JimH5

If you don't want to do any of the work, I would suggest going to a dealer at a card show and see what he might give you for it. Not sure what kind of collection you're talking about, but dealers probably pay about half of what they can sell something for. Still, I would recommend taking the top dozen or so items that you have, and doing an eBay search on similar things that have recently sold, just so have a decent idea.

I guess they need guys to fill out organizational rosters. But if I were to advise Mr. Rogers, I would tell him to find a day job and to not quit it. 25 year olds playing AA are very unlikely to have any impact in the majors. And first base prospects don't produce .428 slugging lines in 1356 plate appearances. He is 1000 times the baseball player than I am. He earned paychecks playing professional baseball. But the Brewers can't possibly look at him as being anyone to consider for the major league team.

Here's his career, he's not a 1st division player by any stretch, but he could be an adequate stop-gap if need be. I'm not advocating for him any kind of MLB role today, I'm saying there is a possibility he may provide value down the road. I don't believe that praise can be any more faint than that.

I just wish I had the slightest confidence that any one of those guys had it in him to become a better than average major leaguer. This roster is full of guys who just seem to be placeholders.

I have my 10-pack tickets for the year, and I consider that to be a sunk cost already. I had tickets to Tuesday's game and didn't go. My wife was traveling on business, so it would have been just me and my daughter. I don't make a habit of eating tickets, but I really had no interest in going to that game. My daughter had a friend over, I was working on some stuff at home, Yuni is still on the team. So I passed.

I don't think you are at all, Jim. I completely understand your hems & haws about Trout's build. However, even if/when he does lose that top-tier speed, his bat is still going to mean he's a damn good player. Machado is looking quite enticing this season. This is a great thread topic, The 'stache. He'll be a damn good player if he's not Bo Jackson and unable to play because he body betrays him. It seems dumb to project a guy getting a disabling injury. But Trout's body is so unique. We haven't had anyone so young, so fast, so big. Machado seems like a safer bet.

I guess it's Trout. But it's not a slam dunk for me. His body is so big. I don't know how to project him. Will he keep his speed? Will he be subject to muscle strains? Is he Jim Thome? Mark McGwire? He's so fast as a young man. I don't know how he'll age. There just isn't precedent for a guy like him. Perhaps I'm over-thinking it, but I might pick Machado, too.

I think Pedro is still around and is still active in the collecting hobby. I PM'ed him last summer and he was still collecting. Not sure why he has faded away from here for awhile. I'll drop him a note and encourage him to join up with us again.

There is an art poster from about 20 years ago of Borchert Field that I would really like to have. The guy who used to operate the memorabilia shop on North Avenue just east of 124th street used to have one hanging in his store, but I haven't seen one since. It was done by a Milwaukee artist, who also did other vintage landmarks and turned them into notecards, with a few of them done as posters. I do have one game program from the 1948 Brewers, but I can't afford to dive too deep into the minor league stuff, as that depletes money that I want to devote to the "Mike Hegan era" Brewers. Besides game used stuff, the stuff from the 1970s Brewers isn't terribly expensive. It's just a matter of finding it.

For the Brewers, I'm not into the cream of the cream stuff either. Until I see it, I guess. . . For Brewers stuff, I really like things from the 1970s. . .It's rare to come up with game used equipment that has strong authenticity. So I usually end up looking through Kellogg's 3D cards, Sunoco pinbacks, 1975 All-Star game stuff, JD McCarthy postcards, press photos, schedules. media guides, yearbooks. That stuff is usually pretty cheap. Other than that, I'm looking for a Yankees pennant from the 40s or 50s to finish up my collection of the 16 AL & NL teams. And I also like signatures of pre-1950s Hall of Famers--though most of the guys left on my want list are getting expensive. I met up with BF.net contributor Pedro at the National in Baltimore a few years ago. He's a fine fellow. Jason, drop me a PM as the date gets close, and if we're there at the same time, maybe we can meet up for lunch.

My bid on the Surhoff jacket was $180. With the buyer's premium and shipping, it will be about $227. The Molitor bat (game issued, but NOT game used), was won with a $275 bid. I was traveling and wasn't around when the late bidding was going on. My max bid on the bat was $250, and I might have gone higher, but that's also true of the winning bidder. Not sure what the total will be with the buyer's premium and shipping. Probably $350ish. . .and that's really about all I'm willing to spend on a bat anyway. I get as much fun out of having a Cecil Cooper or Sixto Lezcano bat, and they sell for much less than Molitor's. Mears is a good company. They will often have Brewers stuff, which isn't true of other auction houses. I have gotten some real bargains from Mears, and other times, the prices seem inflated. I guess everyone's got a max amount they'll pay for something.

Don't be buying up all the older Brewers stuff I won't. But I did pick up the Surhoff jacket last night from the Huggins & Scott auction. I'm mad I didn't stick it out longer for the Molitor bat. . .

The National Sports Collectibles Convention is July 31- August 4 in Rosemont, IL. . .very near O'Hare. http://www.nsccshow.com/ It is the biggest sports collectibles show every year. There are tons of autograph guests, and a wide variety of sports related things. I'm probably going to go on Thursday or Friday to avoid the weekend crowds. Looking for vintage autographs or early era Brewers stuff. Anybody else planning to go?

Yep. I agree that the Biogenesis stuff hangs over any trade talks. I posted that before the report that Bosch had agreed to talk to MLB. I was throwing out crazy trade offers to counter the idea that Braun could never, ever be traded. I want the front office to think about making the team great, not about selling merchandise or ensuring he gets a bronze statue. If they aren't "wowed" by a trade offer, there's nothing wrong with keeping him.

By the eyeball test, Rick Manning had developed a reputation as being a terrific defensive outfielder. He had won a gold glove, and had good speed. He hit lefthanded. He was kind of the opposite of Gorman Thomas. I remember being frustrated by Gorman's strikeouts and his low batting average. It was a back-of-the-baseball-card type judgment. He was hitting .183 and it seemed reasonable to me to trade him. Manning turned out to be nothing special. Looking back at his stat page, I can't see how he lasted 4 1/2 years with the Brewers. Nowadays, I would think after 2 years of that, they would cut bait.

Nobody has to bury the guy, but it seems like some are completely unwilling to consider that he might not have been truthful to us, and that they will stand by him regardless. Even if he goes kicking and screaming to a suspension, there will invariably be 5 guys on here who insist it's a grand scheme to vindicate their testing system, etc. Yes--the OJ stuff was over the top. But the talk of this being a witch hunt, and ESPN is MLB's mouthpiece, and what a huge conspiracy this is. . .all that. . . Often times, things are exactly as they appear. There's no ulterior motive. There's no behind the scenes shenanigans. He's under investigation for violating the PED agreement--and it just might be that he actually violated the PED agreement! That wouldn't be ESPN's fault or Rob Manfred's fault or Bud Selig's fault or Tony Bosch's fault. It would be Ryan Braun's fault. And yet admitting that seems impossible for some. As for the mod status. . .I've had it for about 5 minutes. Evidently, the council of elders had a meeting and saw that I had been on here for 10 years and everyone older than me is now dead, so they reached out to me. I really appreciate being asked, though if they want to strip me of my title, that will be okay, too. If they think that I put Braun on the same actual plane as a real killer, then it was because I didn't use hyperbole effectively.

I HATE that because I'm keeping an open mind and don't have enough information to make an informed decision one way or another some people think I'm a homer or living in denial. I don't know enough about anybody on this board other than my interpretations of the words they write. And Bruce, this isn't at all directed at you. I just read through this thread and see some people who several years ago would have been standing on the street corner, cheering OJ's white Bronco as it drove by. Conspiracy theories, information leaks, using the media to do dirty work, bending one's self into impossible yoga positions to create scenarios where Braun is innocent--or guilty. I'm willing to let the system play out, and to largely believe that someone is guilty or not guilty based on how they emerge from the process. All I'm saying is that it's possible that Braun did things that will result in a suspension. And even that statement causes some to get all frothy.

The same union that collaborated with MLB to bury a written decision by Shyam Das that would have shed light on what really happened in the Braun case? (Despite all the repeated talk of "technicality" and whatnot, nobody really knows exactly why Braun won, and we'll likely never know. One man's "burying a written decision" is another man's "following the protocol of the agreement hammered out in negotiations". MLBPA has demonstrated that their organizational interests and the interests of individual members do not exactly coincide when it comes to this whole mess. That's what a union is. Or a homeowners association. Or a softball team. It's a group of people who collaborate together to do what's in the best interest of the group. In fact, in many ways their interests are more aligned with MLB than they are with any given member. They, like everyone else it seems, are doing everything they can to not look like the "bad guy" who protects cheats in all of this. If Braun or A-Rod or any of the others have issue with this, that's between them and the Players Association. And being members of the PA doesn't take away their rights as citizens. Any of these guys can sue for damages. And yet none of them has. MLB is overcompensating for its past neglect of the issue. The merely accused are treated as pariahs. The facts hardly matter anymore. It's all a morality play. It's all black and white. Various shades of grey need not apply. You mean the facts that neither you nor I really know? I think if a player gets suspended, it means they did something that violated the agreement, they had their hearing, and they and their representatives failed to have the suspension overturned on appeal. I believe this system will be right nearly every time, and when it is wrong, the player, his representatives and the union will take legal action to recover damages. Otherwise you're telling me that the sport is purposely destroying its own product. That the strongest labor union in the country is fine with letting its members getting steamrolled by a corrupt system. And after being fined millions of dollars and having their names falsely smeared in public, the most competitive guys in the world will sit idly on their hands instead of seeking damages against a multi-billion dollar industry. I think I'm safe on the other side of that argument.

Because they are disregarding the content of their collective bargaining agreement That's up to the Players Association to dispute. If MLB is in the wrong, the union will let us know about it. and are using their superior financial resources to de facto blackmail Bosch into turning over That's speculation on your part, just as there has been speculation A-Rod was using his superior financial resources to buy the documents that would identify him in this investigation. all to expose a crime that nobody should really care that much about. It's not your place to say what people should and should not care about. Nevermind the fact that MLB (or an agent of MLB) seriously damaged Braun's career by leaking his initial positive test in the first place, quite unethically (and illegally). More speculation. Nobody knows who leaked what. And if Braun has suffered damages, he's entitled to sue for damages.

What if Ryan Braun is a cheater and a liar? What if he used drugs, causing his urine specimen to register a testosterone level that was above the allowed threshold, but then he was able to avoid punishment because the specimen was mishandled? What if he bought those drugs from Tony Bosch, and then lied to MLB about the reason his name appeared on Bosch's clinical records? What if he lied to the media and the fans about his drug use? Why would it be MLB's fault or ESPN's fault for pursuing facts about Braun and exposing those truths?

I like that Aaron shot a lot. The BBHOF has a photo library with thousands of images that they sell. I think 8 x 10s are around $25 and 16 x 20s are around $50. They are new prints of old photos, and make for good display pieces. As for the high end new cards, people should buy what they want, and who am I to say they shouldn't. Same with expensive bobbles. They're just not for me, especially at $2K a pop.

Pure speculation, but I see the Brewers under Melvin taking more of a scouting approach to analyzing talent and the BP folks taking an analytics approach. I wonder if the Brewers would even welcome such an event that could/would subject them to criticism.

The 2010 Donruss Extra Edition Black 1/1 is currently listed on eBay for $2000. Yikes! $2000 for a modern card seems crazy! For that, you can get both Ty Cobb signature and a Walter Johnson signature. Or a fantastic piece of game used stuff. Or a nice piece of art. I like sports memorabilia, and I like cards, but that number (and I'm sure there are higher numbers) is staggering to me.

The thread started as a hypothetical, so I'm not speculating on any trade at all. I'm saying he's the most valuable trading chip, and if we are in a rebuild, then it's okay to rebuild. He seems happy and content now. It's a team friendly-ish contract (we haven't seen his decline phase, so we don't know how he will age). That he's the face of the franchise has some value, though there was a day when he wasn't, and there will be a day when he isn't, so it's okay to imagine a time when he's not the face, and to be proactive about it. I think being the face of the franchise only has real value when they're winning. Who goes to Mets games just to watch David Wright? I don't want to dump Braun for a quantity of dreck, but if the Cards offered Shelby Miller, Oscar Tavares and Allen Craig, then what? If the Rangers offered Jurickson Profar, Derek Holland and Mike Olt, then what? I think it's necessary to include him in trade talks if they're going to break it down and rebuild. I don't think they have enough quality in other areas (Hart, Lohse, Ramirez, Weeks, Aoki) to get quality and quantity in return.

Of course he should be part of trade discussion--he's their most valuable asset. A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Clemens, Piazza, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Ken Griffey, Ichiro, Frank Thomas, Pujols, Josh Hamilton. . .all of those guys played for multiple teams in their careers. Some left by free agency, and others were traded. Multiple times. Where Melvin's Brewers have failed in producing in quantities of top minor league talent (especially pitching), he's been rather adept at getting good players from other organizations. I wouldn't want to handcuff him from being able to do that in the case of Braun.