Surprise Care Package From Michael

After the conclusion of Fan Fest in January, I figured Michael and I had exchanged all of the O's cards and items that we would be exchanging for a good while.  I was surprised to learn the Monday following Fan Fest, that Michael had dropped a package in the mail to me.

In the package were some Orioles autographs for my various albums.  A few cards for the card album and a couple post cards for the post card album (wherever I sat it).

I have had someone pick up a Dariel Alvarez auto for me, but I didn't have the 2015 Bowman Chrome.  Felix Pie would be a great TTM subject, but he doesn't sign, from what I can tell  I don;t know much about Chris Snyder, but the 2010 Topps is a nice card.

Here are the backs of the post cards that Michael sent; signed by Pat Hentgen and Jerry Hairston, Jr.  Hairston is someone I really would like to get TTM, but I know he doesn't sign.  Hentgen is someone I have sent to, but I havent gotten anything back as of today.

Thank you so much for the care package, Michael!  I appreciate it!

Thoughts on 2015 Bowman

I picked up a jumbo box of 2015 Bowman a few weeks ago from my LCS and busted it, hoping I could get some nice pulls and some cool parallels.  I didn't really do all that well in the "pull" department, but I got a few nice color parallels.  In all, this year's design is nice.  I had a hard time picking out the silver parallels initially, but I figured it out.

There are quite a few Orioles in the set, like Mike Yastrzemski (above).  As you may know, Yastrzemski is the grandson of Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski, and had a really good year in the Orioles' system last year.  Some other Orioles in the set are Tim Berry, Hunter Harvey and Dariel Alvarez.  Not bad.

One of the mini shimmer parallels I pulled was this purple Dariel Alvarez, numbered 22/250.  This is a sharp-looking card.  I also have the orange Alvarez, which is equally as sharp, and matches his uniform.

In all, I enjoyed this year's offering of Bowman.  I didn't have an epic pull, like last year, but that didn't take away from the product.

June 28-29, 2014 Bowie Baysox Vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels

I met up with my good friend, Ryan (from the blog O No Another Orioles Blog), and caught two Bowie Baysox games in Richmond this past weekend.  The highlight of the trip was that we were able to watch Nolan Reimold play for Bowie in the final two games of his rehab assignment.

Bowie took Saturday's game, 3-0 behind a stellar pitching performance by Tyler Wilson.  Wilson went 7 innings, allowing only 2 hits, one walk and striking out 9.  He was awesome.  The win put Wilson at 10-5 on the year with a 3.72 ERA.  He was aided by Nolan who went 2-4 with a SB, Christian Walker who went 3-4 and Dariel Alvarez who went 2-4.  Walker and Alvarez appear to be legit prospects and should be in Baltimore very soon.

After the game, Ryan and I met Nolan as he was exiting the stadium.  I'm sure I came off a little Kathy Bates-like (I'm your number one fan) when I talked to Nolan.  I couldn't help it.  I got nervous and ended up running off at the mouth.  I hope Nolan understood that I was just excited and didn't want to come off looking like some crazed fan.

The second game wasn't as eventful as the first. The Baysox lost 4-3 with Nolan going 0 for 4, lowering his AA average to .314.  Walker and Alvarez each went 0-4 as well.  The game was further marred by a dud of an outing by Orioles pitching prospect, Eduardo Rodriguez.  I'm sure folks have seen him throw better, but Ryan and I picked a bad time to watch him as he lasted only 3.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts.  Rodriguez looked like a typical Baltimore pitcher, throwing a ton of pitches early and walking a lot of guys.  I don't know what it is, but the Orioles need to work on better pitching development and finding guys who don't walk a ton of batters.

Before Saturday's game, I got autographs from Dariel Alvarez (above).  Can anyone help me with his inscription?  I can't make heads or tails of it.  Below is a signed ball by Christian Walker.  I had only one OMLB ball, which I got Alvarez with and I had a ton of synthetic cover balls that I needed to find a use for, so the Walker ball ends up being a bit of an experiment as well.  I used Ryan's Staedtler pen on both balls.  Let's see if this pen, which I have heard rave reviews of, can hold a signature on these synthetic leather balls.  If they work, I may have a use for these balls yet (and I will need to buy my own pen).

Finally, I treat you all with an amateur video I shot of one of Nolan's hits from Saturday's game.  I hope you enjoy.

I had a really good time at the game with Ryan, who I hadn't seen in over a year (wow).  I didn't mind the concrete monstrosity that was "The Diamond" (the RIchmond field).  It was very easy for us to get autographs, as we could stand by the wall right by the field, reminiscent of Kinston's Grainger Stadium.  The experience was fine and the hot dogs were really good.  The aesthetics of the park get a -1 out of 10, but other than that, I have no complaints whatsoever, so I would have to rate my overall experience as very high.  I miss being able to catch minor league games, so I think I need to go out and catch some more like I had been back in 2010 and 2011.  We'll see how that goes.