Blog: September 7-September 13, 2009

September 7, 2009. Carpenter was using a Gwynn-finished LS M9, and though I'm not positive, it looked like a Joel Piñeiro model... Mike Matheny traveled with the team on this road trip and was shown in full uniform, wearing #22. Of course, Thurston also wears #22. This situation is similar to when Larry Walker was a "visiting coach" and wore a duplicate #33.

September 8, 2009. Smoltz was using an unfinished ash bat that appeared to have his name and "St. Louis Cardinals" under his name. I couldn't read the wording clearly, but the spaces between words certainly didn't align with "Boston Red Sox."

September 9, 2009. There are a handful of eBay sellers whose IDs raise immediate suspicion (if not disgust). The king of thieves could be tim_455qkf, a Virginia seller whose endless supply of homemade batting helmets causes as many laughs as cringes. A friend once bought a rare, early Yogi Berra bat from him. From the photos, there was no doubt it was a legit R43 Larry Berra-branded Louisville Slugger. But, the bat that arrived in the mail was a beat-up '70s Yogi Berra retail bat. (I later tried to sell it for my friend on eBay, but it couldn't fetch a 99-cent minimum bid. That's how crappy it was.) The seller has become famous on the Game Used Universe message board for his shenanigans. Still, though, he continues to sell on eBay. His latest listing is a Stan Musial game-used bat. It looks like a real 1960 Adirondack in the photos. Wonder what it will look like when it shows up on the buyer's door step. You've been warned.

September 11, 2009. The team wore the red stars and stripes caps, just as they did on July 4 and Memorial Day... Rasmus used a natural maple Marucci bat with a fully taped handle, which is unusual. It's possible it was a Brendan Ryan model.

September 12, 2009. Cardinals' minor league pitching coordinator Dyar Miller has been in the dugout and in uniform, though it doesn't appear he's wearing a numbered jersey. When I see him, he's wearing a red warmup jacket/pullover... The team received some new Rawlings S100 batting helmets, and thanks to this video, we know at least Brendan Ryan has tried one. Based on his comments, though, I get the feeling we won't be seeing any of these oversized shells being used in a game.

September 13, 2009. Matt Holliday created inventory for the Authentics Store... The seller of the Musial bat I wrote about on 9/9 put a $700 buy-it-now price on the bat and it sold quickly. Either somebody got a real steal, or they're going to get a rude awakening. If you bought the bat and read this blog, please let me know how this turns out.