Brad Swanson

If Buxton develops as it seems he might, he could easily be a #3 hitter, with Sano #4. I don't think that will be in 2015 though.

Sano and Buxton just went yard like two minutes apart. I'm guessing they have some back-to-back home runs in their futures.

This internet dork thinks Joe Mauer is a Hall of Famer: Ode to Joe - Puckett's Pond - A Minnesota Twins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More What does everyone here think?

I like it. They could call Blackburn up for that night and everyone would get to go home with a bat and a ball.

Here's Kiley McDaniel's free top 30 from about a month ago: Scout.com: Updated MLB Draft Top 30 Many of these names are in his top 30, but I believe these are his ranks not where he thinks they will go. Looks like a lot of these guys have big talent.

I second this final statement. Brandon Warne was an excellent addition at 1500.

Thank you, that is very kind! I still think that forming a TD theater troupe to act it out is at least a 55 grade idea.

And of course Gardenhire was right on that one, as Span was better than Gomez in every season from 2008-2012 and now neither are on the team.

I'd say they are in the discussion for top 10. It seems all of these players are higher rated: Jurickson Profar Oscar Taveras Gerrit Cole Wil Myers These guys are all right there in the top 5/10 discussion with Buxton and Sano: Dylan Bundy (even if he has TJ) Zack Wheeler Taijuan Walker Xander Bogaerts Kevin Gausman Carlos Correa Travis d'Arnaud Billy Hamilton Tyler Skaggs Francisco Lindor Jameson Taillon Addison Russell Christian Yelich Javier Baez I think Buxton is top 5, but Sano might be lower due to defense, as others have pointed out.

I'm just not sure who the Twins should have signed as a backup CF option. Realistically, who was out there? Plus, the Twins were probably confident that either Benson or Hicks would seize the opportunity and run with it. It hasn't worked that way. I just fail to see who was really out there as a backup CF. If they sunk any sort of cost into another CF, they would be carrying four on the 40-man with two more available at AAA. For all the roster issues that may exist, this one seems particularly nitpicky.

Artucation! I am glad someone else shares my affection for Dozier's hair. I think Gleeman and the Geek talked about it this last weekend too.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1612-Winter-Weather-Blues-Gimmicks

I am 100% with you on this one. If I were in charge, I'd hand out year-long suspensions for charging the mound or intentionally hitting someone. Forget these unwritten, archaic and barbaric rules. Baseball is great enough without them. I don't buy into the "it's the way things have always been" logic either. We used to ride horses everywhere, and now we have cars. Polio used to kill people, but now we have a vaccine. In baseball, players didn't always wear helmets, but now everyone does. Things evolve and I would welcome some evolution in this particular area of the sport. If you want to get back at someone, do it on the field. Well stated!

Anyone stating that the walks aren't at least somewhat encouraging has already made their mind up about Hicks. If the book on Hicks is to pump him fastballs and let him get himself out, then why haven't pitchers done that recently? If anything the book is to throw fastballs early in the count to get ahead and then put him away with breaking balls. Hicks has done a better job laying off some of those breaking balls, and thus has drawn more walks. Drawing more walks will lead to more hitable pitches and hopefully better contact. The only way to change the book on Hicks is to let him work through these issues. I agree with Chief, let's assess on June 1. It isn't only the increased walks but decreased strikeouts. He has only 5 Ks to 9 BBs in his last six games. He has also scored six runs during that stretch. Anyone stating anything about his confidence level is purely speculating. You aren't in his head.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! It seems that just about every Twins game is snowed or rained or winded out these days. When is MLB going to wake up and start banning weather from their games?!? If nothing else, the Twins should have no home games in April, just in case it snows. Then, they should have no home games in May because of melting. June would be out due to mosquitoes. September is probably pushing it when it comes to snow again. August can be quite sultry. The obvious solution: The Twins play all 81 home games in a row, immediately following the All-Star break. At roughly 3 hours per game, they could fit four games in per day. This means that in about 20 days, the Twins could get all their home games in, without the threat of snow, melt water, dangerous pests and sultry temperatures. If MLB ever got their act together and enacted a plan like this, maybe we wouldn't have to sit through these random days without baseball! Without baseball, I decided that it might be fun to cram as many gimmicky ideas as I can into one post. I love gimmicks. Slideshows, top ten lists, poems, bullet lists, other lists. Ok, maybe I just like lists. I still think I am on to something here. Just a bunch of gimmicks all put together. All it needs is a catchy title, and everyone will be hooked. I shall call it: Gimmick Post. Fasten your safety belts, it is going to be a wild ride. Random Top 5 List Here are the top 5 teams in the AL Central as of 4/22/2013: Royals Twins Tigers Indians White Sox That's right, your Minnesota Twins are in second place. My Minnesota Twins are also in second place. Fun Stat If Aaron Hicks walks another time in April (if the Twins ever play in April again, right? lol), he will set a Twins' rookie record for most walks in April by a first year player. He is currently tied with Jim Eisenreich, who added 23 hits that month. Hicks currently has 3. KWL Chart A KWL chart is an organizational tool that many teachers use with students to help them with a new topic. They can also be helpful with topics we want to explore further. K is what you know, W is what you want to know, and L is what you have learned. Here is a KWL chart that I made, with Brian Dozier as the subject: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6FD_ZTks9sM/UXWQOBfbPPI/AAAAAAAAAmk/A1u_5KMWJcM/s400/KWLDozier.png Pro-tip - Click on the image to make it bigger. I didn't learn much, but I am happy to know that Dozier has a friend in Josh Willingham. My answer to a hypothetical question posted on the Twins' Facebook page: Question: Why don't all you whiners take your precious retactable roof AND STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE! Answer: I feel there should be a question mark after your exclamation mark, but I'm just being a punctuation perfectionist. I'm not sure what a retactable roof is either. The irony of this question is that a retractable roof would conceivably be placed in an area where the sun does shine, thus blocking it out. In a sense, you are answering your own question. If the roof was where the sun does not shine, then we wouldn't be able to enjoy the sun anyway, thus making the retractable roof quite useful and not inhibiting to a person who wants to enjoy a nice, sunny day of baseball. That being said, your use of capital letters is very effective. Random Photoshop: Joe Mauer gets a lot of attention for his sideburns. What if he didn't have them? http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kg_xN8x313U/UXWQGeB5LYI/AAAAAAAAAmc/ckMOHi5XaHE/s320/mauernoburns.jpg Yeah, so maybe the sideburns work. A Link to something stupid I wrote: I transcribed my guttural reaction to Ben Revere's catch last week. You can read it here. Random Paint Image: Here is a picture I drew of Target Field, from these past few weeks. I tweeted this out earlier, but no one follows me on Twitter, so here it is again: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1JyDdYbik1M/UXWP75YZV1I/AAAAAAAAAmU/C0En47xQl4E/s320/target+field.png A Link to something not stupid I wrote: I wrote a screenplay a few weeks ago. It is both not stupid and stupid. I think it's satire. I'm not really sure. However, there are many puns. I punned Justin Morneau, Vance Worley, Brandon Boggs, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Slama. No one is spared! No one! Here it is. Parting Haiku No Twins game today The relentless winter weather is bearing down on us like an unstoppable force, berating us with constant barbs of snow and a biting wind that will chew all the way to our very soul Soon it will be May Perhaps that wasn't a Haiku. If you prefer accurate poetry, you can sub this line where you see fit: Winter weather will not leave. I like my version better.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! It seems that just about every Twins game is snowed or rained or winded out these days. When is MLB going to wake up and start banning weather from their games?!? If nothing else, the Twins should have no home games in April, just in case it snows. Then, they should have no home games in May because of melting. June would be out due to mosquitoes. September is probably pushing it when it comes to snow again. August can be quite sultry. The obvious solution: The Twins play all 81 home games in a row, immediately following the All-Star break. At roughly 3 hours per game, they could fit four games in per day. This means that in about 20 days, the Twins could get all their home games in, without the threat of snow, melt water, dangerous pests and sultry temperatures. If MLB ever got their act together and enacted a plan like this, maybe we wouldn't have to sit through these random days without baseball! Without baseball, I decided that it might be fun to cram as many gimmicky ideas as I can into one post. I love gimmicks. Slideshows, top ten lists, poems, bullet lists, other lists. Ok, maybe I just like lists. I still think I am on to something here. Just a bunch of gimmicks all put together. All it needs is a catchy title, and everyone will be hooked. I shall call it: Gimmick Post. Fasten your safety belts, it is going to be a wild ride. Random Top 5 List Here are the top 5 teams in the AL Central as of 4/22/2013: Royals Twins Tigers Indians White Sox That's right, your Minnesota Twins are in second place. My Minnesota Twins are also in second place. Fun Stat If Aaron Hicks walks another time in April (if the Twins ever play in April again, right? lol), he will set a Twins' rookie record for most walks in April by a first year player. He is currently tied with Jim Eisenreich, who added 23 hits that month. Hicks currently has 3. KWL Chart A KWL chart is an organizational tool that many teachers use with students to help them with a new topic. They can also be helpful with topics we want to explore further. K is what you know, W is what you want to know, and L is what you have learned. Here is a KWL chart that I made, with Brian Dozier as the subject: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6FD_ZTks9sM/UXWQOBfbPPI/AAAAAAAAAmk/A1u_5KMWJcM/s400/KWLDozier.png Pro-tip - Click on the image to make it bigger. I didn't learn much, but I am happy to know that Dozier has a friend in Josh Willingham. My answer to a hypothetical question posted on the Twins' Facebook page: Question: Why don't all you whiners take your precious retactable roof AND STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE! Answer: I feel there should be a question mark after your exclamation mark, but I'm just being a punctuation perfectionist. I'm not sure what a retactable roof is either. The irony of this question is that a retractable roof would conceivably be placed in an area where the sun does shine, thus blocking it out. In a sense, you are answering your own question. If the roof was where the sun does not shine, then we wouldn't be able to enjoy the sun anyway, thus making the retractable roof quite useful and not inhibiting to a person who wants to enjoy a nice, sunny day of baseball. That being said, your use of capital letters is very effective. Random Photoshop: Joe Mauer gets a lot of attention for his sideburns. What if he didn't have them? http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kg_xN8x313U/UXWQGeB5LYI/AAAAAAAAAmc/ckMOHi5XaHE/s320/mauernoburns.jpg Yeah, so maybe the sideburns work. A Link to something stupid I wrote: I transcribed my guttural reaction to Ben Revere's catch last week. You can read it here. Random Paint Image: Here is a picture I drew of Target Field, from these past few weeks. I tweeted this out earlier, but no one follows me on Twitter, so here it is again: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1JyDdYbik1M/UXWP75YZV1I/AAAAAAAAAmU/C0En47xQl4E/s320/target+field.png A Link to something not stupid I wrote: I wrote a screenplay a few weeks ago. It is both not stupid and stupid. I think it's satire. I'm not really sure. However, there are many puns. I punned Justin Morneau, Vance Worley, Brandon Boggs, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Slama. No one is spared! No one! Here it is. Parting Haiku No Twins game today The relentless winter weather is bearing down on us like an unstoppable force, berating us with constant barbs of snow and a biting wind that will chew all the way to our very soul Soon it will be May Perhaps that wasn't a Haiku. If you prefer accurate poetry, you can sub this line where you see fit: Winter weather will not leave. I like my version better.

Thanks! Yes, Diamond was great this weekend. Burton and Perkins are fantastic, and they really solidify the back of the bullpen. It's nice to have reliable guys like them in those roles.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins have swept two consecutive series, but due to crazy sucky weather, it only adds up to a four-game winning streak. The weather is still cold, but the Twins are hot right now. They sit in second place after beating the White Sox in two straight, and are only a half game behind the powerhouse Royals. This week, they received good enough starting pitching, solid offense, and great performances out of the bullpen. Is it sustainable? Perhaps. Thus far, the Twins have had a roughly average overall offense from their individual players. Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham have been great, with wRC+ of 186 and 150 respectively. Chris Parmelee, Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe all come in around 100 wRC+. The combo of Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar have averaged right around Mauer-level offense. Only Ryan Doumit, Brian Dozier and Aaron Hicks have been below average, although Hicks has been below zero, so that drags things down. I fully expect some regression from the shortstop combo and an increase in production from Doumit, Morneau and even Hicks. This could lead to an offense that produces at roughly this level all season. The bullpen has been solid, and many of the performances are sustainable. If the starting pitching can be decent, the Twins can keep this up. If the offense dips or the pitching falls apart, then... well let's just enjoy the ride we're on right now. Vance Worley Worley looked a lot better on Saturday. I mean, that is about as obvious a statement that one can make, but still true. Parts of his game have been good all season. Worley gave up his first home run of the season on Saturday, which surprised me. He has also limited walks all season long. The main difference on Saturday was that he racked up strikeouts. With fewer balls put in play, he gave up fewer hits. I had high hopes for Worley this season, and If he pitches like he did on Saturday, those hopes will be fulfilled. Oswaldo Arcia Arcia has struggled in his few MLB games, but that doesn't worry me at all. My worry is that he won't play every game while in Minnesota. He really shouldn't even spend one game on the bench, as every game is important in his development. However, the numbers game is one that Gardenhire needs to play carefully, as his veterans need at bats too. With Parmelee slightly banged up, everything is cool right now. When he feels better, the numbers game begins. Justin Morneau Morneau hasn't been very good this season. He has only five extra-base hits in 65 plate appearances and his wRC+ is at 96. Most of his numbers are in line with last season, but his power is down. There is plenty of time for Morneau to turn things around. If things don't turn around, the Twins are looking at a player with low trade value, diminishing power, advancing age and a long history with the franchise. That combination of realities does not add up well for the Twins. We'll just have to hope Morneau starts to mash again. Joe Mauer Joe Mauer is neat. This week was just a reminder of how neat he really is. Mauer reached base 14 times in 21 plate appearances this week. If that isn't neat, I don't know what is. Other MLB Notes Roy Halladay Halladay has bounced back with a couple of nice starts. I'm not sure I see anything crazy different about his peripheral stats that would explain these nice starts. I haven't seen anything that indicates his velocity is up, so that certainly doesn't help. I hope that he is improving in some way. Halladay is one of the best pitchers of this generation, and baseball is more fun when he is pitching well. He can't fight his age, but I still kind of hope he does. Joey Votto Votto: "The #Reds pay me to be good. I'm not going to worry about a homerless drought. There are different ways to be good". — Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) April 21, 2013 I kind of love Joey Votto. Baseball can be such a macho game. Home runs are the best way to show off how big and strong and powerful you are. If Votto understands that there are other ways to "be good" and give the team value, then more power to him. I respect his approach. He has lead the NL in OBP the last three seasons and is well on his way to adding a fourth season to that streak. He makes outs at an extremely low rate and that makes him "good." Kevin Slowey Slowey had his best start of the season on Friday night. He went six innings, gave up one run on four hits, walked one and struck out four. Everything I wrote about Slowey when he signed with Miami was true and still is true today. Much of what I wrote was meandering and self-serving, but true. Sadly, Slowey has still not won a game in over two years. The Twins miss Slowey in their short series this week, which is a shame. Although, not having to hear Dick and Bert discuss Slowey is almost worth not getting to see if he could stick it to his former team. Ok, I'm tapped out. Have a nice week everyone!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins have swept two consecutive series, but due to crazy sucky weather, it only adds up to a four-game winning streak. The weather is still cold, but the Twins are hot right now. They sit in second place after beating the White Sox in two straight, and are only a half game behind the powerhouse Royals. This week, they received good enough starting pitching, solid offense, and great performances out of the bullpen. Is it sustainable? Perhaps. Thus far, the Twins have had a roughly average overall offense from their individual players. Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham have been great, with wRC+ of 186 and 150 respectively. Chris Parmelee, Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe all come in around 100 wRC+. The combo of Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar have averaged right around Mauer-level offense. Only Ryan Doumit, Brian Dozier and Aaron Hicks have been below average, although Hicks has been below zero, so that drags things down. I fully expect some regression from the shortstop combo and an increase in production from Doumit, Morneau and even Hicks. This could lead to an offense that produces at roughly this level all season. The bullpen has been solid, and many of the performances are sustainable. If the starting pitching can be decent, the Twins can keep this up. If the offense dips or the pitching falls apart, then... well let's just enjoy the ride we're on right now. Vance Worley Worley looked a lot better on Saturday. I mean, that is about as obvious a statement that one can make, but still true. Parts of his game have been good all season. Worley gave up his first home run of the season on Saturday, which surprised me. He has also limited walks all season long. The main difference on Saturday was that he racked up strikeouts. With fewer balls put in play, he gave up fewer hits. I had high hopes for Worley this season, and If he pitches like he did on Saturday, those hopes will be fulfilled. Oswaldo Arcia Arcia has struggled in his few MLB games, but that doesn't worry me at all. My worry is that he won't play every game while in Minnesota. He really shouldn't even spend one game on the bench, as every game is important in his development. However, the numbers game is one that Gardenhire needs to play carefully, as his veterans need at bats too. With Parmelee slightly banged up, everything is cool right now. When he feels better, the numbers game begins. Justin Morneau Morneau hasn't been very good this season. He has only five extra-base hits in 65 plate appearances and his wRC+ is at 96. Most of his numbers are in line with last season, but his power is down. There is plenty of time for Morneau to turn things around. If things don't turn around, the Twins are looking at a player with low trade value, diminishing power, advancing age and a long history with the franchise. That combination of realities does not add up well for the Twins. We'll just have to hope Morneau starts to mash again. Joe Mauer Joe Mauer is neat. This week was just a reminder of how neat he really is. Mauer reached base 14 times in 21 plate appearances this week. If that isn't neat, I don't know what is. Other MLB Notes Roy Halladay Halladay has bounced back with a couple of nice starts. I'm not sure I see anything crazy different about his peripheral stats that would explain these nice starts. I haven't seen anything that indicates his velocity is up, so that certainly doesn't help. I hope that he is improving in some way. Halladay is one of the best pitchers of this generation, and baseball is more fun when he is pitching well. He can't fight his age, but I still kind of hope he does. Joey Votto Votto: "The #Reds pay me to be good. I'm not going to worry about a homerless drought. There are different ways to be good". — Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) April 21, 2013 I kind of love Joey Votto. Baseball can be such a macho game. Home runs are the best way to show off how big and strong and powerful you are. If Votto understands that there are other ways to "be good" and give the team value, then more power to him. I respect his approach. He has lead the NL in OBP the last three seasons and is well on his way to adding a fourth season to that streak. He makes outs at an extremely low rate and that makes him "good." Kevin Slowey Slowey had his best start of the season on Friday night. He went six innings, gave up one run on four hits, walked one and struck out four. Everything I wrote about Slowey when he signed with Miami was true and still is true today. Much of what I wrote was meandering and self-serving, but true. Sadly, Slowey has still not won a game in over two years. The Twins miss Slowey in their short series this week, which is a shame. Although, not having to hear Dick and Bert discuss Slowey is almost worth not getting to see if he could stick it to his former team. Ok, I'm tapped out. Have a nice week everyone!

Thanks! My collection starts around 1988 and ends around 1994. Seems like 7 years might be about the length of an average collection.

I loved Mr. Baseball. Accept! Here is my top 5: 1. Field of Dreams 2. Major League 3. Moneyball 4. Little Big League 5. Eight Men Out Rookie of the Year is very watchable too. I also may be the only person on the planet who really enjoys Major League 2.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! with all the images in tact. Note: There is a 20 image limit in posts here, which is totally fair, but that is why a few of the original images were changed to links. When I close my eyes and think of baseball cards, I picture 1991 Score baseball cards. I'm not sure why, but this is the set that I picture when I dream of cards (which happens all the time). I distinctly remember that there were green, blue, white and black cards. I also remember there were some cards where dudes weren't wearing shirts, which is fine. Doesn't bother me. Come join me on a journey through these wonderful cards. I haven't looked at them in years, so I have no idea where this journey will take us, but I can tell you: IT WILL BE EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Or not, but I'll try. Let's open my utility room up and grab these cards. I have a lot of them because I think they were under a dollar per pack. That meant I could grab a whole mess of packs with my tiny hands. My mom was cool with them because she could get me a lot for a little. In a way, Score was the discount brand. I didn't care. I was nine and I just liked baseball cards. So, here are the many stacks of these treasures that I have. Do you see Pedro Munoz? I know I do. Here is what the individual cards look like: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fak9fzcjIws/UXMMz7OLfvI/AAAAAAAAAhc/GJnpeL_Y1jo/s320/IMG_0626.JPG Here is the back of a card: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZybzizV8TWg/UXMPteFZGzI/AAAAAAAAAic/BIoM02nd3Jg/s320/IMG_0625.JPG Ken Griffey, Jr, always smilin'! So, the blue and green cards are just players. The black cards are players but also some other types of cards that I will share later. The white cards are "rookie prospects," 1st round draft picks, and other subsets that I will also show you later. The term "rookie prospect" doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but as you can see, I have a lot of them: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XPQACh2G3Zk/UXMN0xNqsVI/AAAAAAAAAhs/5dQPYo5IgmQ/s320/IMG_0627.JPG I think we all know that Munoz goes on top. That's just how it goes. However, I don't think Score really knew what a "rookie prospect" was. Most of these players are just rookies, which is fine. Prospect has a different connotation and I would appreciate it if my baseball cards didn't tacitly endorse inferior players as prospects. It's just bad business. I might need to burn these or something. Anyway, here are the best "rookie prospects" that I could find: Mark Whiten, David Segui, Chris Hoiles, Jose Offerman and Mike Bordick. Here are your best "rookie prospects." So... Now, there were three Twins "rookie prospects" and here they are: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vn_TdoEYeZc/UXMPfXrcJQI/AAAAAAAAAiU/YA5f2VF2eCc/s320/IMG_0631.JPG Paul Abbott, Scott Leius and the aforementioned Munoz. Nice. There is a legitimately great 1st round pick card though: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBiblRY_0hs/UXMRnxRiLpI/AAAAAAAAAik/MwkKn7bP9dk/s320/IMG_0632.JPG Throughout his career, Mike Mussina improved in all areas of his game, including hat-wearing. I do believe his fingers were cold in this picture. This first round also produced an old Twins' favorite: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r4X0uCMba34/UXMSAlO9HBI/AAAAAAAAAis/ru2kWjpCoa4/s320/IMG_0633.JPG My favorite part of this card is Score's insistence that Rondell White's entire bat is shown. Rondell looked old when he was young and then looked really old when he was kind of old. I wonder what he will look like when he is actually old. Here are a few of the other white bordered subsets: The All-star cards depict each player as some sort of Coney Island caricature. These two made me laugh the most. Rickey Henderson just looks super weird and Sandy Alomar is smiling a lot considering the guy sliding into home is likely safe. Highlights and no-hitters are pretty self explanatory. No one will ever forget Melido Perez's no-hitter. Rifleman cards were for players with big arms, Master Blasters were big hitters and K-man were strikeout pitchers. Fun fact: Both Bonny Bonilla and Rob Dibble had notable clubhouse fights. So that's fun. Master Blaster was also a Nintendo game. Here are a few of the black bordered subsets: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M24T_BUHKjM/UXMWWUeXOcI/AAAAAAAAAkE/E-B-mo1tySs/s200/IMG_0644.JPGhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1s_VsoCk9k/UXMWGpyDuHI/AAAAAAAAAkA/4fl0N9DySNs/s200/IMG_0642.JPGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2qtoaX9XC4/UXMWGAb9iUI/AAAAAAAAAj4/v_Bz0F1OOLg/s200/IMG_0643.JPG The Reds won the 1990 World Series, so they get a special card to demonstrate proper pool/diving saftey. Lenny Dykstra looks like a future Car Wash owner in that picture. "The Franchise" was used to show franchise players, not necessarily players who would be unable to successfully run a franchise in the future. Ryne Sandberg was Man of the Year for his contributions on and off the field. I'm surprised I have this card as I thought I traded all my Sandberg cards to my friend for this Frank Thomas card that he had. Hmm. I promised you shirtless dudes: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Fp8e3-xwAg/UXMXHqrx1ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/RsA0tA1_i6U/s320/IMG_0640.JPG The Dream Team cards were pretty much all like this. Just great players showing off their pecks/lats/biceps. Speaking of old roidy, here is Jose Canseco and his brother Ozzie: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hmFpmiZt6Y/UXMXl_jGq0I/AAAAAAAAAkc/Xdk-sH5M9bE/s320/IMG_0629.JPG And here are Ken Griffeys: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpkJQP2Yh9w/UXMXmjFSDvI/AAAAAAAAAkk/iKUHRzIkvlI/s320/IMG_0647.JPG Which family do you like better? Please respond in the comments below. Here are a few fun cards, and a nice bullet list to accompany: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmarYLycow8/UXMYKOdpUgI/AAAAAAAAAk0/-RNTVGbYhz0/s200/IMG_0661.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4zdqwHf9a7c/UXMYQPaSTFI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Fc-eQ8Br2ac/s200/IMG_0670.JPGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qHQ-Y5OADA/UXMYGLwPdbI/AAAAAAAAAks/GEu8TPeuFGI/s200/IMG_0654.JPG http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPf12gH7C30/UXMYLjs4bpI/AAAAAAAAAk4/z0xf09PdrKk/s200/IMG_0663.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4M4-werFxJo/UXMYQD1WOUI/AAAAAAAAAlI/IYK0zzdc-LY/s200/IMG_0664.JPG Kirby Puckett - always the best card in the set. Shane Mack looks really cramped in this card. Oddibe McDowell - always limboing Here's Dave Henderson punching Greg Gagne in the nards. Mitch Williams - always giving up a home run/making me want to turn off MLB Network Packs of these cards also came with these weird mini-cards that had World Series trivia. I think the baseball card industry learned of the technology to have two images on one card and had no idea how to use it, so they would just make stuff like this. Whew. Most of these cards are from 1950 and earlier, and if there is one thing young collectors want it has to be history. When I looked at 1989 Donruss (click here if you missed it, and you probably missed it, like 30 people viewed it), I found lots of wild hairstyles and glasses and accessories. Just two years later, I found none of that. What a difference two years make! All the Score cards are action shots, so I did find a lot of great pitch and hit faces. I made a collage of each, for your enjoyment: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yxQrzPAKibI/UXMZ1XBtkPI/AAAAAAAAAlc/a2-Njkn8aME/s400/batters.gif http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyCEdQgxgKg/UXMZ4_YYOsI/AAAAAAAAAls/ICR8uFwlHBE/s400/Untitled.gif To fully appreciate these, click on the image and make it bigger. My personal favorite is Mark Portugal, although there is a subtle excellence in Gary Mielke's face. Look how calm Greg Maddux's pitch face is: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-psUSHFYHGK4/UXMdAx2wNII/AAAAAAAAAl8/idtPGlI1dZQ/s320/IMG_0676.JPG No wonder he was so good. As always, we end with a flower, from you to me, for reading through this nonsense. This one is made of "Hard-Hittin" Mark Whiten rookie cards. Te amo. Brad Swanson is an amateur photographer. The brown in the background around the cards is his couch. He also wrote about Ben Revere's catch, if you want to read about it.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! with all the images in tact. Note: There is a 20 image limit in posts here, which is totally fair, but that is why a few of the original images were changed to links. When I close my eyes and think of baseball cards, I picture 1991 Score baseball cards. I'm not sure why, but this is the set that I picture when I dream of cards (which happens all the time). I distinctly remember that there were green, blue, white and black cards. I also remember there were some cards where dudes weren't wearing shirts, which is fine. Doesn't bother me. Come join me on a journey through these wonderful cards. I haven't looked at them in years, so I have no idea where this journey will take us, but I can tell you: IT WILL BE EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Or not, but I'll try. Let's open my utility room up and grab these cards. I have a lot of them because I think they were under a dollar per pack. That meant I could grab a whole mess of packs with my tiny hands. My mom was cool with them because she could get me a lot for a little. In a way, Score was the discount brand. I didn't care. I was nine and I just liked baseball cards. So, here are the many stacks of these treasures that I have. Do you see Pedro Munoz? I know I do. Here is what the individual cards look like: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fak9fzcjIws/UXMMz7OLfvI/AAAAAAAAAhc/GJnpeL_Y1jo/s320/IMG_0626.JPG Here is the back of a card: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZybzizV8TWg/UXMPteFZGzI/AAAAAAAAAic/BIoM02nd3Jg/s320/IMG_0625.JPG Ken Griffey, Jr, always smilin'! So, the blue and green cards are just players. The black cards are players but also some other types of cards that I will share later. The white cards are "rookie prospects," 1st round draft picks, and other subsets that I will also show you later. The term "rookie prospect" doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but as you can see, I have a lot of them: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XPQACh2G3Zk/UXMN0xNqsVI/AAAAAAAAAhs/5dQPYo5IgmQ/s320/IMG_0627.JPG I think we all know that Munoz goes on top. That's just how it goes. However, I don't think Score really knew what a "rookie prospect" was. Most of these players are just rookies, which is fine. Prospect has a different connotation and I would appreciate it if my baseball cards didn't tacitly endorse inferior players as prospects. It's just bad business. I might need to burn these or something. Anyway, here are the best "rookie prospects" that I could find: Mark Whiten, David Segui, Chris Hoiles, Jose Offerman and Mike Bordick. Here are your best "rookie prospects." So... Now, there were three Twins "rookie prospects" and here they are: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vn_TdoEYeZc/UXMPfXrcJQI/AAAAAAAAAiU/YA5f2VF2eCc/s320/IMG_0631.JPG Paul Abbott, Scott Leius and the aforementioned Munoz. Nice. There is a legitimately great 1st round pick card though: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBiblRY_0hs/UXMRnxRiLpI/AAAAAAAAAik/MwkKn7bP9dk/s320/IMG_0632.JPG Throughout his career, Mike Mussina improved in all areas of his game, including hat-wearing. I do believe his fingers were cold in this picture. This first round also produced an old Twins' favorite: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r4X0uCMba34/UXMSAlO9HBI/AAAAAAAAAis/ru2kWjpCoa4/s320/IMG_0633.JPG My favorite part of this card is Score's insistence that Rondell White's entire bat is shown. Rondell looked old when he was young and then looked really old when he was kind of old. I wonder what he will look like when he is actually old. Here are a few of the other white bordered subsets: The All-star cards depict each player as some sort of Coney Island caricature. These two made me laugh the most. Rickey Henderson just looks super weird and Sandy Alomar is smiling a lot considering the guy sliding into home is likely safe. Highlights and no-hitters are pretty self explanatory. No one will ever forget Melido Perez's no-hitter. Rifleman cards were for players with big arms, Master Blasters were big hitters and K-man were strikeout pitchers. Fun fact: Both Bonny Bonilla and Rob Dibble had notable clubhouse fights. So that's fun. Master Blaster was also a Nintendo game. Here are a few of the black bordered subsets: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M24T_BUHKjM/UXMWWUeXOcI/AAAAAAAAAkE/E-B-mo1tySs/s200/IMG_0644.JPGhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1s_VsoCk9k/UXMWGpyDuHI/AAAAAAAAAkA/4fl0N9DySNs/s200/IMG_0642.JPGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2qtoaX9XC4/UXMWGAb9iUI/AAAAAAAAAj4/v_Bz0F1OOLg/s200/IMG_0643.JPG The Reds won the 1990 World Series, so they get a special card to demonstrate proper pool/diving saftey. Lenny Dykstra looks like a future Car Wash owner in that picture. "The Franchise" was used to show franchise players, not necessarily players who would be unable to successfully run a franchise in the future. Ryne Sandberg was Man of the Year for his contributions on and off the field. I'm surprised I have this card as I thought I traded all my Sandberg cards to my friend for this Frank Thomas card that he had. Hmm. I promised you shirtless dudes: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Fp8e3-xwAg/UXMXHqrx1ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/RsA0tA1_i6U/s320/IMG_0640.JPG The Dream Team cards were pretty much all like this. Just great players showing off their pecks/lats/biceps. Speaking of old roidy, here is Jose Canseco and his brother Ozzie: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hmFpmiZt6Y/UXMXl_jGq0I/AAAAAAAAAkc/Xdk-sH5M9bE/s320/IMG_0629.JPG And here are Ken Griffeys: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpkJQP2Yh9w/UXMXmjFSDvI/AAAAAAAAAkk/iKUHRzIkvlI/s320/IMG_0647.JPG Which family do you like better? Please respond in the comments below. Here are a few fun cards, and a nice bullet list to accompany: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmarYLycow8/UXMYKOdpUgI/AAAAAAAAAk0/-RNTVGbYhz0/s200/IMG_0661.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4zdqwHf9a7c/UXMYQPaSTFI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Fc-eQ8Br2ac/s200/IMG_0670.JPGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qHQ-Y5OADA/UXMYGLwPdbI/AAAAAAAAAks/GEu8TPeuFGI/s200/IMG_0654.JPG http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPf12gH7C30/UXMYLjs4bpI/AAAAAAAAAk4/z0xf09PdrKk/s200/IMG_0663.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4M4-werFxJo/UXMYQD1WOUI/AAAAAAAAAlI/IYK0zzdc-LY/s200/IMG_0664.JPG Kirby Puckett - always the best card in the set. Shane Mack looks really cramped in this card. Oddibe McDowell - always limboing Here's Dave Henderson punching Greg Gagne in the nards. Mitch Williams - always giving up a home run/making me want to turn off MLB Network Packs of these cards also came with these weird mini-cards that had World Series trivia. I think the baseball card industry learned of the technology to have two images on one card and had no idea how to use it, so they would just make stuff like this. Whew. Most of these cards are from 1950 and earlier, and if there is one thing young collectors want it has to be history. When I looked at 1989 Donruss (click here if you missed it, and you probably missed it, like 30 people viewed it), I found lots of wild hairstyles and glasses and accessories. Just two years later, I found none of that. What a difference two years make! All the Score cards are action shots, so I did find a lot of great pitch and hit faces. I made a collage of each, for your enjoyment: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yxQrzPAKibI/UXMZ1XBtkPI/AAAAAAAAAlc/a2-Njkn8aME/s400/batters.gif http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyCEdQgxgKg/UXMZ4_YYOsI/AAAAAAAAAls/ICR8uFwlHBE/s400/Untitled.gif To fully appreciate these, click on the image and make it bigger. My personal favorite is Mark Portugal, although there is a subtle excellence in Gary Mielke's face. Look how calm Greg Maddux's pitch face is: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-psUSHFYHGK4/UXMdAx2wNII/AAAAAAAAAl8/idtPGlI1dZQ/s320/IMG_0676.JPG No wonder he was so good. As always, we end with a flower, from you to me, for reading through this nonsense. This one is made of "Hard-Hittin" Mark Whiten rookie cards. Te amo. Brad Swanson is an amateur photographer. The brown in the background around the cards is his couch. He also wrote about Ben Revere's catch, if you want to read about it.

That's fair and I agree, although I think a .350 OBP or a but higher could be possible as well.