Birdbats blog...

June 16, 2013. The owner of this Pujols bat on eBay seems to have a problem with me. My reply to his comments can be found here... Still no blue bats or blue-laced balls for Father's Day. Just several blue wristbands and adhesive blue ribbons on players' jerseys.

June 14, 2013. A good deal of bat-related activity tonight. Matt Adams pinch hit using a Nnywg-finished Sam Bat... Carlos Beltran is swinging a black Louisville Slugger, his first departure from Marucci this year... Ty Wigginton used a Nnywg Marucci. It was one of Tony Cruz's bats... David Freese used a natural Marucci for the first time in 2013.

June 12, 2013. Freese is now swinging his own non-contract Old Hickory model. Earlier this season, I spotted him using one of Holliday's bats.

June 11, 2013. The team packed two sets of headgear for this road trip. After donning the navy caps and helmets in Cincinnati, they broke out the red lids tonight in New York... This Musial bat on eBay is the same bat that was offered recently in a MEARS auction. It was pulled from that auction (after bidding ended) because of multiple discrepencies I pointed out to MEARS. Those included markings that dated the bat to 1964 or later and a style of signature that was consistent with souvenir bats, but not with known gamers.

June 9, 2013. I have decided to part with my two game-worn Futures Game caps from last year's game in KC. The Oscar Taveras cap has been signed and has both MLB and JSA authentication (stickers under the bill). The Kolten Wong cap is not signed. I'm asking $550 for Taveras, $325 for Wong, or $750 for both. Prices include shipping. If you're interested, contact me at birdbats@charter.net... Kozma used a Gwynn-finished Rawlings bat tonight. It's the first time this season he swung anything other than a black Sam Bat.

June 8, 2013. This 1968 Red Schoendienst home jersey was hammered down by Grey Flannel early Thursday morning for $4,875 ($5,850 with juice). Yet, the same jersey is still being offered on eBay for $13,000. It's been on the Bay for several months and, interestingly, ended and relisted after Grey Flannel's own auction concluded. Maybe they're just covering their bases until the money arrives, but wouldn't it be fun to hit the "buy it now" button on eBay, just to see what happens?

June 7, 2013. As expected, the Cards went back to their navy caps and helmets for the series in Cincinnati... This navy pregame jersey sold on eBay yesterday, but it just doesn't smell right. To my knowledge, the team wore navy BP jerseys in 1984, but the collars were different (scroll down on this site to view Dave Von Ohlen's 1985 Fleer and Donruss cards for examples) and the numbers had serifs, unlike the eBay jersey. If anyone has a photo of a player in a jersey like the one on eBay, I'd love to see it.

June 6, 2013. The Memphis Express keeps chugging along. Today, Cleto was sent back to AAA and Kevin Siegrist was brought up to make his MLB debut. Siegrist wears #46, which is interesting since most call ups have been assigned digits in the 60s... Tony Cruz was using his own Marucci Nnwyg model tonight, not a Molina model.

June 5, 2013. Maikel Cleto was recalled from Memphis before the game and appeared as a reliever. He again is wearing #63. Batting in the eighth inning, Cleto used a black (dark gray) Tucci Lumber bat. I have to wonder if, like Gast and Lyons, he was swinging one of Shelby Miller's sticks... Joe Kelly was swinging a natural ash LS. It was his own non-contract model.

June 4, 2013. Seth Maness had the distinction of using two bats during his first MLB plate appearance. Both were LS ash bats with a flame finish. He broke the first bat on a weak foul ball and had the second bat on his shoulder as strike three passed over the plate. Both bats were non-contract models and may have belonged to either Adam Wainwright or Shane Robinson.

June 3, 2013. Lance Lynn used a black Louisville Slugger bat tonight... My, how the mighty have fallen. This 2011 Pujols bat just sold for $1,580. I paid $2,800 for an almost identical bat only a year ago. The values on older Pujols items are holding up better, simply because they're much harder to find. But, bat prices from the past 2-3 seasons are really slumping. Kind of like Pujols.

June 2, 2013. The Saturday alternate jerseys that will be auctioned June 13-16 on the team's website are the ones that were worn yesterday during game two only. The game-one jerseys were a different set. So, if you really wanted Shelby Miller's jersey because he pitched such a great game, sorry. All he did was watch game two in the jersey that will be offered... Here are the caps the team will wear on July 4. They are similar to the caps worn in 2010, except New Era has opted for the batting practice cap material. The logo also is different, featuring a gray outline and red shadowing instead of a much better looking red outline. I do like that they're wearing a gray dome to match the gray road jerseys. I recall wishing they'd done that on 9/11/10, and even altered a photo to make my point.

June 1, 2013. In game one of a split double-header, Keith Butler made his MLB debut wearing the #65 Saturday alternate jersey... Matt Adams swung a black Marucci bat... Jerseys from today's game were scheduled to be auctioned on the team's website later this month. However, due to Friday's rainout, there were two Saturday games. The Cards wore alternates for both games, but I'm assuming there were two different sets and suspect the set to be auctioned was worn in the second game. I hope to have clarification on that soon.

May 30, 2013. Michael Wacha made his debut wearing #52. He swung a black Chandler bat with a gold center brand/logo. The bat was a contract (signature) model, which makes me wonder if it's his own model (unusual for a rookie pitcher), or whether it belonged to someone else. The scribble did look a little like the one on Oscar Taveras's bats... Bengie Molina was in uniform tonight, coaching first base... I mentioned in a previous post that regular-season jerseys in 2013 have a second jock tag. Here's what it looks like, below the traditional Majestic tag. I tried to scan the code with my iPad, but it didn't read.

May 29, 2013. Went to the game tonight and was happy to see new inventory -- and old inventory. Spring training jerseys hit the shelves, but the key prospects (Taveras, Wacha, Wong) were nowhere to be found. Names like Wainwright, Beltran and Holliday were there for $400 each. What shocked me, though, was the presence of some old bats in the rack, including a Molina X-Bat circa 2006, a 2004-05 Molina Louisville Slugger with #41 on the knob, and a Rolen Mizuno bat. Don't know where those bats were hiding this whole time, but glad they found their way out of the shadows... Apparently, Michael Wacha has inherited Eduardo Sanchez's #52.

May 28, 2013. A third of the lineup tonight was using other guys' bats... There apparently was an edict from MLB for teams to wear their BP caps during games tonight in an effort to sell merchandise. The Royals complied, but the Cardinals, thankfully, did not... Shelby Miller and Matt Adams have been added to the autograph event scheduled June 22 at Collector's Corner in O'Fallon, Ill. Allen Craig already was scheduled. Details here.

May 27, 2013. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Though, in fairness to today's starting pitcher, he is a big fan of camo... The Cards recalled pitcher Victor Marte, who will wear #66 again this season... Players continue to use each others' bats. Today, Freese was using a Beltran model, while Jay swung both Molina and Descalso models.