Blog: July 20-July 26, 2009
July 20, 2009. This isn't the worst fake Pujols bat ever, but it's in the team picture. Interestingly, the seller recently bought a lot of five blank maple bats. Hmm... SCP Auctions is selling what's advertised as a 1962 Bob Gibson road jersey. The problem is, the Cardinals introduced names on the uniform backs during spring training in '62. No way Gibby wore this shirt in a game. What's worse? SCP sold the jersey last year, had it returned (presumably for a full refund) and is trying to sell it again. This thread and this thread have more information. The bid already is north of $12K. Sad.
July 21, 2009. As readers of this blog know, I'm happy to help collectors and share my opinions, at no cost, whenever Pujols items show up on eBay and other places. The whole purpose of this blog is to share information with Cardinals collectors. Unfortunately, it's getting a bit overwhelming. I get about a half-dozen e-mails a day that go something like, "This Pujols bat/jersey just popped up. What do you think?" Of course, 98 percent of the time, the item is suspect or flat out bogus. So, let's try a new approach. When a Pujols "gamer" appears on eBay or in some other auction, rest assured I'll see it. If I think it could be legit, I'll post a link on the blog. But, if I have questions or concerns about it, I'll probably just ignore it (unless it's so bad it's funny, like the bat discussed yesterday). In other words, assume I have issues with every Pujols bat and jersey on eBay unless I post otherwise. Sound fair?
July 22, 2009. The underarm gussets on a few of the road Cool Base jerseys are starting to yellow, just as they did last season. Apparently, Majestic hasn't figured out how to fix that... Khalil Greene's pink Mother's Day bat didn't receive a minimum bid of $300 in MLB's recent pink bat online auction, so it's back this week with a $150 minimum.
July 23, 2009. New Cardinal Julio Lugo joined the team in D.C. tonight, but he wore a windbreaker during the game, hiding his jersey number. The team Web site lists him as #12, which would be bad news for David Freese. Why would the team give Freese's number away if they expected him back this season? It's not like #12 was Lugo's number -- he has worn #3, #4 and mostly #23 during his career. And it's not like another low number -- #16 -- wasn't available. Interesting.
July 24, 2009. Matt Holliday -- who clearly wasn't getting his preferred #5 -- is wearing Jimmy Ballgame's former #15. That means Hal McRae will be donning a new number again. You'll recall McRae started with #8 in 2005, but surrendered that digit to Troy Glaus last season. I'm betting McRae will switch from #15 to Chris Duncan's former #16. He wore a windbreaker during tonight's game, so no number was visible... Lugo made his debut wearing #12 as expected... Lugo used a Gwynn-finished Mizuno bat. He's the first Cardinals Mizuno user since Scott Rolen and So Taguchi in 2007... Holliday used two bats, a Gwynn-finished Marucci that appeared to be a Pujols model, and a natural Rawlings.
July 25, 2009. In just his second game with the Cards, Holliday has now used three brands of bats. Today, he swung an SSK with a Gwynn finish. He could be the first St. Louis player to swing SSK in a game. Many of the coaches use SSK fungo bats, but I've never noted a player using one... More brands could be on the way for Holliday. I reviewed several photos of Matt playing in Oakland this season and saw him using Sam Bat, Louisville Slugger and Old Hickory. Holliday could make bat watching interesting again... Holliday said after last night's game that he had to wear Wellemeyer's cleats and use DeRosa'a batting gloves. Didn't say anything about his bats... Congrats to FOB (friend of Birdbats) Wade Hampton, who was notified yesterday that he's a winner of a #42 jersey. I guess I was premature in suggesting we should give up hope if we hadn't heard anything by now. Wade will find out Tuesday which jersey he gets. Any other lucky winners out there?
July 26, 2009. Rick Ankiel was using an ash Rawlings bat with a black (or very dark blue) band today. Clearly not one of his Cardinals bats. Wonder where he got that one... Hal McRae is still wearing his windbreaker, so his new number remains a secret... Holliday definitely is using one of Albert's Marucci sticks. Not only was it clear on television today, but the Associated Press published this photo online.
