Totally random and nonsensical “Fun Cards”

Steve, along with the majority of the baseball card blogosphere, hates the randominity of Topps’ “What If” cards. Cy Young appearing on the 1987 Topps design just kills him. I, on the other hand, love them. Well, not love. But like. Very strong like. You see, I all but hate modern baseball. I like Griffey and I kind of follow the Reds (kind of being a very strong phrase), but other than that I would much rather watch reruns of the 1975 World Series…even game 6.

In a post about Eddie Gaedel, Steve made a card that never was (1951 Bowman) as well as a card that, in his opinion, should never be (1986 Topps). Frankly, I like the 1986 Topps Gaedel quite a bit. But that’s beside the point. In the comment section, I joked that I would make some random custom cards with Steve in mind, like Ozzie Guillen on a football card design, and a Frank Thomas on a Star Wars card design. So, without further ado…

A few more Opening Day shots…

The 2009 NL MVP? We’ll see..

Last year’s ROY runner-up, patiently waiting his turn to bat…

Jose Reyes, whose rookie refractor is worth more than I expected…

A pinch-hitting pitcher? I expected Micah Owings to stay in the game after he batted, but he didn’t. This photo was used for the Goose Joak Original Baseball Card Project…check that out here.

Is this guy worth a Freel? I wasn’t impressed yesterday. Sure, we needed a catcher, but for Freel?

And since Nick Lachey was responsible for many of the hits to the blog yesterday…

2009 Reds (vs. Mets) Opening Day!

My 9-year old and I braved the cold weather and snow today (after a sunny 70 degrees yesterday afternoon) and went to the Cincinnati Reds 2009 Opening Day!

Hometown hero Nick Lachey was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. You might know Nick as one of the guys from 98 Degrees (one of those carbon copy boybands of the 1990s), or as the ex-husband of Jessica Simpson. But he’s also part owner of the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate).

The honorary captain of the game for the Redlegs was Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

Aaron Harang took the hill for the Reds…

…his opponent was perennial Cy Young contender Johan Santana.

Only three hits for the home team, all coming from the team’s young bucks…

Jay Bruce,

Joey Votto,

and Darnell McDonald.

The Reds lost the opener, 2-1, but they are a young team and very fun to watch. Jay Bruce made a great throw from right field and nailed a runner trying to score, which was very exciting. There were a few blunders in the field (though only one official error), and no balls left the park for the Reds. Their lone run came from a Brandon Philips sacrifice fly, driving in McDonald.

A very fun day, and I’m definitely looking forward to visiting Great American Ballpark again in the near future!