Showing posts with label the belt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the belt. Show all posts

You're damn straight I updated The Belt

Posted by Jonathan @ RGB Cards | Posted in ,

Sweep!

That is all.

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A trio of Hurt...plus, The Belt changes hands again

Posted by Jonathan @ RGB Cards | Posted in ,

I was originally just planning a quick post to update you on the status of The Belt - it now resides in the NL Central thanks to the Cardinals taking the first two games (and thus locking up the series) against the Braves. This marks the first time The Belt has resided in the Central Division, and it has now found a home in all three NL divisions. Looking at the Cardinals schedule, unless the Marlins sweep their upcoming two-game set against the Redbirds, The Belt will be staying in the NL Central for quite some time.


However, I looked at the numbers, and this is actually my 200th post! Since I'm a sucker for nice, round numbers, I feel like I should post at least some pictures of baseball cards. After all, this is ostensibly a baseball card blog, right? So here, to whet your appitite, are a few of the cards I picked up at Al's Card Shop during this recent trip to Perth. I decided to branch out, instead of just focusing on cards for my PC. I picked up plenty of Griffeys, but I also got some other cards, and cards for other people's PCs, also.

Here's three cards from The Big Hurt, Frank Thomas (not to be confused with one of the other Frank Thomases who played in the Bigs, of course). When I was growing up, Hurt was the Man. He was someone to be feared when at the plate with the game on the line, and a lock to be in the Hall of Fame one day. I don't know if he'll reach Cooperstown, a victim of the era he played in and circumstances largely beyond his control. Also, like so many great players, he had the unfortunate knack of staying in the game just that bit too long, and that colors our recent perceptions of him and his ability. I guess that's why they built in that five-year waiting period for Hall of Fame voting.




So here's three Frank Thomas cards I picked up on Thursday. The 2005 Topps gold parallel is most noteworthy for its serial number, which is #1234. I like the Donruss "5th Anniversary" card because it shows Hurt in those sweet late '80s Sox unis - the ones that they were uniformally horrible in (if you'll pardon the pun). Finally, the "Damage, Inc." business card needs no further explanation - its awesomeness is surpassed only by its cheesiness. In fact, it is the cheesiness that makes it awesome.




Here's the backs of all the cards. This confirms the serial number, gives you another look at Hurt's winning smile, and gives you even more awesomeness/cheesiness. COO of Manufacturing and Output, indeed.
I'll be back tomorrow with another post. I am also hoping to tie up all loose ends before I go back to school on Thursday, so if we have a trade in the works, expect an e-mail from me in the coming days.

And one more thing - Go Fish! (nothing personal Cards fans, it's strictly business)

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The Championship Belt

Posted by Jonathan @ RGB Cards | Posted in

I've been on vacation, and it's been lovely. But soon, it's back to school for term 2, and the real life. 

One of the things I've been thinking about during my sabbatical is a crazy idea: what if, instead of a World Series, the baseball championship changed hands like a championship belt in boxing or wrestling? In other words, in this case the words of the immortal Ric Flair, "to be the man, you've got to beat the man." Personally, I think this would be fun to track, and when I get back home, I'm going to add a box to the top of my blog to note the current holder of the "championship belt."

First, a couple of rules:

1. Because of the nature of baseball, where even the worst teams win close to 40% of the time, having the belt change hands on the results of a single game is a bit capricious. Even the real World Series is settled over a number of games. So we'll use the results of three, four or even two-game series.

2. To win the belt, a team has to win the series from the current holder. In the case of an even-number series that's split 2-2 or 1-1, the current champ retains the belt. 

3. The Giants, as the World Series champions, start out with the belt. But we won't start fresh next season. If the final holder of the belt at the end of regular season doesn't make the playoffs, they will hold the title for the entire offseason (because they won't have been beaten since they aren't playing any games). BUT...if the last regular-season holder does make the playoffs, they will need to defend the belt. This will eventually result in the team that wins the World Series holding the belt, since they will have won the final series of 2011.

4. The belt starts in the National League, but can switch over the the American League during interleague play. Think of it like WWE belts switching between Raw and Smackdown. 

So here's what's happened so far this season:

The Giants had the belt, but immediately surrender it to their rivals the Dodgers when they lost the opening series of 2011, 2 games to 1.

The Dodgers then go and get swept in a two-game series by the Rockies, handing them the belt. 

The Rox, the surprise package of the season so far, successfully defend the belt against the Pirates, Mets and Cubs. However, the Rockies dropped two out of three to San Francisco from April 18-20, making the Giants the first team to re-claim the belt.

However, that glory is short-lived as the Giants promptly got swept by the Braves. The belt leaves the NL West for the first time this season. The Braves successfully defend the belt on the road against the Padres, winning two of three. They returned to Turner Field to play the Cardinals in a three-game set this weekend. 

Obviously, I hope they successfully defend the belt again because I want the Cards to lose as many games as possible. :)

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