The Sandlot

Anyone Interested in This?

2012-02-11T20:29:00.000-05:00

Alissa- "It's opposite day!!!"
Me- "Is that why I'm wearing women's underwear?"

I've been reorganizing alot of my cards this past month or so. Mainly complete sets that I don't look at and no longer fit into my collections, back from when I used to be a set collector. In the midst of everything I found a 10 card insert set that I'm hoping one of you guys might like to trade for.

The set is 1993 Fleer Final Edition "Diamond Tribute". Apparently, it's only distributed in factory sealed sets of '93 Fleer Final Edition, which is weird since I don't have, nor have I ever had, a factory sealed set of 1993 Fleer Final Edition. Whatever, not the point right now. The cards are actually pretty nice looking, especially considering how balls awful '93 Fleer looked. If anyone is interested, just make me an offer. I'm really not looking for much, mainly just trying to avoid damning it to obscurity in a box for the next 50 years.

(...Joe)

Has Everyone Heard the News?!?!?

2012-02-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

Night Owl bought and opened MULTIPLE packs of 2012 Topps!!!

And you thought Josh Hamilton's relapse was a big deal.

Today's post is an expensive one. Or at least, it should have been. After the holidays I made some additions to the '64 coins set and knocked off some big names in the process. Leading off...

I've always wondered. The name, Billy Williams. Billy is a nickname for William. So is this guys full name William Williams?
OK, all joking aside, HOFer, 6 time All-Star, Chicago legend, 1964 vintage- $10 would be a comfortable price.

Seriously, what does Billy Williams birth certificate say?
Anyways, if I saw a BIN set at $20 for this Clemente, I'd pull the trigger.

Another $20 coin.
But really though, Billy Williams.
William Williams.
Willy Williams!
Bill Will.

So for all three coins, if I was planning a budget, I would fully expect to pay about $50. Give or take. "So how much did I pay?!" I hear you asking. Well voices in my head, I paid one easy payment of only $18.49!

I mean come on , that'd be like naming your kid Christopher when your last name is Christie.
Chris Christie.
Oh.

Really?

(...Joe)

Minor Collection Milestones

2012-02-02T22:47:00.000-05:00

Thought of the day:
"Don't hold your farts in. They can travel up your spine and into your brain and that's where shitty ideas come from."

Never said this was highbrow people.

A couple weeks ago I completed my first trade with the one, the only... The Diamond King!!! He's starting up a refractor collection witht he goal of reaching 1,000 come years end. Any and all refracs. Good players, shitty players. Even shitty sports like basketball and football.

So within the healthy selection of Mets I received included a stack of Wrights and a plethora of Piazzas! Both of which contained enough new cards to help me reach a couple minor milestones in each collection.

Minor Milestone #1- 600th Piazza!

After all was said and done, I ended up with 647, with 70 new Piazzas coming from this trade. Number 600 came in the form of a 2007 Topps "Hit Parade" Inching me ever so closer to 1,000 Piazzas, I want to try and get some pictures of my favorite one up on the side page to help spice it up a bit. That'd be a neat project one rainy day.

Minor Milestone #2- 200th David Wright

One of 9 Wrights included which was good enough to bring me to 201 total and this 2007 Topps Heritage happened to be number 200! I really like the '57 design. The 2 different font colors kindda freak me out a bit, but hey, whatevs.

Kevin, thanks again for the trade! Any McGwire inserts and refracs will be on a pipeline to your mailbox!

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2012-01-26T20:11:00.006-05:00

So women are taking pole dancing classes as a form of exercise now. This is it guys, we win. We win!

Back in November, I completed my first trade with Nomo's Sushi Platter. Because it was so long ago, I've lost my original witty banter I had planned out for each card. As a result, I will follow each picture with a quote from someone who actually gets paid to make you laugh. Enjoy.

2011 Topps Update Bobby Parnell "Gold" #/2,011
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.'"- George Carlin

1970 Topps Jerry Koosman & 1975 Topps Jon Matlock
"The only thing better than the cutest kitty in the world is any dog."- Daniel Tosh

2007 Masterpieces Mike Piazza & 2008 SP Authentic David Wright
"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."- Steven Wright

2011 Allen & Ginter Mike Nickeas "Bazooka Back" Mini #/25
"If I had a dime for every time a homeless person asked me for change, I'd still say no."- Bo Burnam

Nomo, thanks again for the trade!

(...Joe)

Breaking News! Puppy Bowl Lineups Revealed!

2012-01-26T10:52:00.003-05:00

Ok, so it's not so breaking since this happened 3 days ago but still, it's the Puppy Bowl!!!

Starting Lineup!

Fun fact: Easiest way to pick a fight in a bar, on Super Bowl Sunday walk up to the bartender, proudly and loudly ask them to put the Puppy Bowl on. Guaranteed someone takes a swing at you.

(...Joe)

Completed Team Set- 2011 Finest

2012-01-23T23:27:00.001-05:00

I haven't logged into blogger in a week because I've been:
~~Plotting to destroy the world~~
~~Really productive and taking great strides both professionally and personally~~
Busy

Yeah, let's just uhh...let's just go with busy.

Set size- 3 Cards
SP- None
All Stars- 1
David Wright
MVPs- None
Cy Youngs- None
HOF- None (David Wright is still active)
RC-1
Dillon Gee

Best Picture- Ike Davis

How Acquired- Purchased from Community Gum's case break

(...Joe)

Two New Gold Piazzas

2012-01-17T09:35:00.004-05:00

Gold:
-Carries the element symbol AU, which derives from the Latin word for gold "aurum".
-It resides on the periodic table with an atomic number of 79 and has a hardness of 2.5 on Moh's scale of mineral hardness.
-Highly conductive of electricity, gold can often be found in electrical components.
-The current price of gold is $1,659.26 USD per troy ounce as of today at 9:54 EST.

No jokes today. I'm just dropping some fucking knowledge.

The other week, I saw a 2003 Danbury Mint Piazza on ebay which, quite honestly, I knew nothing about. It was all gold looking but mostly importantly, it was shiny. Very shiny. I like that. Shiny makes me happy. Like, really happy.

Usually, if I don't know anything about a card, I'll pass it up until I can find some more info on it, but this had zero bids at .99 cents with $1.50 for shipping, so I figured why the hell not. I put a max bid of $3 and then we played the waiting game. Ultimately, I lost. But about a week later I had a message form the seller asking if I as still interested in buying the card for $3. I said "yes sir, please and thank you" and the card is now mine!

Is till don't know too much about these cards. From what I've gathered is that they are printed on 22k gold backed paper, are only available through a subscription with the Danbury Mint and that the cards take really shitty pictures.The card came in it's own little plastic case witch is juuuuust too big to fit inside of a 9-pocket page.

The second gold Piazza I won within the same week and I found it just doing a random search on ebay. Another $3 pick up, a 1997 Stadium Club "Pure Gold 'Members Only'".

The normal "Pure Gold" inserts are seeded 1:72 but these fancy "Members Only" parallels are only distributed to Stadium Club members! What makes this card soooo different and special?! On the card back the words "Members Only" are printed lightly in the background.

...

yeah.

Wanna know the pathetic thing? I'll still be on the lookout for the regular "Pure Gold" version.

sigh

(...Joe)

A Box of 2011 Leaf Pete Rose Legacy

2012-01-14T10:43:00.005-05:00

Saturday to do list:
- Clean up office
- Clean out truck
- Be awesome
- Kill Nickleback

I was awarded a couple boxes for my birthday last month and I haven't gotten around to posting any of them until now. I'll start off with a bang and do the best of the bunch, a box of 2011 Leaf Pete Rose Legacy!

My LCS has boxes for $82 and each box guarantees an auto and 5 base cards. I know there are Pete Rose collectors out there so I picked it up with the hopes that someone would be interested in trading. Leaf has been coming out with some real interesting stuff lately, and if I had a vote to let someone else enter the licensed world of baseball cards, I'd give it to them.

The base set is 60 cards strong, I believe, and like any other set whose focus is of a single player (think 1959 Fleer Ted Williams) it can be rather uninspiring at times. I'll start off with what base I obtained...

Each card comes in a toploader with a penny sleeve. Nice touch. But now on to the real reason why you would buy a box of this...

"Hit King" Inscription/Relic auto #/10!

Pretty cool. There are all kinds of crazy inscriptions ranging from "Hit King" and "3 Time Gold Glove" to weird "Rose-isms". The relics can be either bat pieces, jersey pieces or patches. I think I did pretty well for myself and I'm glad I picked it up. Now, if anyone wants to trade, these are all up on the market. Leave a comment or shoot me an email, thanks!

(...Joe)

1964 Topps Coins Eddie Mathews

2012-01-08T08:58:00.003-05:00

Went to see "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" last night. Dude, she's like Batman, but way more badass!

Inching ever so closer to finishing this set off. I bought this coin about a month or so ago (2 points for unintentional rhyming) but with the coins I picked up earlier this week, I'm down to needing 59 to completion! Unfortunately, 2 of those 59 are Mantles, but they can be had for around $50 combined, so it's doable.

Being a HOFer I had to deal with some inflated prices until I was able to find this one for $6 shipped. Initially I passed up a couple because of the smudge on the top of Matthews head, but it seems that they were all printed that way, I've yet to see one without it.

So that's all, just a quickie for today!

(...Joe)

My Only Hobby Related Goal for 2012

2012-01-01T21:19:00.002-05:00

The only hobby related goal I have for myself this year, is to comment more on everyones posts. I catch myself way too often reading a post, making a comment to myself and then later wondering why I didn't actually LEAVE a comment.

Obviously, I have other cardboard "goals" for myself, but those are so subjective to my current collecting mood and funding that I can't say "I want this done by then" or "I want this many cards by then".

Anyways, Happy New Year to everyone! I'll do a quick post on my excursion in the city once my girlfriend emails me the pictures.

(...Joe)

Final Post of 2011!

2011-12-29T22:39:00.005-05:00

Pickup line of the day:
"Hey, are you into threesomes? Cuz I have a split personality that would love you."

I'm still working on the '64 Topps Coins set and I'm really hoping I can finish it off at some point next year. I picked up a handful a few months ago and I'm giving myself $50 to work on it some more so let's show off a couple of my newest adds.

I finally knocked off both Yaztremskis in the set. (I have no idea if I spelt his name right and I'm way to fucking lazy to check.) These two coins have been a pain to obtain (two points for rhyming) but I was able to pick them up for a $5 each, give or take.

I'm not sure if I've shown the back of these before, sooooo yeah. Here ya go.

I'm inching ever so closer to finishing this set. Hopefully with this next $50 spree, I can knock off some of the remaining HOFers which should make things easier down the stretch. Happy New Year everyone!

(...Joe)

Tradewinds Epic The Final Chapter

2011-12-24T22:51:00.006-05:00

Kinkier than a bumble bee in a butterfly net!

This is it, the final pack from the Wicked trade! This has been dubbed the "Archives Pack" by the committee in my head. We'll get to that later. First, the toploaders on either side...

This is my 1st Mets 1/1, a Nick Evans Black Printing Plate! I now have a 1/1 parallel and the Gold parallel #'d/2,009 but I yet have been able to obtain the base version of this card. The base version is the last card I need to finish off the team set for 2009 Topps. That's it, just the base card of a common, uncollected player.

This is one of the 3,000 parallels from the 2007 Masterpieces set. It's #'d/99 but I'll be damned if I have to try and figure out if this is black, or midnight black, or charcoal black or whatever the hell other random colors they dreamed up.

Now this is why we're calling this the Archives Pack. There were about 10 Archives cards in the team bag...

As well as a handful of All Time Fan Favorites.

Also hiding inside were a couple more relics including this Ed Kranepool

And a Gary Carter!

So that ends the Epic trade with The Cardfather. Thanks again Wicked, I might have something else for you soon!

(...Joe)

Tradewinds Epic "Junk Wax" Pack

2011-12-23T22:17:00.006-05:00

Conversation of the day:
Me- "I don't mind Whippets, they're not bad."
Aunt- "Ahh, whippits. I remember those. They always gave me a headache though."
Me- "...I'm talking about the dog breed, Whippet."
Aunt- "Iiii, should go. Over here, I'm going over here."

The second to last pack given to me by The Cardboard Don, on this, the day of his daughters wedding. (Not really. Well, maybe. I'm just making shit up at this point.)

And before we take a look, figured I'd do a shameless plug for myself. I'm in the process of making a new trade bait page that will be exclusively for RCs. Exciting, I know...

Now, "junk wax" is sort of an oxymoron for many of us collectors. We've all found card lots and passed on them because all we can see is "junk wax". Cards from the mid 80's through the mid 90's and later, depending on who you ask. But how many of us still need an obscene amount of "junk wax"? How many of us would be happier to trade for a completer card of an 80's team set than we would an autographed card from any random set from the past 2 years?

With that said, here are the results of the "Junk Wax" pack...

Manupatches could be considered junk wax, depending on who you're talking to.

I don't mind the manu's too much. This years Topps are a little odd though. The Mets have NY Giants logos and the Nationals have Expos logos. Ehh, whatev.

2 of the 3 cards from the 1987 Donruss "Rookies" set. Lucky for me, I had the 3rd card already which means that's another 80's team set down! Fuuuck yeah!

All I know about this set is that it's Topps and it's from '86. Other than that I can't find any info on it. Anyone have any ideas what it is?

This set, however, I did find some info for. No, it's not 1969 Topps, it's 1986 Sports Design J.D. McCarthy and this appears to be the Mets team set right here. The full set is 24 cards strong and comprised of legends from the 50's and 60's. Hey, one less 80's set that I didn't know I needed.

That's all for today folks. Guess I should say something funny right now...

(...Joe)

Tradewinds Epic "HOF Pack"

2011-12-20T20:26:00.010-05:00

What I learned today: Never cook bacon with your shirt off.

Onwards to what I dubbed as the "HOF Pack." Before we dive in, I'd like to remind everyone that these posts were made possible by Wicked Ortega, The Cardboard Don.

As always, we'll start off with the two cards the bookended each pack in toploaders...

Just so we're clear, this is not why I dubbed this the HOF pack. I've been hoping the Mets would trade this guy for the past few years now, while he still has/had some amount of value. If nothing else, getting rid of him would save the team a few thousand dollars a year in Ace bandages alone.

Really nice looking card. I have an idea for a small side collection that I want to do in the very near future, and this will knock off a piece of the checklist once that's underway.

Now we get into why this is the HOF Pack! Glavine isn't in the Hall yet, but it's only a matter of when. I have the Piazza version of this card as well, and while these aren't numbered, there's an announced print run of 75 sets. Sooo yeah, it's unnumbered to 75 I guess.

Another future HOF, it's a shame he kindda faded the way he did (and by that I mean resorting to pitching for the Phillies). It was still a buttload of fun to watch him pitch for the Mets though.

Now for a guy who's already in the HOF. Seaver is actually the only player wearing a Mets hat in the Hall of Fame. If nothing else now, you can walk away from this saying that you learned something. Unless you already knew that, innnn which case...I dunno. Go buy a Snapple or something.

And lastly, a few David Wrights. C'mon, if you didn't see this coming then you must be a new reader. Of course I'm including some David Wright cards in the HOF Pack post!!!!

(...Joe)

Tradewinds Epic "Vintage Pack"

2011-12-16T23:18:00.010-05:00

Quote of the day:
"This better have a point to it. Like a Squirrel Monkey eating pudding out of a watermelon, or something."

I have to knock out more of this trade so I can get to my birthday boxes on Monday! Let's dive into what I've dubbed, "The Vintage Pack"!

Not exactly vintage, I know, but it was in a toploader on top of the pack. Can't go wrong with a Glavine game used though. Unless he's in a Braves uniform. Gross.

Not exactly vintage, I know, but it was in a toploader on the bottom of the pack. Plus it's my first Ordonez auto! Yay!

Now on to the cards that existed before Nickleback was a band and the world was, well...a much better place.

I think the '62 cartoons are my favorites. The drawings are usually quite detailed and informative. Now, common sense would suggest that I show you the back of a '62 next to illustrate an example of my opinion...

Here's a handful of '63s. Burright here seems to be making the universal sign for blow job.

A '66 Jonny Stephenson and a "78 Buddy Harrelson. No idea what these two cards have in common.

And lastly a selection of '71s!

Now on to what I promised earlier...

(...Joe)

Tradewinds Epic pt.1

2011-12-09T21:38:00.006-05:00

Alyssa- "Looks like that's about as straight as it's gonna get."
Me- "That's what I have to tell all my girlfriends. 'This is as straight as it's gonna get.'"

Back in January I posted a Harmon Killebrew auto along with a few other cards to see if I could spark some trades. Of course, where there are high end baseball cards, Wicked Ortega is there. I sent him 3 cards. 3. Granted, they were 3 very good cards, but still. I received so much Mets goodness that I need to break this trade post up into 5 separate posts.

Take a deep breath, relaxxxxx ok. Here we go...

The Leadoff Pack
As I went through the package, it seemed like each "pack" had it's own collective theme. This was the first group of cards that I have dubbed the "Leadoff Pack".

This was the first card that I saw from the package. Happy to have a David Cone game used again, as I traded the only one I had in exchange for some Piazzas last year. This card would fall into what I like to call the "Night Owl Complex". You see, recently Night Owl posted a Clayton Kershaw dual auto card on the trade block due to the fact that the other guy on the card is a Yankee. This Cone pictures and lists him as a Met, but the jersey is from his Yankee days. Fuck you Upper Deck. Makin' me like, think and shit...

Still think it would've been great if he went into the HOF as a Met. Could have pissed off so many people.

I always see this card on everyone elses page, or on ebay or whatever, but never picked one up for myself. More from Nick Evans to come!

So that leads everything off. Much much more to come!!

(...Joe)

Cardboard Alchemy

2011-12-04T01:52:00.003-05:00

Recently I discovered how to turn a modern vintage reprint into actual, real live vintage cardboard!

The formula is rather simple, really. First, you'll need a 2011 Topps Lineage '75 Mini that this guy doesn't have yet

stolen without permission to illustrate an example

and after a short wait, typically within a week or so, the yellow envelope becomes chemically altered in such a way that it produces this

1963 Topps single shot

And dual wielding '66s

I plan on conducting further tests in the future providing I am funded with the necessary materials. Thanks again to Night Owl for making the swap!!!

(...Joe)

New Oddball Addition

2011-12-03T01:25:00.003-05:00

Me- "All right, ready to go?"
Tom- "Yeah, I'm good."
Me- "K, let's roll."
Coors Light Girl- "You guys want a free cold Coors Light?!?!"
Me- "Can't, I gotta drive"
Tom- "You know *takes beer* this is how alcoholism starts."
Me- "Mildly attractive women handing you free beer?"
Tom- "Yeah!"
*Coors Light Girl looks pissed.*
*Doesn't take our picture.*

To celebrate me quitting my old job, my girlfriend took me to Build a Bear! And I made the best god damn teddy bear ever!

It's a Mets dog and I named him Rusty, after Rusty Staub! Ahh, no better way to celebrate quitting your job than to go out and buy a $30 stuffed animal. This might be why other countries hate us.

(...Joe)

Vintage Mets Trade Bait

2011-11-30T23:27:00.000-05:00

As to be expected I've amassed quite an overstock collection of Mets cards. I'm pushing 1,000 base doubles, a couple team sets and a handful of vintage lovin'.

Let me know if you're interested in any of these guy below. Thanks!

1972 Topps Tom Seaver #347, 1973 Topps Jerry Grote #113

1975 Topps Jon Matlock

1979 Topps Willie Montanez, Bob Apodaca

Lee Mazzilli, Dale Murray

Elliott Maddox, Tim Foli

Mike Bruhert, Bruce Boisclair

Mets Team Card, Mets Prospects

Now we get into the last two that aren't really vintage but they don't fit in with anything else so I might as well call them vintage...

1983 Topps Tom Seaver (x3)

1985 Topps Dwight Gooden RC

Let's get this trade train rolling!

(...Joe)

1964 Topps Coins Ron Hunt AS

2011-11-27T20:18:00.003-05:00

Quote of the day:
"And let's face it, if you make porn, you know who's a good lawyer."

This is the last coin in the set, #164, so it was nice to have half the bookend. I picked it up for pretty cheap, a couple bucks including shipping which I was surprised at given the condition.

The description said "Mint" and they were not lying. It's in such perfect condition in fact, that I originally thought it was fake, or a reprint or something. After examining it, smelling it, licking it and taking a few showers with it I feel confident to say that it's real. Which is good. Cuz I've never been able to just love 'em and leave 'em. My heart won't let me.

...

(...Joe)

Completed Team Set- 2011 Topps "60th Anniversary"

2011-11-17T11:13:00.012-05:00

What I've learned today: Muffins, are the least aerodynamic structures in nature.

Set size- 22 cards
SP- None
All Stars- 7
David Wright
Johan Santana
Carlos Beltran
Jose Reyes
Fransisco Rodriguez
Jason Bay
Chris Young
MVPs- None
Cy Young- 1
Johan Santana
HOF- None (david wright is still active :^p)
RC- 5
Lucas Duda
Dillon Gee
Brad Emaus
Mike Nickeas
Pedro Beato

Best Picture- Jose Reyes

How Acquired- Trade with All Tribe Baseball

(...Joe)

Awake and Alive

2011-11-15T23:35:00.002-05:00

Holy hamster dance! It's been 2 weeks since I've done a post!

Rather than going into the boring cliche details, I'll just say I'm still here (sorry) and I've gotten a couple killer trades recently that I'll be sure to show off!

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-11-01T16:56:00.007-04:00

Ever want to write up a post, but don't really have anything creative or interesting to say? Well, that's happening right now. So rather than trying to force it, I will list random dumb laws and pictures of baseball cards and call it a day. Deal? Deal.

First up is a 2007 Bowman Philip Humber Auto from Manupatches and Mustaches. All I need is the Orange parallel and I'll have the rainbow!

Alabama- Men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status, may face up to five years in jail.

note to self, do not go to alabama

Next is a fucking bitchin' new Piazza card from Cheap Card Collecting. I'm pretty sure the only thing prettier than this card, are tits.

Connecticut- In order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce.

Featured next is a generous offering from Emerald City Diamond Gems. I was randomed the Mariners in a group break and quickly flipped them around for a nice stack of Mets, including 3 Fleer update team sets from the '80's, including an '85 which finishes off that year for me!

New York- Women may go topless in public, providing it is not being used as a business.

never been happier to live in new york

Now we have a slathering of coolness from Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle. This was on exchange for that super cool Braun auto I pulled!

California- Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.

Texas- Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos.

Mississippi- A man may not seduce a woman by lying, and claiming he will marry her.

(...Joe)

3 More 1964 Topps Coins

2011-10-30T22:23:00.005-04:00

Text of the day-

Me: If you were an ice cream cone, I'd eat you real fast so I got brain freeze. Cuz I'd want losing you to fucking hurt like hell

So you may be wondering why I haven't posted in a week.

Wait, what's that? You didn't even notice? I haven't said a word in 7 seven days and you didn't miss me one bit? Well then fine. I'm not telling you where I've been. All I'm telling you is that it involves a midget, a donkey and a water cooler. Yeah. Now YOU feel left out. Too bad.

Last month I went nuts and came 20 coins closer to finishing off the set. I managed to knock off some of the big pieces I still needed, including these two which I'm sure will make Night Owl mad...
A little bit of Sandy Koufax action
And some Don Drysdale for good measure.

Both these coins are in incredible condition! I would say about EXMT-NRMT and the fact that I got them for what I did is a feat in itself. The Koufax for $10 and the Drysdale for $7. The great price on Donnie was attributed to the fact that the seller had a shitty picture, so I'm sure that kept some bidders at bay. The Koufax, however, I have no idea why that didn't attract more people. It was all there in the title description, the picture was fine and the seller had perfect feedback AND free shipping!!! Lucky day I guess.

Last for today, we have one that I did have to settle on. One prerequisite I had going into my shopping spree is that I wanted coins in fairly good condition. They didn't have to be mint, but I didn't want any fillers. For this next one though, I settled but I don't think I'll be able to do much better anyways...
2nd year Pete Rose! This has been a tough coin to even find on ebay for me, let alone one at a decent price. The paint on the edges is not good, but for $13 I went for it. I only have a few more big names to finish off and then I'm down to picking off the commons little by little. I still have a ways to go, but it's all beginning to come to together.

Anti-climactic ending

(...Joe)

It Ain't Easy Bein' a Pimp

2011-10-23T12:41:00.003-04:00

Ya'll wanna group break?

that's right, I live in New York and I just said "ya'll". fuck off.

Over at Community Gum, there's an 11 box break of Topps randomness.

Mets are taken, my bad.

I'm hoping half these cards are all Piazzas. That'd be sweeeeeeeetttt.

Why are you still on my page? go Go GO!!!!

(...Joe)

World Series Drinking Game

2011-10-18T19:00:00.001-04:00

The World Series is only a day away! Which can only mean one thing, it's time for a drinking game!!! The rules are simple, anytime one of the occurrences listed below happens, take a drink.

Rather than go a more traditional route of "Anytime a run scores, drink" I decided to play off the predictability of the FOX announcers. So grab some beers and a couple good friends, 'cuz we're gonna be getting slutty drunk!

Take a drink:
Anytime Tim McCarver mentions Joe Buck's father, John Buck
Anytime Tim McCarver mentions Steve Carlton
Anytime Tim McCarver laughs at his own joke
Anytime Joe Bucks announces the score incorrectly
Anytime Joe Buck mentions Matt Holliday's hand injury
Anytime you see Ken Rosenthal's bow tie
Anytime Ken Rosenthal mentions a celebrity
Anytime Albert Pujols's impending free agency is mentioned
Anytime Josh Hamilton's comeback story is mentioned
Anytime the Yankees are mentioned
Anytime the Phillies are mentioned
Anytime Tony LaRussa is shown
Anytime Ron Wasington is shown

And for bonus points:
Anytime Core Contrarian publishes a "They Just Said" post about the game

Feel free to add your own!

(...Joe)

2009 A Piece of History Trade Bait

2011-10-16T20:34:00.016-04:00

As advertised, here is what I have for trade from my box!

spoiler alert: brewers fans might just wanna scroll to the bottom

First let me do some pimping for My Cardboard Mistress, since his ripping spree of these boxes got me wanting some of my own. While I didn't blow his breaks out of the water, I definitely did very well for myself. Onwards!!!

Each box has 16 packs and 7 cards per pack and I picked my box up for $50 at my LCS. The thing that impressed me the most overall, is that I didn't get any doubles out of my box. This year it seems common to be pulling doubles out of the same pack, let alone a box. Anyways, the good stuff...

What I'm keeping:

These are what the base card look like, in case anyone didn't know. If anyone needs any to finish off their set or just want a certain team, let me know. It's alllll for trade.

These are the "Historical Moments" subset and they actually didn't piss me off as much as I thought pulling them from the packs. Most deal with wars and signings of treaties and whatnot but my favorites are the astronomy based ones! I've been toying with this idea for a little bit now, but I'm gonna make it official. I am starting a theme collection of cards that depict anything to do with Astronomy! There's not alot, but I know they're out there.

Everything from here on out is for trade...
Base Parallels:

Zack Greinke "Blue" #/299 (Royals)
Carlos Lee "Blue" #/299 (Astros)

Cut from the Same Cloth:

Manny Ramirez/Matt Holliday "Green" #/149 (Dodgers/Athletics)
*pending* Justin Morneau/Adrian Gonzalez #/999 (Twins/Padres) *pending*

B.J. Upton/Justin Upton #/999 (Rays/Diamondbacks)

Timeless Moments:
Mark Buehrle #/999 (White Sox)

Box Score Memories:

Nick Markakis "Gray?" #/149 (Orioles)
Melvin Mora "Gray?" #/149 (Orioles)
Chipper Jones #/999 (Braves)

Stadium Scenes:

TRADED Chris Carpenter "Blue" #/25 (Cardinals) TRADED

TRADED Tim Lincecum "Green?" #/99 (Giants) TRADED
Rickie Weeks #/999

Relics/Autos:
Ben Stiller "A Piece of Hollywood" (Along Came Polly) costume

Scott Kazmir "Timeless Moments" jersey (Rays)

TRADED Ryan Braun "Box Score Memories" #/25 jersey/auto!!!! (Brewers) TRADED

That Braun came in the last pack of the box! I did get shorted a Relic (gee, wonder who's mutant boxes that fell into?) but between the Braun, Carpenter and Lincecum can I really complain?

Nope.

I'm looking for the typical stuff: Mets, Piazzas and Wrights. For those who have traded with me before, you know I'm pretty easy to strike a deal with, but be forewarned, I'll be holding a little higher ransom for the Braun and Carpenter. I obviously would prefer to trade, but if someone realllllyyyy wants the Braun but doesn't have the card goods to exchange, I would consider selling it.

Offer away!

(...Joe)

Some New Trade Bait Coming Soon!

2011-10-16T00:29:00.002-04:00

I've had this itch for some time now.
The burning sensation was too much.
"I really need to bust some wax" I th0ught to myself.
But first, it's on to the doctor's office to get this checked out.
I'm starting to chafe pretty hardcore here...

I picked up a blogger inspired box of 2009 A Piece of History. And wow, am I glad I did. I have a ton of base if anyone needs, a bunch of parallels, some relics and a couple cards that I like to file under the "Serious Trade Bait" classification. Mmmm, can't wait. Should find some time in the next couple days to get them posted.

(...Joe)

Sweet New Patch Card

2011-10-11T13:42:00.003-04:00

"At least he's lighter without his head"

I'll leave that one open for interpretation.

The other week, I was rummaging around on ebay (as I'm known to do) just looking at whatever cards came out of the search result "Mets". I wasn't planing on buying anything (of course) but I did (of course) and the result is a sweet sweet new patch card...
There are so many fun things about this card.
First, I picked it up for under $6 shipped. Somehow I managed to be the only bidder.
Second, it's a Mets card.
Third, it's a 3 color patch that I'm guessing is either from the name plate or a number.
Fourth, it's numbered to 25!
Fifth! The subject of the card is about how a single player decimated an entire Yankee team.

I've been real interested in picking up some boxes of this stuff. Especially after watching some of My Cardboard Mistress's breaks, I think I'm gonna bust a couple of these soon.

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-10-09T14:45:00.005-04:00

Text of the day:

Me- This text is brought to you by that awkward moment when you realize that not only does she have a penis, but it's actually bigger than yours.
Tom- omg joe.... no way. Did you at least get a picture of it?

I swear, I hate my friends...

So, back to "reality". I've picked up some sweeeeet new cards recently, from both ebay and trades. I was gonna show off some new '64 Coins, but I guess I never took the pictures I thought I did, so I'll just do a couple trades first before I forget.

First up we'll showcase Play at the Plate's stuff since that ALDS collision is still fresh in everyone's mind. Not sure if Brian and The Collective Troll had another bet this year or not, but if they did then C.T. needs to stop placing those bets. Dude, if you wanna bet on baseball and win, bet against the Mets. I do it every year and sure I hate myself a little more with each passing breath, but self-esteem doesn't buy a swimming pool of gummi bears. A Wisconsin bank roll does.

Anyways, baseball cards. Here they are
Shiny makes me happy :^)

Nextly is a first time trade between Angels in Order and I. I know I wasn't his first trade and won't be his last, but I hope he remembers the trade we had. I just wish to trade with him again. Just one more trade. that's all i ask
First we have a smattering of 2003 MLB Showdowns. Only need a couple more to round out the team set now.

This is the gem of the trade for me. The only modern set I'm currently working on, 2007 Turkey Red and this is one of the SPs I still needed. With this I'm down to 14 left and then I'm done with set collecting! Well, modern at least. I still have the '64 Coins and I have some other vintage insert sets I want to do as well. The only reason why I haven't given up and taken the Turkey Red set apart yet is because I have way to much time and money into it. And at this point, it's just gotten personal.
Nothing like junk wax that you still need. Two former Top 10 Most Wanted cards with the Myers completing the '87 Leaf team set and the Cone bringing me to within one for the '88 Donruss set. I'm about halfway finished with the decade of the '80s so every maybe I'll get a want list together to help finish it off.

Thanks again for the trades guys!

(...Joe)

1972 Team Set Done!!!

2011-10-07T00:18:00.004-04:00

This post is brought to you by that awkward moment when you realize the cute girl with the pretty smile that's been flirting with you, is actually a Yankees fan.

Finally. I FINALLY picked up the last card to finish off the '72 Mets team set. All I needed was a Tim Foli In Action, high number of course but whatever, I was prepared to pay the extra $2 it takes to reel those in.

Tim Foli, who gives a shit about Tim Foli cards, right?

Biggest pain in my ass I've encountered in cardboard in a long time.

For a little while, I wasn't finding any on the bay and beginning to doubt it's existence. Then, when they did start showing up, they were all graded and/or BINs for some ridiculous ransom.

But I stayed strong and finally nabbed the fucker for about $6 shipped. Maybe I still over payed by a buck or two but it was time to finish this off and it was better than the next cheapest option of over $15.

Anyways, here's the completer card which leaves me with only '70, '71 and '76 left to finish off the decade!

(...Joe)

Two Packs 'O Chrome

2011-10-02T21:01:00.009-04:00

Good news, I'm finally done with the antibiotics the doctor gave me and I almost have full use of my hand!

Gooder news, I didn't get rabies, which means you get to continue reading whatever mindless shit I publish here!!!

OMG ok, so Timmy started dating Becky. She is such a slut. I heard she can fit like, three guys in her mouth at once. And did you see her shoes yesterday? Gross. She's so pretty.

Ahhh, to be a teenage girl again...

...

...

So these were the first two cards from pack #1. Helton seems to be taking over as the player I always pull from packs now that Griffey's retired. Just in case there are any Griffey collectors reading, if you ever see me doing a group break of boxes from his playing days, I would suggest picking up his team. I always pull Ken Griffey Jr. cards. Not complaining though, I mean, it's not like I get a Phillie in every pack...
fuck my life
I've decided that of all the uses for chrome, its best application is on baseball cards.
Grill of your car? Eh.
Grill o yo mouf? Not so much.
Kitchen faucet? A close second.

Onwards to pack #2!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so stoked.
Oh good, another Phillie. Which reminds me, let's check to see what's going on with the game. Oh good, the Phillies are winning. Yay. It must be my birthday.
All right, all right. Some David Price Refractor action going on right here. I have next to no Rays cards, so this was actually nice to pull. Gotta beef up them trade bait reserves!
WAHOOOOOOOO!!!! A Met! This marks my first '11 Chrome base Met so far. I've had pretty good luck knocking off this years team sets relatively quickly, so hopefully I can do the same with this set as well.

Everyone except Davis is for trade, so let me know if your fancy has been tickled!

(...Joe)

Wow

2011-09-29T00:32:00.002-04:00

That was fun.

I somehow had all 4 games on as many different ESPN channels and wore out the recall button on the remote.

Super fun ending to a so-so day!

(...Joe)

Occupational Hazard

2011-09-26T22:40:00.011-04:00

Have you ever felt your hair and thought "Holy shit, my hair is SOFT!" and then realized it's only because you haven't washed it in 3 days?

Now before you judge me too much, this is why I just had this experience...
This was actually taken the day after it happened. Believe me, I have a picture on my phone post a few hours after and there's way more blood and nasty bits.

Incase anyone's wondering "WTF mate? fucking kangaroos." That's what's known as an "Occupational Hazard." Being a dog trainer and working in a kennel at an animal hospital and it's bound to happen. There was a fight between two dogs and I got in the middle of it.
I've had to break up a few dog fights before and have gotten lucky, coming out with only superficial wounds at worst. This time, not so lucky.
This one looks like nothing, but it's actually one of the worst. That's a fang hole about an 1/8th of an inch deep, on the top of my hand. On the thumb pic, you can;t make it out but his tooth actually cracked and went through my nail.

After what felt like an hour, but I'm sure was closer to 60 seconds, I got the 2 dogs separated, but got bit in the process. Now, some of my more sharp eyed readers my be thinking "Well goly, lucky it was your left hand at least."

One problem.

I'm left handed.

FML

Oh well, watcha gonna do?
Anyways, to keep this at least somewhat card based, let me bang out a few trades. No contest at the end of this one though, sorry.

Our first endeavor happened sooooo long ago but it needs to be posted because it's a Piazza.
My game used card collection is very thin, in all my collections. Piazza, Wright, Mets, the most being in my Piazza collection sitting at only about 15 or so. This came courtesy of Nick, from For Cards Sake who's currently on a hiatus as he's en route to college. Phhfffttt, college. I went to school for dog training, and just look at me!

Let's see, what's next. Let's go with...
"O" No!!! Another Orioles Blog! Is there any team the blue refractors look better on than the Mets? And if there is, I don't wanna hear it.

One more from reader Adam. This trade was done quite some time ago as well, but deserves its fair share...
Despite all the minis and a Wright insert and a Piazza I didn't have, the real highlight was knocking off three cards that were (at the time) on my 10 most wanted list. All three finished off team sets for me and brought me ever so closer to total 1980's Mets cardboard domination.

(...Joe)
p.s- if you get a trade package from me within the next week or so and it looks like a 4 year old wrote the address, it's because I had to write it out with my right hand. Sorry, just point and laugh and enjoy the cards!

Let's Go Cardinals!

2011-09-23T21:04:00.006-04:00

*clap clap clapclapclap*

Let's go Cardinals!

*clap clap clapclapclap*

(...Joe)

The Top 5 Best Cards in a $15 Thorzul Group Break: #1

2011-09-20T18:23:00.003-04:00

This is it, the last one!

#1- 2010 Bowman Chrome "Topps 100 Refractor" Dustin Ackley #/499
The surprise on this one kindda got ruined in a previous post, but anyways, here it is. It's currently up on ebay with about a week left. I've never tried selling cards before, but I wanted to give it a shot to 1- see if I can get lucky and sell it for the cost of group break admission and 2- use it as a test run to possibly sell another card of mine to get some more spending money to help with the '64 coins set.

Yay, I actually started something of a series and stuck with it untill the end! Wahoo.

(...Joe)

The Top 5 Best Cards in a $15 Thorzul Group Break: #2

2011-09-18T11:46:00.003-04:00

I lost the game.

does anyone here play the game?

#3- 2010 Allen & Ginter "This Day in History" Fransisco Rodriguez
This card has nothing to do with the player, or the picture, or the scarcity or the fact that I once agreed to a TV show contract while at a urinal by "shaking" on it. family guy, anyone?

Nope, this is all about the back. It commemorates the discovery of 4 of Jupiters moons by Galileo. Awesome. I fucking love astronomy!

Basically, popular belief at the time, due in large part to biblical passages and Aristotelian Cosmology, was that the earth was the center of the universe and that all extraterrestrial bodies revolved around the earth (a geocentric universe). Galileo wasn't the first to develop the idea that the earth revolved around the Sun (heliocentric) but his discovery of Jupiters moons provided the first physical evidence of Copernicus' heliocentric model.

One of the discovered moons is Europa, which many believe has the best possibility of life either to develop or already having developed within our solar system. G didn't know this (that's right, I call him G) but underneath a thick layer of ice (I've heard everywhere from 15 to 60 miles thick, so I'm not sure) it's believed that liquid water (i.e- Huge friggin' ocean) could exist! Couple that with an oxygen rich atmosphere and yeah, it's possible.

That's right, the only thing I nerd out harder on than Astronomy, is baseball. But at least now you can say you learned something. Unless you already knew this, then well... I dunno.

Maybe next time I'll remember that this is a card blog.

(...Joe)

Contest winner!!!

2011-09-16T19:45:00.000-04:00

That's right, I had a contest going. Didn't realize? That's 'cuz it was hidden at the end of a trade post. Evil fucking prick I am, making people actually read a trade post...

That was the first random. I had the pre random list, but it got lost in the shuffle of me figuring out the pasting and the cutting and the saving. In case it's important, I entered the names in the order you commented.

2nd random

3rd and final random will come right after this blink-182 video. 'Cuz that's where I am right now. At a blink-182 concert. Scheduled post.

Spankee!!!!

He missed out on the '07 Chrome set, but wins the '06 Flair! Thanks to everyone for playing!

And if you don't like blink-182, then you're a communist.

There, I said it.

Sorry, that's just how the world works.

(...Joe)

What the Fuck is This?

2011-09-15T18:06:00.002-04:00

K, am I losing my mind?

Right now, on ebay I have a Dustin Ackley card for sale. I was saving this for a later post and it's still happening but anyways, I have the card and I'm trying to sell it.

I have it up with a $15 BIN. Based off the other sales of cards numbered to twice mine and being the only one on ebay I thought I might be able to get lucky. It's been up for a little over a week now and I wanted to see how it may compare to any other current listings, if there are any, to see if I should lower my price etc etc. Then I came across this...

This is my auction, with the familiar (to all of you) backdrop in all my card picks.

This, is someone elses auction.

Am I crazy or is that my picture... on both auctions!?

The first thing that caught my attention was that it had the same weird reflection towards the top middle of the card. It's not a scratch, just a reflection that looks like a white vertical line. Then I noticed the reflection on the left. And the breaks in the reflections of the refractor rainbow line on the right. The only difference is that it's been cropped tighter to hide that silky blue backdrop, which I can still see at the bottom!!!

Seriously, am I crazy or did that guy jack my picture?

I wanna be a dick and ask him how he managed to take such a beautiful photo.

(...Joe)

The Top 5 Best Cards in a $15 Thorzul Group Break: #3

2011-09-13T20:34:00.003-04:00

The doctor at the vets office I work at is teaching me how to take blood

Doctor- "Just stick it in, fill it up and pull it out"
Me- "That's what she said"

So here we are at the not so midway point of my blatant rip-off of Thorzul Will Rule and not a single law suite to be found.

#3- 2004 Mike Piazza Fleer Patchworks "National Pastime"
Basically, it's a Piazza card I didn't already have. That's why it's on the list. I needed it, but now I don't. I didn't know I needed it, but I do now know that I don't need it anymore.

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-09-12T10:39:00.000-04:00

Me- "Can I just get a large black Iced tea."
Starbucks girl- "Is that all?"
Me- "Yup yup"
SG- "Are you sure?"
Me- "Pretty sure"
SG- "Are you positivie?"
Me- "...I'm HIV positive"

hard blank stares from everyone in the store

"No one here watches South Park? Really? OK, well... nevermind then."

As most of the universe we've created here knows, Nachos Grande went on a Lineage ripping spree, so being the vulture I am, I asked him if he had a Mets team set I can trade for. I'm sure he's got 10 or 12 complete sets by now, but I figured I'd ask nice.
So easy, so nice. I love knocking off an entire complete set in a single trade. One less thing I gotta worry about now.

Codeword: Platypus

When I first got back into collecting, 2007 Topps Chrome was a set I latched onto. I put the entire base set together (now with hiflew) by busting box after box and along the way I pulled an Alex Gordon auto, a really big deal back then... not so much now. Luckily, I finally found someone who actually wanted the thing and it resulted in my first trade with Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle.
This is what the trade was for. He sent me a picture of 2 cards and I picked this one to swap the Gordon for. Yeah, it's Richard Hidalgo but I don't have any Sweet Spot Mets, so I wanted to add one. Happy birthday to me, there was a second card waiting for me as well...
My first Francoeur auto! I really liked watching him play with the Mets and I'm happy to see him catch on with the Royals.

Up next is a trade I just recieved in the mail the other day. Imagine that! I bought a 1967 Steve Carlton a loooong time ago and it just sat there in my trade bait page, like a dog looking for a home. Finally, I found it one.
Fuji, from the Chronicles of, is starting a Carlton collection. I had a Carlton and he had a couple piazzas I didn't have. The math is easy from there.
I used to like playing MLB Showdown as a kid. I don't think it was too hard, but none the less trying to make a set into a playing game just isn't going to catch on. It's been tried so many times before (looking at you Topps) and it's yet to work. Stop it. No. Sit Ubu, sit. Good dog.
And one last card from Fuji. Pristine makes some pretty looking cards, but boxes still are way too expensive for me right now.

Only 2 more to go here so stick with me, it'll be worth it. We're gonna take a look at some goodness from Cheap Card Collecting. I sent him some Giants and a Mel Ott jersey for a card to be named later. He completed the transaction with this...
and this...
and this!
#/199 it has some damage in the window in between the 3 and the 1 but guess who couldn't care less. This guy.

Last up, we have a trade with reader Ryan. The trade was for a Bronze Wright Gypsy Queen. I didn't have any of these cards before this trade, now I do
And now I see what the big deal is! They are quite nice. He threw in the green as a nice lil' surprise which was pretty awesome.

This was another random throw in that turned out to be a big card for me. I was toying with putting this card up on my top 10 most wanted list but then out of the blue, it arrives
This was the last card I needed to finish off the team set and it was getting difficult to track down.

So thanks again to everyone for the great trades!!! But that's not all for this post yet. This was a long one, 5 trades in one post and I know that trade posts aren't exactly everyone's favorite read. But here's the deal, if you made it this far then you're entered in a contest to win a complete set of 2006 Flair Showcase. It's the base set, cards #1-100, so no SPs, but still it's a set and it's free. All you have left to do is leave a comment with the codeword. It's up the page a bit and if you read this through, you should know what I'm talking about since I didn't hide it at all and it was more random than I usually am. So leave a comment with the code word, but don't mention the contest in the comment, only the code and whatever other thoughts you may have!

(...Joe)

In Memory Of...

2011-09-11T08:46:00.000-04:00

The Top 5 Best Cards in a $15 Thorzul Group Break: #4

2011-09-07T23:05:00.003-04:00

I'm gonna be pissed if this fucking rain doesn't stop soon and I miss that supernova!!!

#4- 1972 Topps Tom Seaver
For this to randomly pop up in a group break of the team you actually chose, well it makes the entire break! Unfortunately for myself, I already have this card, so this is a double. Fortunately for you guys, this is up for trade. Hopefully for me, someone out there needs this card.

Well, as my gift to you, I'm gonna keep this short tonight. I'm beginning to forget what sleep feels like so I'm going to try and find Freddy Krueger and beat the shit out of him.

That doesn't even make sense.

Sleep Serapis, sleep.

(...Joe)

The Top 5 Best Cards in a $15 Thorzul Group Break: #5

2011-09-05T19:50:00.005-04:00

What's the best way to post group break loot from one of the scenes best bloggers? Why by blatantly ripping him off, that's how!

I got in on my first Thorzul Will Rule group break last month. I had some extra money to play with and plus, he had been a hot hand with pulling Mets the past couple months so I figured why not. I liked what he was breaking too, rather than a couple boxes, it was a lot off ebay being split up into teams. Different, cool, I like that. I claimed the Mets (duh) and was randomed off the Mariners. So here we go, a tribute (that's right, we're gonna go with "tribute" on this one)...

#5- 2010 Topps Chrome Ken Griffey Jr. Refractor
If there is a Griffey card to be pulled, I will pull it. Every box, every pack I open seems to have a Griffey in it. Not complaining, especially since he's pretty easy to trade. Speaking of trade, this is up for trade.

Remember,

This is not the greatest song in the world.
This is just a tribute.

(...Joe)

New wright Pickup- 2010 Chrome Blue Refrac!

2011-09-03T11:59:00.005-04:00

All of life's most important lessons, I've learned from watching Scrubs.

So back when I counted down my favorite Wright cards, the 2010 Topps versions made the list. The flashiest one I had was a Chrome Refractor but in the comments, Spankee made mention of the Blue parallel. That card was on my priority list for a while, but just kept getting pushed out of the way for whatever reason. But his comment resparked my interest and I went out hunting.

The blue and orange colors, the shiny, the serial numbered #/199, the shiny.

Let's just take a second and let it really sink in the awesomeness of it all. I'll wait...

...

...

...

Here, let me show it again

Picked it up for $4, shipping and all. Awesome, awesome card.

(...Joe)

2011 Bowman Hobby Pack: Redemption Time!

2011-08-28T18:13:00.008-04:00

Remember that pack of '08 Masterpieces?

Pepperidge Farm does.

So when I stopped back into my LCS I felt the need to grab another pack since I was left so unsatisfied. This time though, I turned my attention to the 2011 Bowman packs. No, I wasn't trying to chase down a Harper auto. All I wanted to do was open something on the cheaper side. That and I didn't have any Mets from that set yet, so there's that too. I picked up 2 of them for $3 each, let's look at the first one...

2011 Bowman Hobby Pack
Topps proved that it has no problem pushing the envelope and they let us know that with this years Bowman wrapper. I'm not sure what the giant douchebag on the wrapper is supposed to represent but I'll be damned if I don't like my corporations with a little edge on them.

Too bad I'm not a Rockies fan. I don't hate the design for this, however, I do think it would have looked much much better if all the veteran cards were horizontal.

Is anyone else afraid that the moment Derek Jeter retires, Topps is going to make card #2 of every single set a Jeter card?
The "Topps 100" is of Garin Cecchini who is being ranked as the Red Sox #10 overall prospect for whatever that's worth.

The 2 base rookies or prospects or whatever the hell. Another #10 organizational prospect in the Brewers Amaury Rivas and Tyler Bortnick could not be found on the Rays top 10. Zoom in on Rivas's signature though. $50 says that if he makes the majors, that sig changes a bit.

I''m hitting the jackpot with #10 prospects here as Broxton takes the spot for the Diamondbacks. Kyle Russell did not crack the top 10 for the Dodgers, but 26 HR in 2010 tells me he has some power. But I'm no scout, so...

Ah yes, now this makes the pack! A gold Jose Bautista, ok ok, I can probably find someone interested in that to spark a trade. But the Blue Zimmerman I should have no problem trading! #/500 and 1:32 odds I could have done way worse.

All these are up for trade, so leave a comment or shoot me an email if you're interested. I have one more pack to go, so let's see if I can improve my findings!

(...Joe)

Last Post Before the Hurricane Kills Us All

2011-08-27T23:33:00.002-04:00

I've got beer, ice cream and a dog. Somehow, I think I'll be just fine.

It's the Rapture all over again.

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-08-22T19:00:00.007-04:00

Last night at the bar I was congratulated for being a Mets fan. Not because the other guy was a Mets fan as well, and it wasn't sarcastic, but rather it was for continuing to be a Mets fan. Awesome, thanks. Either buy me a drink, give me your girlfriend or go away. kthanksbye.

It's been a great deal of time since I've done a trade post and I know you guys are just distraught over this. So to cheer you up I'll provide you with a nice "Vintage Trade Post." And by "vintage" I don't mean any cards from the '60s or '70s. I mean "vintage" as in these trades happened quite some time ago...

First up, first time trade with Cardboard Heaven. One collecting goal he has is to pick up a relic of every pitcher with 3,000+ Ks and lucky for me, he needed a Clemens card. Lucky for him, I will gladly trade any Clemens card for nothing more then a new ballpoint pen. Lucky for me, he was willing to give me a little more...
A 2001 Topps Jose Reyes RC was the true highlight of the package. More goodness included another Reyes
I don't hate manupatches. Some of them look really nice and I can quickly get over the fact that they aren't game used. I'd rather have an esthetically pleasing card than poorly designed game used just for the sake of it being game used. What's disappointing about these Topps patches (to me at least) is that if they simply backed the patch with "jersey" material, then these cards would be 10x better in my opinion.

Next up is another first time trade with My Carboard Mistress. The trade was tipped off by these...
I started working on this set back when it came out, in 2007. 4 years later, I still need 15 cards to finish it off... all SPs. This is why I'm not a set collector. That and the mere thought of actually needing a Cole Hammels or Alex Rodriguez card disgusts me.

This trade also brought me my #6 favorite Wright card as well as this guy...
A 2008 SP Authentic "Marquee Matchups". This neato card explains on the back how Wright has 10 career hits including 3HR and 2 2B against Smoltz. That's called "ownage". That's right. ownage

Thanks again for the trades guys!
(...Joe)

One More '72 to Go

2011-08-20T22:37:00.004-04:00

Finally, I'm starting a new job at a vet's office next week. Obviously, the extra hours will help but hopefully I'll get some more referrals for my dog training and the extra cash will help pay for more tattoos!!!

And cards, I guess...

I picked this up a little while ago, but forgot to post it. Kindda like how I forgot to pay for it.

I went looking for the last two cards I need for the '72 team set and found this lil' guy with a $0.50 starting price. I put a hail mary max bid of $1.50 just to see and, well... I pulled it off. It was actually so easy and unexciting that I completely forgot I bid on it until a few days later and yeah, that's my story.

Anyways, this brings me to needing only one card to finish of this set. ONE! It's the Tim Foli "In Action" and of course it's a high number. If anyone has this card then I swear to God I'll give you my daughter in exchange for it. I mean, I'm only 23 and I don't have a daughter so you might have to wait for a bit for your end of the deal. And then you'll probably wanna wait another 18 years or so.

Did anyone hear about the baby that was just sold on the black market for $180,000? I'm in the wrong business I'll tell ya what.

And then there's the possibility that I have a son. Whatever, you can take him too. You know what, how about this. Just email me and we'll work the details out. I'll have my people call your people etc. Please excuse me, I'm rambling...

(...Joe)

2008 Masterpieces Hobby Pack

2011-08-14T19:00:00.005-04:00

The Collective Troll can back me up on this: Roller Derby girls know how to party...

So I went to my local card shop to pick up a box to ship hiflews winnings in and wanted to get a pack so I could justify using my card for a .50 cent box. I wanted to grab a pack of Lineage, but they were sold out, so I went with the most interesting thing in the case.

The Masterpieces sets looks uhmazing and I'm pretty sure a couple bloggers are collecting it, so maybe I can pull something cool or something for someone's set list. Check it...

#31 Todd Helton
Over/under- 3,000 career hits.
I'm giving Helton the over.

#52 Ken Griffey Jr.
Over/under- 95% of the vote in his first year of HOF eligibility.
I would say under. While I find there to be absolutely nothing to not vote "yes" for, there seems to be some 1st year hazing going on with the voters, so it wouldn't shock me.

#108 Joe DiMaggio SP
Over/under- I'll be able to think of an over/under for DiMaggio before the end of this post.
Gotta go with the under here. I'm coming up short at the moment.

A... dummy card?
Wh-what the fuck is this? We've all gotten dummy cards before. They're there to keep pack searchers on their toes and fake them out that there's a relic to be found. Fine, not a big deal. They serve as packing material for trades and they never take up the spot of a card in the pack.

Here's where my confusion lies, this card is not thick like a relic card would be. It's actually thinner than a regular base card. So what purpose could this possible serve? But here's the real good part...

That's everything from the pack. 3 base cards and 1/4th of a dummy card. Just so we're all on the same page, a hobby pack of 2008 Masterpieces contains 6 cards to the pack. So not cool.

Oh well. Things have been going pretty well for me in the life department lately, so obviously whoever's in charge of dishing out karma fucked up and got me on the "good" list, so if this is how things are gonna even out, then I'm ok with that. All 3 cards are up for trade, so let me know if something tickles your fancy.

(...Joe)

The Winner!

2011-08-13T01:02:00.003-04:00

K, so I couldn't figure out how to get a video onto my computer of my camera so instread we have to the a more *gulp* conventional route.

Random.org

So now, thanks to you guys, I figured out the screen capture thingy and we're good to go!

I randomed everything 5 times. This is a David Wright contest, so I chose his jersey number as the amount of times to do so.

Pre-radomization.

1-

2-

3-

4-

5-
For the winner.
Of a complete set of 2007 Topps Chrome.
Shipped to you in a box.
With a handwritten note by me, maybe I'll even draw a happy face.
And
it
goes
to
oo
oo
oo
oo
oo

hifleeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Awesome dude, congrats! Email me your address and I'll get your cards out as soon as I can. Also, Dhoff and Kazi, email me yours as well along with what team you collect and I'll send a 'lil something something your way as well. Spankee, I have yours still so you're all set.

Thanks for playing!

(...Joe)

How do You get Screen Shots From Random.org?

2011-08-12T12:23:00.003-04:00

I did a test run for the contest, but I have no idea how to get a screen shot onto the page here. I tried "save page as..." and then uploading it like an image, but blogger didn't like that. Once I get this figured out we can finish up the contest!

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #1

2011-08-09T22:29:00.003-04:00

The new freecreditreport.com band sucks.

#1- 2009 Topps Unique "Solo Shot" jersey #/275
I know, I know. I can hear the WTFs through the computer screen. Nothing about this card's parts are anything spectacular or really even memorable for that matter.

The design is cool, I like the stitching in the background.
Pretty good use of space. Good shot of Wright, jersey doesn't obstruct anything.
#/275. Artificial scarcity is always good.

But there's no 5 color patch.
No super low numbering.
Nothing that super great...

So why the fuck is this number 1? Well, because every time I see this card, I think of this: the single greatest group break ever in the history of man. The two most valuable cards I have ever and probably will ever pull out of any pack or box in my life, neither of which would belong to me.
I simply had to settle for the plain hit of my favorite player, sigh.

So there you have it, my favorite Wright card in my collection. Not the rarest, or most valuable or the flashiest, but it's my favorite none the less.

Now, to settle the matter of the contest. No one guessed this as my number 1, so for the purpose of the contest, my number 2 will count as number 1 which four of you guys guessed. So, hiflew, Kazi, Dhoff and Spankee will need to have the set of 2007 Chrome randomed off to see who gets it. I have an idea on how I want to do this, just gotta make sure I can figure out the video function on my camera.

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #2

2011-08-06T19:36:00.003-04:00

Annoying person who still thinks knock knock jokes are funny: "Knock Knock!"

Your reply: "Come in."

They will never want to play with you again. Mission accomplished.

So here we are, the number 2 most favoritest Wright card in my collection...

#2- 2005 Topps "Topps Autographs "
As Spankee so delicately described in his comment, I acquired this card through a trade from Natstown. If I remember right, he bought a blaster of 2005 Topps and this just happened to fall out of it. He threw it up on his page with full intent of listing it on ebay, but gave us an opportunity to make offers on it first.

I never made an offer.
sorry Spankee
Instead, I emailed him a link to my trade bait page and told him to go nuts. Whatever he likes, make a "wish list" and we'll take it from there. I had a Chad Cordero auto #/35 that I knew he would want, so I felt pretty good I could get something done. He picked out 3 or 4 other cards from my reserves and the deal was done. I gave up some good stuff, but even the most basic Wright auto will run you no less than $25 on ebay, on a really good day. And Topps thinks it's funny to short print all Wright autos from 2007 and on, so pack pulled isn't too likely.

This is my only Wright auto in my collection, other than the ball, and it will probably be that way for awhile unless someone else pulls one that I can swoop in on.

Oh yeah, and it's on card!!!

My number 1 is coming up! Did anyone get it right? Will Cartman ever know his real father?

(...Joe)

I Think My Dog Might be Schizophrenic

2011-08-05T15:04:00.002-04:00

Look at some of the warning signs...

-Social withdrawal
She doesn't like the other dogs at the park.

-Hostility or suspiciousness
She's very suspicious of that gopher in the front yard

-Deterioration of personal hygiene
She hasn't had a bath in weeks!

-Flat, expressionless gaze
Always just, staring at that ball...

-Inappropriate laughter or crying
Not uncommon practice for her to bark at 3am

-Oversleeping or insomnia
She's asleep right now!!!

-Forgetful; unable to concentrate
Always forgetting to bring her toys inside.

I'll keep you guys in the loop.

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #3

2011-08-04T13:12:00.004-04:00

Perhaps one of the best things about the blog scene here is the trading.

OK, that IS the best thing! Some bloggers have want lists, or trade bait pages and most everyone has done at least several thousand trade bait posts. Sometimes there's a theme, like the slaughtered remains of a hobby box. Or a set break, or a desperate cry for a certain team or player collector. Other times, it's a couple high end cards, or just some common stuff to use as a trade starter. Other times still, it's as random as random could be. That's how I came across this...

#3- 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces "Framed Silver" #/25
A long long time ago, Captain Canuck posted a handful of cards as trade bait. It was long enough ago, that I have no idea when exactly it was. So we're looking at a time frame anywhere between 11am this morning and earlier.

This was one of those random lots, and looking around there weren't any real "high end" cards that I noticed. Of course, it was a Wright I didn't have so I inquired about it. "I have a bunch of Braves cards, so this should be easy" I thought.

Quick question, how does a guy from Canada become a Braves fan?

Well, imagine my surprise when I got an email starting with the sentence- "Joe, about the David Wright Masterpieces #/25. What did you have in mind?"

Ummm, not that there were only 25 copies in existence. Definitely not that.

Like I said, I have a bunch of Braves cards, but not THOSE kind of Braves. Unless he was willing to take 500 Braves base or trade for a different team, I was not gonna pull this off. I threw up a hail marry of an offer and sure enough, he accepted.

Yay!

(...Joe)
p.s- Diamond King, email me your address and what team you collect!

David Wright Top 10: #4

2011-08-03T23:10:00.003-04:00

So this is where our first contestant is eliminated. The power I feel, it's... intoxicating.

Oh wait, no. That's not the power. It's the chocolate milk. Yup, definitely the chocolate milk.

#4- Topps Triple Threads "Relics 'Sepia'" #/27
This card probably has the most bling out of all. Between the shiny and the jersey pieces and the shiny and the numbering I could make this card into a sweet grill for my teeth as I'm driving through the neighborhood.

I picked this card up off ebay for $25 back when I first started to get back into collecting. If I had to seek this card out again, I'd most likely hold out and wait for a better price, but again, I was the new guy. Either way, there's no buyers remorse and while I know there are alot of Triple Threads haters out there, while I don't go crazy for the stuff, I like the cards that fit into my collections.

(...Joe)
p.s- Brian, don't be surprised if something from my address finds its way into your mailbox anyways.

David Wright Top 10: #5

2011-08-01T21:25:00.004-04:00

That's it, contest closed! I think it'll be fun giving this set away as we move forth with the countdown!

One thing before we get started, are there any Mets hits in A&G this year? I haven't seen one in any Gint a Cuffs posts and while I haven't looked at a checklist, I'm beginning to wonder. I'm not desperately seeking one, but I mean, if anyone has one that they wanna trade, I'd be interested.

#5- 2010 Topps Chrome "Refractor"
If I would have been allowed to enter my contest, I would have picked this card. I fucking love this card. As I'm writing this, I wanna bump it up and make it my #1, but the next 4 have alot of sentimental stuff going on. And one of them is like, crazy low numbered and I didn't even know it at first.

Anyways look at this card.
Gorgeous!!!

I've always had an affinity for fielding, since that was what I was good at as a kid, and this card is just an awesome shot. You could really plug in any of the different versions I have and it would all be comparable (Flagship base, gold, chrome base etc.) but the refractor is the flashiest I have as of now, so that gets to carry the group.

So there we are, only four more to go and three of the four were guessed!

(...Joe)
p.s- I've been using Blogger to upload photos now, rather than photobucket, so you can enlarge the picture by clicking on it. I don't know if anyone really cares or not, but just in case I figured I'd throw it out there.

CONTEST!!!

2011-07-30T19:00:00.003-04:00

EDIT- A couple small things I should have mentioned earlier, this will run up until my next Wright post. I'm planning on that being Monday night, but I'm not 100%. Once #5 is posted, the contest is closed.

Also, if no one guesses my #1, then the prize will go to the #2 slot so on and so forth.

We've gone through the first 5 cards of my David Wright Top 10 which brings us to an intermission. What this means for you guys is a chance to win a complete set of 2007 Topps Chrome.

Random?

Yes.

What you have to do, is guess which card I will name my #1 favorite Wright in my collection. Obviously, the previous 5 will not be it, so I would advise against guessing any of those. Just leave a comment with your guess as to what the #1 will be and if you're right, then you win! If more then 1 person guesses the correct card then I will break the tie in my own unique way.

A couple hints-
I promise it won't be something stupid like an Opening Day card or a Starquest insert
And I have posted the card on the blog before

You can use the list of Wrights I have to help you of course!

Summing up- Correctly guess my #1 favorite Wright
Win a complete set of 2007 Topps Chrome!

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #6

2011-07-29T21:42:00.003-04:00

So I've come to the point in my life where I find it way sexier when a girl knows the proper usage of the word "too" in a sentence, then if she were to have the world's most perfect chest. FML.

You see, I've just always had this thing where I just cannot handle stupidity or ignorance within the human race. This is why I could never be a Yankees fan.

Did you hear that? That was the sound of my last Yankee reader clicking away from my page.

#6- 2010 Allen and Ginter Relic

I know, I know, I'm sorry for posting a picture, ANY picture of Allen and Ginter right now. It's not that I don't like the way A&G looks, I do, it's just that we're in the midst of an A&G frenzy and well... everyone's doing it. I like to be different. I had that line used on me once: "C'mon man, it's only coke. Everyone's doin' it." You know what I did? I cracked open a pixie stick and went to fucking town on it! That's right kids, stay sober and you could end up just like me!!!

So to mention something about the card, this is my most recent Wright addition and well, obviously one of my favorites. The "framed" idea is great and while I'm not sure if this is how it is for all the cards, I love the way the frame matches the watercolor in the photo. The blue jersey bit is just plain Awesome as well! Oh, and I should mention this card came via trade with My Cardboard Mistress. Thanks again dude!

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #7

2011-07-28T14:44:00.005-04:00

Another Wright home run (in regards to last night) another Wright Top 10 card!

Well, I still would have posted this even if he had gone 0-4, but he didn't. He hit a HR, cuz that's just how he does.

#7- 2007 Topps Sterling White Suede #/50
This is card #67 in the set and Wright #3. He's got 12 cards in the set each with their own parallel which means there's like, 7,000 different Wright cards in the 2007 Sterling checklist. Someone remind me why we collect players after 1992 again?

This is the "White Suede" version and it's so bitchin' that it's untouchable!!!

No, really, you can't touch this card. There's a permanent dust smudge on the upper right hand corner because it's so fuzzy that any dust/dirt gets trapped and is impossible to get off. If you try to wipe it off, you only make it worse. I finally found a case for it, so I moved it from a super thick toploader, to backdrop to take a picture and then into it's new forever case. I was wearing a painters mask and gloves the entire time.

Ok, fine I wasn't really wearing gloves. Painters mask, yes. Sometimes I like to pretend we're in the middle of a T-Virus outbreak.

Oh yeah and it's #/50.
(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #8

2011-07-26T23:38:00.004-04:00

That's right, we are in full blown David Wright invasion mode right now. It's either this or I show you pictures of 2011 Allen & Ginter. You see, this is what I like to call "fighting the system." It's the same reason I don't have a Facebook or Twitter or wear pants on Thursdays. I'm fighting the system, or something.

#8- 2002 Bowman
Not the most exciting picture in the world, unless you're my imaginary little sister that I just made up for the sake of this sentence. But I mean, it's a RC. It's actually the only '02 Wright I have right now. I need to start a new paragraph before I write any more fragment sentences...

K, so I had this card on my Top 10 for a while but Dawgbones finally brought this card to me in a pretty sweet trade. I don't even remember what I sent him or what else I got but I don't really think that matters. And you know what, the more I look at this card, the more I like it. The boarder is reminding me of something. I can't think...

Awww yeah. That's it, it reminds me of this picture of the greatest movie ever in the history of the entire world! That's why I like this card so much.

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #9

2011-07-24T22:47:00.003-04:00

No time for witty banter to precede the card. Well, there's time but I made the mistake of sitting down with the box of Rice Krispies Treats rather then just take out one or two. Brand new box of 16, just opened and there's 4 left. I may die tonight...

#9- 2001 Upper Deck Prospect Premier

You'd be hard pressed to find any real difference in the design between '01 and '09 Upper Deck. I bought this card from Mike Pelfrey Collectibles when he had his fire sale after deciding to leave the hobby. There's another card later in the countdown that also has a tie to the MPC sale but it's a secret for now.

As far as I know, this is the earliest Wright card out there. It'd be tough to have one before this as he was drafted in '01, but with brands like Bowman it wouldn't surprise me if there are cards of players from High School out there. It's only a matter of time...

(...Joe)

David Wright Top 10: #10

2011-07-23T15:54:00.003-04:00

I went out to the bar last night to see Wright back in the Mets lineup and was it ever worth it! My satellite company has been in "contract negotiations" with SNY (the local Mets channel) since opening day. If anyone's curious, it's Dish Network. That's Dish Network and just in case someone from that company happens to read this at any point in their lives, I just wanna let you know that you guys are the fucking worst. Fuck you.

So anyways, I thought it'd be fun to to a small countdown of my 10 favorite Wright cards! I know there are a bunch of Wright collectors out there so hopefully you guys will enjoy this. And even Things are Funner with her new found Mets fandom may like some of the cards!!!

#10- 2009 Upper Deck
Now now, before you go thinking this is gonna be the hipster of cardboard's Top 10 just know we're getting to the sexy stuff soon! There will be Game Used, there will be Autos and there will be blood.

...

This card makes the list based off the picture alone. The '09 UD design is nothing breathtaking and there's no sentimental reason for the choice. I've just always liked broken bat cards. Pure timing and luck and it makes for some sweet cardboard.

(...Joe)

2 More '64s!

2011-07-19T21:24:00.003-04:00

2 points for rhyming

I haven't been buying many cards lately.

I've been forced to spend most of my money on "adult" things.

Not even the fun kinds of adult things like skin flicks or hookers.

Lately, I've been dying to really get working on taking the next big chunk out of my '64 Topps coins set. I was cruising around ebay looking for a $2 Sandy Koufax, or Willie Mays. I didn't. I did find these two for a buck each, however...
Vida Pinson and Roy McMillian

I was curious to see how these were condition wise. The most common things with these coins is loss of paint around the edges, which doesn't always look so obvious in the picture. These were listed as VG, but I've gotten coins listed as that in NRMT before and I've gotten some in P sooo for a buck, I figured why not. They're not bad, by the way. The Pinson has typical edge wear but nothing I would need to upgrade. The McMillian you can see is a little sun burned, but again, can I really complain?

The answer is yes. But I'm not.

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-07-18T21:34:00.004-04:00

In the upcoming days, I want to do a quick series of my 10 favorite David Wright cards. He should be back in the lineup soon so I think it would be fun to do that. Well, fun for me and all the other Wright collectors out there. Maybe not so much for Funner or Dawgbones...

Anyways, I was able to pull of a great trade with Ikes Cards about a month or two ago! He had a bunch of great Mets stuff and if memory serves me correctly (which it rarely does) he still has some left. On to what I did get...

First up is a 2010 Chrome Jenrry Mejia Auto Refractor #/449! I'm still seeing that Mejia is still being ranked as one of the Mets best prospects despite being shelved for the year with Tommy John Surgery. Hopefully he can come back and live up to the potential, but unfortunately for Jenrry, he's a Met which means he's destined to live on the DL for as long as he wears that uniform. *sigh*

Next up

A 2006 Ovation Alay Soler SP #/999. I have a bunch of sets that are an SP away from completion. This card brings the Ovation set to that same club. Even so, this card is sweet, it's got all kinds of crazy bumps and canyons and who's not a fan of artificial scarcity?!

Thirdly,
2006 Carlos Delgado Turkey Red Bat. I've always liked jersey relics better than the bat cards. Not to say I don't like the bats, but my dad is a carpenter so I grew up with wood scraps all over the place but I've never owned a jersey of my favorite player before. The only thing I don't like is when the card states that I'm holding "game used pants." I can't help but think I got the part by the... well, you know. What kind of relic cards do you prefer, bat or jersey?

Lastly we have a couple Wrights. The Baseball Heroes is #/449 and the Bowman Gold is a double I needed for the team set. I'm about halfway on the 2010 Bowman Gold team set so if anyone has any golden Mets goodness the need to move, let me know!

Thanks again for the trade Ike! I've been watching your box breaks ready to strike on any Mets I need!

(...Joe)

Stuff and Stuff

2011-07-16T00:04:00.003-04:00

Hell of a few days.

Trade bait page is updated with a bunch of vintage stuff.

Turns out my reaction to a problem ended up costing way more than the actual problem. Won't bore with details.

ROLLER DERBY TOMORROW NIGHT!!! That's right, the Collective Troll isn't the only one!

Hoping to spice up the player collection pages to make them a bit more ascetically pleasing starting with the Wright page since it's smaller.

Contemplating whether or not I'll ever do a real post on this blog again.

I will.

But for now...

UPSIDE DOWN DOGS!!!

(...Joe)

I Just Googled "How to Boil an Egg"

2011-07-12T03:13:00.000-04:00

I think I just failed life...

(...Joe)

Mike Piazza's in the Celebrity Sofball Game Again!

2011-07-11T23:37:00.002-04:00

I can't be the only one stoked about this.

...can I?

...

Shut up, it's been way to long since he retired...

(...Joe)

Quick Pickup

2011-07-09T20:27:00.003-04:00

Just a quick "hey look at me woooooooo look at me" post.

I scored a '72 I needed for my team set for cheap the other day, about $4 or so.
This brings soooo freaking close to finishing off the '72 set. I only need 2 cards but unfortunately that's 2 cards more than I have the funds for right now. It 's ok though, I'll have a few beers tonight and convince myself that I'm "only gonna look at stuff on ebay."

(...Joe)

Group Break Goodness

2011-07-06T22:21:00.007-04:00

Sometimes I think I'm doing this card collecting thing wrong.

My main collection, the cornerstone of it all for me are my Mets team sets. I collect Mets cards. There, now you know my dirty little secret.

Unfortunately, I'm only one of at least 7,000 Mets collectors within the blog scene, so competition can get tough. If I wanna get in on a group break, I need to get lucky and sign up minutes after the sign ups are posted. Sometimes I wish I collected Pirates cards. I would have the market cornered, a complete monopoly of the trading industry and there ain't shit that Standard Oil can say about it!!!

...

...

So not too long ago, I jumped on board a break over at Cards from the Quarry. It was only $12 for 4 boxes, so I signed up and thought about my bank account later.
This was by far the best card of the break for me. 2004 Topps Chrome "Black" of Reyes. This is one thing I don't understand. Albert Pujols BREAKS HIS FUCKING ARM and is back in the lineup like what, 2...3 weeks later? Reyes feels "tightness" in his leg and is out until fuck knows when, most likely the season.

Another neat parallel from the Chrome box. I really can't recall anything special about Seo's time with the Mets. I could look it up, but the Google button is all the way over there...

Just a sampling of the 2 other boxes from the break. A 1998 Aurora and some 1996 Studio action. Quick question, why is John Franco not in the HOF?

Another break I was able to get in on happen a little while ago. Thoughts and Sox came across a box of '87 O-Pee-Chee and was selling teams for $3 each.

"Fuck yeah!" I said to myself.

I only had one card from that set, so while I was expecting to finish off the team set a nice chunk would be very welcomed in my not so far off completion of '80s Mets sets. He broke the box, pack by pack, card by card. I waited...

...and waited...

...

...a little more

BOOM!
Bobby O in the 7th pack! Bow chicka wow wow, MYSPACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I broke the ice in the 7th pack and 29 packs later I was left with a Bob Ojeda card. That's it. Nothing else. Just, a single... Bob... myspace....

Luckily for me, Adam also announced that he had a healthy stack of '87 Leaf to throw into everyone's pile as well.
This made the break for me. I had nothing from this set and with this addition, I'm now only 2 short of adding this to the completed section of the '80s binder.

Thanks guys for the breaks! Hopefully I can sneak into some more in the future!

(...Joe)

Does Your All-Star Ballot Look Like Mine?

2011-06-28T00:07:00.002-04:00

I always have a few rules established before voting for the AS game.

1- I can never under any circumstances vote for a Yankee
2- I can never under any circumstances vote for a Phillie
3- Only under extreme circumstances may I vote for a Brave

Being an NL fan, it's tough to vote for the AL teams sometimes having not seen most of the players in action. SO I have to rely heavily on stats which never really tell the whole story. I take AVG. into account the most followed by HR, RBIs, R and then SB.

This is the first time in the history of ever that my ballot doesn't include David Wright. I'm one of the biggest homers around but I just couldn't do it. Mainly because he's hurt and wouldn't be able to play anyways. Actually, 100% because he's hurt and wouldn't be able to play anyways.

American League:

1B - Gonzalez, Adrian
2B - Kendrick, Howard
SS - Cabrera, Asdrubal
3B - Youkilis, Kevin
C - Avila, Alex
DH - Young, Michael
OF - Bautista, Jose
OF - Ellsbury, Jacoby
OF - Jones, Adam
Write-in - N/A

National League:

1B - Fielder, Prince
2B - Weeks, Rickie
SS - Reyes, Jose
3B - Headley, Chase
C - McCann, Brian
OF - Beltran, Carlos
OF - Braun, Ryan
OF - Kemp, Matt
Write-in - N/A

(...Joe)

Don't Call it a Comeback

2011-06-27T13:50:00.002-04:00

'Cuz I never went anywhere in the first place!

Well, I did, kindda.

Not the point.

This makes me happy...

(...Joe)

brb

2011-06-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Lake George for my friends wedding!

I'll be back next week sometime providing I have enough money for bail.

(...Joe)

anyone know of any good bars up there?

Vintage Trade Bait

2011-06-17T19:37:00.006-04:00

I've begun sorting through and pulling all the doubles from the cards my Uncle gave me. I ended up with a nice stack of cards, most are '71's, a handful of '69s a couple '68s and 1 '61. You all know how trade bait posts work, so no need to explain. I'll post a couple cards at once and if they go unclaimed after a few days then they're headed to the trade bait page. Also, if you have any set needs, send me an email with what you need and I'll see if I have anything for you!

First I'll start with some HOF action.
A couple '71 Carltons. The card on the right is in pretty nice condition, you can basically see any of the damage that's there in the picture. The one on the left has the obvious boarder wear and squishy corners you can see in the pic, but it also has a few creases to go along with it. If you're interested in either one, let me know which card you want, Left or Right.

Next, some Catfish action! You can see the damage in the pic of the corners and edges, but there's a crease concealed right in front of his face but doesn't continue to the edges.

And lastly for today a pair of Willie McCoveys.

Or is it McCovies?

Or McCovi?

Anyways, no creases and the typical boarder/corner wear. Same as the Carltons, if interested in one or the other just let me know left or right.

I would love love LOVE to get some vintage Mets in return but I won't be turning down that 1/1 David Wright you have to offer either! Just make me an offer and we'll take it from there.

What's the plural of platypus? Platypuses or platypi? Spell check says platypuses...

(...Joe)

Does Anyone Else...

2011-06-14T21:31:00.001-04:00

...get the sudden intense urge to look through all your binders and boxes of cards after watching "American Pickers"?

Seriously, is it just me?

(...Joe)

Series 2 For Trade

2011-06-11T23:14:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, Tomahawk Chopping inspired me to pick up one of those $10 box thingies at the Wal.

72 cards for $10.

Sounds good to me.

I've already sent some packages out, but all the rest is up for trade. Hopefully you guys can use some of these!

Updated- 6/12

Base:
342, 361, 363, 384, 398, 401, 405, 439, 447, 466, 476, 497, 513, 565, 577, 632,

Inserts:
WalMart Exclusive- Adrian Gonzalez
Topps 60- Don Mattingly
Diamond Duos- Tulowitzki/Jimenez
ToppsTown- Kendrys Morales

Claim in the comments!

(...Joe)

Philisophical Fridays

2011-06-10T21:59:00.000-04:00

"What we have are good gray ballplayers, playing a good gray game and reading the good gray Wall Street Journal. They have been brainwashed, dry-cleaned and dehydrated!... Wake up the echoes at the Hall of Fame and you will find that baseball's immortals were a rowdy and raucous group of men who would climb down off their plaques and go rampaging through Cooperstown, taking spoils.... Deplore it if you will, but Grover Cleveland Alexander drunk was a better pitcher than Grover Cleveland Alexander sober."

Bill Veeck, The Hustler's Handbook

It Ain't Easy Bein' a Pimp

2011-06-10T14:54:00.003-04:00

Cards from the Quarry is having a group break!

But that's not even the most exciting part!
I got the Mets! In a group break!!!

19 minuets after it was posted!

Pounced on that shit.

...

OK, maybe the break as a whole is more exciting...

(...Joe)

Usually When There's a Lump on your Package...

2011-06-08T16:04:00.007-04:00

...it's cause for alarm. Multiple trips to the doctor proceed and you're making up stories about how the scar is from this fight you got into with a shark.

Luckily, my lump wasn't so serious. It was merely the result of a small trade from The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. This was our first swap and I would say both parties involved would give the other a 5 star feedback rating! The initial deal was over this...

2000 SP Authentic Al Leiter GU. I finally got all my Mets autos and GU cards into binders rather than snap cases and my interest in acquiring more of them has shot up as a result. Funny how shit works that way.

The aforementioned lump was due to this...

A little Mike Piazza dude wearing a non-H.O.F Dodgers hat. Apparently these little dudes are called "Headliners". Tim did a much better job explaining what they are then I ever will, so check it out here.

Next up, we'll take a look at a trade that happened a good 6 or 7 years ago from Things are Funner Here. It was a simple 1 card swap in response to a box she posted.

A Bronze parallel of Beltran form 2010 T206. I'm creeping ever so closer to finishing the team set for this. I have a couple parallel sets that I'm within 5 cards of, but nothing completed yet. One day...

Thanks again for the trades dude and dudette!

(...Joe)

Philisophical Fridays

2011-06-03T20:46:00.001-04:00

"Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up."

Bob Lemon

Has Gary Carter Ever Made You Smile? Well, Now You Can Return The Favor!!!

2011-06-02T23:32:00.002-04:00

30 Year Old Carboard's got an idea. I think, it's an Awesome idea. So Awesome, that I capitalized the word "Awesome" 3 times. Awesome.

I like Gary Carter; I always have. And since I am a writer that loves to write about the players that I cheered for as a kid, I write often about Mr. Carter.

Last week it was announced that Carter is suffering from inoperable brain tumors. I cannot imagine how he and his family took the news, but their spirits remained high when discussing the issue with the media.

This news hit me like a ton of bricks – it hurt.

I have a lot of memories of watching Gary Carter play baseball; first with the Expos and then with the Mets. Hell, I put together a collection of all of his baseball cards from those two teams as a way to pay homage to his amazing and lengthy career.

Gary Carter provided a lot of smiles for me during my youth, and even into adulthood. Now it is time to pay him back.

Here is what I am proposing. Let’s collect as many ‘Get Well Soon’ cards as we can for Mr. Carter and send them to him all at one time. I’m sure he gets cards from loyal fans all of the time - celebrating birthdays or anniversaries or other events.

But now, more than ever, Gary needs to know and feel that he is as supported as ever by his fans!!!

I would be happy to take the lead on this and have all cards sent to me. I will accumulate them for a specific time period, lets say 30 days, and then send them all in 1 big (hopefully) bunch to Carter’s Foundation in West Palm Beach.

Here is what I am thinking – we need to set up a code to put on the outside of each envelope for this cause. How about ‘GC8‘. Addressing the envelope to me will get the cards to me and then using the code of ‘GC8‘ on the outside of the envelope will ensure that I don’t open your cards but that I will set them aside with the others to send ‘in bulk’ to Gary in July.

Sound good? I hope so.

Also, if you’re a blogger, please spread the word.

If you are on Twitter, please ‘tweet’ about this.

If you’re on Facebook, please help me promote this.

If you’re a baseball fan, please tell your friends and family about this.

We can all skip buying a pack of cards or a soda or a coffee for one day to grab a card and make someone smile that has made us smile over and over again for several years.

I don’t want to publish my mailing address on the site, but you can email me and I will be happy to offer it up to you. Email me at bapple2286@hotmail.com

This is our chance to bring a smile to Gary Carter’s face. To confirm to him that his fans are thinking of him and praying for him. Please help!

Link to 30 Year Old cardboard

My Take on Changing the Rule

2011-05-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

I cant' take it anymore.

Anything baseball related right now can't go more than 30 seconds without the "Should the rule be changed?" thing happening. Just in case it's unclear, I'm referring to the Runners railroading Catchers thing that's been in the spotlight due to the Buster Posey injury.

Here's my (hopefully) end all take.

If you change the rule for running over catchers due to injuries then you need to change the rules and regulate how fast pitchers can throw a ball. Countless batters get hurt and suffer broken hands, wrists, etc. every year from pitched balls. And let's not forget about Marlon Byrd!!! No pitcher should be allowed to throw a ball faster than 50 MPH.

Another rule change: Too many outfielders are injured each year from running into walls as a result of chasing down balls. We must change the rules so that any ball that is within 6 feet of any wall (fair or foul) is an automatic out providing an outfielder is within 3 feet of the ball when it hits the ground.

I have about 6 or 7 more changes I can make here, but I'm hoping the point has come across. Look, I'm not saying it's not unfortunate that Posey got hurt, of course it is. But come on, is everyone really freaking out this hardcore about this? As long as it's clean, it's fair game. If the catcher is 30 feet up the 3rd base line and the ball hasn't reached the 1st cutoff man yet and the runner railroads the catcher, then yeah, not cool. But if the catcher is blocking the plate and it's a close play, then brace yourself. It's no different than a take-out slide at 2nd base.

(...Joe)

Something a Little Different pt.2

2011-05-29T19:48:00.003-04:00

It's been almost a year since I did the initial "Different" post and my recent trip to Rhode Island inspired me to to a second installment.

Last week I went to visit my friend who lives out in RI for her birthday (also same friend who's getting married next month). I took a train out there and we didn't have any real plans that I knew of for when I got there other than anticipating being carried out of a couple bars that night. Her and her boyfriend... uhh, fiance I mean (still weird) picked me up from the station and we headed out to an IHOP down the street. As we're wating for our food she mentions that she wanted to go to a concert for her birthday but she said it with a kind of half smile.

"Oh God" I thought. "What show?"

I'm a metal guy so I like my music loud fast and screamy! She does too but she can be a little girly of course, so I'm terrified at this point that 8 hours from now I'm gonna be standing 45 minutes into a Goo Goo Dolls set.

"Bullet for my Valentine and Halestorm" she replied.

...

...

!!!

!!!

"You have to be fucking kidding me, that's awesome!!! How much are the tickets?" I asked.
"Well, we didn't get them yet. I think they're $30 though..."

Oh no

Any metal heads reading should know what's up about now, but for those unfamiliar with today's metal/hard rock scene, both Bullet and Halestorm sell out arenas on a regular basis just on their own. But both together at a venue that reaches capacity at about 250-300 people and you're not looking at very good odds. Whatever, gotta try and stay optimistic.

So the time finally comes when the doors open and day of show tickets go on sale. We're standing in line, a very LONG fucking line but we make it to the door and I buy my ticket for $30. I start walking to the side so I'm out of the way and I hear behind me "Sorry bro, cash only. No cards." I look behind me and it's my friend and her fiance. They didn't have any cash and I only had $10 left. I look out the door and there are now more people behind us then were in front of us before the doors opened...

Oh no

They run around the corner to find an ATM but even then, they've gotta get back on line and hope that there are still some left. I start thinking about a "plan B" in case the show does sell out and they can't get in. Obviously I'm not gonna say, "Well I'll call you when the shows over to come get me, hope you have fun somewhere else!" So if they get back to late, my only real option is to leave the show and try to sell my ticket to someone else and try to get my $50 back. I look at the ticket I'm holding for the first time, "May 15th, 2011 Social Distortion"

"What the fuck is this?!?! No one in their right mind would buy this off me to get in! Are you shitting me?"

Sigh. I look up still standing in the same place since I walked in and suddenly I notice I'm face to face with an ATM right inside the venue. Double sigh. Suddenly, I get a text.

"Hey, we're inside in front of the bar."

Oh thank god there's beer!!! Oh yeah, and my friends made it inside... yayyyyy.

So everything has worked out. We all got in and we got there early enough where we were able to stake claim to a comfortable spot. Finally, it's show time...

The first band comes on and they're a local band form the area, so obviously I've never heard of them before. They put on a good show and sounded great and after their last song the singer said that they would be hanging out at their merch table for the rest of the show.

Next band... Halestorm. I'm stoked. Can't wait. For those who don't know who Halestorm is, think modern day Joan Jett. The lights come on and they start playing. The singer, Lzzy Hale comes on and her voice fills up the venue like I have never heard before. I've been going to shows and still go to shows and have seen countless bands. I used to play in a band for years and we played countless shows. My local venue is roughly the same size of this place, so I was absolutely stunned when I heard the way her voice surrounded you. It was surreal.

Anyways, they put on an amazing show and I headed over to their merch table to pick up a CD. On the journey over, I passed the first bands table and saw the singer sitting there. He was a bigger dude with shaggy blonde hair and as I'm walking he looks over and makes eye contact. I do a quick head nod and shift direction to walk over to shake his hand.

I extend my arm and we shake hands.
"Hey dude, thanks. You guys put on a great showohmygod you're not him. You're not even a dude."

Oh no

I'm now left in the middle of the most awkard hand shake of my life with a very perplexed looking woman in her late 30's. I'm still shaking her hand. Quick, plan b. PLAN B! I need an escape route. Look around, are any of the other members here?
No.
Fuck.
Is anyone dieing?
No.
Shit.
Any drunk girls eying me from the bar?
No... oh, wait hold on. You looked kindda, nope. That's a dude. Dude checking me out. Still less awkward than where I am now, but not my best option.

"Well, tell them they put on a great show." I said and then I power walked the fuck outta there.

I made it to Halestorms table and bought a CD. Turns out all the CDs are autographed by the band, which is very cool, but not really how I like to get things signed by bands, ya know? Whatever, not complaining.

Bullet for My Valentine is next.
Very cool.
Very loud.
Very talented musicians.
Very British.
They put on the 2nd best show of the night, sounded great and had the entire place singing along to the songs. Overall the show was awesome and we had a great time. As we're walking out of the venue we notice a huge clusterfuck of people. We get closer and

!!!

It's Halestorm hanging out signing autographs! I instantly revert back to my 12 year old self and jump on line and can't wait to meet the band ohmygodwe'regonnameetthebandthisissocool. Again, I played for years. I've met alot of bands, but it never gets old.

We're waiting on line and of course you have your typical douche bags cutting through the line and whatnot, but like I said, I'm 12 years old again at this point so I don't care. I don't know phrases like "I hope you drive your car off a cliff" or "If you don't move to the back of the line like a normal person I'm gonna cut your tongue out and hang you with it." I'm innocent again. I'm such a dork...

We're finally next on line. Everyone's getting their pictures taken and CDs signed etc. when I suddenly realize "I don't have anything for them to sign!!!."

Oh no

I quickly look into my wallet to resort to the tried and true method of getting a dollar bill signed. I got some money out of the ATM at the show for beer so I should have something left.

"I DO!!!"
...
"SHIT!!!!!!!!"

I've only got a $10 left. Grrrrr.
K, now what?
Plan C.
Got it.
Am I really gonna ask them to sign this?
Holy crap we're next!

My friend starts talking to the drummer and I'm shaking hands with Lzzy Hale. "You guys put on an amazing show, Thank you!" I said.
"Thank you so much, we really appreciate that, honestly thank you." She replied. "Did you have anything you wanted signed?"

Here goes nothing...
"Actually, would you guys mind signing my train tickets?"
"Absolutely, we'd love to!"
Day. Made. Awesome.
"haha, Thanks! I took a 6 hour $280 train to come here tonight" I told her.
"Really?! That's crazy!" She said. "Where are you from?"
"NY. About 3 hours North of the city. But..." and I turn to my friend
"...I'm visiting her for her birthday today!"
"Oh happy birthday!!!"
Friend embarrassed. But she knows I have more ammo on her.
"And!" I say again to Hale "She's getting married next month!"
"Oh my God, congratulations! That's great!!!"
"AND!!!!" I say one last time "Tell her the best part!" This time to my friend.
"Oh boy." my friend says. At this point she's completely embarrassed. "He's my Man of Honor." and points to me laughing as I'm doing a little shuffle dance.
Hale looks at my friend and starts telling her "That's awesome! That's exactly what I want to do." referring to having a Man of Honor rather than a Maid of Honor. "All of my closest friends are guys so it's always just made more sense to me. I'm so happy for you, congratulations!"

I still have 3 other members to meet at this point and unfortunately the people behind us were not as interested in our banter as we were, so I moved on as my tickets got passed around. I shook hands with the rest of the band, told them thank you for the show and for signing when I noticed the bassist is left handed. He hands me back my tickets and I hold my hand out one last time. My left hand. He looked at me like I was a freak when I told him "I'm left handed too. This is how we should be shaking hands." He laughed, shook my hand and the three of us proceeded on with our night where I later got my picture taken with a cow.

(...Joe)

Group Break Question

2011-05-23T21:58:00.002-04:00

K, so I wanna do a group break soon but I'm having a dilemma trying to decide which box to break. I want to open up 2 of the same product to help put overall odds in our favor and I want to get them from my local card shop since I haven't gotten anything from there in awhile.

So these are the 3 I'm torn between...
2009 Ticket to Stardom
2007 Goudey
2010 Bowman Chrome

I'm pretty sure I can do the Ticket and the Goudey for about $8 per team and the Bowman for $7. Let me know which one you'd be interested in breaking and we can get the ball rolling!

(...Joe)

So This is What the End of the World is Like

2011-05-22T10:42:00.000-04:00

...

I'm strangely comfortable.

(...Joe)

Anyone Need Some Rings?

2011-05-19T11:37:00.004-04:00

No, random generic Cubs fan who just clicked my link, not those kind of rings...

So I just remembered that I haven't checked my Diamond Giveaway page in awhile. I only have about 5 or 6 cards and rings but I managed to get a couple '70's cards so I figured I'd check it out just in case someone was offering a vintage Met I needed.

Nope.

Same stupid offers of a '90 Topps no-name for a '74 Topps no-name. Sigh.

Next I checked the rings just cause... well it was a button to click.

...

???

269 offers all for one ring. The fuck man? It's a Babe Ruth ring and I remember reading a post on Play at the Plates page about his Mantle ring being an SP so is this the same deal for the Ruth?

I haven't really been playing along at all so if it is, then you guys have dibs on trading me for it. I've also got a Braves, A's, Expos, Blue Jays, Jackie Robinson and an Ozzie Smith ring if any of you need one or all of those. Let me know and their all yours!

(...Joe)

Verlander Trade Bait

2011-05-14T12:40:00.002-04:00

Today I've got a Justin Verlander auto I want to try and move. This is one of the first cards I bought off ebay when I got back into collecting. It's a TTM auto on his 2005 Bowman RC and again, it was an ebay buy so I didn't send it personally, but from the research I've done the auto looks legit.

And a closer look at the auto...

I'm not asking the world for this card, though I would like a little in return, so leave a comment or email if you're interested!

(...Joe)

Attention to Detail

2011-05-11T23:52:00.000-04:00

One thing I am continuously impressed by on everyone's blog is the attention to detail on cards. Now, I like baseball cards, not gonna lie. When I get new ones, I study them for a bit, take in the picture then flip it over to the back, check out the same Piazza and/or Wright stats that I've already memorized and then back to the front again. I look each card over but I never seem to acquire that same level of detail that most of you guys do. I mean, I study and analyze canine body language but I can't even tell when a uniform is airbrushed for fucks sake!

One thing I did notice today however,was this...

Notice anything strange? If not, how about now...

That is a metal bat right?

I realize this is most of you noticed this when you were about, 9 or so but I'm having a moment here. And just in case you were wondering, no, apparently it didn't help him any. He only hit 4 HR in '78.

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-05-07T23:22:00.008-04:00

I've been putting some dents into my '64 Topps Coins set lately, but that's not why we're here today. No, today we're back to prove that the internet is capable of more than just using Google for spell check or free porn. That's right, it's a trade post mo'fucka.

First up, a couple cards that came some time ago from Thoughts and Sox. After I claimed the Reyes refractor he posted, these 2 cards showed up on his page the within the next day or two.

So I, of course, put a claim on them and BOOM! now I have them. I'm halfway to the team set of 2010 Finest Refracs thanks solely to Adam so the search is on for the last 3.

Next is a neato little package from My Past Time... I sent him some Mantles in response to his post requesting them for his friend. I'm not talking about actual, original vintage Mantles here either, just any Mantles including the shit that Topps still thinks we like. For whatever reason, this guy wanted them but hey, that's what trading's about! In return (among others) I found

and

The Milladge is #/50 and I must say, any Ultimate Collection card I've seen looks slick. I need to start looking at more singles of that stuff on ebay.

Lastly, we have some cards that came just today. A Gypsy Queen team set courtesy of Clear Cut Cards.
Editors' note: rather than subject the reader to any more pictures of Gypsy Queen, the author has decided instead to show images of dogs in mid-shake. Thank you.

(...Joe)

Philisophical Fridays

2011-05-06T13:20:00.000-04:00

"That's the true harbinger of spring, not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of a bat on a ball."

Bill Veeck

I Know Who Really Killed Bin Laden

2011-05-03T00:10:00.002-04:00

Veritas
Aequitas

Don't Fuck.

(...Joe)

Best. Quote. Ever

2011-05-02T12:50:00.002-04:00

"During the game you heard the chants, and didn't know exactly what was going on but found out an inning or two later. It was pretty cool. I don't like to give Philadelphia fans too much credit, but they got this one right, and it's a proud moment to stand out there when you have 45,000 or 50,000 people chanting. That was pretty special."

David Wright, May 2nd 2011

You had me at "I don't like Philly fans"!

(...Joe)

My 500th Piazza Card!

2011-04-30T23:30:00.002-04:00

Still sick.

My Face Feels like it's gonna explode.

The Bailey's on the rocks is helping.

I have no idea why I capitalized "Face" and "Feels" two lines ago.

By now you're probably making fun of me for drinking Bailey's.

Can't do hard liquor anymore. Over did it before (but mostly on) my 21st.

What a night though.

I'll tolerate some hanging with the guys.

Or if I'm taking one for the team by taking home the "buffer friend".

...

...

...

So I hit 500 Piazza's, not sure if you heard about that. It was actually some time ago, but for one reason or another I'm just announcing it to the world now. I find the card very fitting for being my 500th...

A 1994 Mother's Cookies w/Tim Salmon. This came in a trade with Emerald City Diamond Gems. I'm glad I got a milestone card in a trade rather than an ebay pickup, it just seems... betterer that way. Anyways, it's not the rarest Piazza I own, nor the most expensive or flashiest. It's just a mid '90's oddball that happened to be in the right package at the right time, but I prefer it that way, stays with the whole "underdog" thing I like. It's still in the plastic wrapper which is cool too, but I'll most likely free it once I get more from the set to keep everything, you know... OCD friendly.

So that's #500 for me. I'm at 556 now, but it's amazing to think that only 1 year ago I had less than 100 Piazza's. A huge thanks to everyone who's helped me with my collections! Hopefully I've helped out with some of yours!

(...Joe)

Tradewinds

2011-04-24T14:24:00.003-04:00

I managed to get on here and do a post in between naps. I've been sick this past week and I can't remember the last time I've gone more than 30 seconds without coughing. I'll tell ya what tough, all that coughing has done wonders for my abs...

...

...

???

...

Anyways, I'll start off with the guy I probably trade with the most, Cam from The Bullpen Cardboard. I heard whispers that he had a Joe Smith auto so we struck a deal.

This is the second Smith auto I have form the '07 SP Rookie Edition set. I believe there's 3 more of his autos from this set, although there may only be 2. There's either 2 or 3. I could look at my checklists but, it's all the way over there...
Also included were some neato #/d cards!

Some Piece of History's a Triple Threads base and an '08 Co-Signers parallel.

Next up we have a trade that was foreshadowed a bit. A while ago I got an email from é rayhahn, rayhahn saying that he got a stack of Piazzas with my name on it. I looked for some Twins stuff for him but came up with nothing. A few weeks later, I had completely forgotten to email back but luckily he was persistent! That's when I went out and bought this...

You didn't REALLY think I didn't have an ulterior motive behind this did you? In return I got 50+ Piazzas, all but 5 I needed for the Collection, but the doubles I was able to use for the Mets team sets.

This was by far the jewel of the package. A '96 Leaf "Gold Stars", these cards fall 1:190 packs! That in itself would be awesome enough, but the gold boarder on the front of the card is made from actual 22 karat gold. It's a very thin layer, so it's not like holding a hunk of metal, but still, that's kindda fucking cool!

Next we have two major Player Collector headaches...

'99 Topps Tek and '07 Moments and Milestones.
For Topps Tek, there's a 1a and 1b fro each card. Then for each Card(a) and Card(b) there are 30 different background patterns to go with it. Fuck you Topps.
The Moments and Milestones has like, 10 different "Milestones" for each player, each home run or stolen base etc having its own card and then 6 or 7 thousand parallels of each card. Fuck you Topps. Fuck you hard.

And finally, after having worked in both retail and food service, it is my professional opinion that some people must set out each morning with the intention of being the most difficult, obnoxious pain in the dick possible. I believe that Pacific had the same exact motivation during the '90s...

How else could you explain any of their sets?

Thanks for the trades guys! I'll be looking for more stuff for you soon!

(...Joe)