The off-season, "hot stove" seems to be heating up a little bit more as we get closer to Christmas and the winter meetings. The Red Sox made a couple of moves that add two more pitchers to the 40-man roster. I created a fictional card for Ramon Ramirez following the Coco Crisp trade (click here if you missed it) and thought it would be fun to keep adding new ones as additional players join the team. So here are Green Monster exclusive cards of Junichi Tazawa and Wes Littleton.
So who are these guys? Wes Littleton is a right handed relief pitcher with a sidearm delivery (as you can see in the photo on the card). According the Boston.com, the Red Sox like Littleton's arm, but seeing as how he is out of minor league options, I get the feeling he is a AAAA type guy who will be another in a long line of Sox relievers who make me want to pull out my hair. As for Tazawa, he is a 22 year old Japanese starter who opted to sign with a MLB team rather than go through the Japan league's amature draft. From what I've read he needs some time in the minor leagues, but has lots of upside. Personally, given Diasuke Matsuzaka's somewhat rocky transition from dominant Japanese ace to pretty good MLB nibble pitcher, I have to wonder how good this kid will be as a MLB pitcher. Either way, the cards that I've created will probably be as close to a 2009 Topps card as these two get (Tazawa probably won't even be elligible under the MLBPA rules).
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5 comments:
Nice fake cards! :)
Thanks! I have fun making them. It also has given me a better appreciation for Topps' graphic artists.
Nice work Scott! I actually like both of your cards better than the real cards Topps has showcased on early sell sheets. Seriously, well done!
If you have an eye for this kind of thing, maybe you'd be interested in my blog at http://goosejoak.blogspot.com. It focuses on this same concept -- making fake or "tribute" cards. I do old players on new cards, new players on old cards, as well as time-appropriate players who just didn't make it into a set that they should have.
I also keep a list of tribute cards I find on other blogs. I've proudly added your cards to my list, including the one you did for Ramon Ramirez! Here's the list so far:
http://goosejoak.blogspot.com/2008/11/tribute-cards-by-other-bloggers.html
If you have any other tribute cards you've done and want to share, just let me know and I can add them to my list!
Looking forward to more of yours in the coming months!
-Dave
Thanks for the compliments and the add to your site! I'll definitely check it out. Doing these cards has given me new respect for Topps' graphic designers. It makes me wonder about Topps' photography division. I mean, could they really not get a good photo of Manny in a Dodgers uni that they had to resort to 'shopping him (Stadium Club)?
ScottC
Very cool cards!
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