Ten for Tuesday - Best Active MLB Penmanship

Hey guys, Drew back here! This week's edition of my new program, "Ten for Tuesday", features my hand crafted list of who I believe have the 10 nicest signatures in all of Major League Baseball today. The art of the signature has been lost in an era of constant autograph signings and requests, but there are still some players who appear to take pride in how they write their name for fans. We certainly appreciate the extra few seconds players may take to give us a beautiful signature, and with the ten players I am about to reveal, they almost always take that route rather than scribbling something illegible. As you may recall if you have been following this blog for a long time, I ran a "Worst Autograph Bracket" about five years ago, and former pitcher Jason Jennings faced off against running back Vernand Morency in the final round.

So with this list I have excluded every single baseball player who is not currently active, and I veered outside of discussing prospects either because it would only make the list more difficult to compile. I chose players who have had their share of MLB experience, even if they aren't all currently at the top of their game. Elite players did not receive any kind of boost on the list, as this is simply about their penmanship. With all of the qualifications out of the way, let's get started.

10 Best Signatures in MLB Today

Honorable Mentions - David Wright, Shelby Miller, Tom Wilhelmsen, Carlos Beltran, Tucker Barnhart

10 - Miguel Cabrera

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Miggy's autograph is fitting to the way he hits the ball. The constant vertical strokes makes the signature violent, and as we all saw this past weekend; he sure can crush the ball. Cabrera is again one of the most popular players in the game, and he still makes his signature something fun to look at. I love how he writes his C in Cabrera in particular, but the whole thing flows in a somewhat chaotic way.

9 - Torii Hunter

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Torii Hunter is the first of Harmon Killebrew's proteges to make this list. If you've never read about Killebrew's influence on young Twins players to sign their autograph with pride, I highly suggest you do. Hunter has resulted with a fun autograph that fits his personality very well. I really like the pizzazz in the signature, and that you can almost picture a smiley face at the end of Torii (respect to Tug McGraw). Maybe he could pass down the lesson he learned to Twins top prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton.

8 - David Robertson

While researching for this post, I came across a great article written around this time last year from the New York Times in which Robertson credits his grandmother for his signature being his full name in comparison to "DRob". Robby has had an underrated career thus far, and I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago while he was arguably the best set up man in baseball. I will take any autograph that features every single letter, and the way he signs his "D" in David is pretty unique to me.

7 - Jackie Bradley Jr.

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Jackie Bradley Jr. gets a lot of credit for the way he signs his cards, however, he gets a bit of a kick in these rankings because he signs most baseballs simply "JBJ". The difference between he and the following 6 players is the difference in signatures when signing different items, and frankly, the baseball signatures would be nowhere close to this list. Justin Upton was another player who signs cards and flats beautifully but has relatively bland signed baseballs, and he was kept completely off this list in result. Bradley is currently in Triple-A for the Red Sox due to their overcrowded outfield, and I hope he gets traded so we can see if he'll ever reach his full potential.

6 - Victor Martinez

It almost feels like people overlook Victor Martinez in autograph discussions, and I'm really not sure why that is. V-Mart sports a fancy, full signature that ranks among the very best in baseball today. He enjoyed a career year in 2014 and looks to repeat this year, although he isn't getting any younger. I traded a Hakeem Nicks autograph to my friend for the card above a few years ago and it turned out to be so worth it.

5 - Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista seems like an awesome guy. One of my biggest blog regrets was starting a one and done blog feature a few years ago called "Juice, Fluke, or Truth", in which I questioned the legitimacy of his 54 home run 2010 campaign. It is now 2015, and "Joey Bats" has not failed a drug test or been proven guilty of any banned substances. While the power in Toronto has been suspicious in recent years, I'm now implementing the innocent until proven guilty mentality with him and several others. He is now one of my favorite all around players in baseball, and he follows both my regular Twitter and blog Twitter, which I find completely awesome! As for his ink, Jose provides fans with every single letter, slanted and angled with a grace that does not line up with the way he hits the ball. He is one of the most dangerous sluggers in baseball, and he has a beautiful autograph. Well done, Jose; well done.

4 - Pat Neshek

This guy may have been the first to come to mind when you all saw the post title, and rightfully so. Pat has been one of the best guys and signers in baseball history, ranking among the likes of Bob Feller and Bobby Doerr as far as TTM'ing is concerned. Neshek's autograph is the most unique in the game today, as he places baseball seams inside the "P" in Pat. Otherwise, the rest of the autograph flows well, and he tops every autograph off with his number 17. If you wish to try out through the mail autograph requests, I highly recommend sending to him with your first request. And before I move forward, I'd like to point out that this guy has become one of the best middle relievers in baseball recently, which is something few actually mention. Way to go Pat; the entire hobby is rooting for your success!

3 - Felix Hernandez

Taking the bronze medal is the King. Felix Hernandez is primed for a huge 2015, although he struggled on Sunday and had to leave the game early with quadriceps tightness. He wears his heart on his sleeve for the Mariners, and the fans are in love with him. And on top of it all, his autograph embodies the royalty in his nickname. The circular outline of his name makes this the most elegant autograph on this list, and the best autograph to get of any superstar player in the game.

2 - Julio Teheran

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Even when I hardly knew any prospects in baseball, I knew who Julio Teheran was. Why, you may ask? Come on, just look at that signature on the Triple Threads card pictured above. I began to always subconsciously think of him as "the prospect with amazing penmanship", and when he came up with the Braves I naturally started rooting for him. Teheran went into 2015 with two tremendous full seasons under his belt, and he's a great candidate to continue that trend in the future. When a player is worth rooting for just because of the way he signs his name, you know he deserves to be ranked highly on this list.

1 - Michael Cuddyer

Until Cuddyer walks away from the game, he's got the top spot on this list just about locked up. He may not be the player that Harmon Killebrew was, but he has carried on a tradition of excellent penmanship from the face behind the MLB logo. Perhaps players like Miguel Cabrera, Felix Hernandez, and Victor Martinez have flair in their signatures that may look more enjoyable to collect, but Cuddyer's is far classier.

There you have it; my top 10 favorite autographs in baseball today. I could think of about 30 total autographs capable of holding a spot on this list, but chose a select 10 that I either am proud to own or desperately wish to one day possess. I actually have autographs of 8 of the 10 players on this list, two of which I haven't gotten to share with you all yet.

The point of this post is to show you all that the "there aren't any good autographs anymore" argument is not true. While the players of yesteryear were more likely to provide their fans with gorgeous signatures, there are still guys today who try to appeal to those of us in the hobby who enjoy collecting ink. There are probably five or six bad autographs in baseball today for every average/better one, but with thousands of professional players out there, there are plenty of guys to collect.

Whose signature(s) in the game today do you enjoy most? Are there any names you think should have been included, and why? 

See Ya!

2015 MLB Playoff & World Series Predictions!

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Hey guys, Drew back here! We continue our coverage of the 2015 baseball season, and now things are beginning to get interesting. I recently posted standings predictions for each of the 6 divisions, and although some of my opinions have already changed in part of injury, this will document a loose representation of how I think the year will play out. The best part about baseball at its current state, as I have mentioned several times, is the amazing parity between teams. There hasn't been a time as bright and positive as this in the game, with so many great young stars and a flood of even more coming soon! I may be completely wrong with these choices, but I'm going to give it a shot.

AL East          NL East

AL Central          NL Central

AL West          NL West

American League

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Wild Card Series: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners

The wild card system makes it difficult for teams to beat opponents with fantastic starting pitchers. The entire MLB season contains series' of games, with the lone exception of this one game play in. However, in recent years, teams that have gone on to win this game have had favorable luck further into the playoffs (see: Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants in 2014). The Royals were able to beat the pitcher Oakland traded for that was brought there to win that specific game in Jon Lester. This year in my fantasy world, the Blue Jays, even through losing their young ace Marcus Stroman, will still power their way into a Wild Card spot. Truth be told, I'm very skeptical of this happening, but I'm going to continue to go with my gut even with the injuries they've suffered this Spring. They will take on the best team to not win a division in the league, the Seattle Mariners. But more importantly, they would be going up against Felix Hernandez in his first career playoff start. If this indeed becomes the matchup, there's no way I can bet against King Felix to move the M's into the next round!

Advantage - Mariners

Division Series: Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox

The battle of the Sox will ensue as both revamped teams will challenge for a spot in the Championship Series. In this Best of 5 series, I can see this going both ways. At the end of the day though, I like Chicago more than Boston because of their pitching. Both teams are loaded with talented lineups, and the John Farrell managed Red Sox may have a recent advantage in playoff games, but the trio of Chris Sale/Jeff Samardzija/Jose Quintana along with an improved bullpen should prove to be the difference in this matchup. If the Red Sox were to swing a trade for an ace caliber pitcher, maybe they could stand a better chance, but for now I'd say that will be the cause for their demise.

Advantage - White Sox, 3-2

Division Series: Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Angels

With all the talent the Angels have had over the years, they've always seemed to fall a bit short. Watching Trout, Pujols, and Hamilton all struggle in their 2014 postseason embarrassment by the Royals was telling of their future. I feel like they will play extremely well in the regular season, as Mike Scioscia appears to have managed that portion relatively well. A key for the Mariners in this series is having a strong performance from either Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, or both. Kershaw has had his challenges in the playoffs, but I feel like Hernandez could be much different and dominate the Angels lineup. The Mariners offense isn't overly dynamic, but a healthy, good year from Nelson Cruz could be the deciding factor for all of these predictions coming true. Between he, Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, and some other sneaky candidates may also be clutch through this stretch.

Advantage - Mariners, 3-1

Championship Series - Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners

I've been using pitching as a key determinant for most of this post thus far, but at this point these teams are about even in that respect. Felix/Iwakuma/Paxton/Walker plays out well against Sale/Samardzija/Quintana, so there will be more to this decision than simply good pitching. I don't think the Mariners will run the table against the Angels, but I think at this point in October they will be feeling extremely confident. This late in the playoffs, momentum is a huge factor, and those days of a regular season record are long gone. Both teams will feel confident, but I'm anticipating the Wild Card game winner to once again prevail and win the pennant. Is this a flaw in the MLB system that the winners of that game get to stay in the same rhythm as they were in all season? These games have the potential to be even more exciting than any other playoff games outside of tiebreaker elimination games, and I can't even imagine how good the Royals felt after knocking out the A's in extra innings. I don't know if this is something that needs to be fixed, but I think it will be determined by the results of the next few years. Don't get me wrong, these 1 game series' are extremely fun to watch and I look forward to them every year now since the idea started in 2012, but I don't know if it hurts the other teams not to be feeling the same momentum after the intensity those games bring.

Advantage - Mariners, 4-2

National League

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Wild Card Series: Miami Marlins vs. St. Louis Cardinals

The Marlins don't have the caliber pitching staff as the Washington Nationals, which will most likely cause them to finish behind them in the NL East. But that's just the regular season, and a little bird told me that a guy named Jose Fernandez will be returning to their staff around midseason. With a healthy, MVP caliber season out of Giancarlo Stanton, along with production from their various improvements up and down the lineup, they can pose a huge threat into the postseason. St. Louis seems to be on the cusp of trending in the opposite direction, although they still do have young players that will develop into stars. I think this year is part will be the beginning of a trend for St. Louis, where they may still win games and make the playoffs, but could continue to fall short of advancing. Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Matt Holliday aren't getting any younger, and until some of their touted prospects and young players improve they will be on the outside looking in during the World Series this year. In a game that could possibly be Fernandez vs. Wainwright, I'll take the fish's upside here.

Advantage - Marlins

Division Series: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

This matchup may be interesting. For all of the money, time, and effort put into the Dodgers organization over the past few years, you would expect more results by now. It seems to be proven by now, however, that most teams dishing out the mega millions fail to reach the chemistry required to win it all. The Pirates have built their organization in the complete opposite way, developing homegrown players such as McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gerrit Cole into excellent big league players. It's sad to think that a team with $157,183,552 less to spend every year stands a chance against this Dodgers team that has struggled immensely in recent history. But this year, things are going to go differently for the boys in blue, because they're not going to be facing their nemesis St. Louis Cardinals and Clayton Kershaw will solidify his position as the best pitcher in the game that Bumgarner attempted to steal last October. It's great to see Pittsburgh succeed, but I have a bad feeling about their playoff luck this year, because Kershaw will be out for blood.

Advantage - Dodgers, 3-1

Division Series: Miami Marlins vs. Washington Nationals

These division rivals are going to be a lot of fun to watch if they do get to square off this year. The Marlins will have the momentum in their favor, and the Nationals have not been able to win with their star studded team yet. But even with a staff of Jose Fernandez, Mat Latos, and Henderson Alvarez, nobody in the game can say they have what Washington does with their super staff. Max Scherzer may be able to squeak out victories against Fernandez, and the other starters will be overmatched by either Jordan Zimmermann or Stephen Strasburg (or Fister, Gonzalez, Roark, etc, etc). As exciting as it will be to see Giancarlo Stanton crush a late inning home run against a weak Nats bullpen, I think they will fall just a bit short. Although both the Mariners and Marlins will be in similar positions at this point in time, the Mariners veterans and a weaker AL competition gives them a better opportunity to reach the World Series, whereas the Marlins may fall just short of moving on. If Bryce Harper can continue to hit the way he has in his limited postseason experience, he could be a lethal weapon as well. This will be a great series without a doubt, perhaps the best of my entire mock playoffs, but this will be the year the Nationals and Dodgers will duke it out for a chance at the pennant.

Advantage - Nationals, 3-2

Championship Series: Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The series many of you have been waiting to see is indeed my NL Championship Series. Both of these teams will be on a level playing field; both with high momentum and a mix of veteran stars to help guide the young players to the top. No longer are concerns of "How many innings can Stephen Strasburg throw?" on the top of all fan's minds. Who knows which players will be out with injuries by this point, but assuming fully healthy clubs, I'm picking the Nationals to defeat Kershaw, Greinke, and the Dodgers. And no, this is not only because of their pitching staff. Despite losing Adam LaRoche at first base, the Nats still have Jayson Werth, Denard Span, Ian Desmond, Anthony Rendon, and Bryce Harper to worry about on offense. The Dodgers have their assets too, but who knows what will be running through their star player, Yasiel Puig's mind when it matters most. Last year, he was benched during pivotal moments of their series against the Cardinals. I like the Nationals overall team from top to bottom just a bit more than that of the Dodgers, and with that, they're my pick for the National League side of the World Series.

Advantage - Nationals, 4-3

World Series

Seattle Mariners vs. Washington Nationals

I know what you're saying: The Mariners in the World Series? I get the confusion; really, I do. They have actually been a dark horse favorite for the series going into 2015 with a lot of people, although I didn't take other people's opinions into account when I compiled this list myself. A lot will have to go right in Seattle for a chance to make up for their Seahawks' awkward Super Bowl disaster, but I have a strangely positive feeling about them. I'm no Swami, I don't know the answers, but I can say this decision was calculated; crazy as it may seem. The addition of Nelson Cruz to a primarily lefty dominant lineup was critical to the team's success. He may not swat 40 home runs in Safeco Field, but he'll certainly hold his own in the clean up spot of the lineup. Seth Smith, Dustin Ackley, and Austin Jackson will purvey the outfield, while young power hitting catcher Mike Zunino is behind the plate. Future stars James Paxton and Taijuan Walker will take the next step towards reaching their full potential, and that factor could also play huge in their late season run. This team reminds me of a better Kansas City Royals team that we saw in the World Series last year. They won't be making this series easy, especially with the best pitcher in the American League and momentum that will make the entire bleachers a sea of yellow K's.

But if they could beat Kershaw, they can and will beat Felix too. Like many others, the Washington Nationals are my World Series pick for the year. I didn't wish to be cliché with this choice, but I really do feel like if there is any year they will win, it's this one. Dominance isn't as frequent in these relatively even leagues, and the team with the greatest potential to dominate should be the favorite to win it all. Past postseason struggles, injury questions, free agency looming for top players, I don't care what the excuse may be. This is the best team on paper, and outside of Max Scherzer it hasn't changed too much recently. He will help, not hurt, the chemistry of the clubhouse. Recent history has proven that the best teams on paper don't exactly play the way most expect, but this is going to be one of the exceptions. I'm feeling it already.

Advantage - Nationals, 4-2

World Series MVP - Bryce Harper

The point of this post, over anything else, is that I can't wait for baseball to return. These picks could be the worst ever made, or maybe I'll look like a genius. I hope for the latter, although I would take a Yankees World Series win over any of my silly picks in a heartbeat.

Have any World Series predictions? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

See Ya!

2015 American League West Preview + Predictions!

Hey guys, Drew back here! We have already covered the AL East and AL Central, and today we'll have a look at my thoughts on this year's AL West.

2015 AL West Standings Prediction:

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1 - Los Angeles Angels
X-Factors: Matt Joyce, Andrew Heaney

I could not find any possible way to keep the Angels from the top of this division. They finished with the best regular season record in baseball last year, only to eventually succumb to a sweeping by the red hot Royals. Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, and even the almighty Mike Trout struggled immensely throughout the beatdown. But this year, even with the tragedy surrounding Josh Hamilton (I wish he and his family the best of wishes with a hope for recovery), the Angels are still one of the more intriguing teams in the game. Their pitching staff reemerged last season with the help of future stars Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, and it can be argued that if Richards didn't hurt his knee last year they may have been able to advance further into the postseason. Even after losing Howie Kendrick at second base in a trade for young left handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, they were able to also make a move to add Josh Rutledge to replace Kendrick. Between Rutledge, Heaney, and new fill in right fielder Matt Joyce, I'm not too worried about the Angels falling from first quite yet.

2 - Seattle Mariners
X-Factors: James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Seth Smith

If the Mariners are going to become the contender many think they can be, this is their year to prove it. Fresh off of issuing a $57 million dollar deal to slugger Nelson Cruz, they now have the right handed power bat to place between Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager in the lineup. Although Safeco Field may lower Cruz's chances of hitting 40 home runs again in 2015, his power bat will certainly improve a lineup that needed an extra boom. They shipped out Brandon Maurer for Seth Smith, which should also supply some additional offense. Cano now has what he said he needed last year, and with the best pitching rotation in the division led by perennial Cy Young Award candidate Felix Hernandez, this could easily be their year. Young pitchers James Paxton and Taijuan Walker will need to stay healthy and take strides to give the M's a legitimate shot, and I think they will do what it takes to pick up the 2nd wildcard spot and make the postseason for the first time since Ichiro Suzuki's rookie season in 2001 (want to know how long that's been?)!

3 - Texas Rangers
X-Factors: Prince Fielder, Derek Holland

This Rangers team has the most "if's" of any team in the American League. If Yu Darvish is healthy, he can potentially be a Cy Young candidate. If Prince Fielder, Derek Holland, and Shin-Soo Choo can rebound from their injury plagued 2014 campaigns, they can be key contributors to the team as well. If father time hasn't caught up to possible future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre, he will be a huge piece of the Texas sized puzzle. They already lost former top prospect Jurickson Profar for the second year in a row, so Rougned Odor will be taking his place once again in their everyday lineup. Newly added starters Yovani Gallardo and Ross Detwiler might come in handy in picking up the pieces if chaos ensues in Arlington, but I'm going to go with an optimistic approach and say: how much worse could it get? If half the players lost in 2014 are injured again this season, they still will win more than their AL low 67 games.

**UPDATE: Yu Darvish may undergo Tommy John surgery as it was revealed today that he has suffered a UCL sprain in his elbow. This is a huge blow to a team that had more than enough injuries to handle in 2014. With this news, I will flip my predictions and put the Rangers in 4th and the Astros in 3rd for the season.**

4 - Houston Astros
X-Factors: Dallas Keuchel, George Springer

I was so tempted to rank Houston above the Rangers on this list, but ultimately I held off and put them right behind. I didn't actually list predicted W-L totals because I think that's as unpredictable as it comes, but if I were to I'd have the two Texas teams neck and neck in the middle of the division. Neither are ideal playoff candidates, but although they are from the same state, they don't have much else in common. Where the Rangers field a team of former superstars similarly to the Yankees, the Astros are taking the youth approach, which has been known to work lately in St. Louis and San Francisco especially. The Astros may be a fun team to watch in 2015 thanks to budding star George Springer in particular, but also because of their offseason acquisitions. Evan Gattis may be a bit of a defensive liability, but "El Oso Blanco" can and will mash balls into the left field bleachers time and time again at Minute Maid Park. Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek will stabilize what was a shaky bullpen, and lend helping hands to the very young pitching rotation the team has built over years of development. But the player to watch in Houston turns out to be the shortest player in a state loaded with size: Jose Altuve. If he can come close to his MVP-type 2014 season statistics, we'll be in for some fun in this division. Chances are, he will.

5 - Oakland Athletics
X-Factors: Brett Lawrie, Jesse Hahn

Three years in a row Billy Beane has assembled playoff teams, in light of the box office smash Moneyball. But this year, I believe his run has come to a halt (temporarily). Over the winter the team made 9 trades including almost 30 players; and leading that list are 2014 All Stars Brandon Moss, Derek Norris, and Josh Donaldson. Both Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija, who were traded for midseason in hopes of bringing playoff success, left Oakland as well. I still have no idea what his mindset was in moving Donaldson so soon, as he could've easily been affordably held for 4 more years before hitting free agency. For all they lost, they came back with almost a completely new team featuring Ben Zobrist, Billy Butler, Tyler Clippard, Jesse Hahn, and Brett Lawrie. It may work out, and Beane tends to be a magician with these sorts of moves, but I don't see what they did as enough to have a successful 2015. The prospects gained will be of great value for the future, and maybe this is all part of his scheme to get back to the playoffs (if so, well played), but we won't know how he did this offseason until years down the road. He could either be building a Hall of Fame legacy, or tearing it apart. None of that seems to matter much in 2015.

Division MVP: Mike Trout
Division Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
Playoff Teams: Los Angeles, Seattle (Wild Card)

I hope these three posts have helped you understand that the competition in baseball is at a whole new level. I picked the Orioles to finish 4th in the AL East, the Tigers to finish 3rd in the Central, and the A's to finish last in the West. All three of these teams seemed to have no difficulty reaching the playoffs in 2014, and I picked them to completely miss out this year. Whether or not I look like a genius or an idiot is to be determined, but for now it just goes to show that there is so much talent in the game today, and any team can be made or broken within a matter of a single offseason. You can't base a team off of solely what they look like on paper, but some GM's are starting to learn from past mistakes and only signing players that make actual sense. There isn't one horrible team in this entire league, and it was tough for me to even put the Rays, Twins, and A's in last place. The Red Sox went from worst to first to worst again, thus, any team could face any outcome no matter what people say they're going to do.

I'll have the National League posts coming up soon, and I'll wrap things up with a couple of postseason predictions just to round up all the fun. I've had a blast writing these posts so far, and I hope a few people out there are enjoying them too. It's been tough to afford a lot of what I want lately because I've been looking for a job and paying for college, so I've had to think of some new ways to keep you all interested, and baseball is an absolute passion of mine and I love getting to share it for you.

With all that in mind: agree or disagree? Feel free to leave any comments below; they're greatly appreciated.

See Ya!

American League Cy Young Award Winner eBay Pickup!

Hey guys, Drew back here. So, after a certainly eventful and memorable day in my life yesterday, I'm here to show you all more of what I got myself for my birthday.

Next is an autographed card of a pitcher I've wanted for a long time. It's a 2005 Topps Gallery Felix Hernandez rookie on card autograph! First things first, Felix has a beautiful autograph. I've been bidding on autographs of his for way too long now, but I finally pulled through and got this one for about $15 of birthday money. King Felix is having a disappointing year compared to his stellar Cy Young year last year. In 2011, he's 11-10 with a 3.38 ERA and 176 strikeouts. He probably will reach 14 or 15 wins by the end of the year, which is still very good, especially with the very bad Mariners team he currently is pitching for. Last year he has criticized for winning the award with only 13 wins, but with a 2.27 ERA, you really couldn't go wrong. I thought Sabathia would have won but Hernandez definitely deserved it as well, I mean, I think you should get an award for even having to pitch for the Mariners and deal with barely any run support every time you pitch!

All in all Felix is definitely one of the top pitchers in the game, and of the pitchers autographs I didn't have prior to this pickup, Felix was #3 on the top 10. Halladay and Lincecum are next!

See Ya!

2010 Upper Deck Blaster Break

Hey guys, Drew back here. I have had so much work and other things going on in school lately that I haven't had much time to post. I had a project due yesterday, an essay, a quiz, and a test, not to mention the final day of the 3rd quarter. There is no way I could post through that mess. Anyway, I got this blaster for Easter from my parents, and we were hoping that we wouldn't have to deal with this again. Speaking of, no word from Upper Deck yet, but I understand why. Here is the break, check it out:

First, just a few base highlights. Only 1 Yankee was pulled in this entire box, and since it was Jonathan Albaledejo, that is pretty pathetic. Got Pence (who is sucking it up for my fantasy team so far), Braun, Halladay, Kung Fu Panda, Porcello, Han-Ram, and Aaron Hill. Not too bad, especially since most Upper Deck blasters have a ton of nobodies.

A few checklists and Ballparks. Got Wrigley and Fenway, 2 stadiums I want to visit at some point. Nothing much interesting else here.

Star rookies of Buster Posey, Drew Stubbs, and Tyler Colvin is a nice group. I am starting to like the Biographies, UD used good photos and they selected some cool things. The Randy Johnson one is awesome!

Wow, so far I think I've opened 20 retail packs and 2 hobby packs of this stuff, and the SAME Celebrity Predictors keep popping up. I now have 2 Chris Martin/Paltrow cards, and 2 Pattinson/Stewart junkies too. The Vintage cards are pretty nice though, Greinke and Kinsler aren't bad pulls by any means.

These inserts are pretty nice. Pure Heat is cool, the Beckett is most certainly for trade, but yeah, it's a pretty cool design. The Supremes are ok, I'm kinda so-so on these, kinda boring looking, even if it's shiny and scans horribly. And All World is really nice, I like these the best out of the 3. All 3 of these are for trade as well as almost everything in this break (not the hit). Speaking of hits......

THE BIG "MOJO" HIT IS....

Nice! King Felix jersey swatch! That's pretty cool, especially since he's a star on both of my fantasy teams. Even if it's gray, at least there is a relic this time, and he's an awesome pitcher.

Much better quality in this blaster, though not really many Yankees to add to the collection. See Ya!

My 2nd Fantasy Team!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Last night I did my draft for fantasy baseball with my school friends. It was a blast as usual and I'm really excited with this team. I had pick 7 of 8 but landed some big players. Here is my roster, and I've made a few moves already, but I'll give you the original roster first:

P.S. The pics are NOT my cards, I wish :)

HITTERS

C: Matt Wieters, BAL

1B: Prince Fielder, MIL

2B: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE

SS: Troy Tulowitzki, COL

3B: Ryan Zimmerman, WAS

2B/SS: Jose Lopez, SEA

1B/3B: Justin Morneau, MIN

OF 1: Carl Crawford, TB

OF 2: Adam Lind, TOR

OF 3: Andre Either, LAD

OF 4: Hunter Pence, HOU

OF 5: Chris Coghlan, FLA

UTILITY: Hideki Matsui, LAA

Bench 1: Mike Napoli, C, LAA

Bench 2: James Loney, 1B, LAD

Bench 3: Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM

PITCHERS

P 1: Felix Hernandez, SEA

P 2: Dan Haren, ARI

P 3: Justin Verlander, DET

P 4: Josh Johnson, FLA

P 5: Ricky Nolasco, FLA

P 6: Matt Garza, TB

P 7: J.A. Happ, PHI

P 8: Brett Anderson, OAK

Closer: Jonathan Broxton, LAD

Ok, so that was my drafted team. I think that my hitting is strong, especially with Prince and Crawford, my 1st 2 picks. I took Felix in the 3rd round, and my pitching is very solid too. I cut Brett Anderson today and picked up Yovani Gallardo, and also cut Beltran to get Dan Uggla. I have no Yanks on this team but still it seems good enough. Pujols was taken first, then A-Rod, then Mauer, then Hanley. What do you think of the team? See Ya!