2009 O-Pee-Chee and O-Pee-Chee Black #1

This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this; I bought both the main team set and the parallel team set for 2009 O-Pee-Chee, as I liked the design of the black cards far more than the white. I present them to you now.

Josh Bard was okay for the Nats last year; as a backup catcher, you could do a lot worse than a 0.4 WAR with a .288 wOBA, but I don’t really miss the guy.

Here lies the career of Daniel Cabrera. He sucked. He’s gone. The end.

I still can’t believe no major league team picked up Dukes. I mean, yeah, he has problems, but he’s not THAT bad. I wonder what’s gotten him practically banned?

Finally, Adam Dunn. I’m going to miss The Big Donkey, a lot, but I don’t think he’ll be re-signing with the team. I hope we can at least get some good picks for him disappearing from the order.

Topps Million Card Giveaway Update

Update time! I’ve managed to turn the remaining non-Senators/Expos/Nationals cards into gold. To review, here’s what was left:

1961 Johnny Antonelli

1996 Charles Nagy

And a 2006 Mark Teixeria. Today I took delivery on the following. These are in order of what they were traded for.

1961 Bennie Daniels

This means I now have the 1961,1962, and 1963 cards of Bennie Daniels. I like that, and I’m not sure why.

1997 F.P. Santangelo

1997 is one of those years I don’t have many cards for, so I was eager to get my hands on one.

2009 Daniel Cabrera

And one I somehow missed last year. Weird, that one.

So, to review, I turned 10 non-Expos/Nats/Senators cards into 13 Expos/Nats/Senators cards. Once I’ve got them all in hand, I’ll scan them in the grand follow-up to this post. And I need to start accumulating more of these cards! This trading program is addictive.

When They Were Young: Daniel Cabrera

Daniel Cabrera

2003 Bowman #191
Category: Nationals Also-Ran
Position: SP
Bio/Summary: If ever there was a poster child for “pitching tools”, it’s Daniel. The guy has such an amazing repertoire, but…well, I think you know by now that he can’t control it to save his life. In 2003, though, Cabrera looked like a promising young pitching prospect who just couldn’t quite get it together. And hey, look – it’s still the same case.

How Did I Get It?: Pack of 2003 Bowman in 2004.

Did You Know?: Daniel Cabrera started the only American League game in which the opposing team scored 30 runs. He is also no longer a National.

Rating: 7/10 – This is a cool card for the clouds in the background. That’s something you don’t see every day.

Birthday Break: 2006 Fleer

Hidden behind that 2008 Topps in the two-pack was a pack of 2006 Fleer. This is one of the repack companies’ favorite tricks: hide a not-so-great pack behind a somewhat decent one.

I seem to remember my mother-in-law-to-be (at some point, not engaged just yet) has the entire 06 Fleer set.

Ryan Freel, Aramis Ramirez, Brandon Claussen (another Nats relative), and Ryan Jorgensen

Chris Duncan RC, Brandon Inge, Daniel Cabrera (there he is again!)

Mets Team Leaders, Khalil Greene (again), and Barry Zito

Nothing exciting int his pack at all. Okay, maybe the Mets card.

Birthday Break: 2008 Topps Heritage

I didn’t realize I had bought a few packs of these back in 08 until I opened it up.

So. Did I miss something? It says eight cards, but I only got seven. What a ripoff!

Joe Borowski, Daniel Cabrera (doesn’t even count as a Nat anymore), Richie Sexson

Fausto Carmona, Ryan Church (ex-Nat looking rather queasy there), Steve Pearce, Carlos Pena

Still no Nationals; only a few people somewhat related to the team. And the rookie here isn’t even that great. Grrr…

2009 Topps Nationals Set #1

Collin Balester
2009 Nationals Team Set #2
Category: Nationals Prospect
Position: SP
Bio/Summary: I was a little disappointed Balester didn’t make the team this year out of Spring Training, and even more disappointed that he’s not pitching very well in AAA so far this year. I think (or thought) he was a pretty solid pitcher, certainly better than, say, Matt Chico. But I guess time will tell on whether he makes it back.
Rating: 7/10 – The picture is a good pose, even if the shot’s a little washed out. I’m not a big fan of the design of 09 Topps, though. Too much white space on the borders, and the corners make it a bit busy.

Ronnie Belliard

2009 Topps Nationals Set #9
Category: Nationals Lynchpin
Position: 2B
Bio/Summary: Good old Tankass. And yes, that’s Ronnie Belliard, regrettable the bottom got cut off.  I was surprised to find on the back of the card that the Nationals represent a high-water mark for his career BA (for what’s worth) – .289. I guess that might explain why I have a favorable impression of him. It’s a shame he didn’t play in as many games last year, but he’s getting more time now.
Rating: 8/10 – A very cool shot. I like the shadows on the ground.

Daniel Cabrera

2009 Topps Nationals #4
Category: TBD
Position: SP
Bio/Summary: I’m very familiar with Cabrera from his struggles with the Orioles over the years. I thought the kid was going to be something, but his control is absolutely abysmal, and from what I understand it’s difficult to teach the kid control, as he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I guess we’ll see what the Nats can do, but my faith in Randy St. Claire as a pitching coatch is not all that great.
Rating: 6/10 – I mulled this one over for awhile. It’s neat to see a new National in a “Nationals Uniform”, but man, is that one laughable Photoshop job. Look at how off the W is! I honestly suspect I could do a better job. Glad to see they’re still making awful comps like this even after the airbrush era. Wait, no I’m not.

Elijah Dukes
2009 Topps Nationals #7
Category: Nationals Lynchpin
Position: OF
Bio/Summary: The troubled kid. But man, can he rake. Dukes isn’t the first troubled player I’ve liked (I was a big Barry Bonds fan back in the mid-90s), and I wonder if it’s my ability to put aside my personal feelings about someone and look at their contribution to the team. I think Dukes has a future if he can stay out of trouble.
Rating: 7/10 – What is it about Dukes pictures? Is there a rule that they can’t show his face? I like the pose and all, but it’s tough to see the guy. Ah, well.