TTM Success- Tommy Shields

I sent a TTM request to Tommy in March and he returned it to me in 67 days, personalized as requested. 
He appeared in only two games for the Orioles in late July 1992, both as a pinch runner, so he never had an at-bat or defensive appearance with the O's but is still a member of their all-time roster.  He played in 20 games for the Cubs in 1993, and that was the end of his Major League career. 

Originally drafted by Pittsburgh in the '86 draft, he played in 853 Minor League games in the Pirates, Orioles, and Cubs organizations.  After his playing career ended, he became a Minor League manager in the Orioles' and later the Cardinals' farm systems.  He managed the GCL O's in '96, the Delmarva Shorebirds (to a league championship) in '97, and the Frederick Keys in '98.

Thanks for signing, Tommy!

Contest Update

I'm back from a few days away from the blog.  You know how it goes; life got in the way and I didn't have a chance to post anything. 

Originally, I wanted to wait until after all of the Divisional Series wrapped up to let everyone know how the contest was going, but I figured that updating everyone would be a good way to start my day.

I'm sorry to have to say this, but some of you are already effectively eliminated from the contest.  The following brackets are busted:
Brooklyn Met
mmmmrhubarb
Mariner1
Collective Troll
dayf's heart bracket

Thanks for playing guys, better luck next year! 

At the other end of the spectrum, these bracket entries are perfect through this morning:
Justin's #1 bracket
Dodgerbobble
Night Owl
Dion
Steven M
mmosley
Slangon
JoesAutographs
BA Benny
The Ranter
Anthony K.
Steve D.
dayf's head bracket
Play At the Plate's head bracket
madding

We'll see if the Rays can pull off the series win tonight, but the results of the game will have a major ripple effect through all of the entries.

Unpossible Autograph Friday- Aurelio Rodriguez

Don't have much time today, so this will be a quick post.  I'm not too thrilled about showing off a signed Yankees card on my blog, but it's all I have to show for Aurelio right now.  He was an Oriole during the 1983 season, his last in the Majors, but he played in the Mexican Leagues through 1987.  He was tragically killed when a car jumped the curb on a Detroit street and ran him over on a sidewalk in 2000; he was only 52. Aurelio was elected to the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.  RIP Aurelio.

Under 100

Since I've been focused on my postseason contest over most of the past week, I almost missed the fact that some recent additions have increased my collection so that I now need only 93 autographs to finish it off.  As you can see on the left hand sidebar, I now have 792 autographs from the 887 players who have played for the Orioles.  There are another 48 players who I still need upgrades for, but there are just 93 players who I don't have anything signed of.  I'm pretty amazed that the number has shrunk that far, and while I still feel like I might never actually have an autograph from every single player, I now feel like I might get closer than I ever expected. 

Leo Burke was one of the autographs I purchased that pushed me under the 100 to go mark.  Leo is a funny case with me because I had been trying to add him to my collection for almost two years, and when I finally did, I was able to add two of his autographs within about two weeks.  The other autograph is at the bottom of this here post, and is now up for trade.

Leo played all over the diamond during his seven seasons as a utility player during his Major League career from 1958-59 & 61-65 with the O's, Angels and Cubs.  He played in only 12 games with the Orioles in 1958-59 at the start of his career and went 7-21 with a HR and five RBI.  The Washington Senators selected him in their expansion draft prior to the '60 season, so that ended his time with the O's.  

He lives in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland but has a sketchy track record of signing TTM requests, so I held off on that but luckily was able to add this signed Crown card at a good price.  Here's to the last 93!

Contest is Closed, Good Luck Everyone!

Now that the playoffs have officially started, you can no longer submit a bracket.  We have 31 entries which is a good turnout in my opinion.  I still need a few things from a couple of you.

The Ranter-I need your runs scored in the deciding World Series game
Jeremy- Please become a follower of the blog to lock in your entry

Here's a breakdown of who selected which teams in each series. 

Division Series
Rangers 8
Rays 23

Yankees 20
Twins 11

Reds 7
Phillies 24

Braves 8
Giants 23


Championship Series

Rangers 3
Rays 15
Yankees 10
Twins 3

Reds 5
Phillies 20
Braves 2
Giants 4


World Series

Rangers 1

Rays 11

Yankees 5

Twins 2

Reds 1

Phillies 8

Braves 2

Giants 1


WS Games
4 (0)
5 (5)
6 (23)
7 (3)


Runs In Deciding WS Game
3 (4)
4 (2)
5 (3)
6 (4)
7 (6)
8 (5)
9 (5)
11 (1)

So if the majority of you have your way/are correct, we are going to see a Rays-Phillies World Series with Tampa prevailing in the 6th game that has a total of 7 runs.  I'm cool with that.

Good luck and I hope everyone has fun.

Last Chance to Enter the Postseason Contest

No more entries will be accepted once the first pitch is thrown shortly after 1:30pm Eastern today. So enter now!

T Minus 23 Hours Left to Enter the Contest & Minor Leaue Free Agents

Thanks to everyone that has entered my MLB Postseason Bracket Contest so far.  If you want to enter, you still have time, but the contest closes once the first pitch is thrown in the Rays-Rangers game tomorrow at 1:30pm Eastern.  Good luck everyone!


In Orioles news, four minor leaguers have elected to become free agents.  They all appeared with the Orioles at some point over the past two seasons, but none were considered a major part of the Birds' 2011 plans.

Goodbye for now to...

 

Scott Moore, a former Cubs prospect, who played in 62 games for the O's in 2007-08 & 2010.

Alberto Castillo, the 2nd Alberto Castillo to play for the O's, who pitched 62 games out of the 'pen from 2008-10.  He was good in '08 & '09 but not so much this season.  

Cla Meredith, who the O's acquired from the Padres in July 2009.  I was excited since he was a submariner, my favorite style of pitcher, but a 4.33 ERA over 50 games, especially his 5.40 ERA this season, just wasn't good enough.  

 

And Michael Aubrey who looked pretty decent over 31 games as a September call-up last year.  Injuries prevented him from making it back to Baltimore this season.  

Still Time to Enter the Contest!

Hey everybody! You can still enter my contest, but you need to do it by Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 before the games start.  If you don't enter the contest, Damian will never smile again.  And we don't want his face to freeze like that...

Baseball Playoff Contest is Live!!!

Alright everyone, the baseball contest has officially started since the Rays won the AL East, the Giants took the NL West and the Braves won the NL Wild Card. On the bracket, the home teams are listed below the visiting teams. 

To enter the contest you need to be a follower of the blog, and you earn a second entry if you plug the contest on your blog. Here's what I'm looking for:

ALCS team 1- Yankees/Twins winner
ALCS team 2- Rangers/Rays winner
NLCS team 1- Reds/Phillies winner
NLCS team 2- Braves/Giants winner
AL World Series representative-
NL World Series representative-
World Series winner-

And the tiebreakers are...
# of games in the World Series-
Total # of runs scored in final game of World Series-

If anyone has any questions, leave a comment so eveyone can figure things out together.  Here's the original contest post for all of the information. The winner gets some awesome cards of their choosing. The deadline for entries is the start of the first game on Wednesday. Good luck everyone!

NFL Survivor League Lock of the Week- Indianapolis Colts

After surviving a bit of a scare in the Ravens-Browns game last week, the Ravens came through with the W, so I'm still alive to share my weekly selection. 

 

This week, I'm taking the Colts on the road against Jacksonville.  The Jags have looked awful so far this year and as long as Peyton Manning is behind center, the Colts are always a good bet to win. Also, the Colts are 14-4 all-time against Jacksonville, so I'm liking my chances.

 

The easiest match-up to pick is the Saints at home over the Panthers, but I started to plan out my season picks and I need the Saints another week.  I just hope the decision doesn't cost me. 

 

All pictures stolen from here

Contest Reminder

Hi everyone. ESPN's Chris Singleton here to remind you all to check back Sunday night (or whenever all of the postseason match-ups are set) to start filling out your entries for the MLB Postseason Bracket Contest that Ryan is holding.  I hear that the prize is going to be awesome!  Good luck to you all. 

Unpossible Autograph Friday- Johnny Temple

What a great looking card, right? Johnny's picture on this card looks like it was taken by my photograpy-challenged aunt. A solid third of this card is blue sky, which is fine and good, but pretty boring on a baseball card. Topping off everything else, Johnny's not wearing a hat, and I'm pretty sure that the Orioles uniform never had vertical stripes, but at least this is technically listed as an O's card.

Johnny was only a member of the Orioles for 78 games at the start of the 1962 season as he was nearing the end of his 13 seasons in the Majors. He is best remembered for the nine seasons he spent with the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1952-59 at the start of his career; at some point over those nine years, he led the league in at-bats, walks, sacrifice hits (twice) and sacrifice flies. He also received MVP votes after two seasons and was a three time All-Star, later adding a fourth All-Star appearance while playing for the Indians. His 1957 All-Star appearance could be under some suspicion as that was the season that Redlegs fans stuffed the ballot boxes in favor of their hometown team and elected Cincy players other deserving players, even managing to temporarily snub the eventual '57 MVP, Hank Aaron, before order was restored and Aaron was inserted into the game. 

Johnny ended his baseball career with almost twice as many walks (648) as strikeouts (338) and was elected to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1965. Unfortunately, Johnny's exit from baseball was not a graceful one. After an awful start of the 1964 season, while a player/coach with the Reds, he was released and got into a brawl with fellow coach Reggie Otero.  Johnny said "Twelve years ago I walked into Crosley Field a top-notch professional ballplayer. I'm going out like a bum - beat up, nothing to do and nowhere to go. I'm through in the game." And he was.

Sadly, Johnny's problems were just beginning.  Over the next thirty years, he struggled through many personal issues; bad investments left him almost broke, he developed a drinking problem, and he even was arrested for grand larceny.  He passed away from pancreatic cancer on January 9, 1994.  RIP Johnny.