Tenets of Wilson: 2017-04

2017-04-30

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 30

Pittsburgh over Edmonton

Round 2
NSH 1-1 STL
EDM 2-0 ANA
PIT 2-0 WSH
NYR 0-2 OTT

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 4-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-4 EDM
TOR 2-4 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 4-2 MON
BOS 2-4 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 3	Finals	Cup
PIT	0.592	69.9	46.5	27.5
EDM	0.576	85.1	51.3	23.1
WSH	0.676	30.1	24.6	18.8
NSH	0.534	51.3	20.6	7.4
STL	0.537	48.7	19.9	7.3
NYR	0.575	31.7	12.4	6.6
OTT	0.495	68.3	16.5	5.9
ANA	0.554	14.9	8.3	3.4

A team can only fall so far behind and still be the favorite, and Washington finally breached that point, down 2-0 to Pittsburgh. They're still the second favorite in the East, and third overall. Ottawa's trying to climb up the charts, also up 2-0, but despite being 68% favorites to beat New York, they're still behind them in overall chances.

Today the West plays, and hopefully the Blues can work their pack to the top half of the chart.

2017-04-29

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 29

Washington over Edmonton

Round 2
NSH 1-1 STL
EDM 2-0 ANA
PIT 1-0 WSH
NYR 0-1 OTT

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 4-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-4 EDM
TOR 2-4 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 4-2 MON
BOS 2-4 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	52.1	41.4	31.6
EDM	0.576	85.1	51.3	21.0
PIT	0.592	47.9	30.4	18.0
NYR	0.575	50.1	17.6	9.4
NSH	0.534	51.3	20.6	6.6
STL	0.537	48.7	19.9	6.5
OTT	0.495	49.9	10.6	3.8
ANA	0.554	14.9	8.3	3.0

St. Louis evened their series with Nashville, and Edmonton took a 2-0 lead over Anaheim. Despite that, Edmonton is still behind Washington, a team down 1-0, in overall cup chances. That's how off the charts Washington is this year. I was looking forward to 4 games today, the way baseball does it, but I forgot the NHL playoffs take a day off or more after each game. So, we'll get the two Eastern conference games tonight

2017-04-28

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 28

Washington over Edmonton

Round 2
NSH 1-0 STL
EDM 1-0 ANA
PIT 1-0 WSH
NYR 0-1 OTT

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 4-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-4 EDM
TOR 2-4 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 4-2 MON
BOS 2-4 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	52.1	41.4	31.8
PIT	0.592	47.9	30.4	18.1
EDM	0.576	69.7	42.1	17.2
NYR	0.575	50.1	17.6	9.5
NSH	0.534	65.1	26.6	8.5
ANA	0.554	30.3	16.9	6.2
STL	0.537	34.9	14.5	4.8
OTT	0.495	49.9	10.6	3.9

Even though Washington lost last night, they're still favored in their series against Pittsburgh, and favored to win the cup. In the other series, Ottawa is just under 50% likely to win, even with their 1-0 lead against New York. Tonight, the Western conference resumes its semifinals.

2017-04-27

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 27

Washington over Edmonton

Round 2
NSH 1-0 STL
EDM 1-0 ANA
PIT 0-0 WSH
NYR 0-0 OTT

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 4-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-4 EDM
TOR 2-4 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 4-2 MON
BOS 2-4 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	70.3	54.6	41.9
EDM	0.576	69.7	42.1	15.9
NYR	0.575	65.5	20.9	11.3
PIT	0.592	29.7	18.1	10.8
NSH	0.534	65.1	26.6	7.8
ANA	0.554	30.3	16.9	5.7
STL	0.537	34.9	14.5	4.3
OTT	0.495	34.5	6.4	2.3

The second round has kicked off, and both road teams won game 1 in the West, and both Nashville and Edmonton are over 65% likely to win. Tonight the Eastern Conference semifinals start.

2017-04-24

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 24

Washington over Edmonton

Round 2
NSH 0-0 STL
EDM 0-0 ANA
PIT 0-0 WSH
NYR 0-0 OTT

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 4-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-4 EDM
TOR 2-4 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 4-2 MON
BOS 2-4 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	70.3	54.6	42.1
EDM	0.576	53.2	32.0	12.1
NYR	0.575	65.5	20.9	11.4
PIT	0.592	29.7	18.1	10.9
ANA	0.554	46.8	26.0	8.8
STL	0.537	52.2	22.1	6.6
NSH	0.534	47.8	19.9	5.8
OTT	0.495	34.5	6.4	2.4

The US and Canadian capital cities both finished off their series, and we've got round 2 all lined up. No series in round 1 went to 7 games, but thanks to staggering the games, there will only be 2 off days before games resume Wednesday

2017-04-23

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 23

Washington over Edmonton

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 4-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-4 EDM
TOR 2-3 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 4-2 MON
BOS 2-3 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	88.5	62.2	47.9	37.0
EDM	0.576	100.0	53.2	32.0	12.7
PIT	0.592	100.0	34.0	20.4	12.3
NYR	0.575	100.0	62.1	21.1	11.5
ANA	0.554	100.0	46.8	26.0	9.2
STL	0.537	100.0	52.2	22.1	7.0
NSH	0.534	100.0	47.8	19.9	6.1
BOS	0.549	30.4	13.9	4.1	2.0
OTT	0.495	69.6	24.0	4.9	1.8
TOR	0.518	11.5	3.7	1.5	0.6

Three games finished three series on Saturday, as St. Louis, New York, and Edmonton all advanced. Edmonton is also the new Western Conference favorite. The last two series could end today, or we could have one or two game 7s, which I assume would be on Tuesday after a day off Monday.

2017-04-22

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 22

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 3-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-3 EDM
TOR 2-3 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 3-2 MON
BOS 2-3 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	88.5	62.2	48.2	36.7
PIT	0.592	100.0	34.0	20.6	12.1
EDM	0.576	78.0	41.5	23.7	9.3
ANA	0.554	100.0	48.2	25.2	8.9
NYR	0.575	76.7	47.6	16.2	8.6
NSH	0.534	100.0	44.0	18.6	5.7
STL	0.537	78.6	41.1	17.8	5.6
MIN	0.621	21.4	15.0	9.6	4.7
MON	0.561	23.3	14.5	4.5	2.3
BOS	0.549	30.4	13.9	4.1	1.9
OTT	0.495	69.6	24.0	4.9	1.8
SJS	0.547	22.0	10.3	5.1	1.7
TOR	0.518	11.5	3.7	1.6	0.6

Washington's back to nearly 50% likely to win the East, even though closing out this series will leave them one of 4 teams remaining. And Boston won to avoid elimination against Ottawa.

Today, St. Louis will try to finish off their series with Minnesota, and New York and Edmonton will need to win to avoid going to game 7.

2017-04-21

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 21

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 4-0 CHI
STL 3-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-3 EDM
TOR 2-2 WSH
CBJ 1-4 PIT
NYR 3-2 MON
BOS 1-3 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	75.1	52.8	41.0	31.2
PIT	0.592	100.0	39.1	23.8	14.0
EDM	0.576	78.0	41.5	23.7	9.8
NYR	0.575	76.7	48.9	17.9	9.6
ANA	0.554	100.0	48.2	25.2	9.4
NSH	0.534	100.0	44.0	18.6	6.0
STL	0.537	78.6	41.1	17.8	5.9
MIN	0.621	21.4	15.0	9.6	4.9
MON	0.561	23.3	14.9	5.0	2.6
OTT	0.495	84.7	29.2	6.6	2.4
SJS	0.547	22.0	10.3	5.1	1.8
TOR	0.518	24.9	8.1	3.4	1.4
BOS	0.549	15.3	7.0	2.2	1.0

Two more teams advanced last night, knocking Chicago and Columbus out of the playoffs. Tonight Ottawa could eliminate Boston, and Toronto and Washington will resume their tied series.

I noticed St. Louis's cup chances went down slightly, from 6% to 5.9%, and that seemed weird to me, because the weaker-on-paper Nashville eliminated Chicago. Taking a closer look, their chances of beating Nashville went up, from 40.4% to 41%, but their chances of making the finals dropped slightly, because Edmonton again took the lead in their series. So while the Central division playoff bracket got a little weaker, the Pacific got stronger, more than enough to make up for it.

2017-04-20

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 20

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 3-0 CHI
STL 3-1 MIN
CGY 0-4 ANA
SJS 2-2 EDM
TOR 2-2 WSH
CBJ 1-3 PIT
NYR 2-2 MON
BOS 1-3 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	75.1	52.2	40.8	31.1
PIT	0.592	86.7	33.9	20.8	12.3
ANA	0.554	100.0	49.5	25.7	9.6
EDM	0.576	56.8	30.2	17.1	7.0
NYR	0.575	49.7	31.7	11.5	6.2
STL	0.537	78.6	40.4	17.9	6.0
NSH	0.534	92.1	40.5	17.4	5.6
MON	0.561	50.3	32.1	10.8	5.5
MIN	0.621	21.4	14.8	9.6	4.9
SJS	0.547	43.2	20.3	10.0	3.5
CBJ	0.620	13.3	5.9	4.0	2.6
OTT	0.495	84.7	29.2	6.5	2.3
TOR	0.518	24.9	8.0	3.4	1.4
BOS	0.549	15.3	7.0	2.2	1.0
CHI	0.568	7.9	4.3	2.3	0.9

Calgary is the first team out, and Anaheim is the first to advance, in a 4-0 sweep. The Blues couldn't finish theirs last night, so they'll play again after another 2 day break. In the East, Washington tied their series, and the frantic hockey pundits can breathe for a few more days.

2017-04-19

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 19

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 3-0 CHI
STL 3-0 MIN
CGY 0-3 ANA
SJS 2-2 EDM
TOR 2-1 WSH
CBJ 1-3 PIT
NYR 2-2 MON
BOS 1-2 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	57.8	40.2	31.2	24.0
PIT	0.592	86.7	39.5	24.0	14.4
ANA	0.554	95.7	47.4	25.3	10.0
EDM	0.576	56.8	30.5	17.7	7.7
STL	0.537	88.5	45.5	20.3	7.2
NYR	0.575	49.7	30.3	12.0	6.5
NSH	0.534	92.1	42.1	18.2	6.3
MON	0.561	50.3	30.7	11.2	5.9
SJS	0.547	43.2	20.5	10.3	3.9
BOS	0.549	39.5	18.1	6.2	3.0
CBJ	0.620	13.3	6.8	4.5	3.0
MIN	0.621	11.5	7.9	5.2	2.7
TOR	0.518	42.2	13.5	5.6	2.3
OTT	0.495	60.5	20.9	5.2	1.9
CHI	0.568	7.9	4.4	2.4	1.0
CGY	0.511	4.3	1.6	0.7	0.2

Columbus avoided elimination, and New York and San Jose both evened their series at 2-2. For some reason the Blues got a second consecutive day off, and not even during a travel period, so they'll try to finish off their sweep tonight, as will Anaheim. St. Louis would get a whole lot of rest before the second round, but Nashville could finish off Chicago tomorrow and have only one less day off before meeting up with St. Louis.

2017-04-18

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 18

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 3-0 CHI
STL 3-0 MIN
CGY 0-3 ANA
SJS 1-2 EDM
TOR 2-1 WSH
CBJ 0-3 PIT
NYR 1-2 MON
BOS 1-2 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	57.8	40.4	31.4	24.1
PIT	0.592	92.3	42.1	25.7	15.3
EDM	0.576	73.1	39.3	22.8	9.9
ANA	0.554	95.7	46.4	24.8	9.8
MON	0.561	66.7	40.6	15.0	7.7
STL	0.537	88.5	45.5	19.9	7.1
NSH	0.534	92.1	42.1	17.9	6.2
NYR	0.575	33.3	20.3	8.1	4.4
BOS	0.549	39.5	18.1	6.3	3.0
MIN	0.621	11.5	7.9	5.1	2.7
SJS	0.547	26.9	12.8	6.4	2.4
TOR	0.518	42.2	13.6	5.7	2.4
OTT	0.495	60.5	20.9	5.2	1.9
CBJ	0.620	7.7	3.9	2.6	1.7
CHI	0.568	7.9	4.4	2.4	1.0
CGY	0.511	4.3	1.5	0.7	0.2

All 4 games went to overtime yesterday. I wonder how many times that's happened, if ever. Nashville and Anaheim took 3-0 leads, while Toronto and Ottawa took 2-1 leads. We could have 4 first round sweeps, and again, I don't know how that would compare to history, though maybe I'll look it up if we get at least 3. Also, We're back in that odd situation where Edmonton is not favored to win the West but is the most likely cup winner from the West. Washington remains on top despite trailing 2-1 in their series, due to their massive strength compared to everyone else.

2017-04-17

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 17

Washington over Edmonton

Round 1
NSH 2-0 CHI
STL 3-0 MIN
CGY 0-2 ANA
SJS 1-2 EDM
TOR 1-1 WSH
CBJ 0-3 PIT
NYR 1-2 MON
BOS 1-1 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	76.5	53.5	41.3	31.7
PIT	0.592	92.3	35.6	21.5	12.8
EDM	0.576	73.1	40.2	23.0	9.4
ANA	0.554	85.2	41.3	21.8	8.1
MON	0.561	66.7	39.0	13.0	6.7
STL	0.537	88.5	44.3	19.6	6.5
NSH	0.534	78.4	35.9	15.4	5.0
BOS	0.549	61.8	28.3	8.8	4.2
NYR	0.575	33.3	19.5	7.1	3.8
CHI	0.568	21.6	12.1	6.5	2.6
MIN	0.621	11.5	7.8	5.0	2.6
SJS	0.547	26.9	13.1	6.5	2.3
CBJ	0.620	7.7	3.4	2.2	1.5
TOR	0.518	23.5	7.6	3.1	1.3
OTT	0.495	38.2	13.2	2.9	1.1
CGY	0.511	14.8	5.4	2.3	0.6

St. Louis and Pittsburgh both took commanding 3-0 leads on Sunday, and now have chances of advancing of 89% and 92%, respectively. Edmonton also won, and overtook the lead in the West from Anaheim. Much was made of the return of Canadian teams to the playoffs after all 16 teams were US-based last year, but 3 of the 5 are now at the bottom of the list when sorted by Cup likelihood.

2017-04-16

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 16

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 2-0 CHI
STL 2-0 MIN
CGY 0-2 ANA
SJS 1-1 EDM
TOR 1-1 WSH
CBJ 0-2 PIT
NYR 1-1 MON
BOS 1-1 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	76.5	52.8	40.6	30.8
PIT	0.592	76.2	29.4	17.6	10.3
ANA	0.554	85.2	42.4	21.2	7.8
EDM	0.576	53.5	29.4	16.1	6.6
MIN	0.621	29.2	19.8	13.0	6.5
NYR	0.575	54.6	31.9	11.5	6.1
STL	0.537	70.8	35.4	16.0	5.3
NSH	0.534	78.4	33.4	14.6	4.6
MON	0.561	45.4	26.5	8.8	4.4
CBJ	0.620	23.8	10.5	6.9	4.4
BOS	0.549	61.8	28.3	8.7	4.1
SJS	0.547	46.5	22.7	10.8	3.7
CHI	0.568	21.6	11.4	6.2	2.4
TOR	0.518	23.5	7.4	3.0	1.2
OTT	0.495	38.2	13.2	2.9	1.0
CGY	0.511	14.8	5.5	2.2	0.6

Toronto tied up the series with Washington, who remains on top. Anaheim won to go up 2-0, so the projection stays the same. We'll still have 16 teams alive for at least another 3 days

2017-04-15

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 15

Washington over Anaheim

Round 1
NSH 1-0 CHI
STL 2-0 MIN
CGY 0-1 ANA
SJS 1-1 EDM
TOR 0-1 WSH
CBJ 0-2 PIT
NYR 1-1 MON
BOS 1-0 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	89.3	61.6	47.2	35.8
PIT	0.592	76.2	25.7	15.3	8.9
EDM	0.576	53.5	30.2	16.3	6.3
ANA	0.554	73.4	36.5	18.0	6.3
MIN	0.621	29.2	19.3	12.7	6.2
NYR	0.575	54.6	31.1	10.4	5.5
STL	0.537	70.8	34.0	15.5	4.9
BOS	0.549	75.1	34.5	9.9	4.6
CHI	0.568	40.7	21.5	11.7	4.4
MON	0.561	45.4	25.8	8.0	4.0
CBJ	0.620	23.8	9.4	6.1	3.9
SJS	0.547	46.5	23.3	10.9	3.6
NSH	0.534	59.3	25.3	11.1	3.4
CGY	0.511	26.6	10.0	3.9	1.0
OTT	0.495	24.9	8.6	1.7	0.6
TOR	0.518	10.7	3.4	1.4	0.5

I've got one of those odd situations due to how I frame my projections. Edmonton is the Western Conference team most likely to win the cup, but Anaheim is team most likely to win the West. That's because while Anaheim is better positioned to make the finals (up 1-0 instead of tied 1-1), Edmonton is much stronger, and would be more likely to beat whatever team they faced from the East. Of course, with only 1 or 2 games played in each series, the projections are still pretty volatile, so don't place your arbitrage wagers just yet.

2017-04-14

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 14

Washington over Minnesota

Round 1
NSH 1-0 CHI
STL 1-0 MIN
CGY 0-1 ANA
SJS 1-0 EDM
TOR 0-1 WSH
CBJ 0-1 PIT
NYR 1-0 MON
BOS 1-0 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	89.3	60.8	46.5	34.7
MIN	0.621	51.1	33.7	22.3	10.8
PIT	0.592	60.2	20.3	12.0	6.9
NYR	0.575	68.4	39.0	13.0	6.7
CBJ	0.620	39.8	15.7	10.2	6.4
ANA	0.554	73.4	37.1	17.2	6.0
EDM	0.576	39.8	22.5	11.4	4.4
SJS	0.547	60.2	30.2	13.3	4.4
BOS	0.549	75.1	34.5	9.8	4.4
CHI	0.568	40.7	19.8	10.9	4.1
STL	0.537	48.9	23.5	10.9	3.4
NSH	0.534	59.3	23.0	10.2	3.1
MON	0.561	31.6	18.0	5.5	2.7
CGY	0.511	26.6	10.2	3.7	1.0
OTT	0.495	24.9	8.6	1.7	0.6
TOR	0.518	10.7	3.3	1.3	0.5

Washington solidified their position with a game 1 win, and are now 89% likely to win their first round series, and 35% likely to win the Cup. 4 more games are scheduled for tonight, and hopefully the Blues will knock Minnesota out of that top spot in the West.

2017-04-13

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 13

Washington over Minnesota

Round 1
NSH 0-0 CHI
STL 1-0 MIN
CGY 0-0 ANA
SJS 1-0 EDM
TOR 0-0 WSH
CBJ 0-1 PIT
NYR 1-0 MON
BOS 1-0 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	82.5	56.2	43.0	32.0
MIN	0.621	51.1	32.8	21.8	10.8
PIT	0.592	60.2	21.8	12.9	7.4
NYR	0.575	68.4	39.0	13.4	6.9
CBJ	0.620	39.8	16.7	10.9	6.8
CHI	0.568	58.8	28.6	15.8	6.1
ANA	0.554	60.8	30.8	14.0	5.0
EDM	0.576	39.8	23.1	11.6	4.6
SJS	0.547	60.2	31.2	13.5	4.6
BOS	0.549	75.1	34.5	10.2	4.6
STL	0.537	48.9	22.6	10.6	3.4
MON	0.561	31.6	18.0	5.7	2.8
NSH	0.534	41.2	16.0	7.2	2.2
CGY	0.511	39.2	15.0	5.4	1.4
TOR	0.518	17.5	5.3	2.1	0.8
OTT	0.495	24.9	8.6	1.8	0.6

There were 5 games played on the first day of the playoffs, but depite the loss, Minnesota is still favored in the West. They're just over 50/50 to win their first round series, though. Washington was idle, and remains at the top of the East.

2017-04-11

2017 Stanley Cup Projection, April 11

Washington over Minnesota

Round 1
NSH 0-0 CHI
STL 0-0 MIN
CGY 0-0 ANA
SJS 0-0 EDM
TOR 0-0 WSH
CBJ 0-0 PIT
NYR 0-0 MON
BOS 0-0 OTT

Team	Strength	Round 2	Round 3	Finals	Cup
WSH	0.676	82.5	55.5	42.8	31.3
MIN	0.621	69.3	44.5	29.4	14.4
CBJ	0.620	54.7	22.9	15.1	9.2
EDM	0.576	57.8	33.5	16.1	6.3
CHI	0.568	58.8	26.7	14.5	5.6
PIT	0.592	45.3	16.4	9.9	5.5
NYR	0.575	51.6	30.3	10.4	5.1
ANA	0.554	60.8	30.1	13.0	4.6
MON	0.561	48.4	28.4	8.9	4.2
BOS	0.549	60.1	27.5	8.1	3.5
SJS	0.547	42.2	21.8	9.0	3.0
STL	0.537	30.7	14.2	6.5	2.1
NSH	0.534	41.2	14.7	6.5	2.0
CGY	0.511	39.2	14.6	5.0	1.3
OTT	0.495	39.9	13.8	2.8	0.9
TOR	0.518	17.5	5.2	2.1	0.8

It's time once again to see if I can outsmart the masses and pick the winner of a major league sport's playoff tournament. I'm sure Washington is a popular pick this year, but seeing Minnesota coming out of the West was a little surprising, given that they are a #2 team. But, they've got the goal differential my system rewards, as well as a relatively easy first round opponent, my St. Louis Blues.

I didn't run this during the full playoffs last year, so I don't know how good I should expect an initial projection to be. I'm using a home ice advantage of 55%, which scales up or down the win percentage chance determined by strengths alone.

Hopefully I got all the abbreviations set to the normal ones used by the teams. I had COL for Columbus until I remembered that's usually Colorado. CAL also didn't look right for Calgary, now properly CGY.

2017-04-09

eBay Wins #253

Today's eBay bargain came in the form of a full pack of 1990 Pacific Legends. I previously only had two cards from this set, which came from another eBay win and a contest win.

1990 Pacific Legends
#26 Dick Groat
#37 Vern Law
#38 Eddie Lopat
#54 Bob Horner
#68 Catfish Hunter
#69 Alvin Dark

1990 Pacific Legends
#85 Bob Feller
#97 Tom Paciorek
#101 Phil Rizzuto
#103 Pete Runnels

In addition to the pictured Bob Horner, Dick Groat and Al Dark both played for the Cardinals. Dick Groat always reminds me of a story my dad would tell about being at the 1964 (I think) World Series. The crowd stormed the field, and when he reconnected with his friend who had run off, the first thing he told my dad was "I touched Dick Groat!" That'd be a good name for a blog, if you're a Pirates/Cardinals/Phillies/Giants fan out there looking for inspiration.

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	5034
Total Spent	$62.71
Per Card	1.246 cents
Change	0 cents

2017-04-07

Zistle Trade #30

Today's Zistle trade was just a small handful of cards that filled some random needs in my collection. In return, I sent a few Reds, all from 2011.

1989 Topps #224 Tony La Russa
1991 Topps #58 Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
1991 Topps #171 Tony La Russa
2012 Topps Archives #24 Lance Berkman
2012 Topps Update #US44 Jeremy Hermida
2012 Topps Update #US68 Fernando Rodney

Tony La Russa was my favorite non-Cardinals manager as a kid, so I was thrilled when he came to St. Louis. Even when a lot of the local fans turned on him, I was a supporter. Of course, winning 2 World Series helped get him back on everyone's good side, and he left his managerial career on top.

2017-04-05

eBay Wins #252

Moving right through 1990, I've got 2 cards out of a set of thousands, the minor league ProCards set.

1990 ProCards
1067 Jim Bowie
2473 Austin Manahan

Austin never made it out of the minors, and Jim here played 6 games for Oakland in 1994.

I saw just one other card from this set in my collection, but I also saw I had a previous blog post tagged with the set name. As it turns out, that was all the way back at eBay Wins #2, before I probably really thought about making this a regular thing.

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	5024
Total Spent	$62.61
Per Card	1.246 cents
Change	0 cents

2017-04-03

Zistle Trade #29, Part II

Today's the rest of the Zistle trade I started on Thursday. It's all 1989 Upper Deck, and all Cardinals.

1989 Upper Deck Main Set #281 Luis Alicea
1989 Upper Deck Main Set #306 Pedro Guerrero
1989 Upper Deck Main Set #348 Tim Jones
1989 Upper Deck Main Set #514 Jose Oquendo
1989 Upper Deck Main Set #531 Greg Mathews
1989 Upper Deck Main Set #602 Tom Pagnozzi

However, we can play the old game of "One of these things is not like the other". The first five all show the Cardinals in BP gear, most likely in spring training. Tom Pagnozzi, on the other hand, is in full game uniform, and almost looks like a painting. I can't really explain it, though. He was on the team in 1987 and 1988, so surely would have been at 1989 Spring Training, since they bring in a whole lot of catchers to work with all the pitchers.

2017-04-01

eBay Wins #251

I've finished off 1989, so it's on to 1990. I'll start with a small stack of Leaf, because I have a few more giant piles this year.

1990 Leaf
#70 Paul O'Neill
#172 Kirk Gibson
#188 Fred Lynn
#248 Jay Bell
#251 Brett Butler
#288 Chili Davis
#293 Mike Moore
#317 Glenallen Hill

No Cardinals?! Boooo. I feel like they faced Glenallen Hill a whole lot when he was on the Cubs, but that was apparently only 3 full years and two partial seasons in two stints.

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	5022
Total Spent	$62.59
Per Card	1.246 cents
Change	-0.001 cents