Friday, March 30, 2012

Trade #3: Brock's Dub

Before I get to the cards, give me a paragraph or two to set up this post. In my house of 4, comedy is a big thing. There is always laughter of some sort, or at least the desire for that. We all have fun playfully ripping into each other, or trying to get that quick wit line in a conversation. Movies/TV/video are also a big part in entertainment and humor. Like many of you reader (not plural....not a typo), great quotes get thrown around from time to time purely for breaking up the other person. And text message movie quote tangents are a pretty regular use of our unlimited messaging plan. A quite popular (among all the others) YouTube video that gets a lot of use in my house is Mafia Babies, a Brock's Dub remix of the talking babies meme. Out of the blue lines are thrown out.....just cuz.

LEG!

But in regard to this post, I would like to reference the disclaimer at the start of Mafia Babies: "..all the curse words have been replaced with baby friendly substitutes. Enjoy."  Alright - let's take a look at the package I received a couple days ago from Troll at Collective Troll.

I work from home 4 days a week, and my wife is a speech pathologist in a school, this week being her spring break. So my fluffing day has been rough, but a visit from the postal carrier brings gifts. I hustle my ascot out to the mailbox to find an envelope with "Troll" return address on it. FLUFFING SWEET! As I pull it out, I am shocked at the size of his package.

That's what she said.
 
I sent Troll a bunch of set fillers and a Longoria relic from my trade bait he requested.  This return envelope seems too fluffing large. Either he's too generous, or he was shaft-faced drunk when he mailed it. Still, let's see what we have. So I walk in to the bedroom and show my wife my latest postal prize. I comment to her that the sender is a roller derby announcer - how fluffing cool is that. We get a little laugh (see first paragraph). I open the package to a cool roller derby program that I show my wife. "See? So damp cool!" I say. As I walk back to my "office", I start reading the enclosed note from Sir Troll. "No fluffing way. No fluffing way." I mumble over and over. My wife inquires of what I am talking about. 

Dramatic pause in the post here - let's look at the non-related no-fluffing-way items in the package. And we start with A&G minis.
A nice 9 pack of White Sox minis. I believe I have a grand total of 0 of them, so let's call this 9 new White Sox in my card collection. We move to a nice group of more recent White Sox cards.

I love the A&G with the secret code markings on the corners. Some nice Topps diamonds, a TR Peavy and a Floyd OPC. Then we move back a few years in players for the most part
.
Any Aparicio is a win for me. I believe he will be the next project after my Billy Pierce collection is complete. Couple Albert Belles, a nice Thomas Flair Showcase, a silk Podzilla (first silk I have in my collection and man, they're cool) and a Dotel relic. For those that like a good mystery, you missed a foreshadowing moment. Stephen King would be proud. Or not. Let's go back farther in the South Side player history on the next scan.

What have we here? A 64 Buford Rookie, 81 OPC Baines Rookie, a couple of 61 Topps of Pierce and Minoso and a 55 Bowman Carrasquel. Holy fluff. And for the record. absolutely NONE of these cards are related to my earlier comment. Ok - back to the story...

If you recall, I am no fluffing way'ing my mouth off in the other room. My wife asks what's up, so I come back in to read the card:
Now you see my fluffing dilemma?! Troll - you have got to be fluffing shafting me! But that was no fluffing slip of the pen and here's the proof.

 actual, unshopped scan of the card

I spent the rest of the day (and still even now) in utter amazement. BTW, after I read Troll's note, my wife asks "Is that good?" Been living under a mother-fluffing rock, woman????

So that is trade #3 in the books, and a holy shaft trade for sure. I have let Troll know that he has a place to sleep if he is ever in my neck of the woods, and I have reversed a certain surgery I had so we can have another child only to name him Troll. Or her. Enjoy the name, kiddo.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Cleanup continues...

Card sorting continued into the early hours, fueled with a 44oz Cherry Pepsi and an assortment of 80's YouTube videos (man, The Breeders were cute). With my extra effort, the Wants page has a new listing - 2012 Topps base. With all I sorted, I am shocked I have that many missing and in need of some innerweb help. And holy crap - REALLY - not a single short print in the pile? No Topps loving in 2012 for me.

Well - if you would gander at your extras, compare to my needs and then electronic mail me at jedijeff13ATgmailDOTcom, we'll discuss. We good? Cool....

Abbott's shirt is red - how about a couple Soviettes links to close this post? Thought you'd see things my way: Rock --- Out

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Trade #2 - old timey guys

Nice surprise seeing an envelope in the mail from Nick at Dime Boxes. I sent Nick a few on his want list a week ago and Nick returned in kind with a great assortment that warmed my heart. Let's gander...
These two beauties greeted me when I opened the envelope. Hoyt gets me one card closer to completing the 2001 UD HOF set. If you have any you are willing to part, check out my want list and let's swing a deal. That Ralph Kiner - oh baby. As I said - I have been a very unfocused collector. How did I not know about this set? Nick - I either love you or hate you right now, because I believe I may chase the rest of those cards. Love/hate, of course, based on how difficult the chase goes.

Three more pretty cards. Love how the Schoendienst card has the cap logo photoshopped out (cuz the card is only licensed by the player and not the team), yet the back of the card references both St. Louis and Cardinals. UD Masterpieces. Still not sure why I bought so few packs of those (that I can't seem to find). And a nice simple pose of the Big Train.

Couple years worth of T206 and a Goodwin Champion Al Kaline. <insert obligatory "why didn't I buy more Goodwin Champions" comment here>

And we finish with 8 2011 Lineage of some of the past greats. I don't have to say "why didn't I" here cuz these bad boys are still available. I could have swore I bought a blaster of these. The hunt is afoot! So thanks again Nick.

I am a big fan of the golden age of baseball (and the years prior to the war as well). If you haven't watched "When It Was A Game", you should be ashamed of yourselves. Send me all your Mantle rookies post-haste! They may be in NetFlix's DVD queue, but hell if I can find them. Nice crappy search box, Netflix! Anywho.....three separate disks, each an hour long special that are well worth the watch. Would I steer you wrong? I'm your buddy.....

(note to self - improve card scanning skills)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sunday feature: Stuff I like

Like the rest of we collectors, there are cards we have in our personal collection (or "my cards" as I call them). So on Sundays, I am going to post the things I have and that I enjoy cuz well....I enjoy them.
Here's a set of three cards I pulled from a 2011 Topps update pack I bought. And no, I did not do anything with them, that's how they came. Talk about off center! I like that cards this poorly cut made it past inspection, into a retail pack and ultimately, into my hands. Who they are is unimportant. Just that I have 3 cards that fed quite poorly through the cutting machine. They have personality.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Corn and maize

Why I'm not fully digging 2012 Heritage

Like a few other blogs I have read, I am not the only person really clambering on the Heritage band wagon. And I think I just figured out why I am finding the card set just a shell of the actual Heritage set. Humor me as I put a couple pics up - see if you see what bugs me:

It probably jumps out pretty well on one thing, but let's focus on ALL the places it's wrong:
That better? It's the multiple marks of the beast that just make this set crappy. For all the cards that jam Nike, New Era, Rawlings, Mizuno and a host of other companies in our faces, you would think these cards would sell for a hell of a lot less. They take the time to photoshop in new unis on the Opening Day sets, but they can't block out all this douchebaggery?

Maybe I'm splitting hairs. But I feel the attempt to throw back and honor the past is sullied when you leave such blatant advertising in the pictures. You can do better, Topps.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Trade #1 in the books

As I stated (I think), I plan to be a more focused collector cuz I should be cautious of my spending, some of the stuff out there just doesn't thrill me, and let's face it - I am not getting what I want. Pack opening is a crap shoot. I am not sure how I ever got there, but one of the first card blogs I read was Matt's HCOSG (ok, I'll spell it out: Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius). Some Google search had me on his page and I was watching his pack ripping videos. And then there were links to other people that talked about cards. Now I follow a dozen and read many more than that daily. But the best part is practically everyone has need lists and trade lists. You mean I can send the stuff I don't want and get the stuff I do want? For the cost of a stamp (or more, technically)? Count me in!!!

Well, after getting me cards mostly organized, I starting hitting the wants lists, and found I had a nice group that would knock out a few of Matt's needs. A few emails, info exchanged, packages sent and BAM! Holy S%$& - THIS IS EASY! Just received Matt's package in the mail today, and I have to say, he made one small error. His notes states he "hope you enjoy this random group of White Sox". No Matt - I LOVE this random group. And I totally feel like what I sent you doesn't even come close to the return package. Though, if I can expect a group like this when I say "ah, just sent me a bunch of White Sox cards and I'll be happy", I am going to create a keyboard macro for my email. So let's see how Matt handled the phrase he typed that read "I'll get some White Sox together for you."

Nice start with 3 2012 Topps and a 2011 Jake Peavy #795/2011. I just pulled the Opening Day version of that Alex Rios card, so some nice symmetry. Something about those sparkle cards I like.

LOVE me some Aparicio!  Add to that the nice Garland (older, so it has the brown back) and a floating head rookie. This could have been all and I would have been very content and happy. But we only about halfway through.

Hello ladies.
 That is a '77 Topps Ritchie Zisk sticker. And fabric for crying out loud! And I remember having the '74 checklist in my younger days. So nice to have it back in hand. Again - we could stop here and I would feel like I ripped Matt off. But there are 3 more cards in the envelope, and wow, are they just amazing. 

 Let's start with this 2011 A&G relic of Carlos Quentin. Yeah, I know he is no longer a Sox, but he had a few great years here. I wonder if this piece of lumber is from the bat he broke his hand on, ending in 2008 season?

That would be the Big Hurt. Say what you want - to me, with the numbers he put up, he is first year HOF inductee. I mean, look at these stats. People may remember him as a DH, but he spent the first 10 years playing more games as a first baseman. So this is an AWESOME addition to my relics cards. I love relics that are not a single color but have a stripe in them. Now why post this next card after the awesome Thomas? Check this out:


 That card is 35 years old. And it looks like it came out of a pack yesterday. I am starting to think like others - who cares about condition, just have the card. But man - CHECK OUT THAT CONDITION! The scan does it no justice. Sure, a couple of nobodies, but that card is sooooooo cherry.

Ok - I am worn out scanning and typing. Thanks again, Matt. I am pretty sure I got the WAY better end of this deal, but that may just be my "I suck" talking.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

It's like cards for free!

Best part about getting all your cards organized properly? Finding the stuff you never realized you had. Welcome to the party Duke Snider SP, Al Kaline SP, Ryan Dempster Abe Lincoln and Jackie Robinson SP (TWICE!). Could have swore I had the Bradley Abe Lincoln card. Back to digging.....

Monday, March 19, 2012

New section - trade bait

Since I see plenty of other folks waving around their wares like they just don't care (oh, they care), I figured I best jump on that wagon. New page available at the top showing relics that are up for the picking. If you see something you like, find my email at the top of the page and we'll start a dialog. I am more than confident we'll reach an agreement. And no - I will not take your kids in trade. And not your wife either, unless you are Ryan Reynolds and you are offering your recent ex-wife. She would be worth 2 relics.....maybe three. I am still working out the conversion chart on that.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Post #One

This is what you call "filler" while I am still tweaking the layout and getting other things in order. Sometimes something profound is written here, but this is me. And expecting profound is expecting a lot. Be thankful you get decent sentence structure and proper use of pronouns.