This is a card I made a while ago. I made it the same time I created the “missing link” George Brett card from the same set. This card was made simply because I thought the picture was great.
Quick thoughts on the Royals; They won today breaking a tough couple game losing streak where Soria was horrible. Billy Butler continues to hammer the ball and not get enough credit. Chris Getz gave a glimpse of what the Royals hope he can be, great defensively and use his speed at the plate. Alex Gordon looks to be growing into a comfort zone in the leadoff spot. I think Gordon in the leadoff spot could be really interesting for the rest of this season.
Alright, I have avoided this long enough, it is time to talk about what is wrong with Joakim Soria. I have posted several Joakim Soria cards without really discussing his terrible year to this point. The truly sad thing is that the bullpen for the Royals has far exceeded expectations except for Soria.
Aaron Crow has been so good this year that people are starting to talk about making him the closer. This is a bad idea in my opinion. Crow is the logical “backup” for Soria but I really think he needs to stay in the setup role. If Soria struggles through the entire season, then you can talk about making him the closer in 2012. That being said, that won’t happen. Joakim Soria is not right right now, he just isn’t and hasn’t been all year. I think it is a problem that will go off like a switch someday, hopefully soon.
He will recover from this. Right now he is unreliable though. I don’t know what the Royals should do but I don’t want him to lose his role as closer. If he keeps blowing saves and losing games that the Royals have fought hard to be ahead in what else can you do? I still believe one day he will come out of the bullpen and be the Joakim Soria we all remember and we can concentrate on the Royals real problem; starting pitching.
Now that is done. This card is from the 2001 Topps set and I really think it is a good one. The design itself is not one of my favorites but for some reason this card really works for me. I have a hard time showing gold foil many times but I think I found a good mixture for this 2001 card. The picture is from early in the season in 2009 when it was really cold and one game actually ended with the Royals closing it out while snow was falling. I believe that is the snow you can see in the background of the picture. It could be rain but if memory serves it is snow. This card added a little extra challenge in re-creating it. Topps did a “50 years” logo and I had to do it instead of the traditional Topps logo. It was much easier to do than the “40 years” logo I recently had to do for the 1991 Topps card I posted.
So I am a big Topps fan. I am also a huge Royals fan. I collect all of the Royals Topps sets, I currently have every year from 1976 to 2011. I anxiously await what Royals will be released with each series Topps puts out. I am focusing on 2011 in this post. I just mentioned in another post that Series 2 Topps comes out in a couple short weeks on June 6, 2011. This led me to find a checklist and review what Royals cards I would soon be getting my hands on.
So far here is what I have:
Series 1 :Gil Meche, Lucas May, Gregor Blanco, Zack Greinke, David Dejesus, Mike Aviles, Kyle Davies, Alex Gordon and Yuniesky Betancourt
The cards for the Royals on the 2011 series 2 checklist are as follows: Wilson Betemit, Billy Butler, Vin Mazzaro, Jason Kendall, Kila Ka’aihue, Joakim Soria, Luke Hochevar and Mitch Maier.
The series 2 checklist is not final though, several should be added, see below for more details.
Lets look at Series 1 and 2 more closely along with their current standing with the Kansas City Royals:
Gil Meche: retired, 0 games with the Royals; FAIL
Lucas May: in Omaha, 0 games with the Royals; FAIL
Gregor Blanco: started in Omaha, now traded to Washington, 0 games with the Royals; FAIL
Zack Greinke: traded to Milwaukee, 0 games with the Royals; FAIL
David Dejesus: traded to Oakland 0 games with the Royals; FAIL
Mike Aviles: starts nearly every day for the Royals; PASS
Kyle Davies: injured but for some reason is still in the Royals rotation; PASS
Alex Gordon: everyday player; PASS
Yuniesky Betancourt; traded to Milwaukee, 0 games with the Royals; FAIL
Wilson Betemit: starts nearly every day for the Royals; PASS
Billy Butler: everyday player; PASS
Vin Mazzaro: 2 games with the Royals, now in Omaha; FAIL
Jason Kendall: injured all year, 0 games with Royals; FAIL
Kila Ka’aihue: played in just 23 games before getting sent to Omaha; PUSH
Joakim Soria: Royals closer having a rough year; PASS
Luke Hochevar: pitches every 5th day; PASS
Mitch Maier: played in just 14 games as a backup outfielder: PUSH
So that is 17 Royals cards and just 7 that are legitimate forces on the team so far: horrible choices by Topps.
Every year Topps releases a “Stadium Set” for teams to sell in their stadium gift shops. This year the set included a respectable 17 cards and here they are.
Stadium Set: Billy Butler, Mike Aviles, Alcides Escobar, Chris Getz, Kyle Davies, Vin Mazzaro, Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar, Kila Ka’aihue, Jason Kendall, Sean O’Sullivan, Joakim Soria, Wilson Betemit, Melky Cabrera, Jeremy Jeffress, Jeff Francoeur and a team card.
Of these Escobar, Mazzaro, Cabrera, Jeffress and Francouer were all pictures of them on other teams but photoshopped to look like they were in Royals uniforms. These are better choices that the first two series’ of Topps.
Alright now for more additions to the series 2 set.
Last year the Royals series 2 set was 11 cards, the year prior to that 12. This is a good point to expect cards for 2011 except that the Royals have a ton of rookies and new additions so they might get a couple extras. They should really clean up in the Update set expected around September. Escobar and Jeffress had Brewers cards in the 2011 Topps set so they won’t appear until the update set if even then. I don’t think Eric Hosmer was called up in time to have a card in series 2 this year so he will have a very sought after update card.
Alright so we know 8 of the cards in the series 2 set but several numbers on the checklist are listed as “TBD.” Some of these will be Royals. Lets figure the Royals will get 13 cards in series 2. That leaves 4 more in the TBD category. Lets guess at these 4 cards. My guesses are Jeff Francoeur, Melky Cabrera, Bruce Chen, Aaron Crow Rookie and Jeff Francis. This is ignoring a couple big options, mainly Chris Getz, Matt Treanor, Tim Collins Rookie, Jarrod Dyson rookie and Brayan Pena.
The update set this year could be absolutely killer! Hosmer and Duffy rookies are a lock. In either series 2 or update we should get all of the following rookies: Hosmer, Duffy, Collins, Crow and possibly Dyson, Teaford. There is even an outside chance some other callups could happen and get cards in the update set(Moustakas, Montgomery, Lamb)
I wish I could get about 35 Royals cards this year but that probably won’t happen. I’ve rambled enough, any thoughts?
I hated bobbleheads when they first came out. They were all the rage at baseball stadiums and everyone loved them. I was not on board, I thought they looked stupid and had no interest in them. Something has happened since then. I am now in a pursuit to get all of the Kansas City Royals stadium give away(SGA) bobbleheads.
It started with the Alex Gordon bobblehead give away, then Larry Gura, then Zach Greinke. I had a few then I started feeling like I needed the rest. I collect many things dealing with the Royals. I really like old pennants, magazines and cards. So now I am up to a collection of 9 bobbleheads. This led me to make a list of all of the stadium give away bobbleheads I knew of because I really couldn’t find a list on the internet. I listed what I knew of and even included the two that will be given away this year; Willie Wilson and Joakim Soria, two I am really excited about.
Then I attended the Royals game last Thursday against the Rangers, a 2-1 win in 10 innings, and made my first trip through the Royals Hall of Fame. They had a display case possessing every bobblehead they had given away. It is what I hope for my collection to be one day.
This is what the display case looked like, pretty impressive huh? I have no idea who that first guy is with the bald head and gray hair but I will run through the rest of them:
Top Row left: unknown bobblehead, Sluggerrr, Denny Matthews, Tony Pena Jr., Cookie Rojas, Carlos Beltran, Alex Gordon, Mike Sweeney and Zack Greinke.
Bottom Row left: Bret Saberhagen, John Mayberry, Larry Gura, Paul Splittorff, Frank White, Dick Howser, George Brett, Steve Busby, Fred Patek, Dan Quisenberry and Dennis Leonard.
The former Royals all have the same base’ the number in the Royals “crown” with career highlights written around the sides. The current players have different kinds of bases. A couple quick notes: Denny Matthews bobblehead has a button that plays Royals highlights from Matthews. The Sluggerrr bobblehead is incredibly hard to find, apparently it was given away to kids under a certain age only and it was raining that day so there aren’t many Sluggerrr bobbleheads available.
This is a card I made a while ago. I made it the same time I created the “missing link” George Brett card from the same set. This card was made simply because I thought the picture was great.
A Hair Off Square 