Sunday, March 16, 2014

Blue Border Binder Beauties #4 TWITTER CONTEST

I'm running a little contest over @VFTSB for the gorgeous Jose Bautista card below. All you have to do is RT this tweet and follow me on Twitter to be entered to win!


Now onto the blue border beauties from the binder.

Card #67





2011 Topps Update US67 Miguel Olivo
Did it Make the BBB?: Yes
Opposition in the Collection: 2014 Topps #67 Yasmani Grandal
Can it be Upgraded?: Yes
What's to Love?: I honestly can't tell if Miguel is threatening a runner back or if this is part of his setup to fire down to second. Neither would surprise me because he isn't a very good catcher, trust me, I watched way too much of him in '08 and '09. During his stint with the Royals, he exemplified the Royals' love for hacking at everything. If I remember correctly, at the all-star break in 2009 he had reached 1st base more on dropped third strikes than he had on walks. The plus side is that he brought some pop to a very flat lineup. 23 homeruns is a crap-ton in KC. The Mariners colors work well on blue border beauties, so Miggy has a nice hold on spot #67 for now.

Card #84

Te-hehehehehehehe!




2011 Topps Update US84 Pablo Sandoval
Did it Make the BBB?: Yes
Opposition in the Collection: 2014 Topps #84 Todd Redmond, 2013 Topps Update #US84 Stephen Drew
Can it be Upgraded?: Sure
What's to Love?: This card had a tough time making the Blue Border Binder. Both of the opposition cards are decent shots with a good BBB color scheme, but Kung-Fu Panda came out on top. Pablo is only 27 and he's been damn good for the last five years, but I have a feeling he'll always be remembered as that one guy who came alive in the 2012 Fall Classic. In the post-steroid era, it'll be tough for a singles bashing 3B with a poor glove and no wheels to have a long lasting career. Either way, this card represents all that is the lovable, cuddable, kung-fuable essence of Pablo Sandoval. 


Card #142





2013 Bowman #142 Matt Kemp
Did it Make the BBB?: Yes
Opposition: 2012 Topps 142 Travis Wood
Can it be Upgraded?: It'd be tough
What's to Love?: I've said before that I love the 2013 Bowman design for the major leaguers, so they'll always have a leg-up in the BBB. Have you guys seen how cheap these parallels are? You'd think there were 5,000 made, not 500. All the better for me. Especially since after card #110 or so, these are the only opposition to base blue border Topps from the blue border retail giant. I really like Matt Kemp because he's a helluva good guy. I hope he can kick the injury bug and produce back to the level of 2011. I'm sure a few of my Dodger friends would agree. 

3 comments:

  1. I may just be a homer here but Sandoval actually has a pretty good glove considering his size. He'd probably grade out as 'average' but hopefully he'll have a bit more range with less bulk this season. He's always been pretty quick.

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    1. I hope so too, I don't get to see many Giants games, but it's a treat to watch him play.

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    2. I'm actually planning on seeing the Giants in KC in August. It'll be my first in-person Giants game since 1991 in St. Louis.

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