2014 Quarry Unlimited - #11 Atlanta Braves Part 1

Leading off the middle third of my countdown is the Atlanta Braves.  The Braves are an odd franchise.  They probably have the largest "local" area of the country, basically the entire southeastern US minus Florida is Braves country, but they don't really seem to be as popular or as well-known as in the 1990s.  A lot of that has to do with winning, but losing franchises (ahem Rockies) still keep some fans.  When I started this blog there were more Braves related card blogs than any other team, but they have been eclipsed long ago by the Dodgers and have since been passed by the Pirates as well. 

They are also building a new stadium that will be opened in a couple of years despite the fact that their current stadium is only around 20 years old.  This really bothers me because it could set a very dangerous precedent that could lead to a taxpayer revolt and to be honest I wouldn't blame them one bit.  If taxpayers subsidize a stadium even partially, I would think that you should get at least 40 years out of it, perhaps even more.  Not only that, but baseball is built on its history and to constantly change stadiums is just losing that history.  Fathers won't even be able to tell their sons about their childhood in the same place because when they were a kid the team played on a different field.  I didn't even realize this bothered me this much until I started writing about it.  I am guessing the Braves might end up a bit lower on next year's countdown.

Anyway, the Braves were a little snake bitten this year.  They lost young starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy for the year in Spring Training and had several other less significant injuries early on in the year.  They did manage to overcome those injuries early in the year as bargain veterans Aaron Harang and Ervin Santana led their rotation quite well in April and May.  However, age and even more injuries eventually caught up to the Braves and they finished the year under .500.  It seems as though the Braves are working toward a massive rebuild to open their new stadium.  Will it work?  I guess we will just have to wait and see.

BRAVES TEAM TRIVIA

Total # of Braves in 2014 - 39 (fewest in the league)

# of new Braves in 2014 - 14

Best score in 2014 - August 19 at Pirates 11-3

Worst score in 2014 - August 1 at Padres 10-1; September 25 vs. Pirates 10-1

Border color that worked best with this team - Blue

Border color that worked least with this team - Orange

Position on last year's list - #11 = SAME

Let's take a look at the first half of the 2014 Atlanta Braves with the manager's card leading the way.

PURPLE

GREEN

BLUE

I'll be back tomorrow with Part 2.  As usual, your thoughts are always welcome and encouraged.

Thanx for reading.

2014 Quarry Unlimited - #10 Cincinnati Reds Part 2

YELLOW

RED

ORANGE

ROOKIE PROSPECTS

My Top 5 Reds Cards
1. Jay Bruce (red)
2. Brayan Pena (blue)
3. Jason Bourgeois (yellow)
4. Todd Frazier (purple)
5. Mat Latos (yellow)


Until I made these two posts for the Reds, I didn't think they would have enough cards for a top 5.  While I was making them nothing really stood out, but upon further review there were actually several good cards.  The Jay Bruce is an example of an unexpected shot, a slugger on the basepaths.  A pitcher at bat and a good defender at the plate would be two more examples of this phenomenon.  Bruce is really a good baserunner, but I tend to think of his slugging before anything else.  I think Nick said it best regarding the Brayan Pena.  He really does epitomize the agony of defeat.  The Bourgeois is a fantastic mish-mash of color with the multiple ads.  I know some people don't like seeing ads on cards, but I am a fan because they usually throw a nice splash of color among the usual green and brown.  The Frazier is just a good defensive play caught on film at a nice angle.  They don't all have to be odd to be great.  Finally I chose the Latos in spite of the jersey that shamelessly panders to the Latino crowd.  That photo is from the game that I attended in person.  It's okay for some favorites to be more personal than popular occasionally.


Coming tomorrow - #11 Atlanta Braves

Thanx for reading.

2014 Quarry Unlimited - #10 Cincinnati Reds Part 1

Finishing out the top 10 is a team that is on a slide, both in the NL Central and on my countdown.  I am in the Cincinnati Reds "local area" despite being over an hour and a half away from the stadium.  However, I do get nearly every Reds game on television so I know more about them than any team other than my Rockies.  Even though MLB says I should be a fan of the Reds since I live so close to them I have never fully embraced them, but I have also never vilified them.  My grandfather is a huge Reds fan, so anytime I want to dislike them I just think about him and it usually dissipates quickly.  With the Brewers and Pirates jumping so high on my list, the times when I want to dislike the Reds seem to be coming more and more over the past season.  I can still tolerate them, which is why they are in spot #10.

I do have one lasting memory of the Reds from 2014 and that is my very first MLB game seen in person.  As much of a baseball fan as I have been for my entire life, I had never been to a major league stadium until this past September.  The main reason is because most of my friends are not baseball fans at all so an outing just wasn't in the cards.  Kentucky is a basketball-first (and second and third) state after all.

The Reds with Mat Latos played the Mets with Zack Wheeler on a Sunday afternoon.  The Reds lost 4-3 due to home runs by Curtis Granderson and Anthony Recker.  It was a very fun experience for me just because I had no ties to either team, although I was traveling with several Reds fans that were less than thrilled on the trip home.  For me though, the experience of the big league action in person was far more memorable than a simple game score. 

REDS TEAM TRIVIA

Total # of Reds in 2014 - 45

# of new Reds in 2014 - 16

Best score in 2014 - June 21 vs. Blue Jays 11-1

Worst score in 2014 - May 17 at Phillies 12-1

Border color that worked best with this team - Red

Border color that worked least with this team - Orange

Position on last year's list - #7 = DOWN 3

Let's take a look at the first half of the 2014 Cincinnati Reds with the manager's card leading the way.

PURPLE

GREEN

BLUE

I'll be back tomorrow with Part 2.  As usual, your thoughts are always welcome and encouraged.

Thanx for reading.