Moneyball 2012 - Chad Bradford

Time to return to Moneyball 2012 which I have neglected for so long that the feature started out as Moneyball 2011 and it is been at least 5 months since we posted on the subject.

 

 

Chad Bradford is one of Billy Beane's diamond in the rough trade pick ups.  The other thing that we find out about Bradford in Moneyball is that Bradford is a sindwinding righty.  Anytime an issue emerges with his pitching Bradford lowers his delivery slighty until at the time of "Moneyball" Bradford is actually dragging his knuckles on the ground when he pitches.

 

 

2003 Topps #29 Chad Bradford (image swiped from Baseball Card Database)

 

 

Bradford's tenure with the A's lasted until 2005 when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He eventually found his way to the Tampa Bay Rays and contributed to their 2008 American League Championship team.  Bradford made it to the postseason 7 times over a 12 year career.       

 

 

2 degrees of Separation 

 

I once met a college teammate of Chad Bradford.  Just some guy I met in a bar.  I am pretty sure he really knew Bradford, because who the hell is ever going to bring up that they played baseball with a set up reliever.  This happened several years ago - the bar has changed hands a few times since then - and all I remember about the conversation is that Chad Bradford was pretty much on the same level as the rest of the pitchers on the University of Southern Mississippi team, Then one year he shows up and has 5 more MPH and became an MLB prospect. It was also mentioned that Bradford was trying to hang on long enough for his major league pension to kick in.  I believe to get across the pension bridge you need to have 10 years of major league service, which Bradford should have cleared.

 

 

Chad Bradford 2012.

 

Tonight Bradford is representing the A's at the MLB draft.  He has been retired since 2009.  According to his Wikipedia page he is currently coaching in his native Mississippi.

 

 

Other draft Reps include HoFs Frank Robinson, Fergie Jenkins, and Tommy LaSorda. 

 

 

The Phils will be represented by their Hall of Famer, Pat Gillick along with Bill Giles.  Phils alums Pat Corralles and Bob Boone will be the Reps for the Nationals.

 

 

Moneyball 2011-2012

 

Links to  previous MB 2011-2012 posts

 

Moneyball The Movie

 

 

Art Howe
Bennett Miller

Billy Beane

Jeremy Brown

Michael Lewis

Michael Oher 

Ron Washington

Tony LaRussa

 

etc

 

Here is a link to a Moneyball and Collecting related article in Beckett that I first saw referenced by Chris Olds via Twitter. 

 

Snapshots 2012 05 29 Tigers @ Red Sox

Team Phungo was lucky enough to spend a week in Cape Cod with some good friends. Among the activities were Beach, Sun, Relaxation, Whale Watching, Disc Golf, Eating & Drinking too much and BASEBALL!!


We were able to catch a game at Fenway Park between the Tigers and Red Sox.  The BoSox took the game 6-3, in a game which Daniel Bard outpitched Justin Verlander.  Homers were hit by Jhonny Peralta, Prince Fielder and Big Papi.  The big blow for Boston was a bases clearing double by Daniel Nava off of a 100 mph fastball by Verlander.

SnapShots

Scoreboard on Game Day

 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Warming up Bard in the bullpen.

Kevin Youkilis

Miguel Cabrera

 Red Sox Bullpen Car

Green Monster w/ Pesky Pole in Foreground

Notice that fans adding Sharpie Signatures to the foul pole. 


Sadly our vacation had to come to an end - glad we were able to make it to a game.  Enjoy the snap shots.

2011 Phungo Cards - Cole Hamels

On Wednesday night Cole Hamels, along with Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn, became the first pitchers in the 2012 season to reach 7 wins.   

Cole Hamels must hate me.  I went to see him pitch the Phillies Home Opener in April, The Marlins got to Cole for 4 runs while the Phils offense struggled against Anibal Sanchez.  Hamels took the loss - since then he has been undefeated, winning 7 consecutive decisions whiile the Phillies came home with victories in all 8 of his other starts. 

2011 Phungo #35 Cole Hamels

That lone 2012 blemish is not the only reason Cole Hamels may have an issue with Team Phungo.  The fine photo on the above card was taken during a game from June of 2010.  Hamels wasn't steller but he was solid enough that the Phils had a 5 run lead going into the 9th.  A comination of relievers blew that lead, which included a Titanic Home Run to center by Jim Thome off of Jose Contreras.

Truth be told, I have seen Hamels on the Winning side of a lot of ball games, including a couple of post season games.  The Phils are scuffling and hovering aroudn that .500 mark, it is nice to have a brigh light in their 2012 season, which has been so difficult to watch this year.

Swag from O No!!!, Another Orioles Blog

I desperately need to get caught up on trade posts, and will try and knock out a bunch of them in the next couple o weeks.  This unfortunately means that I will likely not dedicate the time and effort to them that they deserve.

Today we are looking at some cards I received way back in April from Ryan over at O No!!! Another Orioles Blog

2008 Topps Update #UH241 Chase Utley

2011 Topps Heritage #77 Chase Utley

Chase took ground balls during BP today for the Phillies.  We are past the quarter pole in the 2012 season and the Phils haven't seen either Utley nor Ryan Howard.  Hope we hear from the soon. 

The two cards above are just a pair of the many cards that Ryan sent over.  He knocked out several cards off my Phillies checkers,  and another pile of cards from the 2011 Heritage set.    

2003 Topps 572 Todd Pratt

1996 Topps 128 Curt Schilling

  Big Old Stack of 2011 Topps Heritage 

The 2011 Topps Heritage is a set that I am buiding by default, partially in the name of journalistic research delving into potential hot-boxes in last years set.  FYI I did not get a hot box.

For a look at my 2011 Topps Heritage Want List Click Here

My Phils Topps 1980s Collection Want List is Here. 

For access to all my want lists click here 

2012 Topps Archives First Look

My first impressions on Topps Archives is a thumbs up.  The price tag on this rack for a single 14 card retail rack pack was $5.34 at my local big box store. 
Highlights

 2012 Topps Archives #88 Mike Schmidt

2012 Topps Archives #108 Cliff Lee
2012 Topps Archives #188 Vance Worley

2012 Topps Archives Sticker #67S-I Ichiro
2012 Topps Archives #138 Joe DiMaggio
2012 Topps Archives #32 Adam Jones

That's right the 14 card pack included 3 Phillies!!! which is probably a record for a small pack for myself.

I like this set better then what Topps did with Lineage last year.  The base cards in Lineage was just to drab for me.   It doesn't hurt that the four years that were chosen for Topps Archives 1954, 1971, 1980 and 1984 are among the better designs in the Topps arsenal.  

My 2 initial complaints are 1) The cards are on the newer posterboard rather then the classic cardboard upon which the original sets were produced. 2) The 5.30/pack retail price comes out to over 40 cents/card - kind of heavy for retail.

Regardless, my first impression is a good one.  I haven't looked at the cards much in detail, but I am thinking that a Hobby Box may be in my future. The 200 card set size appeals to me, there appears to be a fun array of inserts - although they may be a bit confusing.

There is one other thing I like about Archives - judging from my limited 13 card sample, I like the photography - the shots are cropped as tightly to the subjects.  I am a fan of trying to figure out what game in which the photos were taken.  The last few years Topps has delivered some great digital close ups, but they are often too close for my liking.

Team Phungo Meets Padrographs!!!!

We had the opportunity to visit Rod from Padrographs while my wife was at a conference in Portland, Oregon. 

Rod from Padrographs w/ Team Phungo Author, me

Rod is responsible for a bookstore that sells the used books from the county library.  Near as I can tell Portland must have one of the most successful library systems in the country.  In fact shortly after I left Rod, I was at Voodoo Donuts and the young man working the counter saw a book that I had bought at the start and congratulated me for having a library book while on vacation.  
 
We only met for maybe a half hour but Rod was able to give us some good background on Portland's history, geography, and culture.  He also showed us around the store pointing me in the direction of the baseball books.  The book I picked was a copy of  "The Corporal was a Pitcher" about 50s era Philadelphia Athletic Lou Brissie.

I think Rod is only the third card blogger I have met in person - once again it was a pleasure.  Rod is just as funny in person as his writing. One of my favorite parts of the afternoon was when one of the customers got upset with us for talking to loud while he was perusing books. 

Farewell Kerry Wood

Bummed out to hear rumors of Kerry Wood retiring.  Something about a guy coming up with so much hype and he really answered the bell in the beginning - He was a key guy with the early 2000s Cubs teams that came so close to breaking the curse, but injuries just hampered a "what could have been" career.

And there will always be The Kerry Wood Game.

2012 Phungo #39 Kerry Wood

Wood did not receive a single Cy Young vote during his career, including 2003 when he led the league with 266 Ks.   67 of his 86 career Wins came between 1998-2004.

There are dozens perhaps hundreds of Kerry Woods scattered across Baseball History.  Stephen Strasburg could have a Hall of Famer career, he could also have a Kerry Wood career. 

Phungo Card
Blurry photo above taken prior to a game in 2010 where Wood got an inning of solid relief in during an Indians 2-1 loss to the Phillies.