6/30/08: Pawtucket Red Sox vs Syracuse Chiefs

With Mike Timlin and Clay Buchholz in town with Boston's Triple-A affiliate, I was at least hoping to get a shot at someone who probably won't be available to me again. Of course, after the game there were massive amounts of Boston fans. You know, 90% of them only became fans since the World Series victories. Just as any Yankee fan will wait out for any guy who has dawned the pinstripes in his career, they wanted Clay and Timlin. Both guys stopped signing literally 4 or 5 before they would have reached me. Rather disappointing. Before they came out, I was on the Syracuse side and got a couple..but a bummer of a day overall for autographs. Also, Syracuse Crunch (AHL) captain Zenon Konopka was doing a signing. I was able to get my team set card finally done, as well as receive another "autograph series" card that he signed.

Books:

Jose Vaquedano (2006)
Jed Lowrie (2008)

Cards:

Syracuse
Mike Gosling - 1
Matt Watson - 1

Pawtucket
David Pauley - 2

Syracuse Crunch (Hockey)
Zenon Konopka - 2

6/26/08: Toledo Mud Hens vs Syracuse Chiefs

Series finale and the last time we see Toledo, I skipped the game but decided to try to get some autographs after the game. Found out that Matt Joyce finally decided to sign before the game, while Bazardo was the starter for the night. I was happy that both did sign after the game. A rather bad decision on my part to skip waiting to get a couple more Timo cards (figured maybe he would snub us again) and decided to go to the Syracuse side. Kevin Mellilo said no, while Curtis Thigpen signed as I got there. No sign of anyone else, including Kevin Mench..who I want to get. Overall, not much success, but did finish off my books, so that's a good thing.

Books:

Matt Joyce (Both)
Yorman Bazardo (Both)

Cards:

Syracuse
Curtis Thigpen - 1


Overall DIFFERENT Baseball Cards: 262

6/25/08: Toledo Mud Hens vs Syracuse Chiefs

Finally, "tomorrow" has come and Timo Perez decided to sign a few. It was nice to see Jeff Larish sign on his first game back down from the majors, however Matt Joyce still avoided..although he signed two autographs for others after the game. Still no sign of Yorman Bazardo.

Books:

Chris Lambert (2006)
Jeff Larish (Both)

Cards:

Chris Lambert - 1
Timo Perez - 3
Clay Rapada - 1
Leon Durham (Coach) - 1

6/24/08: Toledo Mud Hens vs Syracuse Chiefs

Even after a blowout victory, this Toledo team is still the worst signing team I have seen this year. Timo "Tomorrow" Perez again waits for the shuttle to get there and streams out yelling tomorrow. Matt Joyce had a career night in the first two innings, with 7 RBIs at that point and avoids everyone like both pregames so far. It's pretty pointless so far with the guys I need. I was able to get a few, but I am still in need of a bunch in my books and a few cards. We'll see if I even bother to try tomorrow.

Books:

Virgil Vasquez (Both)
Preston Larrison (2008)
Clay Rapada (2008)

Cards:

Toledo
Nick Trzesniak - 1
Brian Rogers - 1
Erick Almonte - 2

Syracuse
Davis Romero - 1

6/23/08: Toledo Mud Hens vs Syracuse Chiefs

How's this for a night? A rain delay keeps the players off the field over twenty minutes past the start of game time. The problem is, not a single drop of rain on the ground, which sucks when I am hoping for autographs and had been there for well over an hour. The rains finally come, we return down and as they start to take the tarp off, it pours again. Finally, they get the game going an hour and a half later. By the time the players were leaving locker rooms after the game, it was nearly midnight. Not good for an autograph collector. I did get a few from Toledo (Triple-A for Detroit Tigers).

Books:

Francisco Cruceta (Both)
Brent Clevlen (Both)
Freddy Guzman (Both)

Cards:

Mike Hessman - 1
Blaine Neal - 1
Brent Clevlen - 1
Freddy Guzman - 1
Larry Parrish (Coach) - 1
Francisco Cruceta - 1
Fernando Seguignol - 1

6/22/08: Richmond Braves vs Syracuse Chiefs

Luckily, the weather held off until just after the players loaded the buses after tonight's game. I did a bit of wrap up work, with the only real miss being Damian Moss, which did not surprise me thanks to the past two games. The only other cards left over were a few Chuck James, which is no biggie. An interesting thing happened tonight right at the end. Matt DeSalvo finally decided to get on the bus after hiding out and chatting with someone. Now, Matt is a relatively odd guy as he will look you up and down a few times before signing for some reason. Well, as he gets ready to board the bus, a few of us got over there. He looks at us and says something to the effect of, "What are we doing now?" Well, one of the fellow autographers said something along the lines of, "You're gonna sign". Well DeSalvo responds something about signing for each of them the past few days. Well, autographer Kevin says.. Well, you can inscribe it "To Kevin fuck you" for all I care. Well DeSalvo starts to sign, asking another guy if he can inscribe it "Fuck You", to which the guy was like.. "uhh, no". I then give him my card and tell him my name, to which he doesn't inscribe it at all. This is weird, since yesterday I asked him to inscribe my card (DeSalvo used to only inscribe last year, so I figured why not). Well, he gets to Kevin and writes "To Kevin, Go Fuck Yourself" and doesn't even sign the card! Soon after, he goes to the other bus and gets Scott Thorman to come off and look at the card. It was just a very weird and almost uncomfortable situation. DeSalvo obviously has an issue with people who could be dealers (the two people he really did this to had probably had him sign 20+ cards each, which included multiples of many.), so I guess I am not too surprised. But I never would expect any player to write the F-bomb on a card..

Cards:

Matt DeSalvo - 1
Josh Anderson - 1
Phil Stockman - 2 (Both ones I already have had signed, however)
Chuck James - 4
Clint Sammons - 2

Overall DIFFERENT Baseball Cards: 243

6/21/08: Richmond Braves vs Syracuse Chiefs

It was one of those nights where it seemed pretty much everyone was in a hurry. I was able to snag a few autographs, luckily I don't need that many to start with. Damian Moss still was the same way, while I missed Chuck James again. He's the only guy I have any real amount of cards left for, as he seems to have been in most sets.

Cards:

Syracuse
David Purcey - 1

Richmond
Chris Resop - 1
Matt DeSalvo - 1
Vladimir Nunez - 3
Jerome Gamble - 3

6/20/08: Richmond Braves vs Syracuse Chiefs

Had a little bit of odds and ends to try to wrap up, which is always great when it's only the second game of a four game series. The only player who seemed a bit of a jerk today was Damian Moss, as he apparently was in a rush. He stated he already signed yesterday. Well, that's good to know, but I didn't get him yesterday... Anyways, finished off the books for this series, unless any new players arrive in the last two games. This MAY be possible, however, as I just read that a couple of players in Atlanta got injured tonight. Was also able to get Kane Davis in the souvenir shop before the game.

Books:

Scott Thorman (2006)
Chris Resop (2006)

Cards:

Syracuse-
Kane Davis - 1 (Also got photo signed)

Richmond-
Vladimir Nunez - 1
Scott Thorman - 1
Jorge Julio - 2
Jason Perry - 1
Josh Anderson - 2
Clint Sammons - 1
Phil Stockman - 3


Overall Baseball Cards for 2008: 226

6/19/08: Richmond Braves vs Syracuse Chiefs

After nearly two weeks without a game in Syracuse, Atlanta's Triple-A affiliate came in. Some disappointed was learned right when I got to the park, as it was found out that ex-Chiefs Sal Fasano had been traded to Cleveland. Also, Joe Borchard is done for the year, though I kind of assumed that. The positive was that Phil Stockman had just been sent to Richmond. Didn't do too bad overall, finishing off all 4 prospects I needed from my 2008 prospect book on the first day. Josh Anderson was really nice, as were most of the players.

Books:

Chuck James (2006)
Clint Sammons (Both)
Josh Anderson (Both)
Diory Hernandez (2008)
Brett Lillibridge (2008)

Cards:

Chris Chambliss (Coach) - 1
Brent Lillibridge - 2
Matt DeSalvo - 2
Brian Lawrence - 2
Scott Thorman - 2

Overall Baseball Cards in 2008: 214

6/16/08: Hall of Fame Game- San Diego Padres vs Chicago Cubs

I went the cheap and what turned out to be smart route for this game. With the high price of tickets for this Hall of Fame Game finale, I figured I would go there but just try to get autographs at the Clark Sports Center (which the teams use as a clubhouse) and outside the game. Pregame was a bit uneventful, due to the Cubs showing up late. This made everyone rush in the end, so even though the Padres got there early, they ran onto the trolleys for the parade without signing. I did luck out and catch Randy Wolf going to a field outside of the stadium to do some work with a coach, as well as Carlos Zambrano coming over when the Cubs bus got there.

After the mile or so walk to the stadium, it started to pour. I only got Padres manager Bud Black before being forced to try to run the mile back as the storm brought heavy rain, hail, and lots of lightning. Props to the couple who let us stay on their porch while we were about to get mauled by hail.

After getting back to the Clark Center, a few players came back before the rain returned. One was probably my second favorite player, Josh Banks, who even recognized me. When the rain let off a bit as the players were leaving.. Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Ted Lilly signed a few, but there was no chance when you had the guys budging with six baseballs to get signed by each. It was impressively pathetic seeing kids and girls being pushed out of the way by obvious dealers. Good reason why many players don't care to sign anymore.

Books:

Cubs-
Geovany Soto (2006)

Padres-
Yefri Carvajal (2008) - Currently with San Diego's Single-A team in Fort Wayne

Cards:

Cubs-
Carlos Zambrano - 1
Geovany Soto - 2
Alan Trammell (Coach/ex-major leaguer) - 1

Padres-
Randy Wolf - 1
Bud Black (Manager) - 1
Josh Banks - 3
Justin Hampson - 2
Tony Clark - 2 (Including my 200th of the year)
Scott Hairston - 1

Cards signed in 2008 - 205

6/6/08: Columbus Clippers vs Syracuse Chiefs

Last home game for about two weeks, even though I hope to go to the Hall of Fame Game or another Binghamton game in the mean time. Before the game was great, as Chip Cannon was signing in the souvenir store, and a couple Chiefs signed before the game. Then, I look over to the Clippers side and see Pokey Reese signing, and it looked like he was signing multiples. So I decide to take a quick run over there, as he went back into the dugout and was just hanging near the stairs. I was able to get him to come out and he signed my two cards I had remaining. After the game was pretty uneventful on the Syracuse side, as I wasn't feeling very aggressive to get many of them as they left.

Books:

Syracuse-
Kevin Melillo (Both)

Cards:

Columbus-
Pokey Reese - 2
Alex Escobar - 1

Syracuse-
Adam Lind - 1
Bubba Nelson - 1
Chip Cannon - 1
Davis Romero - 1
Also a photo of Chip Cannon

Total Cards This Year: 191

6/5/08: Columbus Clippers vs Syracuse Chiefs

Not a very successful day at all. I came into today needing Frank Diaz, Jorge Padilla, Pokey Reese (go figure I found two card of him earlier, one of which I could have gotten signed the night before, as Reese was going around saying he'd do one per person), and Alex Escobar. Well, none signed before the game, and after the game Reese didn't sign for anyone, while Escobar ran to the transporting van after signing for a few people. Unfortunately, I was about two people too late to get him.

Cards:

Jorge Padilla - 1
Frank Diaz - 2
2006 Topps Heritage Washington Team Card (mentioned in previous post): Chris Schroder signed it.

Total Cards This Year (Counting Team Card As Only One): 184

6/4/08: Columbus Clippers vs Syracuse Chiefs

Figured I would try to grab the few I missed from the Clippers. Didn't do too bad, but didn't really have that much left, compared to yesterday. Got nervous as Clippard was pulled after two innings, but luckily if he gets recalled it wouldn't be for a few days for a spot start. Thank goodness.

Books:

Frank Diaz (2006)
Tyler Clippard (2008)

Cards:

Tyler Clippard - 3
Larry Broadway - 1
Dennis Tankersley - 2
Alex Escobar - 1
Tim Foli - 2
2006 Topps Heritage Washington Team Card (Larry Broadway, Michael O'Connor signed it)

6/3/08: Columbus Clippers vs Syracuse Chiefs

Had things to do tonight, but figured I would catch last two innings of the game and try to knock off my gigantic amount of Columbus Clippers cards and players in my book. The Clippers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. I was able to get a huge amount of players, especially considering the hotel van left while about 8 or 9 players were coming out. I finished off all but three from my books, with one of those being on the DL and probably not around.

Books:

Collin Balester (Both)
Chris Booker (2006)
Bobby Brownlie (2006)
Matt Chico (2006)
Tyler Clippard (2006)
Garrett Mock (Both)
Steven Shell (2006)
Larry Broadway (2006)
Tommy Murphy (2006)

Cards:

Mike Bacsik (gave up Bonds' 756th HR) - 2
Chris Schroder - 2
Pokey Reese - 2
Matt Chico - 3
Collin Balester - 1
Tommy Murphy - 3
Mike O'Connor - 3
Pete Orr - 2
Steven Shell - 2
Ray Olmedo - 1

Total Cards This Year: 171

6/2/08: Norfolk Tides vs Syracuse Chiefs

Was hoping for some birthday magic today. I picked up the 2008 Syracuse Chiefs set and went to their side pregame. After that, I figured I would try to nail the few remaining Norfolk players that I had left. Overall great day for autographs.

Books:

Syracuse-
Buck Coats (2008) (50th signature in 2008 book)

Cards:

Syracuse-
Jordan DeJong - 1
Wayne Lydon - 2
David Smith - 1
Buck Coats - 2
Doug Davis (manager) - 4
Hector Luna - 1
Russ Adams - 1
Rick Langford (pitching coach) - 2

Norfolk-
Greg Aquino - 1
Omir Santos - 1
Ryan Bukvich - 3 (signed 150th card of year)

Total Cards This Year: 150

6/1/08: Norfolk Tides vs Syracuse Chiefs

Another late day at work, but I was able to walk into the stadium literally 4 pitches before Syracuse hit a walkoff homerun for the win. A surprisingly big crowd on the visiting side, as well as the fact that I was pretty sure that a walk off home run would make Syracuse much happier to sign, while having the opposite effect on Norfolk made me go to the Syracuse side for a second straight game. I was able to get a lot of the hometown guys that I had left, while still able to get Norfolk's manager and rehabber. I'm happy to have our rehabbing pitcher (Brian Wolfe) done in my book and cards. Always a bit of a rush to grab someone rehabbing since you never know when they might end that assignment.

Cards:

Syracuse
Bill Murphy - 1
Mike Gosling - 1
Adam Lind - 1
Brian Wolfe (rehab)- 2
Erik Kratz - 1

Norfolk
Fernando Cabrera (rehab) - 1
Gary Allenson (manager) - 1

Total Cards This Year: 131