Five Star Kershaw Gallery and the Kazmir Dilema

On July 30, 2002 Scott Kazmir was traded by the Mets to the Rays for veteran starting pitcher Víctor Zambrano and minor league reliever Bartolomé Fortunato.  From about 2004 to 2008, Scott Kazmir was a damn good pitcher.  He could be downright dominant at times, and the Mets front office got a lot of shit for the trade.  A lot of people thought Kazmir would be a superstar for years to come.  Personally, I didn't understand the hype.  He never had ace stuff in my opinion, but then again, he was facing juiced up hitters in the dominant AL, so maybe I should backtrack on my last comment.  In the following years Kazmir lost a lot of velocity and had to deal with a bunch of injuries.  A lot of people wrote Kazmir off, and by 2011 he was among the worst active starting pitchers in all of baseball and was eventually released by the Angels.  In 2012 he played independent ball, and this gave him time to work out his mechanics and get some of his velocity back.  In 2013 he was back in the majors with the Indians and the following year the A's deemed him worthy of a two year contract.  He was surprisingly good, and though he wasn't blowing anyone away, he was a crafty lefty that had learned how to pitch.  With all that said, why on earth would a team like the Dodgers want to sign this guy?  His prime years are waaaaay behind him, and there were plenty of other options.  I know it's a short contract, but he has looked horrible so far.  What worries me the most is that his velocity is way down in the 80's again.  Jamie Moyer proved he could get guys out with a 80 mph fastball, but Kazmir is a much different pitcher and he needs every little mph he can muster.  The Dodgers starting rotation is in shambles right now, but I refuse to give up hope.  I am routing for Kazmir, but the verdict is out.

Ok, now on to the cards!  Topps Five Star is one of my favorite releases with on card autos.  I don't care about getting the cards graded, so the chipping that they are notorious for doesn't bother me one bit.  I hope you enjoy browsing my gallery: