Thursday, April 29, 2010

2002 Topps, Kyle Farnsworth



#486 Kyle Farnsworth

Out of the seven 2002 Topps cards that I have signed, this is the only one that I was able to acquire on my own. I got this signed at Royals Fanfest last year, shortly after Kyle became a Royal. I had three cards of him in my book, but he only signed this one and it looks like he signed it with a Sharpie that was left over from the year before.

So far, this is the only Kyle Farnsworth autograph that I have. I saw him a couple of times last year in the parking lot, but he was pitching so poorly that I didn't even bother asking him to sign. It may be like that again this year if he continues to suck like he has in the first month.

Amazingly, Kyle has more strikeouts than innings pitched (coming into this season). He does throw hard and he can overpower batters. The only problem is that you can't put him into a game that matters. He's lights-out in blowouts. But if it's a one run game, or even tied, forget about it. It is almost guaranteed that he will squander the lead. I hope that he is able to turn that around this year because the Royals bullpen is awful and they need all the help that they can get.

Luckily, whenever I think of Kyle Farnsworth, I will always think of this rather than how bad a pitcher he has been for the Royals.

Today's word of the day, courtesy of Steve Stone: racky-tacked

2 comments:

night owl said...

You've got to feel for those guys with long names when they sign. Farnsworth did a pretty good job with his last name.

Orioles Magic said...

The Orioles have certainly had a few similar unreliable relievers in recent years. I feel your pain.