Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Results of an Itch...

Sometimes you have no choice, but to sit back and admire another man's physical gift.  C'mon... get your mind out of the gutter.  I'm talking baseball here, not anatomy.

For the past few seasons, I've watched and read both the media & fans place Justin Verlander on a pedestal.  But it wasn't until he manhandled the Oakland Athletics in October that I truly learned to appreciate his ability to dominate hitters.

I immediately wanted to add a rookie card of his to my collection, which is out of character for me.  I'm usually tracking down 80's OPC rookies or low grade 70's Topps rookies... not guys currently on Beckett's Hot List.

However after watching Verlander's performance, I felt that there was a void in my PC.  I can proudly say that the void has now been filled by this recent eBay purchase:

2005 Topps Turkey Red #272


2005 Topps #677

They're not exactly high end cards, but they scratched my itch for less than the price of a Trenta Cool Lime Refresher from Starbucks.

Anyways... I know it's the offseason, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on today's pitching greats:


If you were the general manager of your favorite team and had the opportunity to pick any pitcher to be your "ace", who would it be?

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

12 comments:

Roy-Z said...

King Felix, no question.

(...Joe) said...

I would go with Verlander, definitely.

Spiegel83 said...

I would stick with Kershaw. He can swing the bat a little as well as dominate on the mound.

JediJeff said...

Buehrle. Sorry, but the guy can crank through innings and is a fighter on the mound. He may not be dominating like others, but he throws a great sub 2 hour game.

arpsmith said...

I am biased towards Matt Cain but if I am being 100% honest with myself I would have to go with Verlander too.

Zayden said...

I would go with Verlander all the way. He's a guy that's going to stand the test of time.

Spankee said...

If we're talking the next 3-5 years, I'm taking Verlander. He chews up innings like crazy.

If we're talking the next 10 years, I'm taking Strasburg. He's got the nastiest stuff on the planet and he's young.

Fuji said...

Good call... the guy is in his mid 20's and always is in the running for the Cy Young. Can you imagine if he actually had some run support?

Fuji said...

Completely forgot about Clayton... this guy is a beast as well.

Fuji said...

I like Buehrle... but not sure I'd pick him over some of the other pitchers who are currently in their prime. On the flipside, you might have the right idea... since he'd make an excellent mentor to younger pitchers.

Fuji said...

Cain is the man! Not a Giants fan, but I get to watch him all the time. Before 2012 I don't know any other pitcher who received less run support... yet he always goes out without whining and does his thing.

Fuji said...

Yeah... I'm looking forward to watching Strasburg develop into the league's best.