3 walks, but only lasted 5 innings. He now has 3 more wins then Niemann, and the Tigers are still playing meaningful ball. If the award is going to a starting pitcher, I would now say Porcello is the favorite.

Gordon Beckham 3B Chicago White Sox


Games 95 Hits 93 Home Run 13 RBIs 56 BA .266

Beckham is fading as the season drags on. He did have 3 hits and score 2 runs this week, but it is probably not enough for Gordon to bring home the bacon.






Wieters and Porcello are making a strong push at the AL ROY, but it looks like Bailey, the only All-Star, is not going anywhere and may in fact be adding to his slight lead in this race. Most of the pitchers should get at least one more start, and the position players will get a few more opportunities so a lot still could change.

VOTE IN THE POLL AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TO WIN THE AL ROY!!!!!!!

The Card Addict

Carl Crawford looks so good in Black!

The last time I posted a Carl Crawford card that I won on Ebay, CC went 4 for 5 against the Blue Jays. He scored 3 runs and stole a base as well. With a game like that I feel it necessary to post my latest ebay auction win here tonight. It is another Carl Crawford card. It is not as sweet as the 2008 Bowman Chrome Orange card from my previous post, but it is "shiny" as the bloggers like to say.

This 2009 Bowman Chrome Carl Crawford refractor found its way to my collection by way of Des Moines IA. It is number 58 of 250. I picked this card up for $.99 plus $3.50 s/h. Not a great deal due to the S/H but what is a Carl Crawford collector to do?

Now I am on the look out for the 2009 Orange Version!!!! The Rays travel to Texas to take on the Rangers tomorrow. James Shields will try to even his record at 11-11 while Derek Holland will be looking for his 8th victory in 19 starts. If my good luck holds CC should have a huge night!

The Card Addict

Villalona is no ANGEL!

Baseball America chose Angel Villalona, 19, as the San Fransisco Giants top prospect before the 2008 season. The police in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic charged the young first base prospect with murder in the death of a 25 year old man. To read more on this crime click here: Giants Prospect Villalona Charged with Murder

This however this is a baseball card blog. So what does this have to do with baseball cards? Apparently there are a few collectors out there who have not heard this story, or there are some sickos out there who have and want the autograph of a suspected murderer. Currently there are 60 items listed on Ebay for young mister Villalona. Most of them are 2009 Bowman chrome autos. The highest one with a bid is currently selling for $41.00. It is the gold version, but $41.00 for a guy who is looking at 20 years in jail? Come on! There is even one seller who has "murder?!" in his item description. You can view the auction here.

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and I hope Mr. Villalona had nothing to do with this terrible crime, but things are not looking good for this young man. I for one will not be pursuing any of his cards, and I hope the people who are either don't know what he has been accused of or are just set collectors, but my gut tells me they are most likely neither of these.....They are probably the same folks my father calls rubberneckers. Those people who slow to a crawl and stare when they drive by an accident.




My only question is this: Do you think the police could pull a DNA sample off of one of these cards?

The Card Addict

AL Rookie of the Year UPDATE

About four days ago I wrote about the AL Rookie of the year and how tight the race was getting. My unofficial vote changed from my home town pitcher, Jeff Niemann, to the Oakland A's rookie closer, Andrew Bailey. Today is another day, and my vote is back up for grabs. Here are the most updated stats and my thoughts on who should win the award.

Matt Wieters C Baltimore

Games 83 Hits 83 Home Run 7 RBIs 36 BA .282

Wieters stock is rising but it is probably too little too late. Wieters bat has heated up and he has made some great plays behind the plate. He does however have two things working against him. 1. The number of games he has played, and 2. Baltimore is not a good team. If he had played all year and the O's were .500 he would be a sure fire AL ROY.

Jeff Niemann Starting Pitcher Tampa Bay

Games 27 Wins 12 Losses 6 K's 112 ERA 3.80 WHIP 1.32

Niemann has not pitched in the last 4 days. His next start will be against the Mariners tomorrow night.

Brett Anderson Starting Pitcher Oakland

Games 28 Wins 10 Losses 10 K's 139 ERA 4.21 WHIP 1.28

Anderson has won 3 games in a row and in his last outing had 10 strikeouts and went 6 innings. His biggest obstacle to winning the award may be his teammate Andrew Bailey!

Elvis Andrus Shortstop Texas

Games 131 Hits 117 Home Run 6 RBIs 34 BA .272

Andrus has been as steady as they come all year for the Rangers. His team has played very well, and many credit his defense for helping turn around the Rangers pitching staff this year. Andrus could be the front runner for the ROY award.


Andrew Bailey Relief Pitcher Oakland

Games 63 Wins 6 Losses 3 K's 85 ERA 1.95 WHIP .92 SAVES 25

Bailey has 4 saves this month and has lowered his era to 1.95. He had 3 strikeouts and earned the save in his last outing. The only thing going against Bailey is the fact that his team in not playing meaningful games. The voters for ROY tend to favor players on teams that are in contention at the end of the year.

Rickey Romero Starting Pitcher Toronto

Games 25 Wins 12 Losses 8 K's 119 ERA 4.22 WHIP 1.51
1-3 in September Lost his last start vs. the Rays

I am officailly taking Romero off of my list of contendors. He is just 1-3 this month and was beating by the Rays in his last outing. Comparing his stats to the rest of the starting pitchers this blogger just does not think Romero has much of a chance to win the award.

Rick Porcello Starting Pitcher Detroit

Games 28 Wins 13 Losses 9 K's 79 ERA 4.22 WHIP 1.33

Porcello lost to the Twins in his last game although it was a pretty good start. He went 6 innings giving up only 3 runs. Porcello is 2-1 in September. Porcello and the Tigers are still in the thick of a pennant race which could swing votes his way. Rick may be the dark horse in this race that crosses the finish line first.

Gordon Beckham 3B Chicago White Sox

Games 92 Hits 90 Home Run 12 RBIs 54 BA .266

Beckham seems to be running on fumes. Without a strong performance this week he may loose his spot in the running.

Brad Bergesen Starting Pitcher Baltimore

Games 19 Wins 7 Losses 5 K's 65 ERA 3.43 WHIP 1.28

Bergesen is on the 60 day IR he has most likely pitched in his last game this year. I am offically removing him from my list.

I have seen some articles about Nolan Riemold of the O's getting a push from Baltimore to win the award, but with him being shut down for the season with an achillies tendon problem he probably does not have the numbers to earn the award. Here is his current stat line:

Games 104 Hits 100 Home Run 15 RBIs 45 BA .279

4 more days of stats and my vote is still going to Andrew Bailey. Wieters has played very well, and Brett Anderson was very impressive in his last start, the future is bright for the A's. If Niemann can put together a couple more wins he could take the trophy. Rick Porcello is also still very much in the hunt because he is playing for a pennant and a couple of pressure packed wins would go a long way in the eyes of the voters. The next 3 weeks worth of games should be very exciting.

The Card Addict

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces pack

K-Mart had very little baseball wax available to feed my habit this weekend. I ended up buying a few random loose packs and a box that I will post the break of later when I have time. I already posted the results of my one pack of Goudey. Here are the results on 1 of 2 packs of 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces that I ripped. Only 4 cards per retail pack, but then again the whole base set only has 120 so I am bound to get someone good.

Alex Rodriguez #62 This is a pretty sharp card, I just hope that A-Rod is watching a long foul ball before striking out in the pose and not admiring one of his 54 home runs from the 2007 season.......



Kouske Fukudome #22 This is another really great looking card. I really love the Japanese players in the Major leagues work ethics. Fukudome, Iwamura, even Dice-K seem like really hard working give 100% players.



Joe Mauer #50 So for the first time in American League history a catcher wins the batting title, "Let's paint a portrait of him with the award" What a terrible card. Show the swing, not the stupid award! What were you thinking UD?



Chin-Lung Hu #43 For a portrait card this does not make me want to puke. It is not a standard pose, and I like the fact you can see his uniform number. I wish it was an action shot, but if you have to have a portrait masterpiece, I guess this will have to do.



Overall, I would say this is a pretty good pack! I really like the Fukudome card, and I seem to always pull A-Rod. These are very attractive cards and at half price I could not pass on a couple of packs. Thanks for checking out my blog. As always these are on the trading block, so if you need one leave a comment.

The Card Addict

Carl Crawford reaches 500 Career RBI's

With Jason Bartlett on first, Carl Crawford took Roy Halladay over the right field wall at Tropicana Field on Sunday in the first inning to collect his 499th and 500th career RBIs. It was the third career homerun for Crawford against Halladay. The only pitcher Crawford has hit more homeruns off is is Josh Towers.

Crawford went 2-4 in the game, and the Rays swept the Jays. There was some controversy in the game for the Rays speedster. While trying to steal third in the 7th inning. Crawford was called out by umpire Damien Beal. TV replay showed Crawford was probably safe. See what Crawford had to say about the call here.

It was the 15th time Crawford was caught stealing this year. Crawford is 3 stolen bases behind Jacoby Ellsbury for the AL lead in stolen bases.

Halladay is now 1-4 against the Rays in '09. The Rays rookies, Niemann and Price, have both earned two wins this year against the Jays ace. Niemann was the first Rays pitcher to beat Halladay twice in a season. The Rays have beaten Halladay 7 times in the last two seasons.

The itch to Rip

I had the itch to rip yesterday. I could not help, I just needed to go throw down some perfectly good money on a stack of cardboard. There was nothing I could do. It had to be done. So I drove over to the local K-Mart and plopped down some cash for cards. I will work on posting the results over the next couple of days because I still need to get my Fantasy Football line up straightened out today before I go see the Rays take on the Jays @ 1:38. K-Mart has some pretty good sales going on right now on "trading" cards. Makes me wish I collected football because they looked like the best deals. However I settled on a few loose packs and a box of 2008 Upper Deck X. Here are the scans from the one pack of Upper Deck Goudey I purchased.



ALEX GORDON #85
GARY SHEFFIELD #71
KELLY SHOPPACH #59
DAVID WRIGHT #125



4-1 DEXTER FOWLER
TRAVIS SNIDER
MATT ANTONELLI
MICHAEL BOWDEN
DAN HAREN mini #6
CHRISTIAN GUZMAN #200
KURT SUZUKI #149



Why do I do it? I spend money on Wax when I should just be searching the web for singles that I want. I do it because I cannot help it. I am addicted to ripping. The first step is admitting you have a problem. CHECK.

The Card Addict

Carl Crawford looks so good in Orange!

I am super pumped today because the Ebay auction I won was sitting in my mail box when I got home from work. I do not buy nearly as much from Ebay as I used to because all the sellers charge so much for shipping and there really are not that many good deals anymore due to the fees that Ebay charges to list cards. That being said, the one search I always find my self typing in at the bay is:

Carl Crawford Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor





I love these cards! I do not know why, the orange does not go well with the Rays uniform, but I have to have my Bowman Chrome Orange cards. They are numbered to 25, and can get very expensive on the bay, but I am a sucker for the orange. This one is numbered 12/25. I am very happy about getting this card. By the way I paid a lot less for my 2008 version then I had to for my 2007....... I guess that would be the one good thing about the current economic condition.

The Card Addict

American League Rookie of the Year Race tightens......

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Jeff Niemann possibly winning the AL rookie of the year award. I also put up a survey to see who everyone else thinks should be the AL ROY. Here is an update on that post along with some stats that show the race has tightened.

Matt Wieters C Baltimore

Games 79 Hits 78 Home Run 7 RBIs 35 BA .273

Wieters threw out Carl Crawford two times in last nights game! If this guy would have played the full year I believe he would have been the hands down winner of the ROY award.

Jeff Niemann Starting Pitcher Tampa Bay

Games 27 Wins 12 Losses 6 K's 112 ERA 3.80 WHIP 1.32

Niemann was my vote a few weeks ago, and has pitched pretty well, but I think my vote is starting to be swayed to the only closer on my this list. He had a real bad outing against Baltimore this week. Going a little over 4 innings giving up 6 earned runs and 11 hits.

Brett Anderson Starting Pitcher Oakland

Games 27 Wins 9 Losses 10 K's 129 ERA 4.37 WHIP 1.29

Andersons numbers are comparable to Niemann considering Oaklands team record, 67-78. If this award is going to a starting pitcher, Niemann is still the leader.

Elvis Andrus Shortstop Texas

Games 129 Hits 114 Home Run 6 RBIs 33 BA .273

Andrus has done a very good job all year at short for the Rangers however Wieters numbers are a little bit better and he has played 36 fewer games. Andrus has a bright future and it looks like the Rangers have a steady SS for years to come.



Andrew Bailey Relief Pitcher Oakland

Games 62 Wins 6 Losses 3 K's 82 ERA 1.98 WHIP .92 SAVES 24

Bailey is one of the league leaders in ERA, K's and WHIP for relievers. He also has 24 saves and 6 wins. If the ROY race were to end today, I would have to give the AL version of the award to this hard throwing A's closer. He has an electric fastball, good curve, and effective cutter. He seems to be able to throw all three pitches to righties and lefties for strikes.

Rickey Romero Starting Pitcher Toronto

Games 25 Wins 12 Losses 8 K's 119 ERA 4.22 WHIP 1.51

I think Romero has some very strong stats considering he is pitching in Toronto and playing against the AL East, but his numbers are not as strong as Niemann or Bailey in this bloggers opinion.

Rick Porcello Starting Pitcher Detroit

Games 27 Wins 13 Losses 8 K's 78 ERA 4.21 WHIP 1.33

Porcello also has good numbers for a rook, but again not quite up to the level of Bailey or Niemann. Most of these starting pitchers should get a couple more starts this season, so a lot could change, and any of them could be awarded ROY.

Gordon Beckham 3B Chicago White Sox

Games 88 Hits 88 Home Run 12 RBIs 54 BA .274

Beckham has been solid at third this year for the sox, but he is in the same situation as Wieters, just not enough games to put up the stats needed to win the award. Unless he has a great final month and can put up big numbers, I think this award is going to a pitcher.

Brad Bergesen Starting Pitcher Baltimore

Games 19 Wins 7 Losses 5 K's 65 ERA 3.43 WHIP 1.28

Bergesen is on the 60 day IR he has most likely pitched in his last game this year.

So after looking over the stats I think if the season were over tomorrow, I would give the award to ANDREW BAILEY. That is right I said Bailey. I am a huge Rays fan, and have really enjoyed watching Niemann pitch this year, but Bailey has been really good for the A's and is one of the AL's better closers right now. I still think Niemann has a really good shot at taking this award home with a couple more quality starts this year.

The Card Addict