Pirates Snag Justin Morneau from Twins

Its been 2 decades since the Pittsburgh Pirates have appeared in the MLB playoffs but today, they took a huge step to not only accomplishing that but competing for a championship. Today they acquired 4 time all-star 1^st baseman Justin Morneau from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Alex Presley. The Pirates are tied for 1^st place in the NL Central with the St. Louis Cardinals at 78-56. They are ranked 22^nd in runs scored (424) and 20^th in slugging percentage (.393). The addition of the former Twin should bolster the offense and provide a much larger presence in the middle of the order.

It's Time For Some Baseball

Now that basketball season is over and I don't have to focus on the media circus that is the Miami Heat the blog will now be changing its focus to baseball. I will still write things about basketball with the draft and summer league coming out but it's time to focus on Americas past time the way I should be. Outside of the Marlins who I follow because they are my team I was very oblivious to most things going on in the MLB this season. I'm very happy my Marlins are playing better baseball winning 5 out of their last 8 against the Cardinals,D-Backs and Giants.

I'm excited to see if Miguel Cabrera can repeat and win the triple crown again as he currently leads in the batting average and RBI categories he is still chasing Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis who has 27 homeruns to Cabrera's 20. I think Miggy who is one of the most consistent hitters we have ever seen in baseball history will be right there when it's all said and done for the repeat.

I'm definitely excited to see if Giancarlo Stanton will be in the home run derby this season. As most baseball fans know his batting practices alone are a homerun derby and he posses once in a life time power that most people aren't really accustom to seeing so him at an event like the homerun derby would be nothing but a treat for the fans of the MLB.

Of course I will still have my card posts but I'm going to incorporate other pieces of exclusive memorabilia that I feel would be cool to share with you guys. So far all my guys here who collect baseball memorabilia /Cards and all that good stuff you will love all the stuff coming up.

Still love my baseball and can't wait to show you guys some of these great posts and videos I'm have coming up.

Sweet Spot Classic Patches 2003

After many countless hours of rummaging threw my Collection of baseball Memorabilia I ran into some classic cards like I do on many occasions when digging threw that mess. Back in 2003 Upper Deck had their Sweet Spot Classic set and in that set featured baseball legends with Patches of the teams they played for smacked right in the middle of the card. The three cards I own of that variety are Johnny Bench, Ozzie Smith and the Great Ted Williams. I purchased all 3 of these fantastic cardboard classics at card shows almost a decade ago. Really love what Upper deck did with that set they offered a lot of variety of players so for fans of many teams they had a lot of players to look forward to acquiring a patch card of. One of my favorites I don't have is the Ernie Banks edition of this card.

Hanley-wood

Wednesday marked the end of an era in Miami. Hanley Ramirez was traded to the L.A Dodgers prior to the Marlins contest vs. Atlanta Braves. His legacy in Miami was an up and down one he was a MVP canadite at times and other times he was detrimental to the teams success kicking balls into the outfield not playing hard at times. He got managers fired and he never fulfilled that 7 year 70 million dollar contract as the marlins franchise player. He arrived into the Dodger clubhouse around 4:00 Midwestern time he was greeted by teammates who were as equally happy too see him as he was to wear Dodger blue. The 3 time All-star was all smiles and said “I’m happy too be here”. That statement means a lot because I as a Marlin fan can tell you that a happy Hanley is a Productive one. Being in L.A could help reenergize the former batting champ back to form hitting in the same line up with Matt Kemp and Andre Eithier not having to be the face of a franchise. Hanley certainly looked like a changed man when I watched him play Monday night vs. the Cardinals. I noticed a few things that I hadn’t seen all year from him. He was a a lot more aggressive earlier in the count. He also had a more compact swing and that front shoulder wasn’t flying out so it allowed him to put more quality swings on the baseball. In his 1st ever at bat with his new ball club Hanley got those arms extended and drove the ball to center field which went off the Busch stadium wall and resulted in his 3rd triple of the season. Later on in the 6th inning he stayed back kept his hands nice short and compact and he smacked a ground ball single into center field to score Mark Ellis collect his 1st Dodger rbi. The Cardinals would eventually come back and ultimately win the game in the 12th inning 3-2. Despite the loss if im a fan of this ball club im excited to have Hanley in the middle of my order. I feel like L.A is a perfect fit for him and his personality, he loves attention and getting the limelight. When the ball club returns back home he will get to play on one of baseballs biggest stages Dodger Stadium in a city full of gilts and glamour. Hanley’s a gilts and glamour kind of guy so I think he will fit right in. If he keeps his head on straight he could be a huge asset to the team. If the Dodgers ever win a championship and he is a big part of it who knows instead of “Hollywood” we might see “Hanley-wood"