2013 WS Game 5: 2013 Topps Chrome #43 Adam Wainwright (Orange Parallel)

The 2013 World Series is now down to a best of three. I am not sure that it is a classic, but there sure have been some oddities notably and overturned call and an obstruction ruling,

2013 Topps Chrome #43 Adam Wainwright (Orange Parallel)

In game 5 Adam Wainwright will be hoping for a better start then he had in Game 1. The Cardinals defense didn't help Wainwright, and he was hurt by the overturned call.  Regardless if those issues crop up tonight he will need to find a way out of the jams.    

2013 Topps Chrome Orange 
The last few years Topps Chrome has offered "Value" packs which are basically three 4-card packs with three Orange Parallel cards.  This is one of the orange parallels that I picked up in the single value pack that I picked up a few weeks back.
 
2013 PostSeason Cardinals
Matt Adams
Lance Lynn
Michael Wacha 

Orlando Cepeda


2013 PostSeason Red Sox
Clay Buchholz
David Ortiz
Dustin Pedroia 
Shane Victorino

Carl Yastrzemski
Jose Iglesias (Now with Tigers)

Sources
baseball-ref.com 

Hurricane Irene Card Show Pick Ups

Just when you thought the supersaturated coverage of Hurricane Irene was over, Team Phungo brings it back. 

The local show was at the Exton Mall this past weekend and I ran out there for a few hours on Friday and added some baseball cards to my emergency supplies for this past weekend. 

Highlights

2011 Topps Heritage Baseball Highlight Sketches Roy Halladay
Cards from games that I attended are right at the top of my want list.  This card is easily my favourite one of 2011.  I went over my $1 limit for inserts to procure this special card.  


Super Veterans

1983 OPC Super Veterans Steve Carlton and Pete Rose

There were 1983 OPC star cards floating around at a couple of tables.  I have been putting together the 83 SuperVets and these are nice cards to supplement that set.

Chrome n Serial Goodness

The Pearce and Wainwright were both from a dime box.  Pearce isn't a star, but finding the #d/59 Chrome version of the card in a dime box could not be passed on.  The Shula card is from the Masterpieces #d/75 Green Frame parallel set - went a full dollar for this card.  
 
2011 Topps Inserts

There was one woman selling cards for a nickle, in addition to all these 60th anniversary inserts she also had a good selection of 2011 A&G.

The show was pretty small - I only hit 3 tables and there were maybe 5 others, but there was a good selection of different items.  

Phungo 5 with Cards on Cards

Now I am falling way behind. The Phils series with the Cardinals is already over and I still have not posted the Phugno 5 from Cardinals fan, Kerry, from the great Northwest. Kerry from Cards on Cards demonstrates his versatility here by giving us some feedback on not just the Cardinals, but also the Portland Trialblazers and one of our favorte bands.

First off a hoop question is the Trail Blazers season a success or failure?

If you’re talking about the regular season, then I’d have to say it was a resounding success. I’ve never seen another professional franchise have to deal with so much adversity, more in terms of volume than just severity, that the 09-10 Blazers went through. After Greg Oden went down, I really did not expect the team to make the playoffs considering all of the talent available in the Western Conference right now. The move to pick up Marcus Camby proved to be a critical one in terms of solidifying their playoff position. However, if you look at the end result, the bottom line is that the Blazers did not improve as a playoff team and improvement is what you strive for.

2008 Topps Heritage #433 Adam Wainwright

Do the Cardinals have the best rotation in baseball?

Yes, absolutely. But we’re in Week 5 of the season right now. Adam Wainwright is among the select few elite pitchers in baseball, in company with Roy Halliday and Tim Lincecum. Chris Carpenter is simply amazing at 35. But when you look at the rest of the rotation, we’re getting the best case scenario from all three pitchers. Brad Penny has been the All-Star caliber pitcher he was in 2006-2007, albeit with a Dave Duncanized groundball rate (which means fewer strikeouts.) Kyle Lohse has looked, at times, like the healthy 2008 version of himself. And Jaime Garcia has lived up to his pre-Tommy John surgery top prospect billing. I think it would be quite a leap of faith to count on the latter three situations continuing for the rest of the season, but if one or two of them continue to play out that way I’ll be a very happy Cardinal fan.

Best Year of Topps Heritage for Cardinals Collectors?

I’m going to go ahead and say 2002 for purely aesthetic reasons. I think the most interesting Heritage Cardinals cards end up being short prints, so it’s hard for me to say whether that becomes a “best” situation or is just simply annoying. Also, I don’t have many 2002 Heritage cards, so feel free to send me some!

Last year you introduced us to Daryl Jones - He appears to be struggling this year after a pretty decent 2009. Any updates on his progress?

I suppose I’m admitting to being a bad fan if I reveal that I haven’t followed the minor league clubs at all so far this season. I guess you could blame it on the big club getting off to a huge start. When things aren’t going right, you naturally look to the minors to see what’s on the way. I suppose that it’s probably a bit disappointing that Jones is still in AA, but the AAA club does have two outfielders with big league experience on the roster and are loaded right now in the majors.

TMBG Question - What Album would you like to hear TMBG do a Concert of?

Ordinarily, I would say Apollo 18 without skipping a beat as it is one of my favorite albums of all-time. However, I know that they have done that one a few times on the east coast and I have actually been listening to the Then: The Earlier Years compilation lately. (I recently scored a used copy.) As far as I know, I’ve never heard of them performing Lincoln in its entirety, so I’d love to see that.

Phungo 5 Boxscore

Thanks to Cards on Cards and we have a 5 out of 5. I think Kerry is correct in his analysis of the Cardinals rotation. As with all aspects of the game, the assumption that whatever happens in April is automatically replicated during the rest of the season is certainly dubious. That being said and despite their recent power outage in Philadelphia, I believe the Cards are in the race for the long haul. The Phils and Cards have both been in the mix the last couple of years, but have yet to meet in the playoffs - I think it would make for an exciting series.

Looking Back

For a look back at a previous Phungo 5 with Sports Locker click here.