#230 Andre Rienzo

One more link to a rookie. Yes, I know that’s three in a row but this gimmick is running a bit thin for me. I’ll probably go back to random soon.

#230 Andre Rienzo

First impression of what’s going on: I mentioned yesterday that my expectations were a little lower for Rookies since they probably have a fewer photo opportunities compared to the veterans. And being a rookie pitcher is probably even tougher since you don’t even really have an opportunity to play every day.

With that said, and aside from the bad crop along the top, this card isn’t bad. There’s a little Free Advertising I’ll touch on a bit later and some interesting pitching mechanics. There’s been thousands of pitchers and thousands of different ways to through the ball. I’m sure there are a lot of pitchers whose upper body goes perpendicular to the ground but I don’t think it shows up on cards that often. Maybe this is the fastest part of the pitching process? Or I could be making that up. But it sounds good, right?

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 30: Starting pitcher Andre Rienzo #64 of the Chicago White Sox pitches during the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on July 30, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: One thing I didn’t see in the photo but is mentioned in the caption is that Andre Rienzo wears #64 as a starting pitcher. That’s a Spring Training number if I’ve ever heard one. Rookies, man. I wonder if that number is special to him for some reason or if he was just happy to get one handed to him by the clubbie.

Other than that, the caption doesn’t say much about the game, so let’s go to the BOXSCORE and see how he did.

It looks like he may have been roughed up a little in the 5^th and shouldn’t have taken the loss, even though his team did lose.

No loss for Rienzo. Holds is a category that's new to me, so I’m not sure how you can get credit for a hold and the loss. Seems shady, Donnie Veal. Reeeaaaal shady.

One more company and I’d have to give Rienzo the “Nascar Award” for advertisements. But he sneaks by with just two, the Nike swoosh on his undershirt and his Rawlings glove.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Andre’s 7-IP, 0-ER debut was a first for a White Sox hurler since 1989.

That’s cool, as that’s about a quarter century. But wait a minute… 

That’s Rienzo’s entire MLB career in one screenshot. The game pictured on the front was his MLB debut and we just talked about how he gave up three runs in the 5^th inning. All earned. And if you look at the rest of the chart, he had no other 7-IP appearances and in every appearance he gave up at least one Earned Run. Uh-oh, Topps. Busted!

It didn’t say it on the back of the card but after the talk about Brazil in the blurb, I decided to look it up. Rienzo is just the second MLB player born in Brazil. Here’s a staggering chart from Baseball-Almanac.com.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #230

Player Name: Andre Rienzo

Team: Chicago White Sox

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: July 30, 2013

Opponent: Indians

Stadium: Progressive Field

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 7-4, Indians over the White Sox, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 6/5/1988

Birthplace: Brazil

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jason Miller

Niche collections this card could fit into: Rookie Card, Free Advertising

My Grade: I wanted to like this card. I saw Andre Rienzo when he came through and played against my local minor league team in 2011. He, and many of the other Winston Salem Dash signed autographs for my kids so I’m a little partial. The photo itself is pretty cool and it’s a rookie card. But the bad fact on the back kind of sours it for me. I remember when Error cards were “cool” to collect and some companies even issued corrected versions. But bad facts are just lazy. This card gets a C-.

#240 Ernesto Frieri

#240 Ernesto Frieri

First impression of what’s going on: Standard pitching shot. It’s a bit too cropped for my tastes, but not quite enough to get the Unnecessary Censorship designation. I think this may be an alternate jersey as home jerseys are usually white and away jerseys have the city name rather than team nickname. But they are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim so maybe that doesn't fit.

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 14: Ernesto Frieri #49 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 14, 2013 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The caption doesn't give much to go on, no inning or batter. Luckily, Frieri is a reliever so that narrows it down a little. Let's look at the BOXSCORE.

Angels got the win, looks like a Save situation. Did Frieri get it?

Yes he did. And he even struck out 4 batters in his inning and a third.

And one of those strikeouts was a Top 5 play. Must have been a rally killer.

Yes, again. Frieri came into the 8^th with two on and two out in a one-run game to get Jason Castro to strike out swinging.

Josh Hamilton would add some insurance runs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 8^th before Frieri would shut down the Astros for good in the 9^th. This was way back in April, so it earned Frieri his second of eventually 37 Saves on the year.

As for the uniforms, I was right about home jerseys being white. And while their away jersey is not red, they apparently do not use the city name. The red jersey is their alternate.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Ernesto tied a Padres mark by starting his career with 12 scoreless GS.

That can’t be right. If you start 12 games and don’t give up any runs, I think I would have heard about that. I remember Orel Hershiser back in the 1980’s chasing that record. I think instead of “GS” Topps must have meant appearances.

Counting his two innings in two appearances in 2009, Frieri didn't give up a run until his 13 game (not game started).

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #240

Player Name: Ernesto Frieri

Team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: April 14, 2013

Opponent: Houston Astros

Stadium: Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Division: American League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-1, Angels over the Astros, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 7/19/1985

Birthplace: Colombia

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jeff Gross

Niche collections this card could fit into:  Alternate Jersey

My Grade: This was a card that bored me at first glance. Just a standard pitching shot. The Rookie Fact was a little iffy. But looking deeper into the game in which the photo was taken, I was a little more impressed with Frieri. Just enough to bump this card from a D to a C-. There’s nothing horrible about this card but it just doesn't stand out in any way.

#325 Trevor Plouffe

#325 Trevor Plouffe

First impression of what’s going on: Yawn. Photos like this make me question why I wanted to break down E-V-E-R-Y card in the set.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 01: Trevor Plouffe #24 of the Minnesota Twins bats against the New York Yankees on July 1, 2013 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Yankees defeated the Twins 10-4. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Even more boring than the photo and the caption was the search for the source photo. With this tight of a crop, there must have been dozens of similar photos I had to rule out before finding the right one. We’ve already seen in the caption that Plouffe’s Twins lost to the Yankees 10-4. Let’s see if he had a god day in the BOXSCORE.

Plouffe was the designated hitter in this game. There was no grand slam but maybe he took advantage f opportunities he had.

Nope. Pretty unremarkable. He did have a flyball to the outfield that moved teammate Ryan Doumit to third base, but didn’t get credit for a sac fly.

Nothing on the front that would make this card fit into any niches for me. Maybe the back can save this card.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: In 2011, Trevor set a Twins rookie mark for September doubles (eight).

I’m sure I could try to figure out the old record and who held it, but that would take me longer than I willing to spend.

I’m always impressed by utility players, especially those that can do more than just the outfield or just the middle infield. Doing whatever it takes to find a spot on the team . The three positions Plouffe missed in 2012 were straight up the middle of the field, catcher, pitcher and center field.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #325

Player Name: Trevor Plouffe

Team: Minnesota Twins

Position: Third Base

Game Date: July 1, 2013

Opponent: New York Yankees

Stadium: Target Field

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 10-4, Yankees over Twins, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 6/15/1986

Birthplace: California

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Brace Hemmelgarn

Niche collections this card could fit into: Former First Round Draft Pick

My Grade: This card has almost nothing going for it. Since it’s not bad so much as just boring, I’ll be generous with a C-. Here are few more photos courtesy of Getty Images that could have given this card quite a boost.

I can always appreciate a good broken bat shot:

How about someone getting caught stealing a base. Caption says he was out.

Or on the basepaths himself where the caption says he was safe. Good action.

#90 Ethan Martin

Staying in the National League, but going all the way back east to Philadelphia, we have rookie pitcher Ethan Martin.

#90 Ethan Martin

First impression of what’s going on: Basic pitcher shot, but we have the dreaded appendage crop. Meh.

PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 8: Starting pitcher Ethan Martin #49 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during a game against the Chicago Cubs at Citizens Bank Park on August 8, 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Yep, nothing blocking his arm from being included. He’s not flipping the bird with a fancy “middle finger curve” or anything. Just poor cropping. You can’t tell anything from the scoreboard in the background and the caption is as generic as the photo. It does give a date and opponent so let’s check out the BOXSCORE.

Dang. They crushed the Cubs. So badly that the Phillies pinch hit for Martin in the 5^th with a 10-1 lead. I’d like to think this is the pitch that Nate Schierholtz smashed for a home run to lead off the top of the fourth and accounted for the only Cubs run. In fact, please start spreading that rumor now.

Anyhow, Martin had a decent day’s work against one of the worst teams in the league. Thanks Marlins, White Sox and Astros for being worse! And the Twins for being just as bad!

You may notice that after earning this victory, his record was 1-1. Great. His first career victory was against the Cubs? I guess maybe this can be worked into a niche collection somewhere. He’s also wearing one of the Phillies’ alternate uniforms rather than the standard home red pinstripes, so the card has that going for it, which is nice.

I almost gave him credit for the "Free Advertising" with the Rawlings logo on his glove, but I didn't think the average person would instantly recognize the logo. Baseball fans? Probably. Card collectors? Probably. Guess I'm being a jerk, huh?

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Ethan’s 10.6 SOS/9 IP set a record for a Phillies rookie (Min: 40 IP).

Well, the Cubs tried not to help him out on that stat as they only struck out 4 times in 5 innings against Martin. Moving to the bullpen after starting his first seven appearances probably did help though.

Since this is the first rookie card I’m taking a look at, let me just say, I wish Topps would have put Major League stats on the back. They had time to get the veterans’ stats together. Why not the rookies? I guess Martin’s Rookie Fact sounds more impressive if you just glance at his card and think he pitched 115.2 innings and still had the team record. But those are his minor league stats for 2013. He actually only pitched the minimum 40 innings, a true example of how you can make statistics say just about anything you want.

The blurb is a little silly, but amusing. After looking at Martin’s game log, the only time he threw “goose eggs” in three straight appearances was right after moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen. I don’t know enough about the Phillies to make the call, but what does that say about his chances of being on the Phillies roster this year? Who knows, maybe he'll be a failed starter turned closer a la Mariano Rivera?

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #90

Player Name: Ethan Martin

Team: Philadelphia Phillies

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: August 8, 2013

Opponent: Chicago Cubs

Stadium: Citizens Bank Park

Division:  National League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 12-1, Phillies over Cubs, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, alternate

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 6/6/1989

Birthplace: Georgia

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Hunter Martin (any relation!?)

Niche collections this card could fit into: Rookie Card, Career Milestone (from first career win), Alternate/Throwback Jersey, Former First Round Draft Pick, Unnecessary Censorship

My Grade: Reading back through the breakdown, I feel like I came down really hard on this card. Maybe it was the fact that Martin shutdown the Cubs, but I’m not so sure. I mean, who didn’t last year? Its not that big of a deal…

I think the bad crop job got it started on the wrong foot. And the back was disappointing. I know Topps doesn't have much to work with since a lot of these guys only have a few weeks’ worth of a season, but I expected a bit more. This card was on the verge of failing, but when all was said and done, it pulled off enough niche collections to squeak by with a C-.

I don’t know how often I’ll do this with cards that don’t make the grade, but I thought it would be interesting to see how Topps could have done better with the photo selection. A search for “Ethan Martin Phillies” pulled up 51 photos on Getty Images. Compared to more established players, that is a pittance. Many of them are from a few weeks after the photo Topps ended up using, but if you remember Michael Young’s card from earlier today, that photo was all the way from September 11, 2013.

I didn't have time to mock up a Photoshopped version of the actual card so here are some original photos.

I’ve always liked these Catcher’s Eye photos where the ball is headed straight towards the camera. This is from just two weeks after the photo that was used and two weeks before the Young card. There's even an umpire in view, although he'd probably be cropped out. And just think of the sparkle that could have been added to make this an SP…

Mound meetings are generally not good. The lone exception might be a postgame handshake between the closer and catcher. When the catcher goes out like this, it generally means the pitcher needs to calm down a bit or signals are getting crossed. Probably not good for a card, but in my opinion, it’s better than a cropped arm/hand.

But when I saw this photo where interim (at the time) Phillies manager was relieving Martin of his duties, I smiled. Ethan “Cub Killer” Martin getting yanked by HOF Cub, Ryne Sandberg? Cardboard gold! Instant A+!

Throughout the year, Sunday will be a day off from posting for me. It'll give me time to catch up on some research and/or rest, especially when these get upped to three per day. Then I’ll come back with a new card on Monday morning. Since I’m ran a contest to drum up some followers earlier in the week, I’ll do a short post announcing the winner.