All Things Bubba

One of the Reds giveaways last month was a deck of cards featuring caricatures of the players. I am nowhere near Cincinnati, but I love caricatures, so I bought a deck on eBay. Each player is on two cards, so with Dusty Baker, they have 52 cards. Reds mascot Gapper is on the jokers.

They did try to match up the positions with the card numbers. I wondered why Janish wasn't a 7, then I realized he was 6, because that's the number that means shortstop. Catchers Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan were the twos. Bronson Arroyo and Francisco Cordero were aces. Each player got either both red or both black suits for their card. (Edgar Renteria is on the two red sixes, Janish on the two black.)

Some of the likenesses are better than others, but all in all, they did a good job. A lot of thought went into this project.

I think Janish's caricature is so-so. He's recognizable, but it's not a great likeness. However, I can see where the artist was coming from. It's tough to do a caricature if you're not familiar with the subject. The artist was probably working from photos, and it's funny how sometimes photographs don't really look like the person they're taken of. Janish's face often looks very full and round in pictures - like he weighs 300 pounds. In person, you can see that softness, yet he also looks very thin and sharp-featured.

Janish is in the starting lineup tonight. He's been playing better lately. Maybe it's just chance. Or maybe he's relaxed a bit, now that the Reds are just playing out the string and he's no longer fighting for his job. He's gotten on base his last three games, gotten a couple of RBIs, and been solid - even spectacular - on defense.

Labels: Paul Janish