Cruz, and Mariners Agree

While I spent my entire weekend getting things done around the house. The Seattle Mariners were busy getting things done.

For the cat it was doing the Black Friday thing followed by getting the Christmas lights up on the house. To make that happen required some serious work in the garage. Throw in the huge project of working on trying to get all the schedules for trade up on the other blog site. A project that is going well, and is possibly close to 75% done.

The Mariners were even busier as they got them a Cyber Monday deal. A new player that the team was tied to last season.

If he shows the power that has become a trademark the last few years. This will be a move that will gain some serious wins for the team. Gone will be the chance to avoid Cano in close games. With Cruz in the next spot you might be best pitching to Cano. Having this help I believe will lead to a big year for Cano.

Interestingly I believe this won't be the last we hear from the Mariners. Yes, the team has now gotten the bat they have hoped for. Despite the huge addition there are still some gaps still needing fixed. I'm not going to say that the team will make another huge splash like the one today.

They will make another move or two for an outfielder. If that player is a big name then look out for the Mariners this upcoming season. If that player is a lesser known name this team might still be trouble for the AL west. The biggest news of all this is Seattle might finally start becoming a serious threat for years to come.

The years of players taking less money to play elsewhere could be ending. Cano's contract last season could be what has started this new trend. Having a superstar like Cano coming let people know that Seattle was no longer the unwanted kid anymore. Now all that is left will be seeing if the team can do something with all this new found ability to get stars in town.

Oh The Irony

When planning on doing this post I didn't originally know that the subject of this post would be playing. Now that I do know it helps in making things a little more relevant here.

Continuing my two days of clearing out the unreturned artelopes. We have today's winner, and opponents of the Dallas Cowboys.

Gone for almost three months now. The Eagles seem to be collecting stamps this year as they are on most schedule collectors wantlists. Mine seems to now be one of those in their new collection.

The idea for this was the team helmet with the eagle wing. While it doesn't look too terrible, I had hoped for it to turn out better when I drew it. More than anything I hoped the results would be better. Maybe a business cards into the collection, and crossing Philadelphia off the wants. In the end it just wasn't meant to be so I guess it's time to move on.

Oh, Yeah!

GO COWBOYS!!!

Guess I'm Not Bowl Eligible

With Thursday being Thanksgiving here in the United States. I figured over the next few days I will keep things simple, and just clear my files of the five envelopes that haven't been returned, and odds are at this point won't be getting returned.

Sent just under two months ago, and still gone. When I send out requests that are strictly for business cards, and something like a college bowl game. They have always made their way back within the month or they aren't coming back. I've held out hope for too long now so its time.

When it comes to my bowl game artelopes I keep it simple. Unless I can come up with something that is real close to the actual bowl games logo. I just stick with putting the games logo on the envelope. For this I kept that trend, and just added the address under the logo.

For this artedlope I did modify the logo a touch.The football is usually kept empty so to change it up I put the address inside the football. I slightly modified the mountains which in the giant scheme of things is a small thing.

When it comes to bowl games I think my odds on a return are running at fifty-fifty if not worse. I will still keep trying to add bowl games into the business card collection. Just the rate at which I attempt them will continue to be very rare as my returns are rare. I'd rather spend my time, and stamps in other areas where the return rates are much more favorable. Even if I don't get business cards from some of the professional leagues. They send schedules which gives me something to show for my time, effort, and stamps.

Nicasio To Dodgers

While I was sitting here writing about the extension the Mariners gave to Kyle Seager. Another deal that affected my player collection was being completed as well. That being Juan Nicasio to the Dodgers for either the famous player to be named later or cash. What this means in simple terms is the Rockies were done with Nicasio, and the Dodgers thought why not take a shot at a cheap costing player.

For all parties this is a great move that even though I'm not a Dodgers fan I like. For the Rockies they are moving on from a player that has just never reached the potential the team believed he has. For the Dodgers they can either try him out as a fifth starter, and see if that potential ever shows. If that doesn't work they can do as Colorado was, and put him in the bullpen. Nicasio gets the chance to leave the Colorado air, and see if he can put together a decent career finally, so it's a win for him as well.

I'm glad to see Nicasio getting this shot as while I have been collecting his cards. He did get the short end of the straw during his tenure in Colorado. Brought up due to circumstances from double A Tulsa. He was never truly given the chance to fully develop as he was the best prospect in the minors at the time. Injuries to the starting staff, and trades by the front office of starting pitching forced the young arm into action. It would have been interesting to see how he would have done if given the proper time in the minors. Maybe now being part of the Dodgers great pitching staff we will get to see some of that talent shine through.