Showing posts with label David DeJesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David DeJesus. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Some 2013 Allen & Ginter Cubs Hits

I don't know what keeps me from jumping on the A&G bandwagon but I can't bring my self to get on board. By all accounts, I should like the product but as a whole, I just don't care. Maybe because I wasn't in the hobby when it came out and therefore not an early adopter. Maybe it's the price point. More than likely, its the checklist. Too much randomness.

But that won't keep me from picking up some Cubbies every now and then if the price is right. I still haven't picked up a base card team set yet but I added on some reasonably priced relics and autographs to other recent purchases.

 

You're not seeing double. As I mentioned last week, Brett Jackson cards aren't exactly lighting eBay on fire. One I added to an order I was already making with combined shipping. And as luck would have it, the other showed up in a different lot I picked up later in the week.

I was shipping out some Kerry Wood cards out to Tom of Waiting 'Til Next Year so I threw the extra one in his envelope. Problem solved!


These next two were purchased together. I didn't notice in the listing but when I got them it stuck out like a sore thumb. Hopefully, you can tell from the scan. Look at the two swatches. Are they from different parts of the jersey or different kinds of jerseys? Did the Cubs switch types of jerseys from one year to the next? Is one a gamer and the other BP or something? Darwin Barney has only been a Cub, but maybe the David DeJesus is from his Royals days? I have questions!

Funny what you notice sometimes.

I still have a few to pick up, but this was a good start.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Outfield

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the Cubs had the same record through the same amount of games as last year. Since we all know how poorly last year ended, I was not impressed. The run differential was a bit better which is a good sign.
 
So how are they faring 20-ish games later? Through 51 games, the Cubs are 21-30 and in 4th place in the NL Central. That doesn't sound great, but compared to last year, it's a pretty big improvement.
 
At the 51 game mark last year, they were 18-33, only slightly better but they didn't get their 20th win until their 60th game. The run differential is also markedly better, with the Cubs scoring 206 runs and allowing 205. It doesn't seem possible, but it says so on the internet, so it must be true. Despite a six game losing streak last week, a pair of White Sox drubbings helped move the Cubs back into the positive.
 
With that said, today I have a quintet of cards featuring players from the Cubs outfield this season. There have been a few others in the rotation as well but they'll come later.
 
 
 
Alfonso Soriano has already matched his stolen base total from last year with 6, which leads the team. Even with the knowledge he is a former 40/40 guy, who would have thought?

 
David DeJesus helping out with his glove and the bat. No errors this season, tied for the team lead in runs and second among starters in batting average.
 
You;ve seen the next three already because I showed off signed versions earlier this month but here they are again.

 
Nate Schierholtz is the team leader among starters in batting average and second in doubles.
 
 
Despite limited appearances off the bench, Julio Borbon is tied for second in stolen bases on the team. In a 7-0 victory over the White Sox the other day, Borbon hit his first home run since 2010.

 
Another right fielder in the platoon, Hairston hasn't had quite as much success as the others. He was a nice enough guy when I got his autograph at the Cubs/Nats game but he still has some big shoes to fill with being Tony Campana's replacement.

 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Another contender?

In addition to some feedback I got about the "pinched border" design, my son told me it looked more like an insert than a set card. And with the red, white and blue border, it should be my opening day lineup insert set. Fair enough.

So I'm dusting off an older design from maybe two seasons ago when I first started making customs and offering it up for critique and/or possibly making it the 2013 team set template. I'm not sure of the original inspiration (there is one, but I can't put my finger on it). Maybe a minor league set I saw somewhere? I usually take something I like as a starting point and tweak it to meet my needs, although I try to keep from copying outright. Hopefully my new tweaks didn't reverse my original tweaks and make this flat out plagiarism!

I went back to a horizontal layout but with this particular design, the photo I use is almost square. This allows me to use just about any photo, which I really like. Like last year's set, the font for the name and jersey number is the same as the one they actually use on the backs of the jersey.


I took that a step further and made the number really look like on the back of the jersey, a red number with white border. Yes, I know that's the color combo on the away jersey, but with the blue backround on the card, that's what looked better.


Here are a couple of other players to see how it works with different photos. Sometimes I build a template around one particular photo only to realize it doesn't translate well. Like the "pinched border" one last week. These particular photos are older (you can make out the Santo patch on Garza's sleeve) so they won't be the final photos used. They're also a bit darker than I'd like, especially if I hope to get them autographed.


And then I took it one step even further and made the name match the number. That seemed like a bit too much red so I adjusted the team name bar to the Cubs fourth color, grey.


I'd love to hear anybody's opinion, good and bad, about anything on the card (except the team, haha). Or even if you prefer the other card to this one.

Another thing to think about. I'd like to fit the position in there as well but can't find a good place. It was too crowded down in the corner by the number. And it can't go above the team name bar because of longer names. Think Samardzija and Schierholtz and Villanueva. When it comes down to it, I prefer number over position because the Cubs have so many utility players.

Thanks!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Trade with Golden Rainbow Cards

A couple of days ago I plugged two new blogs, one of them being Golden Rainbow Cards. Bryan had contacted me about my 2013 Topps Want List and offered some help which I gladly accepted. The package arrived on Monday and got me 14 cards closer to completion along with a Cubbie parallel!

 To go along with the base card and the black border parallel, this is my third version of this Dejesus card.
Red Target David DeJesus parallel
 I won't show all 14 cards Bryan sent but will do a Christmas Carol version of the few. I present to you from 2013 Topps, Cubs of Past, Present and Future!

2013 Topps Sean Marshall #251
 From the past, we have reliever Sean Marshal. He pitched for the Cubs from 2006-2011 and was sent to the Reds in exchange for Travis Wood and Dave Sappelt last offseason.

2013 Topps Anthony Rizzo #44
From the present, we have Topps All-Star Rookie, Anthony Rizzo. I had this card already for my Cubs collection but needed one for my complete Topps set. Rizzo should be the Cubs first baseman for years to come!
2013 Topps Edwin Jackson #233
And from the future, Edwin Jackson. He signed as a free agent this offseason. Some might consider Jackson a present Cub but in this fan's opinion, he still has to make an official appearance in the regular season. I've seen him play for my hometown Washington Nationals so I have high expectations for this former All-Star.

Thanks again to Bryan over at Golden Rainbow Cards for the great trade! Check out his blog if you haven't already!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

2013 Topps David DeJesus

As I've done previously, I'm taking a closer look at the 2013 Topps Cubs team set card by card.

As the title says, today's topic is David DeJesus, card #209.

2013 Topps David DeJesus #209
I've seen several of them erroneously listed on ebay as one of the Out of Bounds short prints. I haven't looked at any completed listings but hopefully people aren't falling for it. It's a great looking card though.

Nice action shot? Check

Iconic Wrigley Field ivy? Check

Actually made the play? Check

Here's the original photo from Getty Images:

Photo by Brian Kersey, courtesy of Getty Images
Photographer Brian Kersey had great timing with this photo. And I'm guessing a pretty powerful camera. Based on the angle of this photo and knowing that DeJesus plays centerfield, Kersey was probably somewhere near the third base dugout or even home plate. You can really see the effort put forth (and maybe even feel some of those ivy branches poking you in the back). No offense to the Bleacher Bums or Kersey, but I think Topps also did a great job cropping this photo for the card.

The caption on the Getty images website says this is from the June 29, 2012 game against the Houston Astros. And unlike the Jeff Samardzija card from last week, this caption gives even more detail, noting the fly ball was off the bat Brian Bixler in the sixth inning.

Further investigation of the boxscore on Baseball-Reference shows the play was even more exciting than just a deep fly ball caught at the wall. The play-by-play has it unfolding as follows:

Flyball: CF (Deep CF); Norris to 3B/Adv on E6 (throw)

E6 would be an error on shortstop Starlin Castro. But what exactly happened to send a runner to 3rd? I found a recap of the game from AP Sports Writer Eric Gano that was published on Yahoo that featured the following blurb:
Bixler hit a long drive to center in the sixth, but David DeJesus leaped into the ivy to pull it down. The Cubs nearly doubled off Norris, who had walked, but Castro's relay throw was wild past first, allowing Norris to move to third.
So, you know, typical 2012 Cubs play. They did hold on to win though with a final score of 4-0.

On to the back:


The Career Chase stat listed on the card says that DeJesus is only 251 triples away from Sam Crawford's career record of 309. Crawford led the league in triples 6 times and only had single digit seasons his first and last years in the Majors, both of which were partial seasons. At his current average of just over 6 per season, DeJesus will approach the record in about 41 years. Good luck, David!

I also picked up one of the black bordered parallels of this card from a seller that I bought multiple items from to save on shipping.

2013 Topps Black Border Parallel 02/62
Only a bajillion more parallels to go!