Mark Reynolds no longer sucks!

Last year I was shocked to discover that a guy who didn’t even hit 30 home runs, struck out over 200 times. His name is Mark Reynolds and although he is on pace for yet another 200-K year, his powers numbers have dramatically improved.

It’s not even the All-Star break and Reynolds is 7 home runs away from eclipsing his career-high, 28, which he hit in 2008.  His season batting average is up 30 points from last season (.270), and he’s even got 13 stolen bases, along with close to 60 RBI.

Mark Reynolds plays on the Arizona Diamondbacks and is set to make league minimum for the next two seasons. With the Diamondbacks 18 games out of their division and over 10 behind in the Wild Card, Reynolds could become the next big free agent being hyped on ESPN.

Consider this: Reynolds currently has more HRs and RBIs than Chipper Jones, David Wright, and Ryan Zimmerman. So if any team can overlook his huge strikeout ratio (already has over 100), you could be looking at this season’s big acquisition.

I just hope the suddenly power-less Marlins can make a run for him.

This is called “beating a dead horse”

I make it a habit to never watch ESPN. I do however occasionally find myself looking through their website for stories and news items. One recent article really made me think about Jose’s claim of being “blackballed” from baseball.

Joe Posnanskyi wrote in detail about how many players begin a downward spiral at the age of 33. It’s happening to David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez this season but it’s even hit legends like Mickey Mantle and Hack Wilson.

By 1998, a 33-year old Canseco had failed to reach his usual 30HR/100 RBI plateau three seasons in a row. There were whispers around the league that the former unanimous M.V.P was washed up so naturally it was difficult finding someone willing to give Jose a chance. Luckily, Canada came through.

Surprisingly, Jose had a career year in 1998, bashing a career-high 46 home runs, driving in over 100, scoring close to 100 times, and stealing 29 bags. All these numbers came while earning money through an incentive-laden contract. Not so surprising, Canada dumped Jose by year’s end.

By next season, Jose would enter the All-Star break with more home runs than anyone in baseball. Two years later, he was out of baseball, 38 home runs away from an almost guaranteed ticket into the Hall of Fame. His skills may have diminished but at that point in his career, Jose could hit 25HR/80RBI with his eyes closed.

He even offered to play for free or donate his paycheck.

Metal Universe could save The Hobby

While many refuse to acknowledge the fact, the truth of the matter is that collecting is at an all-time low. With prices going through the roof, designs getting worse and worse, and a recession in the mix, it’s no wonder why many have been walking away from collecting in droves.

The truth is, despite all the brands being released monthly, not many products are taking risks. Even two of the most popular brands of the past few years, Allen & Ginter & Masterpieces, have become somewhat stale. The year that game-used relics were introduced and certified autographs became common, The Hobby went into cruise control.

Don’t get me wrong, a well-done relic/autograph will trump any card most of the times but as we collectors know all too well, those special cards come once in a lifetime, if they do at all. Most of the times we pay $80-$100 or more for a bunch of lazy designed base cards, a couple of plain jersey swatches, and a sticker autograph from a 25-year old prospect.

I challenge all collectors to bust an old school box of any mid to late-90’s Metal Universe brand to see what collecting truly could be. Every single base card is designed specifically for the player, meaning even the “commons” have value to those who love collecting.

The inserts & parallels are beautiful and despite being considered junk wax for lack of relics and/or autographs, still bring in some serious cash on the secondary market. Recently, the Michael Jordan parallel you see below which is #’d to 50 copies brought in close to $1,700 dollars without the help of an autograph or jersey.

Can you spot the difference?

Take a look at these 2003 Topps 205 Nick Markakis cards.

Nice pose, great design but something is missing from one of the cards.

Is this a case of Photoshop gone terribly wrong or was it done intentionally?

(thumbnail leads to full-size scan)

Who was the MiLB king of 1991?

In 1991, Bowman had Minor League baseball on lock down much like they do today. While Topps may never have a true competitor, in 1991, a cheap little Minor League brand gave them a run for their money.

ProCards didn’t have the greatest design ever seen but what they lacked in aesthetics they sure made up for with the checklist. Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Mussina, Jim Thome, and more.

While Bowman came out victorious as usual, one can only imagine what might have been. What if ProCards caught on with collectors? We could be seeing 2009 ProCards Chrome this year. Well, maybe not but you never know.

As for their design woes, they took care of them in 1992.

Should baseball give up on Khalil Greene?

For the second time this season, Khalil Greene is heading back to the disabled list. Each time his year was sidelined by Soxial Anxiety Disorder, an illness close to 14% of the world suffers at one point in their lifetime according to Wikipedia.

Greene, 29, who played his entire career with the Padres, joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009. He currently has five home runs and is batting just .200 on the season, a far cry from his 2007 campaign in which he hit 27 home runs and drove in nearly 100 runners.

Khalil is due to receive $6.5 million for the 2009 season. Clearly the Cardinals are not getting their money’s worth and with them being just one game out of first in the Central Division, it might be time to cut their losses and find a replacement.

Am I wrong to feel this way? I’m not saying St. Louis or baseball in general abandon Greene but something should be done. I know if he were on my team I’d want the Marlins to send him down for the rest of the year in order to bring up someone with their head screwed on straight.

What would you do if Khalil was on your team?