Movie Review - World War Z

Okay, I know I'm a bit late with this since the movie came out in June, 2013. But I just watched it this past weekend.

When this movie was released my wife and daughter, who are not fond of zombie movies, did not want to see it. I really didn't either since it didn't get great reviews and I'd read the book it was supposedly based on and the trailers didn't look like anything from the book.  But there it was, on Netflix, so I said what the heck.

First off, the movie has little in common with the book except the title and zombies. And not even the same kind of zombies (the old debate about fast zombies vs. slow zombies). The full title of the book is "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War". It concerns the author's journey 10-years after the zombie war to interview survivors across the US and around the world. The author is Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks. The book was a series of personal survival stories, very harrowing and believable.

The movie is about Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) surviving one close encounter after another with wild speeding zombies. I was somewhat amused to see that the open scene was in Philadelphia, my home town. Why Philadelphia? Why Not?

Anyway, Lane was a troubleshooter for the UN, going into tough situations and doing something, it was never clear what. But he's burned out and just wants to just spend some quality time with the family. His bad luck that zombies happened.

If you like zombie movies, the film was OK. If you like zombie movies then you're already acquired most of the suspension of disbelief that you need.

Lane sets out looking for Patient 0 with a young genius virologist, Andrew Fassbach, played by Elyes Gabel, who can currently be seen in the goofy TV show "Scorpion". Fassbach is described as the one man who can save us. Lane and Fassbach fly to South Korea where it is rumored, Patient 0 could be found. For this most important mission, by which the fate of all human kind could depend, they send a giant airplane with four guards. Fassbach and the 4 guards are killed almost as soon as the plane lands. The soldiers at the US base they land at manage to get the plane refueled so that Lane and the pilot can leave. Do any of the soldiers decide to go with them, either as protection for this important mission, or at least to maybe go somewhere safer? No.

I contend that you can suspend your disbelief about zombies in a movie like this but the behavior described in the last paragraph can not be believed.

Virtual Bike Tour of Baseball Sites - Salina Kansas

Virtual Bike Tour of Baseball Sites was an early feature of the blog. I was riding my stationary bike and plotting my course on a Goggle map. The plan was to 'travel' enough miles to virtually visit each major league ballpark. On the way, I would 'visit' (by showing their baseball cards) players in the home towns as I passed through. I wasn't likely to do such a trip for real so I thought this would be the next best thing. At some point it got too much to get to the gym often enough to maintain the feature but since I retired last January I'm at the gym 2-3 days a week. Time to get back on the journey.

When I left off, I was in Wichita Kansas, visiting with a couple of former Phillies. My next stop was planned to be Salina Kansas.  Here's the trip so far.

I'm now at a crossroad. I can either head east to Kansas City and on to teams on the east of the Mississippi or I can head west to Denver and pick up the western teams before finally turning back east. Any thoughts in which was to go?

Salina is a small town with a population of about 48,000 people and lots of wheat. It's motto is "Right Place. Right reason. Right now". According to it's Wikipedia page the largest employer is Tony's Pizza with 1,850 employees. It must be the largest pizza joint in the world.  It turns out there are a few baseball players born in Salina.

1993 Stadium Club #210 Pat Meares

Meares was born in Salina on 9/6/1968. He went to college in nearby Wichita State. He was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round of the 1990 draft. Pat played 6 years for the Twins and 3 years with the Pirates. He was a middle infielder with a decent enough average (.258) and a little bit of power (58 career home runs). He was mostly a shortstop and in 1995 he lead the league in errors (18) at short. His other claim to fame is that he made the last out during David Wells' perfect game in 1998.

1964 Topps #157 Gene Mauch

The most famous baseball person from Salina is undoubtedly Gene Mauch. Between 1960 and 1987, Gene managed somewhere in the big leagues every year but 2. No wonder his nickname was Skip. He managed the Phillies from 1960 through 1968 with a record of 646-684. But most people in Philadelphia will remember him as the manager of the 1964 Phillies. With a 6.5 game lead with 12 games to go, Mauch decided to pitch his two best pitchers, Jim Bunning and Chris Short in 7 of the last 10 games. The Phillies lost 10 games in a row finishing in a tie for second place.

2001 Topps Traded #35 Ryan Kohlmeier

Ryan was the Orioles 14th round pick in 1996. He was 1-3 in 59 appearances (1 start) for the O's in 2000-2001. He spent a few more years in the minors before retiring in 2004.

2009 Topps Update #303 Luke French

Another short-timer. French was drafted by the Tigers in the 8th round of the 2004 draft. He compiled a 9-2 record in 2009-2919 with the Tigers and Mariners.

The only other player born in Salina was Bob Swift who was born in 1915. He had a 14-year career as a catcher, mostly with the Tigers. I've got no cards of his.

That wraps up Salina Kansas.

Phorgotten Phillie Phile - Dennis Cook

Dennis Cook was an 18th round draft pick by the Giants in 1985. He came up to the majors in 1988 and after 6 starts for the Giants he was traded to the Phillies along with Charlie Hayes and Terry Mulholland for reliever Steve Bedrosian in 1989.

1989 Fleer Update #104 Dennis Cook

Both Hayes and Mulholland had a bigger impact on the Phillies than Cook did. Bedrosian was well past whatever prime he had although he did save 17 games for the Giants in 1989. Cook went 6-8 in 16 starts for the Phillies in 1989. This was a Phillies team that lost 95 games.

1990 Leaf #342 Dennis Cook

Cook was 8-3 in 43 appearances (13 starts) for the slightly improved Phillies (77-85) in 1990. He also had 1 save. The Phillies traded him to the Dodgers in September for catcher Darren Fletcher.

1990 Topps Tiffany #633 Dennis Cook

I see on the back of the Topps Tiffany card that Cook went to high school in Dickinson Texas. I live about 2 miles from Dickinson these days.

Cook's career with the Phillies (including a brief return in 2001): 14-11, 89 games, 29 starts, 1 save and an ERA 3.81. He was a forgettable player on a pretty forgettable team.

Cook had a pretty long career with an opportunity to be forgotten by many fans. In addition to the Giants and Phillies, he also played for the Dodgers, Indians, White Sox, Rangers, Marlins, Mets and Angels. And he wasn't a terrible pitcher, he finished his 15-year career with a 64-46 record and 9 saves.  I say any pitcher that lasts 15 years and has a winning record is pretty good. He soaked up a lot of innings in his career which is something teams need.

2004 Draft Picks - How Did They Do? The Bottom 10

According to baseball-reference.com, there were 1,498 players drafted in 50 rounds in 2004. Only 202 of them ever played in the major leagues. That's a mere 0.00134%. Of that 202, 158 (more than 75%) were drafted in first 20 rounds. It makes you wonder why they bother drafting so many players. I guess there are 2 reasons: 1) once in awhile you'll miss a player like Mike Piazza; 2) you need players to fill up the minor league team rosters. As near as I can tell, all 1,498 players spent some time in the minors.

My Bottom 10 are the lowest drafted players who actually played in the majors.

Jeremy Horst. Pick #1,192 (40th round) by the Pirates. Horst was also drafted in 2007 in the 21st round by the Reds. I have none of his cards. The Phillies traded for him in 2012 and he pitched in a few games with the Phillies in 2012-2013. He's currently with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Phillies AAA team.

Steve Edlefsen. Pick #1,235 (41st round) by the Red Sox. Edlefsen made some relief appearances for the Giants in 2011-2012. He became a free agent after the 2013 season and was signed by the Dodgers. He appeared in a few games for the Dodgers for their AAA team in Albuquerque but then retired in April. I have no cards of this guy.

2009 SP Authentic #153 Kyle Blanks

Pick #1,241 (42nd round) by the Padres. After a part-time role with the Padres from 2009-2014, the Padres traded him to the A's in May 2014. In 21games with the A's he was batting .333 and then went down with a strained left calf and remains on the DL.

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #79 Eric Farris

Pick #1,269 (42nd round) by the Braves. Farris was drafted again in 2007 in the 4th round by the Brewers. He had 9 at-bats for the Brewers in 2011-2012 with 1 hit to show for it. He's still in the Brewers system, batting .280 in AAA Rochester in 2014.

2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #116 Chris Schwinden

Pick #1,271 (43rd round) by the Tigers. Schwinden was drafted again in the 5th round of the 2008 draft by the Mets. He was 0-3 in 7 starts for the Mets in 2011-2012. He's been in the minors since then, currently with the Rangers AAA team in Round Rock.

Chad Beck. Pick #1,285 (43rd round) by the Blue Jays. Beck was drafted again in 2006 in the 14th round by the Diamondbacks who traded him to the Blue Jays in 2008. He appeared in 18 non-memorable innings for the Jays in 2011-2012.  He's currently playing in an independent league. I have no cards for him. 

2011 Topps #536 Tony Sipp

Pick #1,333 (45th round) by the Indians. Sipp has not had a glamorous career, being a middle-relief sort of guy, but he's got a 18-12 record with 6 saves in 6 years in the majors. He was 4-3 with the Astros in 2014.
2012 Topps Update #14 Jeremy Hefner

Pick #1,359 (46th round by the Mets). Hefner was later drafted in the 5th round in 2007 by the Padres. He ended up back with the Mets in 2011. He had an 8-15 record with the Mets in 2012-2013, mostly in relief and as a spot starter. He spent 2014 with the Mets, A+ team in St. Lucie.

2011 Bowman Prospects Purple #10 Erik Davis

Pick #1,397 (47th round) by the Angels. Davis (no apparent relation to Eric Davis) was again drafted in the 27th round in 2007 by the Rangers, and again in 2008 in the 13th round by the Padres. He was traded to the Nationals in 2011 and made his ML debut in 2013 with the Nationals. He appeared in 10 games in relief, winning 1. He appears to be out of baseball as of 2014.

2008 Bowman Chrome Draft #14 Chris Davis

 Pick #1,496 (50th round) by the Yankees. Chris didn't sign with the Yankees and was later a 5th round pick by the Rangers in 2006. He made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2008. For the first few years he was a part-time player but since the Orioles made him a starter in 2012, he has bloomed. In 2013 he hit 53 home runs and had 138 RBIs. He slumped in 2014 and then in September he was hit with a 25 game suspension for using adderall -- for which he previous had a "therapeutic use exemption" but did not have for the 2014 season. I'd say Davis is far and away the best player in the "Bottom 10" but I'm always wary of a player with a drub suspension. 

2004 Draft Picks - How did they do? Part 4

When we get down to draft pick #31, it feels like we're scrapping the bottom of the barrel. But there were 50 rounds to the 2004 draft. That means there were 1,457 players picked after the first round. I'm going to follow up this post with the bottom ten players who actually played in the majors.

2009 Topps Heritage #587 J. P. Howell

Pick #31 by the Royals. Howell made his ML debut in 2005. He was a starter early in his career but was converted to a reliever in 2008. He's mainly been a middle relieve although the Rays used him as a closer in 2009 when he saved 17 games. He's currently pitching for the Dodgers.

Zach Jackson. Pick #32 by the Blue Jays. Zach was a starting pitcher who compiled a 4-5 record with the Brewers and Indians between 2006 and 2009. He's currently in AAA with the Nationals. I don't own a single card of his.

2004 Just Rookies #57 Justin Orenduff

Pick #33 by the Dodgers. Orenduff was a pitcher who lasted 7 years in the Dodgers system without ever being called up.

Tyler Lumsden. Pick #34 by the White Sox. Another pitcher who never made it out of the minors. There are no Lumsden cards in my collection.

2004 Bowman Draft Picks #90 Matt Fox

Pick #35 by the Twins. It looks like Matt made his ML debut on 9/3/10, started one game, pitching 5.2 innings with no result. He was then released by the Twins and picked off waivers by the Red Sox on 9/9/10. He appeared in 3 games, 1.2 innings, with an ERA of 10.8. He was released by the Red Sox on 9/28. So in the space of 25 days he pitched for 2 ML teams. And that was his whole ML career.

2007 Topps Turkey Red #85 Danny Putnam

 Pick # 36 by the A's. Putman hit 0.214 for the A's in 28 at bats in 2007. Then it was back to the minors until 2011.

Jon Poterson. Pick #37 by the Yankees. Another guy who never made it out of the minors and for which I have no cards.

2006 Bowman Draft Picks Future's Game Prospects #7 Gio Gonzalez

Pick #38 by the White Sox. In 2005 the White Sox Gonzalez traded to the Phillies with Aaron Rowen. In 2006 the Phillies traded him with Gavin Floyd to the A's for Freddy Garcia. The Phillies eventually lost out on that deal as Garcia was a bust and Gonzales is now a top pitcher for the Nationals with an 80-58 career record.

2004 Topps Traded #76 Jay Rainville

Pick #39 by the Twins. Drafted right out of high school, he lasted in the minors until 2009 before being released. What becomes of guys like this?

2006 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor #38 Huston Street

Pick #40 by the A's. Another successful pitcher from this group. In a 10-year career, Street has pitched for the A's, the Rockies, the Padres and is currently with the Dodgers. He has a 36-29 record, 275 saves and a career ERA of 2.82. He was the 2005 Rookie of the Year and is a 2-time All-Star.

2010 Topps Update #201 Jeffrey Marquez

Pick #41 by the Yankees. Jeff pitched 1 inning for the White Sox in 2010 and 3 innings for the Yankees in 2011. Just enough time for a cup of coffee and maybe a doughnut.

1990 Fleer Canadian Phillies

A reader in Canada recently emailed with a list of Phillies cards I might be interested in. He had a 1992 O-Pee-Chee Phillies card I needed and a set of 1990 Fleer Canadian Phillies. I sent him back a mess of Expos and Blue Jay cards.

As near as I can tell, 1990 was the only year that Fleer tried to break the handle that Topps (with O-Pee-Chee) and Donruss (with Leaf) had on the lucrative Canadian baseball card market. Although the cards were accurately described to me, I was still a bit disappointed in the Fleer Canadian cards.

Look as hard as you want, there's no French on the cards. Part of the charm of O-Pee-Chee cards to me, is that the English text on the back of the Topps design was translated into French. The only real difference between this card and the American printed card is in the copyright line on the back of the cards. The American cards say

FLEER CORP., PHILA. 19141 PRINTED IN USA

For all I know I already have some of these cards picked up in repacks.

The cards are also a bit darker than the American printed cards, but within the usual card-to-card variation you generally saw in those days.

I have the entire set of the American version except for one card.

At least I now have the Canadian version.

My Reference Cards #4 - 2000 Bowman Draft Picks

This will be a shot post since the set didn't had only on insert set, no parallels and no subsets.

This was the first year for Bowman Draft Pick. If you've been following along on my earlier posts in this series, you'll notice that the cards have the exact same design as 2000 Bowman. In 2000 Bowman, the regular player cards had gold foil while the "Rookie Cards" had silver foil. That pretty much makes them indistinguishable from the 2000 Bowman Draft Pick. In 2001, Bowman added the prefix "BDP" to the card number.

There aren't many notable players from this set. The top players are, in addition to Sizemore, Pat Burrell, Barry Zito, Adam Wainwright, Adrian Gonzalez, and Mark Buehrle. Your opinions, of course, may differ.

Most of the 110 players in the set had been drafted in 1999 or 2000. Some of them had already had their major league debut. These players had their debut date stamped on the card in silver foil. But there were some players who had a date of 00/00/00, like this one.

Chen didn't actually make his debut until 2002.

I bought a hobby box of this at the time which included the entire set. Each box came with one auto. There were 60 autos available.

The autographed cards had a different design and the autos are on-card. The backs have a "Certified Auto" holograph sticker on the back which doesn't scan well.

There was also available a complete chrome parallel set. I only have one of these which I must have found in a repack.

Boxes of both these sets are readily available on eBay. Here's a link to the checklist at baseballcardpedia.com.