2012 Quarry Unlimited - #12 Cleveland Indians Part 1

One team that has probably always been on in my middle "apathy third" is the #12 Cleveland Indians.  I have never really liked or disliked them which is strange because they have some of the most ardent fans around.  The current Indians are, aside from the obvious Ubaldo link and a couple of vets, rather unknown to me.  The Indians are also the first of two teams (not counting injury) that had multiple managers in 2012.  I still don't understand the logic of Cleveland's firing of Manny Acta with only 6 games left in the season, but now Sandy Alomar can put major league manager on his resume.  He was replaced after the season by Terry Francona, but I hope Alomar gets another chance somewhere and isn't stuck with a 6 game career.  At least he gets a card here.  Let's take a look at the two managers and the rest of the first half of the 2012 Cleveland Indians.

If I were an Indians fan...

Title of the blog - Chief Wahoo's Smile

Favorite Player (current) - Shin-Soo Choo

Favorite Player (all time) - Mel Hall

Least Favorite Player (current) - Ubaldo Jimenez

Least Favorite Player (all time) - Albert Belle


2012 Cleveland Indians Total Cards = 50

The Indians are not only the first team with two manager cards; they are also the first team with two players that used to have a different name while in the major leagues.  Everyone has heard of the famous Roberto Hernandez aka Fausto Carmona incident, but the second is Jairo Asencio who pitched in three games in the 2009 season as Luis Valdez.  I think these guys and others like them should be banned from MLB as frauds.  Do you have a different take on them or other such players?

Thanx for reading.

2012 Quarry Unlimited - #11 Atlanta Braves Part 2

I have mentioned elsewhere that I think the Braves and Nationals will have the greatest rivalry in the 2010s decade over the NL East crown every year.  As of right now, I don't really know which team to give the edge to.  The Nats have the two big names in Strasburg and Harper, but the Braves have volume.  They  have several young stars across the diamond that could be better than both Nats.  I think this will be the fun division to watch the rest of this decade.  Let's take a look at the rest of the 2012 Braves.

My Top 5 Braves Cards
1. Michael Bourn
2. Lyle Overbay
3. Andrelton Simmons
4. Ben Sheets
5. Chipper Jones

The Bourn card has just an excellent photograph.  The timing is perfect and Bourn's angular slide looks great.  On the surface, the Overbay is a simple first base shot and it really is, but how often do you see the pitcher's mound in a first base shot.  Couple that with the hieroglyphic-looking sign in the background and it creates a memorable card.  How can you not love a double play card?  The Simmons is not the best ever, but it is another example of fine photography.  Finally the Ben Sheets and Chipper Jones cards are two  more examples of nice long careers coming to an end.  I ranked the Sheets higher simply because I like the picture just a little bit better.

Tomorrow, I am going back to the AL with team #12 that contains one of my current least favorite players in the league.

Thanx for reading.

2012 Quarry Unlimited - #11 Atlanta Braves Part 1

Like many people in their twenties or older, I watched a lot of Braves games on TBS when I was growing up due to the fact that Ted Turner owned the team.  This led to a lot of people, especially in the south, becoming Braves fans.  I wasn't one of them.  Even when my favorite player of all time, Fred McGriff, was on the team I didn't like the Braves.  I wish for stuff like for McGriff to hit 4 solo home runs and the Braves lose 5-4.  It's not that I specifically hated the Braves, but much like the Cubs on WGN, I hated them being shoved down my throat.  Now that TBS has started showing more teams (well mostly the Yankees it seems), the Braves have been rising up my list.  If they would send Rockies killer Freddie Freeman to the AL (or Japan), they might hit the top ten.  But for now, they sit comfortably at #11.  Let's take a look at the first half of the Atlanta Braves.

If I were a Braves fan...

Title of the blog - The Chop Shop

Favorite Player (current) - Paul Janish

Favorite Player (all time) - Jeff Blauser (again since McGriff was the Rays pick)

Least Favorite Player (current) - Freddie Freeman

Least Favorite Player (all time) - John Rocker


2012 Atlanta Braves Total Cards = 42

Much like the Seattle Mariners at #8, I was on the fence on whether to change the color of the team name with the Braves.  I went back and forth, but in the end I decided to keep light blue over red mainly due to the abundance of teams with red coloring already.  I decided to make a single red Brave just for you to compare side by side.  Did I make the right choice by sticking with light blue or would the red have looked better?

Thanx for reading.